JBL Wind 3 FM Bluetooth Handlebar Speaker (Grey)

Muy práctico y buen sonido

I have this on the handlebars of my e-bike. Great sound when out on the roadway. Works flawlessly with my iPhone. The attachment to the handlebar is also very solid.

I do cycle touring and wanted a Bluetooth speaker that would allow me to scan the airwaves in foreign countries. In this field, JBL are pretty much alone with the Wind. I'm also a sucker for blue accessories, so I went for it. I received it a few days ago, and spent some time exploring it today. First impressions are good. Design is cool, though I dislike the obnoxious rubber logo. The color is deep and rich, the clip seems sturdy enough, and the rubber input cover at the bottom doesn't look like it will break down anytime soon. Working the devices' different functions is a bit complicated because of the few buttons (you gotta click that one, double click that other one, long press that other one), but I guess I'll get used to it. 100$ is cheap for what you get. There is Bluetooth of course, but also AUX input, SD card input, and radio. Although it makes little difference in Canada, for foreign countries, I would have liked the inclusion of AM as well. BEing able to pair the speaker to Bluetooth headphones could be nice too, but it seems one way only. It's true the radio reception quality is quite poor. Most channels have a lot of interference, some get mixed randomly with another one, some drop... But some are fine, and I guess that's gonna be enough as a random sound machine in faraway lands. Also, I did notice somewhat of a difference when an AUX cable is plugged in so I'll probably manage an antenna through the headphone jack, maybe that will help. Sound is allright. I expected it to go a bit louder than it does. The Sport mode sounds terrible, the bass one sounds much better but not stellar, very 90's mega bass like. I ain't complaining, it's good enough. I haven't tried yet the sd card input, but I expect it to be a bit hard to navigate through multiple folders and files with the few big buttons on the device. I might drop some stuff on it, but plan on mainly using it with my Walkman mp3 player. I also really like the included cable, as trivial as it might sound. It's short, and with a specific design, making it compact and easily recognizable, and thus perfect for bike travel. Having it blue like the device would have been a nice bonus. On the negatives side, the handlebar mount seems quite flimsy, not sure how long that will last, and JBL don't sell replacements. The screw that comes with it has a very annoying design too, that makes it kinda hard to screw in. Having a nut on the other side would have been nice, but its just a single screw going through two layers of threaded plastic. Overall, nice little handlebar receiver. Not perfect, but you gotta be grateful for JBL to make such a thing. The weak radio reception is the main downside here, but I'll work my way around it. Maybe the Wind 4 could add AM, digital radio, and an old school retractable antenna?

In terms of sound on a bicycle, maybe you can beat it with the BOSE unit, but this is very good and more than adequate. It's comfortable to throw in a pocket or clip on for other uses as well. I bought this over the Bose Micro due to the fact the mount is built to purpose, and also it has FM tuner. The FM tuner is almost useless for me. Every time you turn it on it starts at the "top" of the dial, and my radio station is at the opposite end. You can't speed through tuning it. You have to go on seek mode and piddle around while it goes through most of the stations. It's also not a great antenna and it doesn't pick up many of the stations I'm used to getting in my car and at home. Save a couple bucks and go with the model that doesn't have FM unless you know your station is relatively nearby. The mount works well, but it's a pretty stiff plastic. I don't see it surviving if it gets hit with a tree branch or a take a tumble. The standard quarter turn mount would have been better since they are readily available and replaceable.

This JBL speaker is the best yet! It has USBC as well as an fm radio and Bluetooth to play music on Spotify and other platforms of music streaming like Apple Music, YouTube Music and more! It’s on my e-bike and yet it plays good but the only thing is the battery life which is not the best at all! Recommend this product! 👍