Cardo BK-1 DUO Bluetooth Cycling Headsets

Kerry and I used these almost every day during our month in New Zealand, even in pouring rain, and they fundamentally changed our riding experience.

Wearing them, we just speak like we’re right next to each other all the time. We never have to raise our voices over road noise. The software inside the headsets automatically turns up the volume of the speaker, and turns up the threshold of the microphone, when ambient noise increases. When you draw up close to another rider, the units actually detect their own echo and shut off temporarily. This will keep you from going insane. The software driving them is obviously very smart.

Before, it was impossible to communicate if one of us was going faster than 15mph, or got more than 25 feet away. Now, it’s effortless, and the experience of biking together is much more intimate. They also enhance our safety a great deal, because we no longer have to crane our necks to hear each other when riding single file, or when it’s windy, or when there’s traffic noise. We can say things like “pothole ahead” or “turn left” or “watch out for the next curve” even at 20mph on a downhill. When we’re farther apart we can actually hear an approaching car in the other rider’s headset, so if we’re on a quiet road we have longer to prepare for the car, and the person in front can even tell how far behind the other rider is by listening to the delay.

In addition to using them as full-duplex intercoms, you can use them as bluetooth headsets for your phone, and they work just as well in that mode. They will also play music, via bluetooth or a line-in jack, and switch between audio sources automatically when prudent. The music part is a disappointment though. The speakers don’t have very good bass reproduction, and the switch between music and voice has a long delay. It would be much better if they just reduced the volume of the music around the voice – what audio engineers call “ducking” – but they don’t do that, even with the line-in.

Every now and then they will forget their pairing when they’re first started up, which delays things by about 15 seconds in the morning. But then they will last for an eight-hour ride, so there’s no need to shut them off until you’re done for the day. Recharging them will take hours, though, so you better have a free USB port for each unit, and you’ll want to charge them every day – because you will miss them sorely once you get used to them. The unit can unclip from the helmet, so you don’t have to stick your helmet next to your USB hub while you’re charging it.

If you’re traveling on a bike with a partner, or in a group, get a set of these as soon as possible. They are worth the price.

(In 2016 Cardo’s cycling products were acquired by Terrano, so look there now.)