Tom Bombadil

At least not popular on serene country bike trails. I guess it would be okay in cities, or if someone was out on a lonely back road. Will give them credit for being innovative.

It's an iPod speaker system, that fits into a bottle cage and blasts the sound upward.

https://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/ihom...em-for-bikers/

Bud Bent

Some riders just take great pleasure in annoying other people. My wife and I met such a pair on the Joe Pool dam road the other day. This is a no-motor-vehicles-allowed 8 mile out and back route that we repeat two or three times on weekday evenings, rather than playing in rush hour traffic. On many days, I take off and ride my own speed, rejoining my wife as we pass near the end of the ride. On this particular day, her 12 mph average seemed fine for my recovery mode ride, so I stayed with her the entire ride. Another couple was riding at the same time, and one of them had music blasting. They were riding at a fast enough pace to pass us, but would then take a break at every turnaround, so we'd pass them back. It seemed to me like a conspiracy to annoy me, but I guess that's just what happens when you get old and cranky.

stapfam

I'm with you on this one and I do use an IPod on rides. I have a pair of loose fitting Earpieces an a low volume so I can still hear other traffic before anyone moans about using them.

I Do not like a great deal of Music but do have my "Style" that I like. To assault other people in the towns or even up on the hills with my my brand of Blues and Rock would not only be inconsiderate- It would probably get me lynched. (Plenty of of trees out on them thar hills.) If I want to listen to music- I'll keep it to myself and I would hope that others will do the same. If Not- I'll start carrying the rope for the trees.

Retro Grouch 

We've had some other threads about riders who feel unprepared unless they have a pistol with them. So far I've resisted that trend but, if these things become popular, I may have to rethink my position.

Wildwood 

If a tree falls in the forest and Tom B doesn't hear it..... is it noise?

solveg

I've thought of putting speakers on a bike, but they won't sound as good as earphones and they would be heavier than an ipod. I forget the number, but an incredible amount of bacteria grows in the ears if you wear headphones. I guess I just don't see the point of playing your music out where other people are subjected to it...it seems so 90's.

Did you see the price on that water cage model????

oilman_15106

I saw this thing in some closeout place like TJ Maxx and I don't think you have to worry too much. It weighs a ton. I am not kidding the whole thing must weigh 4 or 5 pounds! So unless you are into adding weight to your frame for training forget it. When I picked it up my first thought was that it totally defeated the idea behind the ipod(light, compact, etc.) I think they had them for about $30.

BluesDawg

I never understood why anyone would want to play music while riding a bicycle. The sounds of the ride are entertaining enough for me and the sounds of traffic are essential for safety. On long quiet stretches I can play music from my own memory to pass the time.

A cheaper version of this might come in handy for those autumn Saturday rides so I can listen to UGA football games while I ride. Other than that, I have no use for it.

Tom Bombadil

It would have to have some weight to have any quality to the sound. You'd need a decent sized battery to get any volume and you'd need a decent speaker with at least a bit of a magnet on the driver, to get any bass. After all, it is a power supply, an amp and a speaker rolled into a water bottle sized enclosure.

As to listening to games from local stations, a transistor radio works pretty well. You can get armband radios, pocket radios, etc. Radio Shack offers a nice selection:
https://www.radioshack.com/family/ind...115&cp=2032054

I have the older version of the $14.99 Radio Shack exclusive one and it works very well.

FrankieV

I'm embarassed to say that I own one of these.
I love riding with music but don't want to cut out street noise by using earbuds.
I do a lot of weekday riding where I don't run into many other riders so I don't annoy anyone.
That being said, I only used it one time
and decided that the weight of it and the fact that it took a spot for an extra water bottle was not worth the comforting sound of music.

Pamestique 

Wednesday as I was sitting in the airport waiting for my flight some kid came by with his iPod in a boom box and he was blasting his music for all to hear. What's up with that? In the day and age of all sorts of nice earphones why would anyone do that????

I ride with a club occasionally and one of the old timers rides with a boom box on his bike. He can't understand why no one will ride with him. I don't want to hear music while riding especially someone elses music. It is just rude... sorry it just irks me!!!

alanfleisig

I'd love to get one of these for RAGBRAI. That way, I can annoy the maximum number of riders with my idiosyncratic taste in music (there's one guy on RAGBRAI every year who has a cheap, old school cassette player bungee'd to his handlebars, and does the whole ride listening to classical music; love him to death.) What is the sound quality like?

BSLeVan

To each his own. This last summer, I came upon another rider who was riding a three speed with a wire basket up front. He had a transistor radio in the basket with the local baseball game tuned in. Far be it from me to tell him how he ought to be enjoying his ride. The fact of the matter is that I was a bit jealous. He was doing two things that I love to do at the same time! I figure the same goes for music. At least on a bike you can pedal away, or let them pedal away if it annoys you. In many ways, I don't see how this is different than having a group of young guns pass me talking about their conquests the night before. Understand they are talking loud enough to hear one another two and three riders back. Frankly, that would annoy me more than music.... unless it was Lawrence Welk music.

BSLeVan

An urban version of marking his territory?

Iowegian

it could be worse, check this out

Motorad

I find pee-ing on luggage a quieter mode of marking territory at airports.

Louis

A few years ago during a cross state ride, I came upon some guy who was loudly singing, chanting, and praying, while riding erratically and excessively slow. At first, as I approached from behind, I thought it was a wayward cow who had lost her calf or a bull who had felt the veterinarians knife.

I think this was in poor taste and was infringing on others rights, although it did give me a chance to work on my sprint.

Tom Bombadil

Encountering a soul or two blasting their music wouldn't be that irritating. But if this kind of thing really caught on and became commonplace, it would be quite annoying, at least to me.

I admit it would be neat to hear someone going past to classical music.

solveg

I always listen to classical when I ride. Yo Yo Ma, the most. I guess I assumed most people do, or to soundtrack music. I makes your ride seem like a movie.

George

I hardly ever listen to the car radio.

Tom Bombadil

To the best of my recollection, I have never listened to music while on a bike ride in my life. I can't even remember even once having considered it. The two things just don't go together for me.

And in riding this past year, I can only remember a couple of times when I saw anyone with headphones or earbuds on while riding. Guess it's just not something that many people do when riding on a peaceful rail trail.

waldowales

I see and hear this old guy on the Jordan River Trail every once in a while. He is obviously tone deaf, but he "sings" at top volume constantly. Good for a laugh when I pass. I can drop him easily, so I don't have to listen long, which would probably cause me to go berserk and commit mayhem.

solveg

Rail Trails are where I do it the most... In the woods, there's a lot to hear, and lots of critters, and windy roads that you want to be careful on. But on those rail trails, sometimes you're just going flat for 40 miles. I like to listen to soundtracks, because there are these "building up suspense" songs, and when the climax hit, it's really funny depending on what you're looking at.

I also like music for hills, because it keeps me going.

Tom Bombadil

I had to read this twice, because what you were writing was a contradiction to my experience. Our rail trails are in the woods and have lots of critters. I've seen rail trails that were miles and miles out in the open, but I've never ridden on one like that. Some have been through wetlands, where there were no woods, but there was still lots to look at and there were lots of birds singing. I love the sounds I hear when riding the trails, that's why I feel listening to music would diminish the experience.

But if I was on some long, flat road that went though miles of cornfields ... bring on the iPod!

solveg

Prairie. Cows. Rinse. Repeat.