Talk While You Ride! Sena R1 EVO Review

[@EbikeEscape]

What do you think of the Sena smart helmets? Would you buy one? Support Ebike Escape when purchasing a Sena helmet: amzn.to/3op4Oy4 (affiliate link)

[@johncox8861]

We own 2

[@johnnya568]

Which Sena app Do you recommend?

[@fedguy9182]

We own 2 r2 evo helmets. We haven’t figured out how to connect to radio. Our app is different than what you were showing. Appears that changed the app by 2022

[@rosshamilton8409]

My wife and I took our first ride with them this morning. Game changer! Changes cycling into a social event. So fun!!

[@jgbarre]

We have had our Sena helmets for over a year. They are really great! We can connect 2 other helmets so when we ride with another couple we can all communicate!

[@EbikeEscape]

Awesome! Fun to have a larger group. Our biggest challenge is making sure they are charged we use them so much.

[@ssadventures2659]

Great review, thank you! Just ordered one for myself and the husband.

[@ssadventures2659]

Forgot to add to my comment above. Is there a bike phone holder you would recommend?

[@EbikeEscape]

Awesome, I hope you enjoy! Check out the Nite Ize wraptor which is my personal favorite (affiliate link): www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078L18FTZ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B078L18FTZ&linkCode=as2&tag=qci0c-20&linkId=7f1769ec6d57b2feac722e6f414f1867

[@ssadventures2659]

Great, thank you! Just ordered 2.

[@Filzkiiz]

YesSiRr!! 1fiRSt!! Very koo!! I like it!! lCheeRz Mate!!

[@NetPro38]

You missed a very important thing, the music sound quality. I was waiting for that the whole time. You could have played a short piece of music just so we could hear the sound quality.

[@EbikeEscape]

Sorry about that - I haven't found a good way to record the sound actually coming from the speaker. It just doesn't come across as how it does in person. I wouldn't say the quality is going to blow you away while listening to music. It's just not the same experience as having headphones on and of course you want to hear what's going on around you. I'm not an audiophile and I find them sufficient.

[@larrbearPeetmoss]

Sound is great for talking. Music on a scale 1 - 10. I would give it about a 6 at the most

[@philh1245]

Great review guys. We use apple airpods and connect using our cell phones...works perfect. I have the sena for my motorcycle though. Sena is the best.

[@EbikeEscape]

Nice! That is a good idea. One of the things I like about the Sena helmets is that since the speaker isn't in my ear I feel like I can hear more around me. Though maybe that's just my perception since I haven't actually tried using wireless headphones while riding.

[@philh1245]

@@EbikeEscape the benefit is everyone has a phone and a headphone. no fussing around with bluetooth lost connections, deadspots etc.

[@senatechnologies]

You might like the advantage of being able to hear ambient sounds while riding. Not only that, but the rider-to-rider communication feature is surprisingly just as useful on the bicycle as it is on the motorcycle. :). We hope you'll give it a try sometime!

[@LostBoyLA]

Would buy the asap if it had mips

[@ms.carlettawilson1522]

I can’t buy that helmet because I don’t have nobody to talk to. I am a loner. I don’t have no friends so I will be riding by myself. Thank you for the video beautiful helmets ❤❤❤❤

[@BrucePritchett]

Buy the helmet and you can pair it with your phone and listen to music or call your friends who don't ride (or your mom!) and visit while you ride. You can also buy the Sena Pi model that fits on your existing helmet for a lot less money and gives you the same capabilities.

[@EagleOne49]

I ride solo and am only interested in streaming music from my iPhone. Just to make sure, before I drop $170, once synced to my iPhone, will I have access to streaming audio services like Pandora? Are there other smart helmets you can recommend that do not include talk around, etc.? Thanks for all your great reviews!

[@EbikeEscape]

Check out the Sena Pi. We did a review on that also. It is able to be retrofitted to any helmet and is a really nice Bluetooth helmet addition. I use it to ride to music and chat all the time. -JT

[@BrucePritchett]

Just be aware that the music through these helmets (and the Pi) is pretty high treble and almost no bass. NOTHING like a good quality pair of headphones, but... You can still listen to music and you can still hear what is going on around you, which makes it much safer than headphones when riding. Just don't expect to be blown away by the quality of the music.

[@marcomark8]

It would be great to have larger lights on back or at least have turn signals.

[@rich2785]

Such a great review. I've been waiting on the Sena R2 EVO but it seems not to be in stock. Does anyone have the SENA R2 EVO that can comment as to whether it is worthwhile waiting for it of is the SENA R1 EVO going to give me the exact same features. Thanks in advance!

[@fedguy9182]

We have 2 R2 Evo helmets. They appear to function just like the R1 evo. The helmet design is slightly different and does not have the option to add a visor. I would probably just get the R1 evo if the price is cheaper and available. That said we love the r2 helmets. We are thinking of getting a couple more to have when friends or family who don’t own the evo ride with us

[@patrickdozier2146]

Good review. Can both riders listen to the same music?

[@EbikeEscape]

Each device is paired with one phone so I don't think this would be possible.

[@servispg]

How does the mesh system work, do you need to both have cell phones and cell service? I know many times we are camping without any cell service around. Also many times my wife does not bring her phone with her.

[@EbikeEscape]

No phones needed with these helmets to talk to each other. It would only be if you wanted to pair the helmet with your phone (music, phone calls, radio).

