rick458

Wind noise blocks a lot of information, even to the point of barely hearing cars, and not hearing map my rides in the earpiece in my right ear.
So who wears the Cat Ears, and what is your opinion.

BigC_82

I am also intrigued by this product.

Still Pedaling

Forgive my ignorance, but what are cat ears?

rick458

Cat-Ears, LLC - Reduce Cycling Wind Noise

prathmann

Noticed a friend wearing them on a recent ride. He said they did seem to be effective but we didn't discuss them in detail.

bikeguyinvenice

They are little fairings that reduce wind noise in your ears.

Carbonfiberboy 

Stoker tried them to facilitate on-bike conversation. Thought they were ineffective, took them off.

pdlamb

Tried them, but took them off. I found them hard to get situated, they often shifted either up or down the helmet strap. They were occasionally effective, but more often collected sweat and then chilled my ears.

I'd love to like them, as wind noise bothers me sometimes. But a cotton ball in the ear usually works as well or better.

cb400bill

Member of my bike club uses them. He says they work great. I say that they look dumb on him.

Booger1

These work:

Wilbur Bud

A few options out there, just search BF on "wind noise" I make my own out of an old sock and some plumbing insulation, looks as stupid as any but works better due to having direct contact with skin instead of close proximity. All of the devices out there are a bit orientation dependent in terms of head position versus wind position.

Outback Cayucan

Triangular full coverage version is most helpful for me. Now possible to understand some of what other riders say while using my hearing aids. Keeps ears warm this time of year, but too warm for summer. The 'Elvis' model are somewhat helpful. A bandana around my head covering the ears has also helped. So has a beanie style cap covering the ears under the helmet. I've been using Cat Ears a year or more.

Rowan

Say WHAT**********

Wilbur Bud

New and different style of cat ears out there, offered by necomimi, allegedly responds to brainwaves so might be good for cyclists to let motorists see there awareness when approaching. Necomimi - Brainwave Cat Ears . Haven't seen any on my fellow commuters yet, but picked up a pair for my daughter, who is too embarrassed to be seen wearing 'em. Offered to put lights on them, but no deal. Looks a bit uncomfortable on a long ride due to perspiration under the forehead sensor and probably annoying pressure from the clip-on ear lobe sensor.

kbarch

Rather than starting a new thread, I figured I could resurrect one - this one isn't too old, and the title is apt....
For the past couple of years or so, I've almost always ridden with Cat Ears. I'll get comments on them like "nice sideburns!" and such, and some people will ask sincere questions about them, but I know they look dorky, all the time. They don't make a huge difference most of the time, and often you can take them off and think they weren't making any difference at all. But I wear them because of the BIG difference they make in eliminating the roar of wind on descents, and other times when relative wind speeds exceed about 18-20 mph. Other than that I don't much think about whether they make a difference. Kind of like a helmet - I'd rather have one and not need it than need one and not have it. Speaking of which, occasionally on some speedy descent I'll notice the roar if they aren't positioned right, usually because the straps are not snug - which reminds me to fix that....

What prompted this post, however, was an experience yesterday. I needed to put a numbered sticker on my helmet for an event, and since last time I did that, it didn't come off cleanly, I decided to use an old helmet and didn't bother to put the cat ears on it. I knew there weren't going to be any fast bits, so I figured it wouldn't make much difference. Sure enough, I didn't notice much difference on the ride, but when I got home and finished riding, I was shocked at how quiet my building seemed! I'd been on plenty of long rides before, but never noticed my building being so quiet, so evidently not wearing them made a big difference after all. I thought of all the noise I'd subjected my ears to over the course of the day and could have avoided, and wondered if the ride might have been less stressful if I had been wearing them.

Sure, there are other solutions, but as dorky as they look, they're elegant in a way. They don't block sound like foam plugs, they just prevent noise. And they are integral to equipment you're already wearing - put your helmet on, they're on, take your helmet off, they're off, so unless you have more helmets than cat ears, they're not some extra thing you could misplace or forget.

Eric S.

I like to listen to talk radio or podcasts when riding and tried Cat Ears but didn't use them long. I found that around-the-neck, over-ear headphones reduce wind noise considerably and allow for listening at a lower volume.

f4rrest

My mirror exceeds the dork factor threshold. I don't need more.
Plus, I didn't really find them noticeably effective, so I quit using them after a few days.

kevindsingleton 

I've had a pair for over a year, and finally put them on my helmet for a ride, last week. I found them ineffective at speeds over 20 mph, and only marginally effective at lower speeds. I'll fiddle with them, a bit, to see if I can find a position that provides better noise reduction, but, so far, I'm underwhelmed. I was really hoping for a solution to the wind noise problem. I have a small Bluetooth speaker that I mount on the handlebars, and wind noise makes it difficult to hear, at times. The Cat Ears didn't improve that problem, in my first test.

Seattle Forrest

kbarch

Make sure your helmet straps are snug, otherwise they won't work. There have been times I've been riding along not noticing, then we'll come to a hill and I'll get that roar, and often it's enough to twist the chinstrap a time or two to snug them up and cut the roar.

kevindsingleton 

I'll check it out. Thanks.

coupster

I looked in ear noise reduction a couple of years ago. I couldn't get past the price and look of Cat-Ears, so I made a pair. Once they're positioned correctly, they work, but mine are also fairly HOT. I saved them for winter cycling but never put them back on. Further research led me to Slipstreamz - Home out of South Africa. The pricing of the Spoiler was better and the look was unobtrusive. So I bought a pair and put them on. I can say that while they didn't really reduce the overall noise level, they moved it out away from my ears. There is still a wind roar that I can hear but its not the overpowering one in my ear that comes from nothing. In fact I recently replaced my helmet and didn't move the Soilers over until this weekend. They honestly do make a difference but only by reducing the wind noise to a loud background roar rather than an in your ear roar. Would I recommend them? Maybe, they do make it somewhat easier to differentiate between various background noises. For me riding with them is more enjoyable, but as with everything else YMMV.

digibud

I have an alternative. Just get old and slow. I never notice wind noise unless I'm going downhill. They say the cat ears are helpful when riding over 20mph. No worries there.

Rogus

My experience with CatEars is they give me a considerable reduction in wind noise even at much lower speeds. They have to be worn correctly and loose helmets straps defeat their purpose.

LilWashu

I gave the Wind-Blox Pro, another variation on these, a try. I have no first hand experience with the Cat Ears, but the Wind Blox appear to be longer and a bit lower profile, so I would guess they may stay in place better, but may not shield the wind as well, again just a guess. Similar to what was mentioned above, at lower speeds I find them to be quite effective, but you still get decent wind noise as your speed goes up, especially on a descent situation. That said, if you pull them away from your face, you realize that they are still reducing the total noise quite a bit. It is important that your straps keep them snug to your face or else they aren't going to work well. I would bet your face shape plays in quite a bit as to how well they work too.

I really like using them as they definitely increase my awareness of cars approaching (even with a rear mirror) and make it much easier for me to hear others in conversation. As for the look of them, I could care less as I probably already look silly to most, but if it's not your thing, then so be it.