For the few of you out there with Shure headphones, how do you deal with the sweat?

I only get about 20 minutes in a ride before the sweat dribbles down the wire and it's all FUBAR.

I love the sound, but I'm finding the over-the-ear wire a PITA if you're a sweat hog. Anyone else experience this, know how to deal with it? It's driving me *#@%&** nuts!!

Never had a problem with my E3's.. you shouldn't be letting salty sweat run down the wire into the jack on your music player anyway.

How do you hear traffic when you bike with headphones??

Do we have a deathwish???

If you put a set of battery powered mini speakers on your bike you could
solve BOTH problems, mate.

Well, I have sound waves go through the little holes in the plastic earbud, then it travels down the aural canal and vibrates a little piece of skin called the ear drum as well as some more pleasing vibrations. This vibration is transferred through some small bones and a small thing that converts the vibration to nerve impulses which go to the brain and it interprets the information.
I can hear everything I need to in traffic just as well with and without earphones as I don't go gonzo on the volume, if you do go gonzo on the volume it probably doesn't matteras you are losing your hearing anyway.
I can hear everything I need to when operating my bike with headphones. In fact I can hear better than anyonoe in a car with the windows up. I think I am going to store this paragraph and just repaste it in everytime someone that hates headphones decides to hijack a topic where someone was asking for information about headphones rather than propoganda. (Incidentally, over 4000 miles of high traffic headphone commuting and still alive No deathwish here).

Now for some information that the OP did request-, to stop the sweat make sure that the cord does not make a straight line to the mp3 player or walkman, make sure there is a little dip in the cord and the sweat will drop off before it gets to the player.

When we did musicals in collage we always covered our wireless mics with dry condoms. They did a great job of keeping the sweat out, just fold the cord down the side of the player and sock it from top to bottom.

Milo

The difference is that Shure headphones are ear plugs. They're pretty much ear plugs, blocking up to 25 dbA of sound (industrial ear plugs block about 23-32 dbA). I've only tried it on a few times and you can literally hear NOTHING, even with the music up a little bit. Plus, since they're so close to your ear drums (they're called closed canal phones) as they get jammed in your ear canal, any bit of wind noise tends to get amplified too.
I usually wear regular open ear buds so I can hear traffic and my music. Over 6000 miles a year here in fast heavy traffic in NYC and I'm still alive.

First of all I don't "hate' headphones, mate. I own and use several
good sets from "over the ear" Bose to "in the ear" Radio Shack foldables.
However, it's as Slovid pointed out you MUST make sure you really
CAN hear traffic or yes, you do have a deathwish.

I NEVER ride with phones on as I've taken the mini-speaker route to listen
to my tunes with. I never drive with phones on for the same reason.........
SAFETY!! On a bike you can get hit just once and get killed or be crippled
for life......in a car you got a little better chance to walk away.

So rather than debate the issue think real hard what your life would be
like after you get hit buy a car. If you think you can live with that then
party on dude!!

PaulL.....these are not regular earphones....these things dampen noise to the point that being in a jetliner on takeoff is little more than background noise, if that.

IMO, don't use these in traffic...I doubt you will even be able to hear sirens and horns effectively with them on. I'm pretty anti headphone....but I do have to emphasize to use something other than canalphones when riding.

Oops, thought they were like my ear buds. If I couldn't hear anything I would be pretty freaked out riding busy roads.

Sorry about that, I didn't realize they were ear plug/headphones that cut out all hearing. Guess that happens when I get a little too zealous about things. My current earbuds give me an acceptable level of hearing in my opinion, my favorite safety device is my rearview mirror though.

yeah, right.

Must have been performing Cabaret.

I should have explained more clearly - the problem is with sweat going into the ears, not the player. The sweat dribbles down into ear because the wire is going over it. Then it loosens the seal or gets inside, and sound is cut out and the earbuds slip out. Nobody else has this problem? Man, I must be some kind of big sweaty freak.

I appreciate that the "organ donor brigade" hasn't much hijacked this thread, but for the few comments there, please take note: my commute is 95% on purely dedicated bike commuter paths, and the most dangerous thing I have to contend with is scooters, which I can't hear racing up behind me even without headphones. Stupid punk kids, I hate them.

for all the anti-phoners get out!

I tool around with a regular set of ear buds in NYC. You're in holland. No offense but you probably wouldn't survive a 25 mile commute in city traffic if you couldn't hear anything.

I'd recommend getting a decent pair of open ear buds, preferably something slim. If you take the sony mdr-888's then chop the plastic piece that dangles off the ear bud off, they fit perfectly into that pocket in your ears plus they're low profile = less wind noise.

1. Buy some of those cylindrical foam earplugs
2. cut a slit w/ razorblade halfway through an earplug
3. slide earplug over headphone wire
4. affix cut earplug on headphone wire with a twist-tie
5. done

what? ****er.

I knew you were somewhere around here.

milo

I wouldn't try. When I cycle in London for example, I don't have those things in my ear. I may be stupid but I'm not suicidal.

I currently enjoy the benefits of living in cycling heaven, so I get to enjoy the music with little worry



Thanks, but I'm a tad confused - how would I do that with something like this? I can't see how an earplug "sleeve" is going to fit anywhere there comfortably to help.

spray the tips with scotch guard. It might help.

Milo