Product Description

Pedal in the rain with this water-resistant iPod speaker case that clamps to your bike frame. Handlebar mounted remote control allows for safe cycling while listening to your tunes. This speaker case is perfect for the beach, poolside and picnics too.

Product Details

• Color: Black
• Brand: iHome
• Model: IH85B
• Dimensions: 9.00" h x 3.00" w x 3.00" l, 4.00 pounds

Features

• Listen to your iPod while biking or at home
• Tough water-resistant protective design with speaker cap
• Universal dock with inserts to fit all docking iPod models
• Reson8 speaker technology for full, rich sound
• Charges iPod when connected to included AC adaptor

Customer Reviews

Nice, but not fully compatible with iPod Nano 3G
First the bad news:

The Amazon page for this speaker claims compatibility with "all docking iPods"; however, this claim is out of date. There are issues using the speaker with a 3G Nano. (As of this writing, the "better together" feature is recommending buying the speaker with a 3G Nano, so be aware of this issue!)

To physically carry different sized iPods, the iH85 ships with plastic inserts of various sizes. However, the Nano insert only works with the old (no-longer-available) Nano form factor. The Nano you can buy today (3G) is shorter and wider (presumably to accomodate the screen).

If you call them to discuss this issue, iHome will ship you a foam insert which you can use (in conjunction with the "thin iPod" insert that ships with the speaker) to house a 3G Nano. However, this is an imperfect solution. The iPod can still rock forward in the case, and I've found that in the course of my typical ride, the iPod gets knocked off the dock at least one or two times. Probably not good for the connector, and definitely a hassle to stop and fix each time.

This may be good enough if you just want to use the iH85 as a portable iPod speaker, or if you ride only on well-paved roads that don't cross railroad tracks, etc.

Beyond that, they offer no fix. I had some difficulty understanding what the support guy was saying, but I think he indicated that the iH85 is not really supported anymore (though it's still on their web site) as it hasn't, according to him, sold all that well. Per his advice, I will be attempting a DIY solution to better secure the iPod in the case.

The unfortunate thing is, the 3G Nano is the most logical iPod to use with the iH85 speaker. (The classic has moving parts and Apple recommends against using it on a bike or similar vibration-prone environment; the old Nano and the Mini are no longer available; the Shuffle has no docking connector, and according to iHome support, the Touch and iPhone are too large to fit in the speaker case.)

Now, that's a hassle; but other than that, it's a great system.

I had no difficulty mounting this on my road bike, or moving it back and forth between the road bike and my hybrid. It's easy to use though the remote is occasionally less responsive than I'd like. Battery life seems very good. No complaint at all about the audio -- it's perfectly clear to the rider, and apparently if you're riding close behind another bike they can hear it too :)

Nice but not perfect
The speaker system is nice and I did not have any problems using the remote. However, I experienced a few issue.

1. The speaker system is fairly heavy and bulky. I normally try to keep my bike light weight as possible for long rides.

2. The speaker system would not fit on my small WSD bike with a 2nd water bottle cage, unfortunately. In order to accomodate the speaker cage, I would have had to remove my other water bottle cage. I ended up having to carry the speaker in the pockets of my camelbak instead of on the bike frame because I needed at least one extra water bottle holder for those extra miles!

All in all, I am still glad I bought the speaker to keep me motivated on the rides.

Remote didn't work out of the box
At first I thought this was compatible with the 3rd Gen iPods but the website was a bit confusing... I realized the remote didn't work. So I said okay, that was my bad for not reading closely, lets try my girlfriends video iPod to make sure the remote at least works... Nope. I even got a 4th Gen iPod on craigslist to make sure it wasn't the iPods...

Remote still doesn't work. Customer service was prompt and said to replace the batteries. Now I have to spend money on batteries that should've been working in the first place that may not even be the problem. Great product otherwise but I wish it would've worked out of the box. Mounted to the bike great but it's hard to hear on a busy street (Since I Dont have the remote I have no clue if it gets louder).