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Headphones when riding

Old 09-30-18, 09:00 PM
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I like using the headband style (e.g. LG Tone) with retractable buds so I can easily use the buttons, and put them away when I'm off the path / in the streets.
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Old 10-01-18, 01:03 AM
  #102  
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Yes it is, and IMO an emotional preference for listening to street and traffic noise over the spoken word (as in audio books or pod casts) or music is a truly sad example of such denial.
I suppose you're right. After all, humming along to Vivaldi through your noise cancelling headphones is probably a nicer experience - until the car that's about to hit you arrives unheard.
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Old 10-01-18, 06:54 AM
  #103  
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Do the uninformed of this thread understand how headphones work? Have they ever actually put a pair on? They're not magical portals to the silence dimension. The highest-rated safety earplugs you can buy will reduce sound by 33dB. If you're lucky, some in-ear buds might get you -20dB.

City traffic is 75-80dB, wind noise @ 15mph is 85dB, and sirens are 115-120dB. The interior of a luxury car can get below 50dB. So no headphone out there will isolate enough outside sound to make it as quiet as just being in a nice car.

We can still hear things. It just doesn't matter if we can hear what's coming.
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Old 10-01-18, 07:21 AM
  #104  
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
Do the uninformed of this thread understand how headphones work? Have they ever actually put a pair on? They're not magical portals to the silence dimension. The highest-rated safety earplugs you can buy will reduce sound by 33dB. If you're lucky, some in-ear buds might get you -20dB.

City traffic is 75-80dB, wind noise @ 15mph is 85dB, and sirens are 115-120dB. The interior of a luxury car can get below 50dB. So no headphone out there will isolate enough outside sound to make it as quiet as just being in a nice car.

We can still hear things. It just doesn't matter if we can hear what's coming.
Exactly. The only time it matters to me is when I'm planning to make a left turn or to move out further into the lane for some reason. I can hear a car approaching from behind when it's still a few hundred feet away. Regardless of what I hear I still check over my shoulder before I would ever move out into the lane.

If someone decides to pass so close that they clip me with a mirror, or if they fail to brake, or whatever, what exactly am I supposed to do about that anway? Seems like I'm SOL whether I hear it first or not.
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Old 10-01-18, 10:40 AM
  #105  
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Originally Posted by avole
Hit the nail on the head. If you think you need, or indeed use, headphones, the danger is one thing, but the denial of the world in which we live is sadness itself.
If not music, I'm left to my own thoughts, which completely spoil whatever I'm doing. In reality, i'm far more likely to pay attention while listening to music than without.

John
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Old 10-02-18, 05:44 AM
  #106  
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Long ago I dated a lady who engaged in intense conversation. While driving in heavy traffic at high speeds I would ask her to keep it light because it was a serious distraction. Music is never a distraction for me. It helps me flow, lifts my spirit and helps me pump. I use 2" bar end mirror for situational awareness and in-ear monitors (IEM) in both ears. I keep the volume at a reasonable level and can communicate with everyone around me except those who whisper. Odds are I still couldn't hear them with nothing in/over my ears. When I encounter a judgy, sanctimonious type with authority issues, I add 9 dB to filter them out . Many cars today are whisper quiet like a big game cat ready to strike. Keep your head on a swivel.
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Old 10-02-18, 05:55 AM
  #107  
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I used to think wearing headphones while riding in traffic is really stupid... until it was pointed out to me that people with varying levels of hearing impairment navigate traffic just fine and aren't banned from driving.

It is important to always consider what would be necessary for you to change your mind, on any topic. While I would still not wear headphones, that doesn't necessarily mean no one should. If it is against the law in your jurisdiction, that doesn't mean the law is based on science or rationality.
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Old 10-02-18, 07:13 AM
  #108  
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
Do the uninformed of this thread understand how headphones work? Have they ever actually put a pair on? They're not magical portals to the silence dimension. The highest-rated safety earplugs you can buy will reduce sound by 33dB. If you're lucky, some in-ear buds might get you -20dB.

City traffic is 75-80dB, wind noise @ 15mph is 85dB, and sirens are 115-120dB. The interior of a luxury car can get below 50dB. So no headphone out there will isolate enough outside sound to make it as quiet as just being in a nice car.

