I have had both the Tirade and the newer Track II bluetooth helmets in my hands, here's my two cents:
The Tirade is being closed out for $200. It has FM also. My unit came doa. Before returning it, tried to see if it was something I could fix (like out of wack battery or unplugged connection).
No can do. What I did notice was that quality sucked- it looked like someone shoved some electronic stuff into a helmet, loose wires were apparent behind the lining. The charging module that goes into the back of the helmet, well, it didn't look like it fit the space too well, clearances were off, plus the lid was warped. Thing of poor fitting chinese parts with bad clearances and you have an idea.
The Track II replaced it and was $250 delivered. It doesn't have the fm with the nifty OLED display that the cheaper Tirade has. WTF? More $ for less? Well, I rationalized it by thinking that I would never listen to FM around town and on long
trips, FM is worthless as most of my riding finds me in BF Egypt.
The helmet design looks IDENTICAL to the Tirade. No, not similar- identical.
This unit worked immediately and synching with my iphone was a breeze. One
minor difference was that quality appeared to be better- the module looked like it was made for it. The little slides for the vents also feel solid, not like the ones on my cheapie $100 helmet.
Paint, with exception of one small blemish, looks good. C14 silver bike owners take note- I got the silver color and it is a dead on match for my bike, I even sat it on my pannier and it is identical in color to the stock Kawa color.
Sound- yup, tinny. Think of a good sounding pair of headphones that has all freq below 500hz cut off and that is how it sounds. On a plus, the sound that comes out is clean and undistorted. I rode today around the city, temp was 37, it seals real well and I found the sound quite acceptable. I haven't used the phone call part yet, but in the house, while listening to Pandora, had my daughter call me. I heard a beep in the speakers, tapped the bluetooth button and was able to listen and talk.
I wish it had a ratching strap instead of the old fashion D ring style of loops.
Some people have complained about lack of sound with the Tirade, but I think this won't be a problem on the C14 as it is a rather quiet bike to begin with.
Can't say I recommend the Tirade as the one I got was DOA and quality looked poor. However, it is always possible that I got one made the day before the chinese New Year or whatever, ymmv.
