flyingasics

If you have one give some details, Price, Ease of use ect. I am getting lonely on my rides, and dont go as long as I have been just because I get bored! My b-day is comming up and I think I want to get one.

Hitchy

Love my Ipod on long lonely training rides, (even though it's illegal here!)......20Gig around $500 AUD....simple to use...drawbacks...umm the battery could last a little longer, (only 8hrs ish between charges)...I see some like the Iriver last for 20 hrs....& its not user replacable...which means big $ when it finally dies,

cheers,

Hitchy

Indolent58

iRiver makes some good players. I bought a 100-series player about a year ago. It's durable and easy to use and sounds great. They have newer/better models out now. If I were buying again I would get at least 512mb memory so you don't get bored with your playlist.

ed073

Ilegal?? No way!!!?? Jeez...if I had to go on endless, interminable traning rides without my Sony Sports Walkman (yes...we're talking that long ago..) I'd have taken up footy.

alanbikehouston

I saw a model made for riders who commute in heavy urban traffic. Extra loud earphones to drown out the sound of car horns. A little "dog tag" is attached with room to list your blood type, the name of your next-of-kin, whether or not you were an organ donor...

macwako

iPod w/ lajo skin.
I use mine for everything but riding.
I wish I could ride and listen. But I'm a big "MEOW"
when it comes to gettin mashed by cars and trucks.

The Mac

BigFloppyLlama

What size are you looking at (both in terms of storage space and physical size)? I have some experience with the iPod, iRiver, and iAudio in regards to hard drive players, but almost no experience with flash players. I personally dislike the iPod. I found a 2nd generation one and ended up selling it because I knew that in the end I would be happier taking the money rather than having the player. A few of my friends have the later (3rd and 4th) generations and they honestly don't impress me much. Other than being recognized as a status symbol, I think you can do a lot better for the money. My brother bought an iRiver IHP140 and he has been really pleased with it. It includes a built in FM tuner and microphone which can be handy for when you're using it off the bike (unless you'd like to record one of your rides?). It's a little larger than the iPod, but also at a cheaper price with more functions. I have the least amount of experience with the iAudio M3, but it was a pretty nice player. The main unit is actually smaller than the ipod, and looks better in my opinion. However, the downside is that the navigation is on the remote only.

iPod: $300-20gb, $400-40gb
iRiver(ignore those prices): $355-40gb
iAudio:$290-20gb

formulaben

Alternate thought:

For what it's worth, I bought a very nice HP iPaq Pocket PC for $345 and then also bought a 1GB SD card for $100. Sure, it's a little costly, but I now have a very nice MP3 player, but I also have a Bluetooth and 802.11b wireless enabled PPC. It does my calendar, email, etc. The battery lasts plenty long too. The only drawback I can think of is in a crash, it could get toasted, but that's true of whatever player you get. Just something to think about. There is also a phone version of the same PPC, and a lot of newer phones are coming out with media players and SD slots, so you would only have to carry 1 item.

Also, you can get an older Ipaq for cheap and if it has a compact flash card, they are about 1/2 of the SD cards; and you can also get a microdrive to go into the compact flash slot, giving you much more storage.

deastin

I would HIGHLY recommend any model of Ipod. I take mine EVERYWHERE! While riding i only put the right earbud in, so my left ear is open for traffic sounds, and i only turn the volume up about half way so i can still converse with my fellow riders, I can hear fine and have some nice "soundtrack" as i ride. While the Ipod is "classified" as having a non user replacable battery, it can be done, and quite easily i might add. Ipodbattery.com has all the info you need, plus instructions on how to replace yourself and its like $50 or less (US Dollars). From the reviews i ve seen the ipod is one of the better products out there, their hard drives seem to last MUCH longer then anyone elses on the market. Cnet.com is a good place to read reviews on the stuff and they are Third Party so you dont get any "product pushing" from the reviews. While the Ipod is a bit more then the other players out there they just seem to be a better product. FYI for all the Ipod owners out there, or anyone interested in buy one a really easy tip to integrate your Ipod or any other player into your car system is to get a head unit that has an Auxuliary imput with the two RCA (red white plugs) on the back. Then buy an RCA to MINI plug cord (has two RCAs and a headphone jack on the other end) plug it into your unit run the cable under the dash and presto plug in your player and its fully integrated without one of those crappy fm modulator things. Good luck with your choice pick the Ipod and dont look back
Drew

clausen

I've have the RCA Lyra. Allot lighter and cheaper in price than an ipod. Is expandable with a memory card. (I have 512 hold over 200 songs) and takes 1 AAA battery that last 8 hours. Head phones are not the greatest but that personal preference.

labiker

the Zen Jukebox is great! get a 40 gig one. cheaper than iPod and they say better sound!

khuon

Although I myself don't ride with music, I do have an MP3 player for other things. I'm going to throw my vote in for Archos. I have an older Archos Jukebox 6000. The new Archos Gmini series are very nice alternatives to the iPods. Check out the Archos Gmini 400 (beware: sound-enabled webpage) or the Archos Gmini XS200. Both are 20GB units and both offer way more features than the iPods. Also, they're fairly cross-platform/OS-agnostic so you can use them with most any computer.

Archos Gmini 400...


