Using FRS radios to keep in touch while bicycle touring in a group

A set of FRS radios.
Click to enlarge.

When I tour in a group I will often bring along a set of FRS radios for the ride. A FRS radio is a very short range two-way radio like the old walkie-talkies that used to be quite common. Typically the range of these devices is around two to three kilometers depending on the nature of the terrain between the two radios. You usually have many unique channels to choose from so you don't often encounter problems sharing a channel with others outside of your group.

Most of the time I like to tour with minimal electronics so you might be asking why I would even consider taking one with me. I find that no matter how good the friends are in any group there is always a point in time where someone wants a little private space etc. The FRS radios are good at allowing the group to split apart away from the standard pace line type intervals and towards much greater spacings between riders.

Traditionally there has been a concern that allowing the group to spread out could lead to the tail end cyclist having a mechanical problem without any of the leading riders knowing about it so that they could wait or offer assistance. These small radios provide some help in this direction.

The radios are also quite useful if one rider decides to spend a few minutes chatting with a local but the remainder of the group wants to keep going. A quick call ahead lets people know what's going on and a rendevous point can easily be setup to prevent later anguish.

When riding on a farmlane I will often ride next to another member of the group and have a friendly conversation while we pedal along. This is not a smart move on a busy highway so this is yet another time when these types of radios are nice. With a good wind-blocking voice activated microphone (something that I am still looking for) it is possible to have a reasonable conversation while riding down the highway and maintaining a careful watch on the road, the scenery and the traffic that's roaring by.

The radios shown in the picture use standard AA batteries. With the addition of a solar or equivalent battery charger it is possible to keep the radios going for a long time.

An alternative that some people use is a cell phone. One problem with cell phones is that in remote areas you have no guarantee that you will have a signal and be able to send or receive calls. Of course with the FRS radio you could ride beyond the range of the following rider but often that just gives you a reason to take a short break while they work their way back into range.

This is not a device that most tours will want but for a group tour, especially the guided type, it's one extra piece of equipment that can pay some big dividends.

Jamie Arlen provided the following additional information:

I used them quite successfully on the weekend "Ironbelly 2" from Toronto to Niagara Falls trip. They were ideal for when the line spread out with road/touring bikes at the front and doubly suspended mountain bikes at the back of a 2km long stretch.

We found that they were most effective when duct-taped to the top-tube near the headset (if you don't have anything else critical mounted there) in about the position that a bento-box style handlebar bag would be. Even at road speed (25-30km/h) just going down into a bit of a tuck was enough to both hear and be heard.

A decent set of FRS radios can be had for around $20CDN - of potentially more use would be a GMRS radio (longer distance, still interoperates with older FRS radios) that has an integrated weather alert radio.

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