UniGrad Posted December 13, 2020 Posted December 13, 2020 (edited) Hey everyone. So one thing that I really love having on my wheel is music. I know lots of people have expressed their hatred for such a feature but to me this makes no sense. Okay I can understand that having music blaring around others is inconsiderate but so what? Are we being forced to play it at full blast around other people?? Are we forgetting that there is a volume down button, play/pause button. Do we also object to cars having sound systems? But anyway having music on my wheel is the absolute best. When I saw the Gotway EX review with it's awesome sound system, I was super annoyed about my Sherman and felt like I wanted to buy the EX just for that. So I started to look at how I could get music on my Sherman. Carrying a bluetooth speaker in your backpack is an option but it is just not the same thing. There's something about having it built in to your wheel that makes it really special. Never need to charge the speaker, and it's always there ready to go at a moment's notice. Okay so I recently finished the mod and successfully gave my Veteran Sherman a bluetooth speaker. I'm super pleased with how it worked out. The speaker sounds really great for an EUC and goes super loud. The mod turned out to be much easier than I had anticipated. I was dreading having a big job ahead of me but in the end I didn't even need to open the wheel. Didn't even have to turn a single screw. Did have to do some soldering though. The speaker is running off the main battery of the Sherman so there's no need to ever charge it. As mentioned it sounds awesome. But to me one of the best things is that the speaker has dedicated buttons. So you can play/pause it by pressing the button on the side. It also has buttons to let you skip tracks and adjust the volume. This is an awesome feature to have since I can just reach down to my wheel and control the music with ease. With other wheels you will need to pull out your phone and open an app to do these types of things. When I go past people I like to turn down the volume so it doesn't annoy them. And having the onboard buttons makes a huge difference when you do this frequently. Side note, having music playing quietly as you ride past people is a good thing since it gently alerts them to your presence. Note that it looks better in real life than in the photos. I actually kind of like how it looks. Kind of like a little tank of NOS or something. The speaker doesn't get in the way of anything. It looks like it gets in the way of the charger port but it doesn't. And when you ride the Sherman you never feel the speaker touch your legs or anything like that. For me it's a perfect mod. Just what I wanted. Okay so here's how I did it...........the rear Superman light which plugs into the Sherman via a 3.5mm audio connector, has an output of 5V. So I was able to just use that for powering the bluetooth speaker. Hence no need to open the wheel. Freakin Awesome!!!!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parts List: Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 (Bluetooth Speaker) Grunt Versa Strap 20mm x 40cm 2 x Cable Ties Micro USB Cable Right Angle 3.5mm Audio Jack (DIY type where you solder your own cables to it) Soldering Iron + Solder 3.5mm Audio Y-Splitter ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just solder the Micro USB Cable to the Right Angle 3.5mm Audio Jack and then you can plug the speaker and rear light into the Sherman in parallel by using the 3.5mm Audio Y-Splitter. Job Done!!!!! Okay not quite. Just one more tiny job. You need to use the Grunt Versa Strap to attach it to the roll bar of the Sherman. And use 2 cable ties to further secure the speaker by connecting the roll bar to "the thing you use to hang the speaker". Not sure what that thing's called. It's just like a loop of fabric. Anyone know what that thing is called? I'll just explain what's going on for those that don't know. The music speaker and the rear light are now connected to the Sherman battery in parallel. So they are both being powered at the same time. The light still works perfectly fine and the speaker now has UNLIMITED POWER Edited December 13, 2020 by UniGrad 1 Quote
Popular Post Mrd777 Posted December 13, 2020 Popular Post Posted December 13, 2020 I have the Tribit Stormbox Micro attached with Velcro. It’s an amazing little speaker for the price and takes little real estate. A seat even fits over it. Highly recommended. 4 Quote
