Mmm. Don't agree.

I have both Aftershokz and Apple AirPods. I see virtually no difference between the AirPods and bone conduction headsets in actual use or in situational awareness. I've been using both for years. But I do think the the bone conduction headsets are better than the vast majority of earbuds.

When I am riding with both, when I'm in heavy traffic I stop the audio for full situational awareness so the capability to do so with whichever device is important. Both the AirPods and Afterskokz make that easy. I also don't think either present much, if any, safety compromise.

With interest largely fueled by this thread, I just ordered my first wireless ear buds. I'm pretty excited. I realize that I'll be compromising my safety on my trainer rides for the next four months, but it's a risk that I knowingly accept.

Cat videos.

In both senses of the word cat.

be careful out there; lots of wild objects may appear and cause a get-off

Boy has this thread gone the distance. I've tried riding with earbuds before, but I just can't do it. Riding for me is a total experience where I'm feeling the road, the effort, the scenery, the sounds around me. I love music to an extreme degree, but when I ride - I'm completely focused on the bike and just don't need the extra input. Phone calls on the bike? I think not. I'll call back at a stop sign or store stop or it can wait until I get home. I've been asked "but what if it's an emergency and (insert relation here) is hurt or your burglar alarm is going off" and my answer is that 20 miles from home I still can't do a d**m thing about it and have to trust that the professionals can deal with it until I get back. I'll check the phone to see who called and will pause to check a voicemail if it's practical to do so, then decide what to do about it, if anything.

This ^^^^. Plus, I actually do enjoy the sights and sounds and (sometimes) smells of my rides. It adds to the experience for me. More of a bike ride and less of a video game, to me. It's why Zwift is just not for me. I'd way rather ride in the rain than be hammering on a trainer in my garage, pretending I am in Mallorca (love Mallorca, BTW). I like riding bicycles with both wheels. Not bashing Zwift, either, as I think they are doing a service to cyclists.

Try the Plantronics 5200. The earpiece rests on the ear canal, not in it, so there's little reduction of ambient noise. If the caller is on your contact list, the name will be announced, as well as the option to accept or reject the call by saying "answer" or "ignore," all without touching either the headset or phone. It is by far the best noise cancelling headset I've ever used.

I completed my trainer ride without incident.

Side note: I love when people wax poetical about the purity of the experience without ear buds. Let's just remember that you're riding a machine that has seen more than a hundred years of refinement, on man-made roads, with high-tech clothing, etc etc. Either go for a run naked and barefoot through the wilderness or accept that your threshold for purity is as arbitrary as any.

you nailed it.

Did it make you feel like you were in a music video?

Kidding, I’m thinking I’ll give it a try. Got some Led Zepp for my inaugural bud ride.

Sound is sound isn't it? Airpods don't really block anything.. If I put a pair in my ears with nothing playing, I can perfectly hear anyone around me talking. OTOH, I can turn up some floorstanding speakers which aren't in my ear canal, and the noise makes it difficult to carry on or hear a conversation.

I do rely on being able to hear, especially in pacelining, and knowing if there's a car coming up on a tight roadway, and it's my turn to pull of the front and to the left in order to drop back. ymmv

This.

This is the key. It's less about what you put in your ear* and more about how loud you are cranking the volume up to the point that it's affecting your situational awareness.

* - One notable exception are those earplug-style IEMs that actually block outside sound (unless they have an ambient sound mode to let you hear outside sound).

I'm not the OP, but I have a personal update: today, for the first time, I rode outside with an earbud. I listened to an audiobook. It was pleasant. I did not die.

For me, listening to classical music actually helps me concentrate on my ride. Some people prefer sound of nature, but I get distracted. In summer, roads are closed to vehicles on Sundays in the National Park where I ride 99% of the time, so it's just us, the nature and a few joggers! Nothing to worry about.

If you have enough judgment, you won't put yourself or others at risk...

My hearing aids pump podcasts or music directly into my ear canals. I still hear cars.

