henrymchugh

I like to listen to some music while biking. I don't think it's too safe to use my ear phones with my ipod while biking. Is there an alternative? I'm new here.

Snicklefritz

I used to listen to my ipod all the time, but stopped doing that because there was too much "stuff" t watch out for: pedestrians, cars, potholes on roads with no shoulder, etc.

You could try a few things like only using an earbud in one ear. I heard of one guy who got some kind of small speaker that he put in a water bottle cage. There are tiny speakers you can buy that will fit in a small "fanny pack" type of thing so you can listen to music but still be able to hear stuff going on around you. These things are sold in equestrian catalogs of all places.

henryholz333

You should check out the Sonic Boom Bag. I bought it a few weeks ago and it's awesome. I use this bag to commute back and forth from work. You can connect your Ipod to this bag, no problems. The sound quality is fair decent. IT also has plenty of storage in the bag for my laptop and a few other work documents.

timmyquest

Personally i put my MP3 player in the bag under my bum, run the cord up through my shirt, and put an earbud in my right ear. Lets me listen to some music while still being aware of my surroundings.

Then if i find myself on a more tranquil part of my ride (such as bull valley illinois...if you've ever been) where the suns golden rays ocasionaly break through the trees on the smooth curvy hilly roads in the middle of the woods...i can pop that earbud out and let it hang on the collar of my shirt and listen to birds go tweet tweet.

nobrainer440

I'll give a large sum of money to the first person who can pipe music directly into my brain.

johnny99

Cyclists are always complaining about how dangerous distracted drivers are. Cycling with an Ipod can't be much safer than driving with a cell phone.

jjmolyet

I listen to my shuffle on the rails2trails but I don't think it is safe on the roads. On the other hand, I would never tell a hearing impaired person he is not qualified to ride a bike. I would suggest the single bud theory, mirrors, and hi-vis clothing. Try to stay on rural roads and off the busy city streets.

the beef

My personal opinion is that it isn't safe. The hum of my freewheel is enough music for me

Jinker

On the b-roads outside of town, sure. On a dedicated bike path, again, outside of town, sure.

On the road in town, yer nuts... Hearing that city bus sneaking up on you, the crunch of tires backing out of a blind alley or laneway, or any other myriad of noises can save your bacon, the distraction factor doesn't help either.

On multi-use paths in town? Never. It bugs me enough when walkers and joggers use their ear-buds oblivious to their surroundings. Riding those paths when it's the least bit busy is pretty sketchy to begin with.

timmyquest

You're going to have to explain that one to me. And would you guys stop calling "it" an Ipod. Dont be victoms of good marketing.

Do you have any Kleenex?
How about some Chapstick?
Would you like a Starbucks?
Do you have a Crecent wrench?
Nice Ipod!

yuck...

rapidcarbon

yeah, I WOULD NEVER NEVER listen to an ipod while riding because I already have a nice Zen

the beef

Get me a Band-Aid while you're at it.

feltdude

On these long, boring back country roads that I see 10,000 miles of over and over every year, I listen to an mp3 player in my right ear. I would go crazy riding 70 miles alone without one.

pgaulrapp

I ride the local bike path, i'm almost always alone and anything with more than 2 wheels isn't allowed. I rigged up a snap-on deal with zip ties and a belt clip holster thing on my handlebars. i love it, and i can see what i'm listening to when i need to.

timmyquest

DANG! I knew there was another big one out there

and an Amen to the Zen

zimbo

You obviously meant to say "can't be much safer than driving with the radio on" because, otherwise your sense of hyperbole damages your credibility as a serious participant in the discussion. Or perhaps you meant to say that driving with a cell phone is like riding with a cell phone?

--Steve

timmyquest

lol...

quoted for truth

Mr. Clean

Not ever. I live by the maxim "a moment for safety can last a lifetime". That's not to say I don't have fun or take calculated risks, but "headphones+bike" is not one of them.

timmyquest

I guess my earlier post went unheard...no pun intended.

Listening to music softly in one ear is hardly distracting.

PedalMasher

This has been covered countless times. Rural riding I'm full bore Ipod blasting the tunes. In traffic I keep it very low and find I can hear just about anything over it but gives me just enough motivation to keep chugging.

I find anything over 25+mph I can't hear it due to blasting wind anyway... Is it safe to ride fast with loud wind? Of course - no different listening to tunes.

gattm99

I did a 35 mile ride yesterday with my MP3 player the whole time. I use the wrap around the back of your head earphones as opposed to the ear buds. I find several advantages to this. They don't fall out, I can lift one or both off my ear and they stay on my head, they still allow noise in.

The danger I see in cycling in headphones is that little extra warning you get when a car is comming up behind you. You hear a car a quarter mile back and know that you can't stray off the right. Of course if you don't stray off the right you have nothing to worry about.

VeganRider

Solo ridding and heavy metal go to together for me, I hammer my a$$ off and don't want to stop. It's just plain fun to ride with tunes. Oh no, I said the word (fun) in this forum, oh well... Anyhow, I use a glasses mirror to see behind, for me that is the huge safety factor. PedaMasher, if you want to hear your tunes above 25mph, Sony makes some tiny buds that go deep into the ear. Comfortable and they cost $40 or so, worth every penny and they sound fantastic; NO wind noise, all music.

climbo

or bad spelling. Maybe he has the actual ipod device, so he's merely being specific.

Ride away dude, ipod's are great for riding with, makes my commute fun to listen to tunes or the radio (just as you do in your car). Search the forums and you'll find hundreds of arguments and posts on the subject.

GuitarWizard

Dude, it's been so ****ing windy here the last month, I can barely hear a car 50-100 feet back half the time, nevermind a 1/4 mile. Sometimes I don't know they're there until they pass.

Anyone else hate wind a lot....

ifox

there's a law in California that prohibits cyclists from covering both ears symultaneously regardless of location (well, trainers excluded ).