UniGrad Posted December 13, 2020 Author Posted December 13, 2020 8 hours ago, Mrd777 said: I have the Tribit Stormbox Micro attached with Velcro. It’s an amazing little speaker for the price and takes little real estate. A seat even fits over it. Highly recommended. You're a legend. I just bought one on eBay. I'm always on the lookout for better options. This looks great. And I like the idea of using velcro because I often wish I could detach the speaker when I chill at a nice park or something and I have the EUC charging at a public power outlet. I hope it sounds as good and loud as the Wonderboom 2. I guess I'll see. If it turns out to be a lot quieter I may keep the wonderboom. But I'd much prefer to be able to use the one you recommended due to it's slim design. The wonderboom is extremely loud and has very nice quality but it is a bit chunky. 1 Quote
Dreman Posted May 13, 2021 Posted May 13, 2021 On 12/13/2020 at 6:24 AM, UniGrad said: You're a legend. I just bought one on eBay. I'm always on the lookout for better options. This looks great. And I like the idea of using velcro because I often wish I could detach the speaker when I chill at a nice park or something and I have the EUC charging at a public power outlet. I hope it sounds as good and loud as the Wonderboom 2. I guess I'll see. If it turns out to be a lot quieter I may keep the wonderboom. But I'd much prefer to be able to use the one you recommended due to it's slim design. The wonderboom is extremely loud and has very nice quality but it is a bit chunky. So did you prefer the Tribit or the Wonderboom 2? Quote
UniGrad Posted May 14, 2021 Author Posted May 14, 2021 Hey thanks for asking. I much prefer the Wonderboom 2 because it's much more powerful. Like 2x. The Tribit is great still because it's so tiny so I often chuck it in my bag just to have it with me. But it's just too quiet for the Sherman. When you get above 30mph you hear nothing but wind noise and the speaker sounds mute. 1 Quote
..... Posted May 14, 2021 Posted May 14, 2021 (edited) On 5/14/2021 at 1:45 AM, UniGrad said: Hey thanks for asking. I much prefer the Wonderboom 2 because it's much more powerful. Like 2x. The Tribit is great still because it's so tiny so I often chuck it in my bag just to have it with me. But it's just too quiet for the Sherman. When you get above 30mph you hear nothing but wind noise and the speaker sounds mute. I splurged ($65usd shipped) and decided to follow your lead. I've a WB2 otw for my sherm. Hopefully its loud enough and mostly directed upwards. It looks like sound wont be projecting from the sides at least. I like my music, but 30+ mph winds don't play around. Hopefully its also one touch mute? I dont know if I'll bother with the inline wiring, but its good to know its an option. Thanks for being the guinea pig! I wanted to be able to quickly remove it. Hopefully this works and stays on it. Well, at least unless I crash. It would be pretty easy to steal however.. Edited May 18, 2021 by ShanesPlanet 1 Quote
UniGrad Posted July 13, 2021 Author Posted July 13, 2021 On 5/14/2021 at 4:08 PM, ShanesPlanet said: I splurged ($65usd shipped) and decided to follow your lead. I've a WB2 otw for my sherm. Hopefully its loud enough and mostly directed upwards. It looks like sound wont be projecting from the sides at least. I like my music, but 30+ mph winds don't play around. Hopefully its also one touch mute? I dont know if I'll bother with the inline wiring, but its good to know its an option. Thanks for being the guinea pig! I wanted to be able to quickly remove it. Hopefully this works and stays on it. Well, at least unless I crash. It would be pretty easy to steal however.. That's awesome bro. haha it's nice to see that photo. Hope you enjoy it. The speaker is directed outwards 360 degrees but still sounds great no matter how you mount it. No need to direct it towards you. The way you've got it there looks perfect. Only advice I'd have for you is to get a 2nd strap. For ages I tried to avoid it because I didn't want to muffle the sound with the extra strap. But it makes no real difference in sound. And with just 1 strap.......let's just say it'll keep you busy By the way it's Arc Rides here. I've spoken to you a fair bit over on youtube. Peace be with you brother Quote
Dreygun Posted July 13, 2021 Posted July 13, 2021 (edited) I have tribit stormbox usually hanging on backpack shoulder strap up by helmet. Decided to take it off and mount like ShanesPlanet has his yesterday after work to try out. Had it pointed up and forward. Sound was lost in the winds unless I had it cranked. Went back to it hanging up higher by helmet. I have the music loud enough to hear, as well as pedestrians ahead on pathways, so that they turn around to see who's coming, then move to the side. I'll turn it down and slow right down to pass by them, but with it mounted on wheel, it had to be a lot louder to hear while riding. Edited July 15, 2021 by Dreygun Spelling lol Quote
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