905

I understand if you've had enough of these threads. The popcorn machine must be almost empty by now anyway. Still...

Whether you're in the "That's crazy! Here's your Darwin Award!" camp or the "Just leave me alone already, mom" one, or somewhere in between ("I listen to AC/DC turned up to 11 in one ear while keeping the other cocked for imminent threats and/or the mellifluous tune of the nightingale, depending which environment I'm cycling in"), here's your chance to vote. Not that voting will change anything.

You might also use this space to lay down your definitive argument pro or con, for the ages. Or not.


* or earbuds, or headphones, or whatever you use to pipe music into your skull



Brought to you by the same entity that gave you HAT Syndrome.


DISCLAIMER: poll of limited value to science.

Paul Barnard

You left out the wear them in one ear option.

905

No matter how many options in a poll, there's always going to be one missing. Is my experience with polls.

BobbyG

+1. And also spoken word vs. music. I feel very confident that I can hear my surroundings listening to spoken word podcasts at a moderate volume in one ear. If there is a musical interlude, or theme music or some music for whatever reason, even with one ear it seems to make it harder to hear my surroundings. I think this has to do with the way our brains are wired. Also, the primary frequencies for intelligibility of human speech are around 2 kilohertz. with less broad spectrum frequenciesproduced compared to music.

I can better hear and more accurately place environmental sounds around me with spoken word podcasts in one earbud than someone listening to music in both ears, especial with full headphone enclosures.

Your survey doesn't address this.

905

If you don't feel you can vote, you can still contribute to the thread by posting. Like so. Thanks.

PS. I cannot change the poll.

AlmostTrick

Never tried them but have nothing against 'em. For me, having a mirror seems more important for safety than whether or not I have an ear bud in.

fietsbob

And there is the not sound isolated old ear bud.. 30 years ago I had a long rural commute between towns ..

Then, @ 18:00 traffic was even lower than other times , & so I had The Public Library's Books-onTape playing..

fitting loosely in the ear, you could still hear approaching cars, + they have headlights [noting backlighting]
(my bike had head and taillights)





...

Robert C

Right, I frequently ride with a "one ear" bluetooth earpiece on.

gregf83 

Recently bought a pair of Bluetooth earbuds. Have been meaning to try them but haven't bothered yet. Absolutely have to have music on the trainer but never really felt the need doing anything outdoors.

wphamilton

Live and let live. I might use them 20% of the time, depending on where I am. As with most anything else, safety while using them depends mostly on using your best judgement.

TenSpeedV2

I used to wear them when riding an MUP and had a close call. I used to wear them when I would ride mountain bike trails and had a close call. That was enough for me. Personally, they remove too much surrounding noise and now that I consider myself a cyclist and no longer just a guy who rides a bike, I won't wear them when I am riding.

I-Like-To-Bike

I prefer to listen to music or audio books while I am cycling, i.e just a guy riding a bike. I would consider you a cyclist (i.e. a person who rides a bike just anybody else) who prefers to listen to traffic noise.

howsteepisit

I like to have them on longer rides. I generally ride alone, and sometimes the miles seem long. Bit 'o good music seems to help the miles go by.

buzzman

Another one ear, bluetooth- for phone. I don't ride with music. Nothing against it, just don't.

TenSpeedV2

Since I am usually riding in some sort of traffic, it is nice to be able to hear when a car is approaching me from behind. I don't need to listen to someone reading me a book or music to distract me from cycling. I don't usually go for casual rides, mostly higher speed commutes, faster rides, or food delivery.

1989Pre 

What.., cycling's not exciting enough for you? You have to "entertain" yourself? How about a nice, compact televison for your handlebars? Sorry, I just can't understand not being totally invested in the experience. One reason I ride is to get away from media saturation.

wphamilton

More than half the time, I'm just getting to work or back. Being totally invested in the experience isn't really on the menu.

FBinNY 

Another problem with this poll and similar ones is that one can draw an incorrect conclusion based on the results.

Here, one may conclude that folks who don't wear them feel there's a safety issue, since that's what the argument is about. However, some may not wear them simply because there's no appeal, and don't see a material safety issue.

On the flip side, there are probably a few who would like to wear them while riding, but are concerned about possible safety implications.

CB HI

I am not real big on being totally invested in the experience of riding in rush hour traffic while commuting to work, so the music is nice to listen to while riding.

Mountain biking on the other hand, it is nice to be more invested to the cycling, but I guess you would claim I am not totally invested since I listen to the birds singing while mountain biking.

Even with both earbuds in, I hear emergency vehicles sooner than motorist with their windows up and A/C on.

CB HI

And military and federal facilities prohibit the use of them.

Moe Zhoost

Life doesn't need a soundtrack!

I-Like-To-Bike

Certainly not for those who prefer to listen to traffic noise for cryptic safety messages!
Doubly certainly not for those "invested" in the experience of traffic noise!!

Miele Man

Earbuds whilst riding in traffic where drivers might be distracted? No thanks. I tried warning a guy about an imminent collision but because of his earbuds he never heard the warnings shouted at him and he got that run down feeling. Fortunately he wasn't seriously injured let alone killed. Nowadays it's not just distracted drivers; you also need to be alert for electric bikes, cars, scooters or hybrid vehicles running on electric power. Such vehicles are very nearly silent and anything in your ears isd going to reduce your ability to hear them even if you have nothing going through whatever is in your ear.

In my opinion riding with earbuds in your ear and with something being transmitted through those ear buds is like playing a form of Russian roulette.

Cheers

B. Carfree

I do a lot of miles on a tandem. There's nothing cryptic about those messages. Hmm, maybe I need to change my vote to considering wearing them.

Currmudge

Thanks to a crippling injury that prevents me from riding as I used to, I no longer CAN get totally invested. So I listen mostly to talk -- show clips from a little production out of Austin, TX, called "The Atheist Experience". MP3's on the phone, volume can't go painfully high, earphones don't "plug" the ears, I hear traffic noise.