I know there are cycling clubs, with lots of members, and that they do club rides - who hasn't seen a group of cyclists barrelling down the road together, in amiable, social conversation? Except I'm not like that, really. I tried a cycle club ride once - nobody spoke to me from the moment I arrived at the RVP to the moment I went home. Besides, I'm an introvert. Most of my cycling is done alone.
No, it's fine, really, that suits me down to the ground ... except it can be a bit quiet occasionally. Sometimes I'm quite happy to drink in the sounds of the surrounding countryside, especially recently as lockdown has seemed to turn the man-made volume down and the natural volume up. Sometimes ... but not all the time. So how to listen to something - music, podcast, audiobook - safely on the road? Doesn't matter how clearly you can hear the ringing chimes of Johnny Marr's Fender Jaguar if you can't hear the Transit van bearing down on you from behind!
Fortunately, this is exactly the dilemma that the subject of today's review aims to solve, for Aftershokz make bone conduction headphones, the ear-pieces of which sit in front of your ears rather than on them. Sound is, as the name suggests, conducted through your cheekbones, leaving your ear canals free to hear traffic noise. I've just treated myself to a pair of their Trekz Titanium headphones, at some expense, so I'm pleased to be able to report that they work brilliantly.
First off, forget the fancy conduction stuff - at the most basic level, this is a Bluetooth headset. I'm happy to tell you that it is, hands-down, the best Bluetooth headset I have ever had. Easy connectivity and no dropped connections, even on the move, something I can't honestly say for any other Bluetooth headset I've tried. Using them for making and receiving calls is clear and reliable too, with dual noise-cancelling microphones. Ease of use is another big win - there are only three multi-function buttons in total, all of which are easy and unambiguous to find, and all of which work intuitively, and in a pleasingly context-sensitive manner.
So they work well as a set of Bluetooth headphones (very well, in fact). But what of their USP, the bone conduction? Well, it probably says something about me (pessimist... sceptic... cynic... all the above) that I was expecting to be underwhelmed, but far from it, I am mightily impressed. Sound quality is good, with plenty of depth to the low end and detail at the top, without being tinny. Full, and well-balanced, in other words. I don't know what the frequency range is (doesn't say in the packaging or on their website) but whilst I'm guessing it isn't 20Hz - 20kHz, it probably isn't far off. I'm also impressed at how well the sound translates into my head - this conduction malarkey really works. If I was to quibble, I'd say that maybe the stereo imagery isn't quite as pronounced as it would be through conventional headphones, but that's probably just me betraying my audiophile past. It's unlikely to be a problem in 99% of use, and definitely isn't when you're out on the road, with the background noise of your bike and other traffic being heard conventionally at the same time.
What else can I tell you? It charges quickly (two hours or so), the battery lasts for around six hours, and the headphones themselves only weigh 36g, in part thanks to having a titanium head-band (hence the name). Oh, and they're IP55-rated (sweatproof) - when I get caught out in the rain, we'll find out how much better they are than that too. Oh, and they even make a "Mini" version, for people with small heads! Is it possible they've thought of everything?
Any minor quibbles? Well, it takes a bit of fiddling to get them comfy under the straps of a helmet, a problem compounded, I suspect, by the arms of my glasses. But when I say a bit of fiddling, I'm talking about five seconds or less, so ... no drama.
Oh, and these are the bottom of the Aftershokz range (not cheap, with an RRP of £69.95) but really, why pay more? Maybe if you're a pro, you might need IP67 or IP68, you might need Bluetooth 5 rather than 4.1, you might need eight hour battery life or to shave a few grams off the weight of your headphones, but otherwise ... I'll say it again, why pay more?
TLDR: well-made, high-quality Bluetooth headset with the added attraction of bone conduction, so you can listen to your favourite tunes and still hear the traffic around you; this cyclist could not fault them, and is very pleasantly surprised. ★★★★★
Buy: Aftershokz Trekz Titanium, currently £69 from Amazon (but top tip - at the time of writing, these are reduced to £50 in larger branches of Sainsbury's, so what are you waiting for?)
