imartin26

https://www.origaudio.com/products/rock-it-black

Saw this online and it looks really cool, would allow me to listen to music without the need for headphones. I would like to hear some music while I ride but wont wear headphones.

JanMM

The man says it will turn anything into a speaker.
Don't stick it to your tire.

rawhite1969

i use a single earpiece that plays in stereo. gives me one ear to the road.

gmt13

Anything that distracts your attention from all of the potential issues on the road is to be used with caution. Be careful.

xtrajack

Much cheaper than the rock-it.

Nole302

Not necessarily...
https://hfes.org/web/DetailNews.aspx?ID=219

CB HI

robyr

I use a bluetooth A2DP headset that is a single earpiece that melds btoh channels in to the single channel. It works well.

Monster Pete

I'd recommend just fixing a portable radio to the bike somewhere, or maybe slung in a front basket. A pair of bar-end speakers would be great as well.

gmt13

Hmmm,

"drivers who lose focus on the road because of boredom may actually increase their attention by engaging in a secondary task,"

Anyone here lose focus because their commute is so boring?

Here's a list of helpful secondary tasks:

Look around
Drink some water
Watch for road hazards
Check your heart rate
Take a different route (especially if there are more uphill sections)
Count cars not stopping at signs and lights
Count cyclists not stopping at signs and lights (and going the wrong way)

Whatever you do - be careful.

-G

perspiration

I never understood the appeal of music on the road...there's so much noise anyways, why not enjoy the sound of the breeze and birds?

imartin26

Well I ride on a main street and all I hear is cars plus I live in Arizona and the last thing I want to think about is the wind that feels like a blow dryer on my face. I guess I was just interested in the rockit because it looked like a cool techy toy to play with, not really worried about the price...I already have a bluetooth headset that I can use but really dont like using headphone while I ride.

CB HI

But you do not appear to be clamming that it is 'stereo', are you.

threecarjam

I can't imagine that you would get any kind of half decent sound from something like that - but I could be wrong.

I can definitely imagine riding behind someone who is playing crappy music on their bike out in the air for the whole world to hear while I'm on a bike trail, and making detailed plans in my head for how I will catch them when they stop and throw their stupid speaker into the nearest body of water. If your taste in music is ok then I'd probably be fine with it.

In city traffic, who cares, plenty of crappy music blasting from everywhere. But I'd probably rather people stuck with listening out of one earbud. Or boombox in a basket, as that is more aesthetically pleasing.

somedood

Sadly, I only hear wind noise. Although when I'm going uphill I do get to hear the birds more. I have plenty of voices in my head to keep me company. Not very many of them sing, but when they do it's a short part of the same song over, and over, and over...

Verbose

That company was on "Shark Tank" last year and it seemed pretty impressive. I'll stick with a single earbud as others mentioned though.

idc

I used to wear earphones a lot when I rode but in the last month or so finally decided it was safer not to listen while riding. Well, actually I always thought it was but was just too reluctant to do away with them. I've considered a portable speaker but a) it would irritate others and b) the poor sound quality would probably irritate me.

SactoDoug

I saw that on Shark Tank. It is a really neat, convenient and quick way to turn almost anything into a crappy speaker.

I like using my bluetooth ear piece to listen to music as I ride. Riding without it is boring. The music, especially dance music, is great for keeping cadence.

dahut

Ill agree with this. Music is a distraction while riding, as far as Im concerned. I play guitar and have been in bands all my life, so I like music.
But not while riding.

Your choice, but I'd spend my money on a new set of tires.

pallen

I got one of these
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RK66MK

With this mount
https://www.amazon.com/NuForce-Podio-...d_bxgy_e_img_b




My phone is in a small handlebar bag and hooked up to it. It sounds pretty good for something so small. I liked it so much I bought a second one for stereo, but I'm having a hard time finding the right cable that will spit a mini stereo to a left and right mono wired with stereo mini plugs. I probably spent way too much on this, but I enjoy music on my commute. Traffic will drown it out at times, but on most roads I can hear it fine.

JeremyLC

Put one of these adapters on the phone, use two cables from there to the speakers. Assuming you mean a 1/8" (3.5mm) plug when you say "mini". If you mean a 2.5mm plug (not uncommon on cell phones), you'd need a 3.5mm -> 2.5mm adapter as well.

MilitantPotato

Same tech used in greeting cards. It sounds like ass. I spliced the wires and hooked up to a headphone jack, had fun making music with random stuff (including my own head.) It was a fun novelty, but terrible for listening to music.
You could do the same for ~5 bucks and get something as effective as the rocket, maybe not as pretty though.

weshigh

I run a pair headphones through my padding in my helmet so they point at my ears but are not actually in them blocking any road noise. They also have controls in the cable so I can pause/skip songs/adjust volume really easily with one hand and not looking. I ride in heavy traffic in LA, so there is not many nice sounds to hear besides a lot of cars.

pallen

That might do the trick! Hopefully I can find 3.5 mono to stereo cables. The speaker accepts a stereo input and combines the channels into one speaker.

The cable I'm using now splits to mono mini 3.5mm jacks, but the mono plug in a stereo jack doesnt work exactly right - some kind of cancellation going on. If you pull it out slightly, it gets twice as loud.

current installation

newkie

Just for the record after I saw the video of this thing I ebayed it and got it for €15. It just arrived yesterday and and I was showing it off to the whole office. It was pretty crazy the things you could turn in to a speaker the best being the recycling bin or file cabinet.

I tried it on my aluminum bike for kicks and while it did work to some extent it wasn't much amplified so I'd say it's a non-starter.

Whatever it is attached to had to be able to vibrate easily so cardboard, sheet metal, plastic, and thin glass work best.