yurbuds - sport headphones that can go the distance

I do like riding with musical accompaniment, not always, and typically not on quick after work rides, but on longer, epic rides, music is a great way to get your mind off the pain.  However, it had always come at a cost of sore ears from all the contact with the headphones and they never seemed to stay in place, often popping out when things got rough or I pulled on the helmet strap, etc.

Now part of that was the fact I was using the OE ear buds from the iPod, and hardly anyone finds those comfy, at least no one I talk to.  They would always hurt my ears and sore ears detracted from the ride.  I was interested in finding a more secure and comfortable option for tunes on the bike, so when I passed by the yurbuds booth at Interbike I stopped for a better look.  I am so glad I did.

The first thing that they did was measure my ear canal.  Seriously?  Yep.  Well why would they all be the same size anyway?  I was a ‘7’, the size that most folks measure to.  Then we talked about how they would not slip out of my ear, no matter how sweaty or bumpy things got.  Really?  I was skeptical.  They slipped the yurbuds into my ear and gave it a twist...the yur buds, not my ear (for more on the yurbuds ‘twist’ see this YouTube video.  Well, that felt different.  Secure and comfy, at least for the moment, but would it last?  I moved on to other priorities that day, but the yurbuds stayed in the back of my mind.

So, after I got back home, I put the claims of yurbuds to the test with a couple of samples they provided.  The models I had to review were the Ironman Inspire and the Endure Pro.  The Ironman Inspire is a simple model (pictured at left), no inline controls or anything, just your basic in-ear type headphone.  Is it still a headphone when it does not sit on your head?  Hmmmm?  Anyway, the Endure Pro is much fancier with over-the-ear ‘loops’ and a 3-button control dry mic.  The 3-button control interfaces nicely with Apple devices like iPods and iPhones, allowing for on the fly control of volume, song selection, and answering phone calls.  Both models come with a nice little zippered, red, pouch to keep things organized.  I even carried my iPod Nano in there.

I began with the basic Ironman Inspire, priced at $49.95.  The silicone ear buds are molded to fit the ear and place the sound more directly into the ear canal.  They also have some thought given to outside noises, such as road traffic and other trail users, etc.  One of the things I liked about the OE ear buds from Apple was the way they still allowed surrounding noises to be heard, keeping you from being “that guy”, the clueless one on the trail that is blissfully unaware of anything happening out of his field of vision.  This was a concern with the more form fitting yurbuds.  More on that.  They came with the size ‘5’ ear pieces installed but I swapped to size ‘7’s right away as that was what the Interbike measurement had called out. 

At first I was confused as to which one was right or left and the embossed marking on the ear piece was very hard to read with older eyes like mine.  I wondered if they should not have denoted the ‘R’ one with a colored band or something, but what I came to find was that there is no way to get them backwards and still have them fit right.  If you get that part wrong, they will also feel very odd in your ear.  Good enough.  Once ‘twisted’ into place, they are rock solid in there.  I have over 12 hours of riding in them with two of those rides being 5 hours each, one of the rides in mid 90s temps, so lots of perspiration going on.  I have caught the cord on trail branches, helmet straps, etc, and have never dislodged the yurbuds.  And, during those five hour rides, I never once felt the least bit of discomfort or ear soreness.  Killer!  Sweat does not make them slippery either.  For the fit and comfort alone, they are worth every penny, allowing you to focus on the task at hand.  They just disappear during use.  As far as sound quality, I have to confess that I have little to compare them to, but I think they are an improvement over the OE Apple ear buds.  Whether that is from the better path into the ear or from speaker quality (or both) I do not know.  I am not overwhelmed by the audio excellence, especially base notes, but I do notice more subtleties in the music that I was missing before, and at a lower volume too.  That is nice, and really, I am not expecting a symphony on the trail so the sound quality has been more than adequate.

As far as being able to hear your surroundings, I found that as long as I kept the volume reasonable, I could hear fairly well.  Drivetrain sounds, tires crunching on the trail, conversations, etc.  Anything stuck in your ear that is not a hearing aid will block stuff.  Hard to have it all, but I did not feel isolated and most of the time I am off road, not on city streets anyway.

After that I tried the fancy Endure Pros priced at $59.99, beginning at home by listening to some podcasts and music to learn the mic controls, and even taking some phone calls.  Pretty slick.  I kept these with the size ‘5’ ear pieces to see how that felt.  They felt looser.  No surprise, but the ear loops, which are very nicely soft and flexy, keep the Endure Pros well in place.  Out on the trail I did not find that the ear loops got in the way of either eyewear or helmets.  The sound was comparable, although the slightly smaller earpiece let in some more outside noise.  I did have issues with the Dry Mic and the controls being ‘clicked’ by my jersey and necklace (I had it tucked under my jersey) and so I had to run it on the outside to keep from changing songs as I rode.  I also found that, with gloves on, I had trouble with the 3 button controls, finding is hard to get volume rather than track selection, etc.  I seldom take phone calls while riding (and I use the smaller iPod, not the iPhone, for music) so for me, the extra controls are nice, but were actually less than great when riding.  I prefer the simplicity of the Ironman Inspires, but I know at least one buddy that is always plugged into his iPhone during rides, taking calls for his business, etc, and he would like the Endure Pros very much.

The only negative thing I can say is I get the impression that wind noise has been exaggerated when wearing the yurbuds.

The yurbuds have lived up to every promise they made in the ad copy, something that does not happen very often.  Need a new training partner?  One that sounds pleasant, never rubs you the wrong way and doesn’t mind getting sweaty?  Yurbuds is waiting for your next workout.  www.yurbuds.com



Comments

[James]

I'm actually in the market for new ear buds for working out. The Sennheiser 680 sport headphones are nice but when wearing them during my rides there's tons of wind noise. Do you find the yurbuds to have wind noise as well? To be honest, I prefer to hear nothing other than music if that's possible.

[admin]

James...I did notice that and I expect it is the shape of something other than my normal ear that is the culprit. However, I almost always ride with my ears covered with a Buff headband, so that mitigates the wind noise.

grannygear