SenaR1 Smart Communications Helmet (Ice Blue, Large)

When we go on our bike rides I can hear my wife again and better yet I don't have to yell at her

The intercom feature is the best feature to know where everyone in group is and the leader can also warn the rest in the group what’s ahead. Of course all the other features to connect with phone is great also. We would purchase again and makes riding E-bike a pleasure as we ride for miles talking to one another.

We bought two of these SENA R1 helmets to replace our 2016 Livall BH60 bluetooth helmets. The speakers on the old helmets were becoming difficult for us to understand speech and the wind noise became terrible. The SENA R1 helmets turned out to be wonderful at blocking wind noise and were much clearer to understand speech than our old helmets. We also like the "intercom" feature, which allow us to talk without having to call each other on the mobile and use the helmet as the third party speakerphone. This is convenient in places where there is a cellular dead spot.We recommend measuring your head in centimeters and with your headgear, if you normally wear a hat under your helmet when you cycle. Meeded to size up one helmet to a large as one of us measured on the cusp of medium at 59cm without the headgear.When you unbox your helmet, download th Sena software from their website, connect helmet to your computer, then run a firmware update and complete a factory reset. Doing this FIRST will ensure that you won't have problems pairing your helmet to the app and phone via bluetooth. We had to watch videos on YouTube to understand the button control sequences. The instructions that came in the box had pictures, but we were still timing the sequences wrong.We would have preferred to purchase the latest R1 EVO model for $160, but they're sold out as of the writing of this review. The only place I could find them was at a bike shop in California for $260! But no regrets on these R1 Standard helmets because the sound quality to chat with a partner is excellent. For music, it's basic, don't expect an audiophile level sound experience. It is nice to be able to switch back and forth between music and chatting on this helmet. Lastly, unlike the Livall BH60 of the R1 EVO, there are NO LIGHTS on this helmet. So, we stuck black, reflective stickers on ours. Having no light was not a dealbreaker as we usually cycle during the day. The conversation quality and wind filter was more important to us than lights. Ride safe!

If you bike with a partner., buy one! Love it. Changes biking. why not five stars?? it functions on 3 buttons and remembering which to push how many times and when to pair, make call etc is crazy confusing. You must keep instruction manual with you. Makers well advised to incorporate voice activation words as pressing all these buttons in confusing combinations dangerous when biking.

The helmet is just as advertised feature-wise. The Bluetooth link to my phone was simple, and once I downloaded the full user manual from their website I was able to pre-set my favorite radio stations. I took it out for a ride and it really was great. I listened to music and navigation instructions, yet it did not impair my ability to hear approaching cars. It's a game-changer for long bike rides.My only complaint is that it is a little snug. I have what I consider to be an average size head and a buzz cut hairstyle. I have the large size helmet, but even at the most "open" setting it is still pretty snug on my head. Maybe it will get a little more comfortable with time.

I like this helmet and will keep it but it is not perfect. First of all, sizing. As others have said it runs small. Measure your head and then get the next size up. Has a good adjustment system but after measuring our head circumferences they were too small and we had to order the next size up. Instructions are horrible. They use hieroglyphics and few words. I had to look it up on You Tube. Most Bluetooth devices automatically connect after the initial pairing. Not these. You need to open bluetooth on your phone app and connect each time. Not a big deal but unusual. The two-way sound is excellent and if you only listen to podcasts the sound is great. Music is VERY TINNY but listenable.

I wear hearing aids, but I don’t like wearing them when riding my bike due to wind noise. So I was relieved that my wife and I could converse with no problems using this helmet and no hearing aids.Setup was easy and straight forward. We haven’t tried the radio as we prefer to converse.Highly recommended.

So far it has been great. The controls are the biggest obstacle. Not intuitive since there are only three buttons. Once paired they work extremely well. It’s very natural to talk to my wife in a normal voice even though she’s far away. I wish the Sena app could have more control of the helmet’s functions. The nit picking isn’t enough to lower the rating since the main function works so brilliantly.