I went for a hearing test, as I've noticed my hearing is getting worse. The examiner said my hearing loss does exist but is minor enough that it doesn't justify a full-blown hearing aid which costs $4,000. He recommended I get a PSAP (personal sound amplification product) and not to spend more than $200. I found this one on Amazon for $199 though I notice the price has now gone up to $249.

It's pretty good. It's a Bluetooth headset and it also takes ambient sound and pushes them into my ears. Now I can have both earbuds in and not miss any important traffic sounds.

Two things - most earbuds of the style of the Apple Airpods I or II don’t interfere with hearing ambient sounds at all. I use just one in my right ear (i.e. ear away from traffic) and I really can’t tell any difference at all. I’ve done this for thousands and thousands of miles. I do pause the playback when in areas where traffic is busy. But for rural riding/low traffic areas, it’s perfectly fine.

Many newer earbuds that use Bluetooth 5.0 have an ambient hearing capability that is really good. BT5.0 has almost undetectable latency between the sound and hearing it so that can work very well even with earbuds that seal the ear canal if they are in transparent mode. That said, for earbuds that seal the ear canal, you should probably only use one and have it in transparent mode.

The bigger picture is that there are many many choices now that work well for listening to music or podcasts while riding and maintaining or not impacting safety.

JohnJ80, thanks for that good information. I might have been happy with the Apple Airpods even though I would look like I'm wearing Q-tips. The price turned me off. Now that I'm concerned about my fading hearing, I've spent more than Airpods cost but have added functionality. I'm not sure if my iPhone 6S has BT5.0, but whatever it has is good enough for me. The new headset runs down its battery much faster than a normal headset because, I presume, it is amplifying all the time, so it can't go to sleep the way regular BT headsets do. That's an adjustment I'm willing to accept because of the added functionality. Now I turn them off when I'm not using them. But sometimes the battery drains before the day is done, so I have to be mindful.

Oh for sure. Wasn't advocating for Apple AirPods per se, but that the form factor works for letting ambient sound in and that the form factor is appropriate for riding. There are a lot of clones of the AirPods that you can get for cheap. With that form factor, I literally can't tell by listening whether I have an earbud in or not. Ambient sound is almost unimpeded from what I can tell. I think people get confused on earbuds - there are really two groups of styles: The kind that allow ambient sound (like AirPods) and the kind that seal up the ear canal. I wouldn't typically recommend that later but the former is fine. That said, there are now earbuds coming out that seal the ear canal but have an excellent transparent mode.

This is kind of interesting too. I don't know if it works with any earbuds/headset but it's interesting and can be pretty handy. You can put your earbuds in and then slide the phone more into the center of the conversation to hear better. Good example would be with a long table in a noisy restaurant and you're trying to hear what's going on down the table from you.

https://www.imore.com/how-make-your-...stening-system

J.

Wow, I am definitely going to try live listening mode. It is aiming to address the very problem I have.

It is wrong to assume everyone with earbuds/pods while riding is blaring music. Personally, I am a podcast junkie. Most of my rides are solo, and I frequently ride while listening to podcasts (often history-related podcasts). I keep the volume at a conversational level, and usually only use the right earbud. I wouldn't use them during a group ride out of courtesy, because someone might want to start up a conversation while riding. I can hear traffic just fine whether talking with a real person or listening to a podcast. I've never been on a group ride where there is a "no talking" rule.

Btw, if you can get past the slightly dorky look, these "cat ears" are helpful in reducing wind noise while riding. I use the slim version. I'm not sure how much they help with the speaker part, but they do definitely help you hear cars, calls, and podcasts while riding:
https://www.cat-ears.com/

yeah, it’s cool. I’m finding myself in that same boat now too.

Figured there was not enough controversy here and did not see this referenced. Sena helmet with built in Bluetooth. Never used it and don; know how it works. Cardo used to sell an headset too.

https://www.sena.com/product/x1

Cardo spun off the cycling products into a separate company called Terrano Systems. Great product, we use them.

https://www.terranosystems.com/

non sequitur - i can wiggle my ears, so if i need to pay more attention to what is behind me, i just move them to the rearward position like a dog or wolf might.