Thank you for giving me a fitting description Mr. Clairvoyant Whether a peckerwood or not, I can safely assume that your "gang" is pure dorks riding either mountain bikes with dual suspension with monstrous tires on the paved roads or stupid straight handlebar "hybrids". On top of that you "ride" about 30% of the time on the wrong side of the road against the traffic & in that case I do not see you ether because it's a pleasure to play "chicken" with chickens like you. BTW, while I just despise you, the good drivers absolutely hate you for the simple reason that you "riding style" is totally unpredictable & they have to pass you by huge safety margins. Until of course, there will be other dorks at driving wheels paying as much attention "driving" as you "riding" who will put you out of your cycling misery among others

A little research has shown me that products for wind noise reduction come and go. I am going to assume that this is because either they don't work well enough, or too few people are interested in it. So how did the foam and duct tape trick work out?

Holy crap...every heard can sure dish it out but can't take it!

If you are going to make these ridiculous assumptions about our fellow forum members, at least have the stones to listen to some sensible arguments when a debate starts.

Oh, and I'm gonna assume most of us could kick your rump on the bike.

I might add, have you bothered to look at Chip's bikes?

Wow! You actually expend energy "despising" others because they don't nod at you?

That's sad.

I also didn't realize that having nothing in your ears keeps trucks from running into you.

Still sad, invincible but sad.

Not well yet, still fiddling with placement and size...getting better though...

My assumptions are not ridiculous, they are from my experience (i.e. the things I see every single day). Yes, the arguments makes sense somewhat if you ride on MUPs & not caring about dogs & other little creatures, bikes trying to pass you by etc.
I am not 100% sure what "kick your rump" means but if it is what I think it is, I do not know how it can be done since I do not race. I ride five times a week two hours on average but NEVER EVER had been passed by someone wearing headphones but I pass them by dozens. It can happen some day but will only prove that it's an exception rather than a rule. So it looks like that YOUR assumption is simply a false one & it'll be awhile before I eat your dust. Meanwhile please keep doing a good job eating mine.
As far as Chip's bikes go, they're pretty much what I have (i.e. classic chro-mo frames with Brooks saddles & decent components). How can I have any issues with them?

It is not sad because looking down on someone doesn't "expend" my energy one bit. Not nodding back actually saves me some. I despise them because in my book riding with headphones in traffic is equal to wearing a jersey that says "I am a moron" in big letters. That's why. Your statement about trucks is another reason.

Actually it is sad that you feel you feel justified in looking down on people.

Are you seriuos? Of course I need some justifications to either look up to people or look down on them. Are you telling me that I've got to respect everyone despite my natural instincts because the political correctness says so? Are you kidding me?

When I ride with the pod on low, it actually seems like I can hear traffic better at speed. The buds cut down or eliminate the wind noise enough to improve the hearing for ambient sound. Sounds crazy I know, but it seems to be the case.

I do want to find [or invent] something to decrease wind noise. I have a couple 30+ sections every day and the wind seems very harsh[loud] against the eardrums.

I tried the slipstreams a while back... didnt work very well at all.

Dude, you sound delusional. You can go back to your meds now.

And HEADPHONES is where you draw the line?

Still sad. Really, really skewed sense of values, but still sad.

& it seems that you've run out of arguments. The way I "sound" is certainly not a good one

Yes, you win. Your logic is too much for me.

I know, people use their eyes... But this just makes me nervous! Its just like the people in their cars with headphones on because they need a new stereo... In addition to safety on the street from traffic, I wouldn't want to get jumped by a dog or deranged lunatic that comes from an angle outside my field of view.

Deafness is a handicap not a luxury for tuning out sounds that make one nervous! That is why there are street signs identifying areas that those who are unfortunately hearing disabled reside. There is an obvious safety issue. The sense of sound perception is important. In this situation not only for the cyclist but also for everyone else sharing the streets.

Well, I hope at least we agree on me not "expending my energy". Headphones is just one of the good indicators. If I see the bikes I mentioned before with their owners wearing their headphones at the rack on the Staten Island Ferry that I take daily. The do not even say "hello" when you do (now I don't unless they do & they don't). Where do you go from that? And what kind of opinion would you like me to form about them?

I complete understand your stance...

I don't doubt that there are competent cyclists out there, but there are also a ton of idiots on the road... It isn't their safety that I (as an anti-earplug, pro-low level headphone, cyclist) am concerned about in all honesty. It's those people that weave and are generally awkward on their bikes, that make it difficult for other cyclists, pedestrians and motorists to predict their movements. We need to realize, there are many people taking up biking as an alternative right now, many who are in the process of developing good cycling skills, and I just don't think it is the best idea to say that this is okay for everyone, because at the end of the day, it isn't. There are those people that really have to use their ears, maybe their eyes are weaker, or they just can't process everything as well as other cyclists.

"Surrender" is accepted. My logic is rather a simple one. I listen to the noise of vehicle tires & their engines when I ride. It is VERY important to me because while riding a bicycle I am not surrounded by the tons of reinforced steel and airbags. The basic instinct of self-preservation dictates that you have to use everything feasible to limit the risks instead of increasing them & wearing headphones does just that. That's why I feel sorry for people who use phony arguments in order to justify unjustifiable. And I feel sad for them after reading "another cyclist is down" articles in local papers or on this forum. But that's me because the Nature is neither happy or sad. It just the way it is.

oh boy.

Message forums are amazing places. The anonymity of the Internet certainly entices discourse that would not occur in person. It matters not what forum you are on, as long as there is anonymity. Sure, misunderstandings due to the lack of verbal and non-verbal cues essential to communication are partly responsible for some text only exchanges, but not for what I have read here.

I am unsubscribing to this thread.

All right, win, surrender, whatever floats your boat. You seem rather proud. That's just plain weird.

"If someone doesn't say "hello" to me, then I will despise them."
You live a spoiled, self-centered existence, don't you?

I would venture to say that most everyone here feels for any cyclist who gets killed on our roadways. How many of these cyclists were killed wearing headphones? Out of all the stories I've read about downed cyclists, I can only remember two that even mention headphones.

On a similar note...
How sad do you really feel for cyclists killed while using headphones? You've said you despise them, which makes me think that your sadness would be rather insincere.

The primary reason for road rage as well. As long as it isn't face to face, everybody's a tough guy.

Thank you! That's as succinct as it gets!

As I already wrote in one of the previous posts in reply to YOU: "I despise them because in my book riding with headphones in traffic is equal to wearing a jersey that says "I am a moron" in big letters."
My existance is not up for discussion. Not on this forum & not with you

How many? More than their fair share on the road. You wanna bet?


I am sincere. I just feel less sorry for them as opposed to the cyclists that did everything feasibly possible to limit the risks but got killed by some freak accident. One can always make the case that headphone-cyclists "had it coming to them". You know what I mean?

Seriously though, RFOMENKO, what the heck? Your statement is full of contradictions. You seem annoyed that they don't wave to you, but you snub them given the chance. I don't get it.

Do you really feel that strongly about headphones? Have you ever tried it (at a reasonable volume)? Or are you just basing this round of hating on a strongly held but relatively unfounded personal belief?