[@manuelectricista]

Hi. Thanks for your video. Sorry for my por english. I would like know, when you talk by phone, do the other people listen you good or he/she listen the wind? Thanks you so much.

[@EbikeEscape]

They are surprisingly good at cutting out wind noise. While I cannot say you will never get wind noise, they are much better then you would think they would be.

[@senatechnologies]

Great question! Sena's roots are strongest in the motorcycling industry, where we're a global leader in rider communication solutions. As you can imagine, noise cancelling technology has to be on point to be able to withstand the high wind speeds that are experienced by motorcyclists. That's why our cycling helmets perform so well... (The only time you might hear some wind noise is when there are inconsistent and strong gusts. This is quite rare, however.

[@marcinmichigan2772]

so if you were paired with your wife's headset, and you also had your phone paired, could you use directions from the phone so your wife could hear it too? Or would it just be you that could hear the turn by turn directions?

[@EbikeEscape]

Hi there, unfortunately not. You can only use one "setting" at a time

[@H0dy72]

Thanks for the review guys, a question in oder to use the intercom / chat function, do I need to press (and keep pressing) a button or how those this work? We tried Livall helmets and there is the need to push a button and keep it pressed (push to talk) as long as you speak. We wanted seemless permanent conversation for our ride.

[@EbikeEscape]

Hi Hody, so with these once you turn on the helmet and go into mesh intercom you are in the channel so to speak. No need to press additional buttons to chat with your riding partner. Thanks for watching!

[@H0dy72]

@@EbikeEscape I got an R1 - but just the R1 without the EVO (lights). Not sure which app I have to use. Mine does not show the menus like yours. Which one is the right?

[@lososound1178]

If you have music playing , will the other rider hear your music when you’re talking to them or who’ll they be able to listen to their own music freely?

[@senatechnologies]

You can do music sharing, yes!

[@patrickh4540]

Super. She is nagging in my ears the whole day. Then I go out to ride to have some peace. What do you think? She wants to ride with me. And then still yelling in my ear whilst riding. Hell no.

[@EbikeEscape]

I think you win comment of the year :)

[@pedego101electricbikes2]

Pro tip: Push the center button to mute the other rider. They can reconnect by doing the same thing but it may give you a little respite.

[@KickAssets]

So If I wanted to have a conversation with my buddy while riding and recording out conversation...how can this be done?

[@EbikeEscape]

That is a good question and unfortunately I don't have a good answer for you. Best bet is to reach out to Sena and ask. Let me know what you find out!

[@senatechnologies]

It's true that you cannot really record the conversation - kind of like how you cannot record a telephone conversation through your smart phone (for security reasons). There are ways around this though, if your ride partner consents. You can pair with the Sena 10C or 50C motorcycle communication devices - they can record audio while you talk, and you can take that audio (and even the video footage if you please) from the SD card to create your content with.

[@GlampingGleaves]

How is the audio volume and sound quality? Are they loud and clear when someone is speaking to you? Easy to hear someone with road noise?

[@EbikeEscape]

Volume can go louder than I can comfortably listen to. And yes, in my opinion the sound quality is more than adequate. I tried to record it a bit in the video but it's hard to capture. We ride on busy streets and have no issues.

[@GlampingGleaves]

@@EbikeEscape Thanks for the info. I just ordered three of them for my wife, daughter and I. Looking forward to giving them a try!

[@arizonad8012]

Hmmm.I know that the helmets are not waterproof.Have you used it in rainy weather?

[@EbikeEscape]

Not significant rain but remember the electronics are pretty well hidden into the helmet.

[@aerialeggbeater2644]

Sena says the helmets are water resistant, and it’s ok to pour water on your head to cool off while wearing the helmet

[@senatechnologies]

@@aerialeggbeater2644 it's true!

[@senatechnologies]

We do not call the helmets waterproof since they are not made to be and remain submerged. But they are built to withstand sweat and weather!

[@tisdale36]

The EVO allows up to 2 miles of communication when using mesh, I believe you would need at least 5 helmets, 1 every 1\2 mile. I want the M1 EVO but they dont have a small, my wife's head is a 21 1/2 and the size chart says 21 3/4 is as small as the medium goes. Does anyone with a 21 1/2 inch head own an M1?

[@EbikeEscape]

As far as I know, range is up to 1/2 mile, but shoot me a link if you found something different. I didn't realize that on sizing - what about a R1 Evo instead? Or perhaps you could message Sena customer support.

[@johnnya568]

What about the firmware update1.0.3 did anyone do it?

[@EbikeEscape]

Didn't know it came out but thanks for letting me know! You should be able to always revert.

[@johnnya568]

@@EbikeEscape The only You can do the update with a Mac computer

[@timlist4173]

Di these helmets meet or exceed the cpsc and mips standards?

[@EbikeEscape]

They are not MIPS helmets.

[@senatechnologies]

The helmets meet the North American, EU, UK and Asian safety standards, absolutely :)

[@84imreplica]

So if you want to communicate with another rider you, or the other rider, can't have y their music on?

[@EbikeEscape]

Correct, from what I have found these helmets do not have the audio multitasking. So it's either talking or music.

[@brent6100]

@@EbikeEscape Do you know if the R1 standard model has the audio “multi tasking” capability? I would like to be able to communicate AND listen to music.

[@EbikeEscape]

@@brent6100 From my experience no. This is the one feature I think is missing.

[@senatechnologies]

@@brent6100 yes, you can do music sharing with the R1.