COFSTA

https://www.flareaudio.com/collections/isolate

Brick asked me about the "bullets" I wore in my ears on the ride yesterday. I purchased the Titanium version and they work quite well although it is not clear if they are worth the price hike over the aluminum. They are supposed to reduce the annoying sounds, which allows the ear to adjust to hear other noises. Wind turbulence is improved significantly although still present. There is a notable difference in hearing tire squeal and hearing/feeling rocks in the corners that I had not experienced beforehand. It does take a minute for the ears to re-calibrate upon initial insertion, which makes hearing an issue while gearing up.

I haven't tried them on both bikes with all of the various windscreen adjustments yet, but so far they seem to be a better choice than even the custom molded plugs I wear, which seems to just muffle all the sounds. Maybe I just drank the Kool-Aid, I don't know. Two sizes of foam tips were included, but I may try the rubber version for durability and consistency. My ears popped coming down the mountain and both sides loosened a bit reducing their efficacy.

The never-ending search for hearing protection / audio continues.

Actually, there are 3 sizes of foam tips (small, medium, and large) and they are not compatible with typical earbud headphone tips so will need another plan. The Flare foam tips have a small rubber insert that I may be able to use in standard earbud tips with some surgery to allow fitment. I don't think I will have use for the small, so that one will probably go under the knife. I will try out the large foam tips on the bike to see if fitment is better. In the house, it seems to work very well. Silence is underestimated.

Silence is underestimated.

I'll even go a step further Steve, silence is nirvana..when riding...at least for me. And I have been going down the same path as you, most recently trying some custom molded Westone in-ear phones with poor results.-->> http://www.earplugstore.com/westone-cr1 ... hones.html

I'll try to post more on this topic later today.

Edit: to clarify, silence for me is the quiet between GMRS transmissions lol. Not quite the same as your total silence.

I've been riding a lot since 1970... before was only as I intermittent when I could sneak a ride. Since about 1974 I realized that I needed ear protection and have used the best disposable I could find. Have had two sets made and could not wear them.
The Veterans Association says I lost my hearing because I worked on USAF fighter planes. Either way I KNOW the value of protecting what hearing I have left. So do I need to get these Flare bullets?



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Bob wrote:

Silence is underestimated.

I'll even go a step further Steve, silence is nirvana..when riding...at least for me. And I have been going down the same path as you, most recently trying some custom molded Westone in-ear phones with poor results.-->> http://www.earplugstore.com/westone-cr1 ... hones.html

I'll try to post more on this topic later today.

Edit: to clarify, silence for me is the quiet between GMRS transmissions lol. Not quite the same as your total silence.

I had a similar experience with custom molded Westones by Big Ear. A guy on VFRD makes them and I loved his plug only (without audio) model although they are getting a bit loose after 5 years of use, so I figured some audio plugs would be great. At $600, they were great at noise isolation, but the audio quality sucked. I mean really sucked. Some combination of shrieking midrange and physical size hurt my ears after about 2 hours of riding, which is a no-go. Worse yet, I can't return them and they won't fit anybody else. I can't even use them for door stops. Never again!

Brick wrote:I've been riding a lot since 1970... before was only as I intermittent when I could sneak a ride. Since about 1974 I realized that I needed ear protection and have used the best disposable I could find. Have had two sets made and could not wear them.
The Veterans Association says I lost my hearing because I worked on USAF fighter planes. Either way I KNOW the value of protecting what hearing I have left. So do I need to get these Flare bullets?

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The jury is still out, but I should be able to give a verdict in the next month. I know that precise earbud fitment is key to hearing great music as it was intended, and I imagine it would apply to the plugs as well if I can find the right size foam piece for my ears.