We can still hear things. It just doesn't matter if we can hear what's coming.
I have to agree with Drisotope. I ride my motorcycle with earplugs and a full-face helmet and can hear the "traffic" fine. The plugs dampen the wind noise at hi-way speeds....but I digress. However, that said its when the user cranks up the "tunes" that could get you into trouble.

I cringe when I see my wife hop onto her bike (for a ride) and blasts her i-phone buds.....
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Old 10-02-18, 07:22 AM
  #109  
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I've tried the iPhone buds out of desperation, and think that the shape of them makes wind noise even worse. The air whistles around the little mesh bit at the front. She's gotta blast the music just to be able to hear it. A headphone has at least got to put a dent in the wind noise, which is far and away the loudest thing I encounter on a ride, unless a fire truck passes me at an intersection and does that weird WOOO-WOOO-WOOO thing that vibrates the internal organs.
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Old 10-02-18, 08:22 AM
  #110  
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Headphones when riding
Originally Posted by johnje
If not music, I'm left to my own thoughts, which completely spoil whatever I'm doing. In reality, i'm far more likely to pay attention while listening to music than without.

John
I always promise myself not to post to these perpetually wearisome earphone threads, but @johnje expresses a rarely posted opinion that I strongly agree with:
Originally Posted by Currmudge
True. For those of us with restless intellect, a little distraction helps focus. For example, I can't go to sleep in a silent room.

Tunes on the commute shift things into place so I can read drivers (too often, I know what they're doing before they do....)
Originally Posted by CBHI
You're the only other person in BFs besides myself that has noted this (as far as I have read).

I describe it as a right and left brain issue. The left hemisphere of my brain (math/analytical side) is kept busywhile cycling by analyzing vectors of motorist, pedestrians and other cyclist to avoid collisions.

The right hemisphere of my brain (art/music side) gets bored without the music during road/commute cycling (or woodland sights while mountain biking).

When the right hemisphere of my brain gets bored, it starts bugging the left hemisphere of my brain to do something else and interferes with vector analyze needed for safe cycling.

Thus, I listen to music while road/commute cycling to keep the right hemisphere of my brain busy.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
Personally, I do find cycling time a good time to think, often about work-related items (on my commute)…all while listening to radio talk shows.

Just this morning I posted,"Even on my mentally challenging and stimulating job, I listen to talk shows, and without, the silence is deafening".

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 10-02-18 at 09:11 AM.
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Old 10-03-18, 03:37 PM
  #111  
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i Ride with MEE audio M6

over the ear means wires are behind ear, and the buds sitting flush means they take the wind noise and reduce it vastly.

To the point I can hear better with headphones in than I can with nothing and hearing wind noise. Wind noise is deafening
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Old 10-03-18, 03:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Metieval
i Ride with MEE audio M6

over the ear means wires are behind ear, and the buds sitting flush means they take the wind noise and reduce it vastly.
Yeeaaahhh. MEE Audio M6 Pro! My favorites so far. The audio isn't exactly superb (my old Klipsch sound better,) but the fit, especially with Comply tips, is excellent. The wind @ 30mph tries to blow the Klipsch out of my ears.

If you're not using a Bluetooth receiver, I highly recommend. The Nulaxy BR18 is like 25 bucks, and the battery lasts for ages.
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Old 10-03-18, 04:05 PM
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I am using sansa clip sport
. lol

it clips on my bibs strap under my jersey and is easy enough to pause, or hit the Fwd button.
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Old 10-03-18, 04:33 PM
  #114  
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Dang, old skool. Seeing an MP3 player today is like seeing a unicorn.

I had thought about picking up an old Nano or Shuffle, but I always have the phone on me anyway, so may as well Pandora.
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Old 10-03-18, 05:08 PM
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
Dang, old skool. Seeing an MP3 player today is like seeing a unicorn.

