has anyone tried the ihome bicycle speaker?

I just ordered one from e-bay... now I have to buy an ipod for it too, lol!

It comes with an oversized water bottle cage that you slip it into (you put the ipod inside the speaker) and a wireless remote to attach to your handlebars:

http://www.ihomeaudio.com/products.asp?product_id=10186

40 bux on e-bay, 30 for an ipod nano to go inside of it... I'm hoping my purchase was worth my while. Has anyone tried these things? are they any good? I can't wear headphones seeing as how I am absolutely dependent on hearing traffic around me... I'm hoping it wont drown that out too much but it's got to be safer then headphones...

That is just too cool.

I have one! Love it. Got it on Ebay for that price as well.

As a bonus, it holds bigger water bottles or a 12 inch subway sub ;) if you leave it behind. And, the remote fits onto my little head light clip on the handlebars if you happen to have that sort of head light.

It is easy to hear and the ipod charge lasts a long time. I don't use it all the time, but when I do I am always glad I did. I have also taken it camping and it worked great.

Have fun!

Well , I knew it was just a matter of time... I think I'll pass though in favor of hydration instead:D

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Originally Posted by Nightowl

I have one! Love it. Got it on Ebay for that price as well.

As a bonus, it holds bigger water bottles or a 12 inch subway sub ;) if you leave it behind. And, the remote fits onto my little head light clip on the handlebars if you happen to have that sort of head light.

It is easy to hear and the ipod charge lasts a long time. I don't use it all the time, but when I do I am always glad I did. I have also taken it camping and it worked great.

Have fun!

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ooooo I like subway!

I got these, www.active-tunes.com, this summer and have really enjoyed listening to my tunes. It's great for daily commuting and riding long boring stretches. I find the music especially helpful going up really long hills! Gives you something to think about other than screaming lungs and muscles. :D bikerHen

http://mycyfi.com/

There's also these. Wireless, baby!

I have used the iHome bicycle speaker a couple of years on our tandem bicycle (it is too long to fit in the limited space of my xsmall single bikes). When it works I'm happy with it. Unfortunately all the little bumps often cause it to loose connection. I've put paper shims in the holder for the iPod and that didn't help. I think the problem may be with the batteries shaking loose.

What I did like is the ability to quickly pause the tunes when approaching an intersection, so that we could hear any motorists while looking for them. Safety first!

Most people think it's cool and are even more motivated to draft behind our tandem, but we do have an occasional person feel that we are contributing to noise pollution. We try to be considerate and ask if it adds / subtracts from people's enjoyment of the ride.

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Originally Posted by Jaclyn

Most people think it's cool and are even more motivated to draft behind our tandem, but we do have an occasional person feel that we are contributing to noise pollution.

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I guess I'm one of those.

I have a Zen Stone Plus mp3 player with its own built in speaker. The sound quality & functionality aren't the greatest, but I got it for pretty cheap on ebay along with a rubberized skin that attaches to a lanyard, so it works well for its purpose.

I haven't done many long solo rides in remote areas in ages, but I'll be putting it to use again soon.

No worries Lisa, I won't be playing it around you. ;)

[QUOTE=Jaclyn;473184]I have used the iHome bicycle speaker a couple of years on our tandem bicycle (it is too long to fit in the limited space of my xsmall single bikes). When it works I'm happy with it. Unfortunately all the little bumps often cause it to loose connection. I've put paper shims in the holder for the iPod and that didn't help. I think the problem may be with the batteries shaking loose.

I read some other reviews and apparently there is a problem with using old ipods and ipod minis in these because they have an actual hard drive in them for memory. Hard drive + lumpy bumps = bad, apparently. Everyone seems to recomend either the ipod nanos or the newer ipod models that use a flash drive instead. maybe that might be part of the problem? They also come with a variety of inserts for each different model, perhaps you are using the wrong one?

My speaker came in a timely manner, but the ipod is taking forever! I can't wait to get on my bike and give it a shot... those horrible work radio songs are stuck in my head constantly, I need a bad music eraser, lol!!!!

I'll let you know how mine works out once I get the thing in the mail...

In terms of noise pollution, I never even really thought of that to be honest with you. My ride to work is urban and extra noisy anyways, so I doubt it would make any kind of difference around here. I'll keep it in mind if I'm ever in a quiet neighborhood though

There's a guy I see pretty regularly on the bikepath near my house who rollerblades carrying a boombox playing '80s music.

The bikepath is very peaceful and beautiful, and although I'm usually slightly amused by him (it's pretty goofy) it also always strikes me as extraordinarily self-centered for him to inflict his music on everyone else.

Just something to think about.

So FINNALLY I got an Ipod for the godforsaken thing. :D It's pretty cool, works well and everything, but honestly the volume is not where I would like it to be. It would be fine on a quiet country road but I'm riding around in a very urban area and the traffic kind of drowns it out. It's loud enough I guess, and the handlebar remote is just awesome :)

The noise pollution thing - well, I live in a city. It's no different then the cars driving by with open windows and their music on. Or the cars always honking their horns. Or the crackheads screaming at the top of their lungs. Or the bars. Or the sirens... In fact it's much nicer then all of those things. If only it were loud enough to drown OUT the noise pollution... :D

We have a Japanese bicycle speaker the Otomo. http://www.crops-sports.com/en/crops/accessories/#105 (at the bottom of the page).
It's a 2GB waterproof and shockproof MP3 player that you can clip onto your handlebars. Awesome sound! We can hear it very well on the tandem or single bikes except when going 50km plus speed wise. Also you can use it with headphones off the bike or as a beach/BBQ music player. 9 hours run time.
Nice and small and doesn't take up a bottle cage!