Scala Rider

Riding with someone else is great especially when you can reliably communicate, useful for warnings of road obstacles or simply to share ones thoughts in realtime whilst zipping along.

Bike-to-bike radio headsets have been around for a while, I still have a set of Maxon units which operates on 49Mhz, walkie-talkie style of operation and have reasonable range and audio quality. Technology has moved on and we can now buy devices that offer full-duplex communications plus other useful features.

 The Scala Rider Q2 offers everything I was looking for in a modern biker headset system. This amazing gadget interfaces with my Zumo 550 GPS which in turn has a bluetooth connection to my iPhone which means that I can make and receive calls whilst on the move, with full access to my phone book and incoming caller ID via the touch screen of the GPS.

I've not tested the bike-to-bike intercom yet, but it's supposed to have a range of up to 500m. My riding buddy Glenn has purchased the same unit, so we will be making a lot of use of this feature when we ride through Patagonia in January.

The headset also has a built in radio and a connection for a MP3 player; however I find that the audio quality of the headset to be quiet poor but adequate for phone calls and probably OK for intercom. Positioning of the thin speakers inside the helmet is critical to achieving the full audio range the unit can provide.

The device comes with two helmet attachment methods, a removable clamp and a stick-on fixture. I had to go with the latter because the shell of my helmet is too thick to accept the clamp. The glue option certainly feels secure and the body of the device can be removed/exchanged with another device.