I had thought about picking up an old Nano or Shuffle, but I always have the phone on me anyway, so may as well Pandora.
I don't have a smart phone and my 6 year old Cowan Audio 7 with 16 GB storage work fine for me. It is tiny, weighs next to nothing (I wear it on a little shoestring-like lanyard around my neck) and listen to audiobooks through inexpensive earbuds. Mp3 files don't need tags, playlists or any kind of Apple-like BS to load files, just drag and drop from File Folders on any Windows computer. Works in any weather.
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Old 10-03-18, 07:56 PM
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yeah I don't get Pandora, and I don't get wireless.
the M6 over the ear makes wires non issue.

my battery last forever, the size is super small, and well I have been just fine riding with only that and a trac phone. maybe some day I'll get service on a smart phone, maybe...

I was big on being connected back when AOL went unlimited, and being the First on Fiber optics, blah blah, but now days I want to be disconnected for the same reasons I wanted to be connected back in 98.
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Old 10-03-18, 08:17 PM
  #117  
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Update:
I've had these Aftershokz Trex Titanium wireless jaw-type headphones for almost a year now and I still really like them. I can honestly say that riding with them at a moderate volume doesn't impede my ability to hear traffic or even a cyclist coming up behind me. They took a bit of getting used to because they kinda "buzz" on the jawbone but only at a high volume.

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Old 10-03-18, 08:19 PM
  #118  
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I didn't last 2 hours with the Trekz. I found them immensely uncomfortable, and returned them to the place of purchase the same day I bought them. I had sore tragus for like 3 days.
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Old 10-04-18, 02:49 PM
  #119  
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Originally Posted by drlogik
For folks who listen to music, what headphones do you use?
Cheapo* JVCs which are surprisingly not too bad. I prefer ear hooks, which narrows the field considerably, so it’s mostly down to comfort.

Originally Posted by DrIsotope
Dang, old skool. Seeing an MP3 player today is like seeing a unicorn.
I bought an ipod shuffle (actually three) just as they were being discontinued, having used nanos for years, and before that minidisc players, and before that tape decks in my perpetual quest to deny the world in which we live… Turns out to be perfect for the job: love the tactile controls, which make it so easy not just to skip tracks but to adjust volume and pause on those rare occasions I deem it important to be able to hear traffic.

* Not the actual model name
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Old 10-04-18, 03:47 PM
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It's actually very tempting to listen to some music while riding. The two just go together well for some reason.

But yeah, there is that safety issue.
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Old 10-04-18, 04:59 PM
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Like the Pros do for the team radio, an ear Bud with a piece of tape on your ear,
so it won't fall out.

it's not blocking out background sound so you can still hear the Log Truck
coming up from behind.



Empty road , coming home when every one else is having dinner, 30 years ago, I used the old flat type ear bud ,

not the ear canal plug type that Phones come with, recently..

and had a cassette player , to play Books on Tape, recording I checked out from the Public Library..

Riding behind a Zzipper fairing, the wind noise was reduced also..







....





...

Last edited by fietsbob; 02-08-19 at 12:20 PM.
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Old 10-04-18, 05:38 PM
  #122  
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I like the idea of a radio with a speaker to warn Pedestrians on the bike path....unless of course they're wearing headphones......
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Old 10-05-18, 11:43 AM
  #123  
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Scan Sound

I have an inner ear condition in my right ear and I can't use headphones. But only using one headphone sucks because some music sources don't have the option to output mono. So I bought some headphones from Scan Sound. The ones I linked to will mix both channels to one output, and only has one earbud. If you're in the USA I'd get one of those and put it on the right ear (less traffic on your right side). Be sure to choose the correct model. I have a couple of them but when there's a lot of noise the ones that have the sealed earbud work best.
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Old 10-05-18, 02:24 PM
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Is it not against the law in many countries to use headphones/earbuds whle cycling? If it isn't, it seems a stupidly serious error.
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Old 10-05-18, 02:33 PM
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Originally Posted by avole
Is it not against the law in many countries to use headphones/earbuds whle cycling? If it isn't, it seems a stupidly serious error.
A lot of places have a law saying that both ears cannot be covered, and the same law is in effect for cars. Using only one earbud is fine. Probably from when the laws were changed to allow the hands free headset that fit in one ear and everyone wanted to encourage drivers to not hold a phone to their ear while driving.
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