General Cycling Discussion - helmet/headphone observation on today's ride

people are always debating the use of helmets and headphones on this forum... today, i saw 5 other cyclists without helmets on and all were donning the unmistakable white ipod earphone. just coincidence, or general trend?

i'm torn on this issue. I think I'd like to ride with some music playing to keep me going, but I don't like not being able to hear what's going on. For example some guy on the trail this weekend had some headphones on and obviously couldn't hear anything. (side note: that guy didn't have a helmet on either) He was in the middle of the trail, which is not a big deal if no one is coming or trying to pass. I gave an "On your left!", and he did nothing. He couldn't hear people coming up behind him at all. I don't want to be that guy, but headphones would make long rides easier

You can ride with headphoens if you want, but if you can't hear me and cause an accident (as a direct result of not hearing my screams or not) you're going to get hurt.

On my quick trip into the center of town this morning I saw four people biking with headphones, none of them with helmets. I also saw a nutter with a helmet on the highway.

Not another headphone thread. Haven't we suffered enough?

So who likes Pie?

Faster than 35 kph and I cant hear anything anyway, and the wind noise over the earbuds is too strong to enjoy the music either.

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FWIW,

I used to bike with headphones as a kid. Now, as a "thirty-something" adult, I am thinking of doing it again, but I prefer to have the volume only loud enough so the music is just another piece of the background. I would give it up in a second if it interfered with my safety.

Trend? I don't know. I certainly don't think of anyone else when I put the 'phones on and leave the helmet off.

I listen to a lot of miniature classical music on headphones, usually impressionist-era piano stuff. My chief complaint is that I can't hear it well enough over the noise of traffic, since it's acoustic to begin with and has frequently variable soft-medium-loud dynamic ranges that are largely absent in popular amplified music. I've listened to Led Zeppelin and the Beatles before on the 'phones, and I could hear everything quite loudly on major roads, including the acoustic ballads, but I just don't like rock music that much anymore. Debussy & Ravel? I can barely hear it, unless it's one of the virtuoso pieces or I'm on a really quiet country road and there is little to no wind. Boy do I love those days though...I find that violin music cuts through where piano can't though, so I pack a lot of Oistrakh, Kreisler, and Heifetz. I can still hear the outside world quite well.

I also don't wear a helmet; I find them uncomfortable.

Oh, and I run stop signs all the time if nobody's coming the other way.

I'm just a cycling sinner, and I'm going to cycling hell, which I think is somewhere near Buffalo, NY.

Goes to show you how media addicted we are. Holy crap, can't a person go anywhere without having man made noise blaring in their ear? I sometimes stop at home and make a note of all of the noise in our house. A lot of times while i am sitting at my computer in the basement, i can hear 3 TV's. One in kids toy room, one in family room, and the one on my computer.

It gets to a point where my head feels like it is going to EXPLODE! I think i am going to make it a mission to start eliminating man made noise in my life. Right now, the only time i am pretty much away from it is the couple of hours that i ride every day. Then it is just wind. At least it is natural.

Not another headphone thread. Haven't we suffered enough?

So who likes Pie?My favorite is Key Lime. Publix makes a good one but the topping is too sickly sweet so I scrap it off before plunging in.

He was in the middle of the trail, which is not a big deal if no one is coming or trying to pass. I gave an "On your left!", and he did nothing. He couldn't hear people coming up behind him at all.
Bring an extra water bottle and squirt him. He'll notice that. Extra points if you fill the bottle with something unsavory.

Goes to show you how media addicted we are. Holy crap, can't a person go anywhere without having man made noise blaring in their ear? We are absolutely a media addicted society and the media companies know it. Why else would Intel be building Digital Rights Management technology into their processors? So much for fair use! :mad: Grrrrrr!

http://www.digitmag.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=4915

My favorite is Key Lime. Publix makes a good one but the topping is too sickly sweet so I scrap it off before plunging in.

I make killer pumpkin. the secret's in the crust. At thanksgving I'm always requested to bring three.

There have been a few late night T-bones between cars at intersections lately and my wife and I were talking about them.

I say when I'm on my bike and approaching an intersection I can use my ears to tell if a car is coming from a spot that I can't see. If I'm in a car, I don't have that sense and may go through a green light only to be T-boned by some bozo running a red light at high speed that I couldn't see when I was approaching the intersection.

I know some say the sense of hearing on a bike is over rated, but as someone who has had training in listening, I say hearing makes a huge difference in understanding your surroundings.

i always where earphones when going on a long ride, ur be surprised what u can still hear if u don't have the music to loud, & the music really helps me to keep pushing, specially when a really good tune comes on it really gets u going!!

I'm just a cycling sinner, and I'm going to cycling hell, which I think is somewhere near Buffalo, NY.

Alekhine: I believe that is the winter home of cycling hell. I've been told the summers are in Death Valley with less than a Polar Bottle full of liquid :)