chipcom 

No doubt. The same applies to other modes of transportation...or in my case doing my job at work. Thing is, we are all responsible adults and we should be able to understand the risks of our actions, modify our behavior to mitigate those risks and accept the consequences if we screw up.

Frankly, keeping aware of what is going on around me, in a car, on a bike, walking, sitting like a veg, is like second nature to me...and I imagine to lots of other folks. We can zone out and pay attention at the same time, because we know the consequences of not paying attention. The will to survive is a powerful motivator.

CoastRoadie

Perhaps I missed it, but didn't see the SONY MDR-EX81 Earphones mentioned. They're definitely worth consideration. I bought them for my iPod (but can be used on any MP3 player) based on the review at the iPod Lounge. https://www.ilounge.com/

They were the lowest priced set that got an A rating (highly recommended). Got them for around $40 on eBay and they're great! Had to adjust the equalizer to get the tone I desired (3 minutes), then ride on! Here's the link to their actual review.
https://www.ilounge.com/index.php/rev...arphones-ipod/

Tom - SoCal

yerffej

save your mp3 player for a bike trail that is free of traffic. you're asking for trouble ride to music on the roads.

patentcad

ARE YOU CRAZY??? BIKING WITH TUNES??? YOU'LL GET KILLED!!!!

That's what they've been telling ME since I started biking with earbud headphones and a cassette player in the early 90's. That was like 80K miles ago. I'm still here. Using an ipod Nano now. I've NEVER failed to hear a beeping horn, brake noise or approaching car. The idiots in the local peloton that yell stupid s*** at me during group rides? I don't want to hear that anyway.

Treespeed

What a bunch of freakin Nannies. The OP asked what headphones to use, not for someone to hold his hand. I ride in Los Angeles everyday with tunes. Trust me I'm not missing anything in my surroundings.

aerodave

AHHHHH! Zombie Thread!

noisebeam

mx400

I use them running on the MUPs

Al

Matt pro

In the winter I use a set of 180's ear muffs with a headphone set inside.

https://walking.about.com/od/hats/gr/180s.htm

I listen to books on tape too. I have the original Lord of the Rings in MP3 format. It is about 60 hours of spoken word. I've listened to it about 5 times over during the last three years. Mostly off road, but I'n careful when on the road. I use a cheap pair of over-the-ear phones during the summer.

theshoemaker

This is precisely why I always ride with my head turned 90 degrees to the side, with an ear plug in my frontward ear, and two helmet mirrors directly at the front of the helmet (one for each eye) angled to see the road ahead. I can really hear that truck coming at me.

jorantes

When I ride I have my mp3 player with only my right earbud in, playing at a moderate level... the left just hangs down under my jersey... since I ride with traffic I only need my left ear... lol... its nice to keep some tunes playing while you are riding, makes you work harder...!

0_o

I don't listen to music when biking but any other time I am using Shure earbuds and Cowon / Jetaudio I5 mp3 player... its old but i may up grade to the f2 or U3 which are prob the best players out there really small light and plays almost anything and 60+ watts dual channel. LOL I i road and listened to my head phones I would be the one smacking into cars and backs of busses...

socalrider

I use the nike/phillips headphones.. quality is great and they work well if wearing a helmet..

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=5844837494

.:Jimbo:.

ah...an audio thread yipee!
I have different ways of getting my music on my bike...
1) i wear a pair of big stero speakers, with the band that goes over the head either my sennheiser hd212p10 or the other sennheiser set, forgot which model, and wear them around my neck, but not over my ears, and youll be able to hear it as long as you have the volume cranked up- a bit-typical road set up
2)usally my park set up, a place where there isnt traffic- i where Bang & Olfusen the two piece, one over each ear design, headphone.. U can still here outside noises, with both pieces in the ear, or you can take on out for my awareness by a less dynamic soundstage, but these are expensive, but sound awesome.
3) What im saving up for get the phillips shoqbox, its like a mini stero with awesome speakers for its size. Just mount to your bike i think the stem would be best, and play on. Enjoy loud music and still be aware of the vehicles behind you, thats the best of both worlds.

