Sports-touri tech
PRODUCTS
Largeunit(above)takesupquite a lot
ofspaceonthehelmet(left)where a
sun-visorsliderisonsomelids
EyeLightsHUD€499(approx.£430)
http://www.eye-lights.com
Te s t e d byMartinFitz-
Gibbons,deputyeditor
THIS FRENCH-MADE
heads-updisplayunit
projectsturn-by-turn
navigationdirectionsinto
your eyeline— theidea
beingyoudon’thaveto
lookawaytochecka
screen.It worksvia
Bluetoothwithyour
phone,whichhastorun
theEyeLightsnavigation
app(employingthe
phone’sGPSanddata
connections).Youcan
alsomakeandreceive
calls,andlistentomusic.
Thekitincludesthe
viewfinder,fourmountsto
tailorthefitinfrontof
yourrighteye,a Bluetooth
moduletostickonthe
outsideofyourlid,plus
TheJBLspeakers are large
butsoundabsolutelyamazing
94 | JULY 2019
CardoPacktalkBold£319.99
http://www.cardosystems.com
Te s t e dbyJimBlackstock,producteditor
TheCardoPacktalkBoldintercomuses
Bluetooth,MESHtechnologyandJBL
hi-fispeakers.Firstthingsfirst– make
sure it’llfit.Thelargeunitneedsa flat
spacetomountontheleftchinbar.Then,
makesureyoucangetthespeakersin.
They’relarge(48mmdiameter,15mm
thick)anddon’tsitflushinmytestX-Lite
X-903helmetsoI couldfeelthemagainst
myears.Butthesound...oh,thesound.
Musicisstunning,withcrystal-clear
vocalsandmid-rangeandpowerful
bass.Sat-navinstructionswereclear
andphonecallswerefineatbothends.
There’s‘HeySiri’and‘HeyCardo’for
voicecontrolofyouriPhoneortheunit
itselfbutwhileSiriworkedatlowspeeds
(andviaa buttonpush),it wouldn’tat
motorwayspeeds,evenwiththe
sensitivityturnedrightup.I couldn’t get
‘HeyCardo’toworkatallthough,even
afterupdatingthefirmwaretothelatest
version.EdMattandI triedtheMesh
(DMC)intercomoptionontwounitsand
stayedintouchwithreallygoodsound
qualityuptoaround250mapart—
certainlynotthemilesuggested— and
onlywheninsightofeachother.
Butif youloseconnection,aswedid
severaltimes,they reconnect
automaticallywhenyou’recloseenough
again.It takessomesettingupbutfor
connectivitytoyourtechandpillionand
possiblyotherriders,withgreatsound
quality,thenit couldbeforyou.
TomTomRider 550 £399
http://www.tomtom.com
Te s t e dbyJimBlackstock,producteditor
WETRIEDTHISTomTomsatnavbriefly
forthismonth’sRiDEReaderRatedbut
gotthechancetospendmoretimewith
it andit’simpressive.Asa standardsat
nav,it’sverygood,doingeverythingyou
wouldexpectofa top-endunit.Yetit’s
therouteoptionsthatgofurther.You
canchoosea twistyrouteformorefun
onthewaytoa specifieddestinationor
simplysetit tofindyoua funrideouton
a journeyofdiscovery.Youdecidehow
challengingyouwantandawayyougo.
Butbecarefulwhatyouwishfor– I
chosethetwistyoptionona runbackto
theMidlandsfromWeston-Super-Mare
andit triedtotakemethroughthecentre
ofBristol,BathandOxfordduringthe
day— a seven-hourjourneythatwas
two-and-a-halfonmotorways.The
Superbsoundquality,goodcomms,FM
radio,hugerangeoffunctions
Largespeakers,bulkyunit,sketchy
voicecontrol,rangelimited,expensive
Displayunitsat
toohighforus
