Okay this will sound wierd to some...but do they still make radio's for bicycle's? I see some riders with ipod's but I would be scared not to hear traffic etc...with ear buds in my ears. What about a lightweight little radio that mounts on the frame some where or handlebars? Don't get me wrong...I am not looking for a Peewee Herman Radio Flyer, I just think some days tunes or weather reports or news might be nice to hear while commuting.

Any small portable radio would work. So would a cheap scanner that could pick up wide band FM.

Or you could pick up a pair of amplified computer speakers, and plug them into your MP3 (yes, even the ipod/iphone) headphone jack, and there you go.

I would start here and move up in options.

1. Look for a Centon Craze MP3 player. They look like USB thumb drives, and are really cheap. I bought a 2 gig Centon MP3 player years ago (for $20 new), and it still works. It will play just about any audio file (WAV,MP3, OOG, etc). It is powered with a single AAA battery. Since it is also a USB drive, you can put music on it (and use it as a stand alone player) and also put your favorite spread sheets from work on it. It is also a voice recorder and a FM radio. The earbuds it comes with suck - but who cares. You will be throwing them out anyway.

2. Get some inexpensive external computer speakers, if you do not already have a bunch of them from old computers.

3. The MP3 player can be attached to your bike with velcro, the speakers can be attached with nylon tie straps.

my phone is pretty loud... loud enough to hear my music wile riding the river trails...


but my buddy also has this little battery powered ipod dock with speakers he takes when we go long distance... iwouldn't want my cell phone to die on us way out there...

You can pick up a decent shortwave receiver for not a lot of money. Check your favourite radio forum. I use a Degen 1103 for bicycle touring. It's too big to use while cycling and is not waterproof. I think this is the biggest issue you'll have. I'm sure there are waterproof radios out there.

Shortwave receiver? That's pretty sick. But I guess if you want to hear BBC World Service or Radio Korea or even hams talking about antennas and amplifiers there is only one way to go!

For my purposes, the cheap Centon MP3 player and small powered speakers works well. But I would only put all that stuff on for rather short (less than 20 mile) slow group rides on my MTB. For a faster pace ride, or a longer ride, I think it would all just get in my way.

I use a Creative Zen Stone Plus w/ Speaker. Built-in fm radio, too. I zip tie it to my bar (reusable zip tie). The speaker is loud enough to be heard at speed, though heavy traffic will drown it out.

my MP3 player has an FM receiver which I use on some lunchtime walks. was tempted to use the radio on my last weekend joyride but didn't - maybe next time

With the benefit of a mirror, one can ride with their eyes instead of their ears and enjoy the full benefit of stereophonic sound with the ear piece of one's choice. For me, Sennheiser PX 100's. Sorry to be the dissenting voice but you must admit, I am on topic.

Having ear buds in your ear does not necessarily mean that you can't hear. Nobody says you have to crank the volume up so loud that it drowns out environmental sounds. If you turn the volume up to where the apparent volume is the same as if you had a speaker on the bars, it should be no different one way or the other.

Some people use MP3 players with built in speakers, such as the Zen Stone.

I listen to NPR and audiobooks on my commute, and with one bud in my right ear, by my actual testing, my ability to hear approaching cars is not at all diminished. I can still hear them before I can see them (on long sparsely traveled country roads) and can hear them at least 15 seconds before they get to me (in town).

the new Ipod nano has am/fm radio and a video camera... the battery life on that dude is also great...

my earbuds for my ipod drown out all sounds even when it's not playing anything... they're the bose types with sound cancellation... i would never take them out on a ride... i wouldn't be able to hear anything... alot of earbuds do this... especially internal ones...


i just got some ear buds for my cellphone... i can hear my music, and if i get a phone call i'll be able to answer without reaching for my phone... but i hardly use them since i ride with a buddy and we're always talking about fish tanks and stuff...

Yes, I have several pair like that. There's a simple solution - get some that don't.

those suck though... i can't hear the bass guitar on they...


but i don't commute much in traffic... mostly river trail riding...

cheap Phillips earbuds amplify ambient sound. I can walk down the street and hear insects. SERIOUSLY!

You think you're going to hear the bass guitar on a radio with 2" speakers mounted on the handlebar?

What I'm saying is, for $10 or less, you can get some open air headphones for use on the bike, and if you keep the volume to the point where it has the same apparent volume as you would have turned the radio on the handlebars up to, it will GUARANTEED sound better than some crappy speaker on the handlebar, it'll be cheaper, and you'll still be able to hear the surrounding sounds as well.

Or you can spend more money on speakers and have worse sound.

If you really want good sound, buy some Koss PortaPros. Those sound better than any earbuds. Unless you're looking for artificially enhanced bass. Personally I listen to my music as recorded.

i rock these guys...



they have alot of bass...

And "a lot" too, I'm sure. Bose is pretty good, though certainly overpriced and not the best at anything they do, in my experience.

i don't want to start any debate, but that isn't true.

^^^^well let's agree then that they are pretty affordable, nice sounding cans. The Porta Pros that is.

I think that for the $35 that PortaPros cost, you really can't get much better sound. I think that at ANY price level, cans sound better than buds, but I have never spent $100 on buds. If I get into the real money area, I'll pick up some Sennheiser cans. A friend has some $450 Sennheisers and they're excellent.

I just purchased one like in the below link used on CL for $10. It is branded under many different names like Emerson, Sunlite, Lundin ect. The light is useless, the built-in horn is pretty timid but it could warn a walker you are behind him/her without shocking them too much. The Radio works pretty good, surprisingly both on am and fm. At least it does so here in Miami. Volume isn't too bad. New I see them locally for around $30.

https://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-Deluxe.../dp/B0011FWPA6

I know this is an old thread, but I'm going to reply. It might help someone else.

I wanted an AM/FM radio on my bike for listening to baseball games and sports talk radio, but I wasn't impressed with the small number of bike-specific products that I found (like the aforementioned Sunlite radio). I decided that what would probably work best for me would be a small pocket radio mounted somewhere on the bike. I ended up buying a Sony ICF-S10MK2 radio ($10) and an Arkon SM427 mount ($7.50). I haven't been able to ride with this yet, but it seems like it will work nicely. The mount is not made to be completely secure, but simple things could be used to make it more secure (rubber bands, elastic straps, etc.)

I have a couple of homemade Walkman/iPod holders that I made many years ago and they work great. However, I just found this gadget holder and ordered it out of curiosity. Very well made and thoughtfully designed. Requires no tools to mount to handlebars. Can be found at Thinkgeek.com
Note: On the website opening pic it doesn't show the 2 fold out arms which support your gadget from the bottom (in conjuction with the 2 side squeeze pads), the pic shows the gadget holder with the 2 bottom support arms folded in/closed. If you click on the "customer action shots" it shows a pic with the bottom support arms folded out.

https://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tra...adget%20holder

Think Geek also has an aluminum tube speaker which comes with a handlebar mount for your bike. This could be a good solution for those wishing to hear music without wearing headphones, (I did not order this one yet):

https://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics...tube%20speaker

And no, I do not work for or have any affiliation with Thingeek or their suppliers...

Attached are a couple of pics of my homemade version gadget holder:

Please see my suggested solution at https://youtu.be/z5QQ-TupP7Y.

Cheers,

Frank

This one has really good reviews on amazon, and is about the size of a 3x5 card. It should be mountable with one of those generic gadget mounts:

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-ICF-S10MK...1423677&sr=8-1

I have been thinking about doing the same thing. One downside of commuting by bike has been that I miss the news in the morning. I'll let you know if I get one.

-Greg

load up a couple podcasts and you're good to go.