oh, i also use a set by sony, that are foldable, and waterproof, if you ride in the rain alot, get em, they go for 15 bucks, sony mdr-a35, sound decent, but some people ride in rain, so cant exclude em.

and i suggest stayting away from those closed ear canal headphone, ie sound isolating thngs, like those shure's. They sound great, i have the etyomotic research ear plug style headphones, and i truely love how they sound, but you cant hear a damn thing at all, exept when your bikin hard and and huffing and puffing, that sound comes through as if its being channeled through a microphone.

slvoid

What do you have? the ER6's or the ER-4P?
I've been thinking of picking up a pair of ER-4P's when I sent my shure E3's back for repair. I heard [PUN INTENDED] they're supposed to lie on the side of the sennheiser 580/600's for clarity but are slightly bright.
I wear a cheap maxell ear clip headphone when I'm jamming through the city.

patentcad

Please note: EVERY person who has ever warned me NOT to ride with headphones generally has never done it, so they don't really know how dangerous it is. Which it isn't. Because if I thought it was I would never do it. The key here is the earbud headphones and MODERATE volume levels for the music - which generally have allowed me to hear every important sound on the road for the better part of 20 years. And jerks in the pack yelling at you about your riding are not important sounds.

joetronic

I use Shure E3's with my nano. But I only put the left hearphone in, so I can here traffic on the left.

willieb

I don't see the big deal. I ride with an mp3 player and have no problem what so ever hearing anything. It's not like it's turned up extremely loud. I turn it up enough to hear it and I can still hear everything else around me just as if I wasn't wearing them.

If it concerns people that much, get a rear view mirror. you can see a car much farther back than you can hear one.

spacefuzz

heh, people who cant hear a semi coming with medium/soft music playing in only one ear need to get their hearing checked.

I find training much more enjoyable now that I have music to listen too, though it sucks when your ipod dies before your ride ends.

caligurl

i wish i could remember what brand my earbuds are... they are a sport version.. with a wire that goes over your ear... i like them because they are NOT noise cancelling!

i keep my ipod low... i can carry on conversations, if needed.... hear cars... hear dogs!... and wind noise on windy days or a downhill atually is louder than my music! (i can't carry on conversations or hear the other person from windy day wind noise!

i would never blast my music so loud as to drown out everything! (however i do do that in a car... go figure...)

ncjok

Ipod & Shure E3c's w/ foam earplugs every ride, night or day

CanyonChaser

I've always done all my riding all by my loneseome, So I rarely ride without tunes.
When it's cold I use some over the ear style to keep my ears warm and keep the wind out of my ears - nice! When its warm I use ear buds. I have so many ear-buds kicking around the house I have a hard time choosing a set. But I do have these Nike ear-buds that have little rubber seals that go in your ear. They sound incredible and block out almost all ambient sound - even at low volume levels. I do not wear these while riding!

I think the key is just not running them at ultra-high volume levels. I can still hear cars approaching - most of the time - those damn hybrids are hard to hear, but the F350's I can hear miles away!

dp

BarconsOrBust

Forget danger, sound quality, whatever.

If you need a distraction to make your ride more enjoyable, you don't like riding your bike enough.

DinoShepherd

So nice that so many folks are concerned about my well-being. That's cool.

I run music when I am solo, but put it away for group rides. I'm not sure why, but it just doesn't strike me as "good form".

-Z

EventServices

What sound does a car make when it's about to hit you from behind?

And how is it different from a car that's NOT going to hit you?

.:Jimbo:.

i have the er6, i actually went to a convention where i was able to try them all out, as well as the shure, but i went with eytomotic because of thier more professional nature and history. ater managing them in my ear and getting a perfect seal, I though the er-4p to be over the top, just too good for my ears, where i lost the enjoyment of the music becuase i could hear alot of background noises within the music and musical inperfections, stuff lesser 'phones wouldn't pick up. For example, i could here people grunting and shifting their weight on thier chair, and it was just too distracting for my tastes. Maybe next time we go for a ride ill bring my er6's along, you can check em out.
oh, and the price was a factor too, the er-4p are nearly twice as much, but yet didnt come off as two times better.
btw, what happened with your shure that they need repairs?