Archos Gmini XS200...

zip22

if you havent heard, they just released ipod photo. looks kinda cool, but i'prefer video.

there are 2 general types of players:
harddrive players
-bigger
-heavier
-hold ALL of your music
-more expensive (but cheaper on a per MB basis)

flash players
-smaller
-lighter
-only hold a few cds (if that)
-cheaper (but more money per MB)

first you have to decide which type you're looking for. then you have to decide on a price range.

my favorite mp3 players are ipods. a few of the untrue points are that the battery isnt user replacable (it is) and that the iAudio is smaller (you have to factor in the large remote or else you cant see whats playing).
if the people buying you presents tend to spend $400 ish, i would go for an ipod in a range you think is good. if i was in the market now, i would probably get a 20GB.
one of the things you also need to consider is how you get the music onto the player. itunes is really nice (and you can download it free)

my second choice would be the new model dell dj mp3 players. they're about as close to an ipod as you can get, and they're a little bit cheaper.

i dont much care for all the "features" on teh irivers such as a voice recorder, a line in, an fm radio... i just have no use for that stuff, and dont want a bulkier player.

edit: oh yeah i have also seen reviews of that gminis i really like the specs of the xs200. it seems tiiiiiiiny and cheaper than the ipod too. i'd have to hold one in person before id buy it though, if it gave me the same elegant feeling as the ipod, id get it. i have yet to see a player that is more "refined" feeling than the ipod. it just seems perfect in its function.

fb444

go with iRiver IFP790T. i've been using one for over a year and it's great. small, light and one AA battery lasts for over 40 hours. Also very easy to adjust on the move and quick to load new tracks. ipod is huge by comparison

BigFloppyLlama

The remote may very well be a good thing in this case. As it has the display information on it (rather than the rather useless (in my opinion) apple remote that forces you to take out the entire ipod if you want to see what's playing) you can ride along and remove the remote to navigate more conveniently than if you had to take the entire unit out. Or you could just wait for the iAudio M5

Not to mention the sound quality of the iPod isn't the greatest either.

operator

Screw that, pick up a memorystick/mp3 player 128mb for $20 (CDN). Or the 512 version for like $50. Runs on one AAA battery that lasts practically forever and the player comes with headphones.

galen_52657

Can I have your mp3 players after you get t-boned at an intersection? I can take it to the gym with me.....

zensuit

I know you really don't want to hear this...but be careful where you use that thing...Two of the worst accidents involving roadiesand cars that happened this year happened when somebody with an MP3 zoned and turned into traffic...they don't make sense

MtnMan

If you must use one, and I don't recommend it, my SO just got a 4th gen Ipod with 20gig H/D. I'm fairly impressed with the quality of the music, for mp3 that is. The battery problem is no longer an issue and it you can get a remote control. Build quality is first rate, also.

jerome

RCA lyra

this is what i'm looking at right now. i am looking for an sd/mmc expandable one and this one is small and the best price i've seen. i am holding off and getting one at christmas though because i'm stuck indoors now and using my fm transmitter to beam internet radio to my garage when i train.

bsyptak

I have the Iriver ihp-120 (also called h120), a 20gb unit that plays MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV and OGG formats. USB 2.0. Looks like a drive in any PC, no software required. 16 hour battery, comes with remote (though I don't use). These things hold incredible amounts of music, and I can't really tell the difference between mp3s and Cds when I use it as an input to my home stereo via the digital optical out on the unit. It's my intention to get my entire cd collection on it (350ish CDs), though I'll have to delete quite a few songs I don't care about anyway to get them all on there. I ripped/encoded at a fairly high quality using the LAME codec so that the sound quality is exceptional on my home stereo. I think the battery is cheap to replace.

I have it on random play and it just plays like the largest jukebox of all time.

I think one of the new Zens has almost a 30 hour battery.

kaisersling

I have a Rio. the thing is like an 11/2" by 11/2". If you dont used the highest sound quality you can fit about 3-4 hrs of music. I bought it on ebay for about $90

badsac

Don't using those hard drive ones on your bike always make it park the head so you run out of music?

But yeah, I couldn;t see myself using one. Just a little while ago down in Melbourne a poor schoolgirl got run over by a tram because she wasn't paying attention listenign to her iPod. I think I'd keep to listenign to it where there aren't so many big things going so fast.

zip22

i can see how the remote could be good and i would like to see an optional remote with an LCD for the ipod, but you cant say its smaller. you could also make a mount for the ipod on your bike

that m5 looks kinda nice, but do they have a price point? im guessing itll be pricey.

the sound quality issue is one of the weak points of the ipod. the fact is, the sound isnt bad by most measures, and unless you are an end audiphile with lots of moneys worth of stereo equipment, the differences between any of the mp3 players wont be noticeable.


the ipod has 25 minutes of skip protection, so unless you're riding on incredibly uneven roads, you wont have a skipping problem.

ManBearPig

It had been about a year since my last MP3 player when I went to Best Buy the other day to see their selection.

Dang! These players are getting TINY. There was several models to choose from -- tiny little cubes that look really trick from within their thick plastic packaging (designed to thwart shoplifting).

I caution you that the player itself is only half the story -- the SOFTWARE is critical. I have had two MP3 players (an older Irock and I think a Rio) and they were buggy and tempermental as hell. My tracks would skip like crazy, they'd just stop abruptly and jump into another song. They weren't ripped that way, but that's what happened during the transfer to the player. Other problems included EMPTY tracks and unfriendly interface.

If anyone here knows my pain AND can tell me about a player that has excellent software I'd specifically be interested in that.