u/BroadInvestment2013

Hi all,

I know people have opinions about biking with headphones but thats not the advice i'm after.

For the last couple of months i've been struggeling with headphones on my bike. I use Airpod Pro 2's to listen to podcasts. I also like to call when i'm on the bike. Because of the windnoise i can barely hear the podcasts unless i turn them up all the way. When i'm on a call the other person cannot hear what i say and i can barely hear what they have to say.

There are a couple of options:

• Jabra Elite 7 Active. Should be good with wind noise but the call quality has mixed reviews
• Shokz OpenRun. Bone conducting so wind noise should not matter that much
• Sena biKom. Can be used with a cap in stead of a helmet. Downside is that its only on one side.
• Rayban meta glasses/oakley meta. Supposed to be good quality audio and no wind noise when calling. Quite expensive though.

And there are a couple of solutions that will not work for me:

• cat ears. Like dead cats you put on your helmet. I do not wear a helmet so this is not a solution for me.
• Over the ear headphones. For som reason i get really sweaty ears from over the ear headphones.
• Sena PI bluetooth intercom. Has to be clipped to a helmet.

I cannot really find a clear answer on the best option. If anyone has found a good solution for both listening and calling i'd love to hear about it.

Yesterday, while we were out on the water, I started wondering whether playing a musical instrument, especially the drums, can help improve your stroke.

I can imagine that drumming helps you develop a better sense of rhythm and cadence. It might also make it easier to hear or feel the different phases of your stroke and notice when something is slightly off.

Could that musical awareness also help when correcting your technique, because you are better able to recognise subtle differences in timing and rhythm?

Does anyone here play an instrument, and have you noticed any benefits on the water?

I'm not trying to pickup a new hobby, just curious!

Hej,

Jag har lernt mig svenska i 6 manader nu. Jag kan prata little om olika saker men jag har ingen person jag kan offnar med.

I Nederländerna har vi en organisation som hjalper ensamma äldre. Du kan ringa en telefonnummer och prata med någon. De hjalper äldre men man kan också öva talar.

Jag tankte kanse samma programn är i Sverige ocksa. Jag sökte på google men jag hittade ingenting.

Finns de något likande i Sverige?

Hej,

Last year we bought a stuga in Skåne, we're in the process of renovating it. I was wondering how you deal with winter and water pipes.

We're not planning on heating the house during the winter but we are in the process of making a normal flushing toilet, a shower and we have offcourse a kitchen.

How do you make sure the toilet, shower drain or sink drain dont freeze and break during winter? I can offcourse drain the toilet resevoir, empty the water pipes and turn off the water pump but if you drain the water from all of the siphons you'll smell the septic tank.

Do i put glycol in the toilet? Do you use some local heating element to heat up the pipes? Or is there another solution for this that i'm not aware of?

Thanks for your input!

Hey all,

Earlier this year, I got the Wuben G5. For anyone wondering whether they should get one and how it holds up over time, here is my review after using it daily for three months.

TLDR: Loads of nice features but not durable enough for daily abuse

Features:

• RGB: I have only used the red light a couple of times at night. The main light can get so dim that you dont really need the red light. Red light is supposed to preserve your night vision, but the moonlight mode of the regular light is so dim that it works fine for that too. I was hoping to use the yellow light more as a dim, warm work light, but the yellow is either quite green or quite orange.
• Swivel head: Works great. It doesnt really need to turn 180 degrees, though. Ninety degrees would have been enough and might have made it stronger.
• Clip: The clip is great. I use it a lot to attach the light to my cap and work hands-free. Getting the clip back into its normal position after use can be a pain, especially when dirt gets into the mechanism.
• Magnet: The magnet works perfectly. I think I got one of the newer versions with the stronger magnet. When working on your car in the engine bay, the magnet combined with the swivel head is perfect.
• Main light: The main light works fine. The low moonlight mode lasts for a very long time. The scroll wheel lets you increase the brightness. It looks like the scroll wheel doesnt have fixed steps, but it does. It would be great to have the option to make the moonlight mode just a bit brighter, for example around 15 lumens. Right now, it is too dim to work with. The next step up from moonlight is 50 lumens, which is quite bright for many situations. The light also gets plenty bright with the boost function. Anything above 200 lumens works, but only for around one minute. After that, the light gets dimmer.

Durability:

• It is not waterproof. I used it while rebuilding my engine and got some oil on it. The light didnt work for a couple of days after that.
• Button got stuck: The on/off button doesnt really work anymore. After a couple of weeks, dirt got underneath the button. Now you have to press it really hard and hope it turns on.
• Lens fell off: During the first couple of weeks, the clear lens fell off the light. I fixed it with superglue and have not had any issues with it since.
• Battery life: Battery life is around 3.5 hours on the second-lowest mode. Again, I would like the option to use a brightness level between the lowest and second-lowest settings. A battery life of eight to ten hours would be great.

Recommendation:

I would not buy this light again. Not because it is a bad light, but because it is missing a couple of features I would like to have. A full day of battery life with a lower-power mode would be great. Making the moonlight mode brighter would also solve the problem.

Apart from the features, the materials seem fine, but I dont really feel confident using it. I worry about it breaking even more than it already has. Right now, it is working 50% of the time and frustrating to use.

I know Wuben has a great warranty, but I dont think these issues are just manufacturing defects.

Inmiddels fiets ik een aantal maanden naar werk. Als ik naar werk ga of terug rij vind ik het prettig om te bellen met iemand, ik heb dan tijd en rust om me op het gesprek te focussen.

Nu ik fiets gaat dat eigenlijk niet meer. Ik heb airpods in maar ik versta degene aan de andere kant amper en ik wordt ook amper verstaan, dit uiteraard door de windruis tijdens het fietsen.

In de winter gaat het beter, dan doe ik een muts op en trek ik die over de oortjes heen, die stoppen de wind maar zorgen er voor dat ik wel nog goed te verstaan ben. In de zomer een muts op is alleen niet echt een optie.

Vandaar de vraag, is er een goede oplossing voor bellen op de fiets? Een over ear hoofdtelefoon vind ik niet zo'n prettig idee ivm zweet oren. Ik draag geen helm dus "cat ears" tegen de windruis helpen mij ook niet. Andere oplossingen of ervaringen zijn welkom.

UPDATE: Ik snap dat mensen meningen hebben over bellen/oortjes in op de fiets. De vraag is niet of dat een verstandig idee is maar de vraag is als ik toch wil bellen op de fiets, hoe doe je dat dan het beste.