Bolting speakers on your bike to make you commute more enjoyable is a great idea, unfortunately the execution of this event is often ugly and sounds crappy. Why even bolt speakers on your bike? You have earbuds right? Because with earbuds in, I can't hear the car that is about to run me over. Read on for a review of one of the best bike speaker systems on the market, the iHome iH85B.
The iHome IH85B bike to beach speaker system for your iPod and bicycle is made for most iPod's with a dock connector. Let me get the one major negative of the device, it doesn't work with other music players (like the Zune, Blackberry, or even the shuffle since it doesn't have the dock interface). The iHome IH85B comes in a water bottle shape and includes a water bottle holder to mount on your bike. The iPod can be controlled via a wireless handlebar-mounted remote control "“ cool. The remote control is removable and comes with play/pause, previous/next, and volume controls.
The music comes out of the tube speaker loud and clear but still allows you to hear traffic noises. The remote control works great and is easy to operate, even with gloves on. When you turn the unit on, it turns on the iPod, when you turn it off, it turns off the iPod. Simple and smart, no need to open the device to tinker with the iPod controls. The speaker runs off of four AA batteries, and includes an AC adapter which will power the speaker and recharge the iPod. The remote uses to coin batteries (CR2032).
When you are done with your ride and take the speaker system with you, grab the remote, it fits nicely into the unit covering the speaker grill.
You get quite a bit of speaker for the money "“ the unit costs under $50 here.
