I was searching for a Bluetooth speaker system to use with my T-Mobile G1 and lo and behold I came across the Cy-Fi Wireless Sport Speaker. This nifty little speaker can attach to the handlebar of your bicycle or motorcycle allowing you to rock out as you ride.
This spacey looking speaker weighs only 5 ounces and is very slim. You can slip it one of your pockets and use it indoors as well as on the bike. It comes with a dock, power supply and 2 different brackets. Probably the most shocking thing is that it comes with a dock! Not even many cell phones come with them any more.
One looks like it may be for a bicycle and the other looks like it may be for a motorcycle. I guess you could use the bigger one on a different location than my preferred location, the handle bar.
The bracket system comes off with no tools and includes various thickness rubber pads that keep the bracket firmly mounted on your handle bars. If you get to your destination and you don’t want to remove the bracket, the speaker slides right off the mount.
The speaker itself is shock resistant so you will not have to worry about it becoming damaged by bumps.
Before you go on your first ride, you need to charge the speaker. Just slip the speaker in it’s dock and plug the dock into the wall. Charge it until the red light turns green.
Once the speaker is charged, you need to pair it with your phone by pressing hte Cy-Fi logo/power button and hold it in until it’s light alternates between red and blue. On your phone, select the Cy-Fi and it will automatically pair with no code entry required for my G1. My old LG enV which is still kicking required me to enter four zeros. Paired without incident on both phones.
While playing music on my G1, the music was very good in quality and had no static or distortion. The range, however, was quite short. Once I got beyond about 6-8 feet it started to drop out. So keep your phone in your front pocket or in a handlebar bag when your using this on your bike. Having the phone in a pannier would probably cause this speaker to drop out.
To take calls, you just tap the phone button to pick up. When the other end hangs up, the music will resume. This worked about as well as any headset I have tried. I did have it power off once after a call was finished but I am not sure why. It only happened once, so I dismissed it as a fluke.
The battery life on this speaker is very good. I can easily last most bike rides and I used this for 2-3 hours one afternoon listening to podcasts in the kitchen. The advertised battery life is up to 6 hours. This should work for most casual and fitness riders. Lance Armstrong need not apply!
The Cy-FI Bluetooth Wireless Sport speaker works pretty good for my uses. if you are an audiophile, you best stick to wired headphones and speakers at this point.
The Cy-Fi Bluetooth Wireless Sport Speaker is available on Amazon.com for $159.99.
What I liked: Nice design. Easy mounting system.
What needs improvement: Pricing.