Anybody ride with a radio?
 

Wearing earbuds with Mp3 could be dangerous while riding, so I ordered a small sony pocket radio - great reviews on amazon. I have to find a way to attach it but have some ideas - may fit in one of the smart phone bike handle holders. Wonder abour reception etc. or even hearing with wind- I generally ride in low traffic areas. If it doesn't work out, will still have a small battery radio handy during bad weather when power goes out.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-ICF-S10MK.../dp/B00020S7XK

I use my smartphone to stream any radio station via the Tunein app. Gotta have data connectivity of course, but you can get just about any radio station anywhere, including police/fire channels, etc..

My cellphone has FM so I use a wired mono headset in my right ear.

I've tried a number of small radios. All worked when near the FM towers. None worked acceptably at much distance, say 30 miles. My Sony Walkman is the best. I rarely use a radio, preferring my mp3 player and buds. Yeah, there is definitely a safety issue.

I know there are small speakers that can be mounted but haven't gone that far yet.

I tour on a bent and live in a rural area, thus distance from towers.

Instead of speakers, I'd use headphones with larger foam pads. They don't plug your ear and hearing around you is just a matter of how high you crank the volume.

My wife and I do day long MUP rides. When there are few people on the trail we like to listen to music.
Since I let her set the pace and hang just off her back wheel I have a small portable radio mounted on my handlebars.
I picked up a Sangean DT400W off Amazon. Had a FENIX light mount where the one half clamp had broken. So I made a base out of some plastic sheeting. Used Velcro on the back of the radio and on the mount. Both of us can hear the music while riding but if you move 15 feet from the bikes you hear nothing. That way we disturb no one with our music. The radio has a good reception range.

This German radio is the only good one.

I use a single bud in my right ear. I find that using a closed earbud that blocks out outside sound actually improves my hearing - because if I use an open one, the wind noise is so bad that I have to crank the sound up so loud that I'm sure I'm risking ear damage over time and it is distracting. With a closed earbud, the sound level is quite low and I still can hear cars so far away that I can nearly always hear them before I see them (usually a half mile a way or more for trucks and such).

I've switched to bluetooth since getting a tablet, still just using one bud but I might have to modify that since the only waterproof bluetooth stuff I can find is full stereo.

A woman riding on a MUP had a radio attached to her bike the other day... it scared the crap out of me because I was coming around a curve and suddenly heard a loud radio. I thought a car was driving on the MUP... lol

I have the same Sony radio as the OP and use it regularly on longer rides. I strap it to a front rack or stash it in a cell/radio holster that slips on to the strap on a messenger bag. I can usually angle the speaker right towards my riding positions so most of the sound is directed towards me and not ahead or behind. That particular model gets great reception even out in the sticks. I've changed the batteries once in months of regular riding and it's survived a few spills at low speeds. You don't need to use the antenna at all for AM, but may need it to pull in FM clearly. No headphones, no problem.

Listening to a three-hour baseball game on long country roads is nothing but fun. The only downside is having to reach down to the volume knob to turn it down during commercials.

I've left it attached to my bike while locked up briefly and people have actually asked me what it is. I wasn't aware that handheld radios had fallen out of regular use so quickly.

I ride with an iHome IH85, a dock boss plus, and my mobile phone playing Pandora radio. Works for me (until I have no access to data).

I use an old Sony AM/FM Walkman velcro'd to a custom (and cheap) holder I fashioned out of a cup holder made for cars. The holder is bolted to a standard reflector bracket that clamps onto the handlebars.
I use cheap over the ear headphones. Earbuds annoy me, too much wind noise and I can't stand the feel of them in my ears.
When all the radio stations play commercials at the same time I switch over to my iPod Shuffle. I only listen to music while riding the bike paths, not on street.

See pics below:
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268760

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=268761

That wouldn't work for me. I don't understand German.

I've been riding with this for a few years now. Couldn't do without it now. Makes the commute so much better. I put some weatherstripping on the bottom to absorb the shock, and bought the buckles and strap at the hardware store. Wrapped in a gallon ziplock, it does the job no matter what. I know it looks kinda big and all. But what the heck.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5218/5...a319a2fb5a.jpg

The other day I was in the electronics section at Walmart and noticed a HMDX GO portable speaker for ten bucks. Bought one. It holds my MP3 player. It is powered by three AAA batteries. Volume control buttons and an on/off switch. Used it yesterday on the MUP. Attached to my handlebar with the attached clip. Good sound and plenty of volume. Two small speakers. At 20 feet it could not be heard so people should not complain about noise. But the way my wife and I ride together she could hear it well. Headed back to the store this morning and bought two more for spares just in case. The MP3 player went almost 12 hours in it on a single charge and the batteries in the HMDX should go a few more days.

Android, load it up with mp3's, Pandora, or stream your fav radio station app. (k-Love positive & encouraging)
Using a Optimus V with virgin mobile good battery life good service.
I throw it in my lil pouch bag and i'm off.

I rdie almost strictly on a MUP that is way out in the desert and has very little traffic and wide, groomed and striped lanes. I'm looking for a mount for my new S3. Today was my first day listening to music on that trail and I enjoyed it immensely. I mentioned on another thread moments ago that I took the Galaxy S3 out on my commuter today. I stuck it in my shorts pocket (I don't use bike shorts on my commuter but certainly do on my road bike) and played music and ran My Tracks and the GPS for 1.25 hours and only lost 11% battery charge. Very pleased.

I use a Sony armband radio and simply strap it around the handlebars and handlebar stem. It's a vintage item but I'm sure there's something equivalent you can buy now.

For earphones, I found the Phillips Earclip Headphones SHS4700/28 are best. They have little pads rather than in-ear earbuds and don't fully block out the ambient noise, which I like for safety reasons to keep aware of what's going on in the enviornment around me. They stay on better than earbuds.

for phones get a HYBRID CASE so for the S3 get this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SAMSUNG-GALA...item1c2b5d4e7a

they are cheap and SUPER SUPER effective. I had to buy 2 for my S2 so I could have orange plastic shell with blue silicon.

then this is a bit more expensive but I won't trust anything else

http://www.arkon.com/accessories/sma...era-stand.html

around $25 shipped. REMOVE the spring from inside and the center post spring. then add a scrunchy type elastic cloth band (for hair) to the OUTSIDE and it will now expand big enough to hold S2/S3 in the hybrid case.

ditch the cheap tripod and use one of these

then buy these

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-Black-Bik...item2c68522257

or any other style you wish that does the same thing.

VERY strong and effective. IE yes its complicated to get and you need multiple things but I won't trust my $600 phone to anything else. :-)

Dude, I love ebay for stuff like this.:thumb:

Ahh forgot I got pictures. Here is my hybrid case and the arkon mount. I wont trust anything else. the arkon mount "WITH" the hybrid case is an extremely sticky tight solid grip. you could dump that bike down a mountain and I think the mount would break in two before letting the phone go.

I found other mounts but most of them "WANT" to let go and depend on gears and latches to "hold" it shut. the arkon mount WANTS to stay closed by default.

I have a proper 1/4" mount on the way for now I just taped the "tripod" to the bar.

http://i.imgur.com/qNv1kl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Jwdmdl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YlsyFl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nJ93nl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/f5iAhl.jpg

get some clear nail polish and thin it with some acetone (nail polish remover) now PAINT the ball joint ball with it.

anytime you remove the ball repaint it. this way you wear down the nail polish and not the plastic. the plastic they use it not hard enough so the ball becomes "sloppy" over time.

Koss KSC75 open headphones! :thumb: