Foo - Music Devies while ya ride...mp3, walkmans ?

This is for the people who listen to music while there riding. What device do you use, Walkmans, small mp3's, large iPods, mini-disks or little radios?

I also have another question, how long would one of those Mp3 players that are about the size of a memory stick (ones that take 1 battery) how long would they last for without replacing the battery.

Thanks everyone.

I don't. It's far too dangerous to turn off one of my most important senses while riding. And this one of the few things about which I will tell another that they shouldn't do.

I totally agree w/ the major on this one. Even on streets/roads w/ little vehicular traffic it seems quite risky.

When I'm OFF the bike I listen to an iPod mini & I love it! It's got the smallest ammount of memory avail (I forget the exact specs) and the memory is no-kiddin 1/2 full w/ over 350 songs on it. I like the mini because it's - well, mini. It fits nicely in the pocket, etc & it's memory is more than adequate for me. STRONGLY recommend the mini if you plan to use it in "active" environments (NOT advocating the bike-iPod thing). Some of the larger versions have an actual hard drive that will get damaged if you drop it.

Bottom line- iPod good. Riding w/ a set of earphones BAD!

I use my Pocket PC (HP hx4705 (http://www.shopping.hp.com/cgi-bin/hpdirect/shopping/scripts/product_detail/product_detail_view.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1187263713.1099927718@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccckadcmmmeddlmcfngcfkmdfondfgf.0&landing=null&category=handhelds&subcat1=classic_performance&product_code=FA304A%23ABA&catLevel=3) with a 1GB CF card and a 1GB SD card). I'm lucky enough to work from home so I ride 15 miles every morning at 7:00am on the Schuykill River Trail (http://www.montcopa.org/parks/schuylkillrivertrail.htm) (a 12 foot wide paved Rails to Trails bike path) .. I never see anybody on the bike path (well, I'll occasionally pass 1 or two riders but very infrequently) and there is absolutely no traffic....so I listen to my music and get my endorphins flowing and I feel great for the rest of the day....

Today was very cold (~35F) but over the weekend I picked up Sidetrak booties (http://aebike.com/site/page.cfm?Affiliate=1&PageID=30&SKU=CL1254) and Lake Cycling MX Firepalm (http://www.lakecycling.com/winter.html) mittens and my Nashbar balaclava (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=137&subcategory=1220&brand=&sku=5579&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=) .....I was sooooo toasty.....after the first 5 minutes, I warmed up like it was a spring day! :)

Hey -- since I work at home and I ride before I work....would that be considered commuting? :D

Yeah, its too dangerous. I ride with headphones that let in sound and the music is not loud. Often road noise will completely drown out the music. Still it is makes a dangerous activity more so. I use a mp3 sony walkman. Ten hours of music per disc. The longest I let it run was 24hrs continuous, the batteries went to half strength according to indicator on the unit. They are AA Ni-metal hydride rechargables, swapped out daily.

I use a small no-name 128Mb MP3/WMA player. I agree that it is dangerous riding in traffic with the music playing, even if you can hear fine through the ear buds. I usually only listen on the bike path or quiet side streets. When I approach a major intersection or road, I just turn the in-line volume control off till I get back somewhere where it is safe. I have been using AAA alk. and they last at least 2 or 3 weeks, but I will be getting some rechargeable ones soon. :)

I've been listening to some classical/Windham Hill tunes lately and it really gets me in a peaceful mood--very chilled out by the time I get to work. :D

Sometimes for short rides to the store I will listen to music on my sony MZ-N505 mini disk player. Mostly I listen to it of the bike though. It has a charger with it that charges a rechargeable battery in the unit which is really convenient. Come home, plug it in and let it charge overnight. You can easily listen to music all day with one charge. It also has a line-jack input which is why I bought it. It allows me to record myself djing and listen to it later or I can even just let it record online radio mixes straight to it. Get one and you won't regret it.

I don't listen to anything, because then I can't focus as well on traffic. I also don't own anything portable, and almost all of my music is on vinyl, anyway. I might buy a portable tape player and a bunch of 120-minute tapes, and listen to them quietly when I'm out.

STRONGLY recommend the mini if you plan to use it in "active" environments (NOT advocating the bike-iPod thing). Some of the larger versions have an actual hard drive that will get damaged if you drop it.


The mini uses a hard drive, too.

The subject of music or not while you ride has been discussed many times. Everybody does there own thing, for safety or to help them keep paced on long rides. I'm looking to buy one, and my opinion is, they are not 'too dangerous' at all. It depends how you use them thats all. It depends if you have the volume up loud riding in peak hour on a main road, or you can hear 50/50 the music as well as outside noises on a bike path. I would use it all the time for longer rides, because i have never listened to music much when riding, so i would look forward to using the small mp3 player. I find that music helps you get through a tough ride, give you a pace to work on, and make riding more enjoyable.

I use a small mp3 player most of the time, but still listen to the radio on the morning trip sometimes. I don't think it's dangerous at all. Of all the crash stories I've ever heard, I've never heard anyone say that they crashed because they couldn't hear.