Monument Man

Hi, I just wanted to let you all know about a little gizmo that I picked up for my iPod nano. It's called the iPod Radio Remote, and cost about $45 at full price from Amazon.com. It's a great addition for any cyclist who uses an iPod while you ride. (note: it only works with the "just an" iPod, and the iPod nano, although I would not recommend using the big iPod for cycling because the HDD will eventually break)

Functionality:
* Standard white earbuds which have a small "remote" which you can clip onto your shirt and control the iPod while it's safely in your pocket.
* Adds great FM radio functionality to the iPod.

I nearly always ride with my iPod tucked into my jersey rear pockets, and it's definitely a huge hassle to change the settings during my ride. Fast forwarding through a song, changing the volume, all required me to fish the thing out of my back pocket, adjust it, then put it away. With the iPod radio remote, I keep the control "remote" on my shirt, and it's so easy to change the volume or song. Sometimes after I get sweaty, the iPod's volume will change because the shirt activates the iPod's touch wheel, but now with this remote, the nano is "locked" so there are no more sudded volume changes.

Anyway I know that lots of you don't listen to music while you ride, but for those that use iPods, I wholeheartedly recommend it. I really don't even care about the FM tuner, although it is integrated seamlessly and works very well with a very cool intuitive interface for setting favorites and changing channels. I think that it's a safer way for cyclists to use iPods on the bike, allowing for quick and easy control such as immediate pause, volume change, and cycling through songs (or FM stations).

UmneyDurak

Why would HD break? There is less stress on it during cycling, then during walking or running. I regularly see people running with iPods that have HD. Personally I just build a playlist of songs I want to heard when I ride my bike. That way there is no need to skip a song.

P.S. I wonder how many posts it will take before safety nannies will come in?

pathdoc

I got to say it, your ears are often the only thing that let you know there is a car behind you. BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.

sunninho

Yep, wear only one earbud so you can still focus on the road.

Biggziff

+1

feltdude

I don't see cars when I ride. But I do leave an earbud out for Fido.

PrfectHair4ever

What do you mean by HDD?

Monument Man

The question is not whether a Hard Drive will break. The question is WHEN. Hard drives have a shelf life, and are like a very small, very delicate bejeweled record player, to give the non-technical an idea of what's inside of a "regular/video/big" iPod.

The iPod nano uses flash memory ships instead of a hard drive (so does the iPod shuffle). This means that it has no moving parts, and thus can not be harmed by vigorous exercise.

I used my 4G iPod for cycling and it broke. I used it for almost a year every day in the rear pocket of my jersey, and although it was pretty nicely "snug" it still would bounce every time I hit a bump in the road, or changed positions. The HDD can only take so much before it dies. There are very small, delicate disks inside which rotate and a small stylus like device which will dent the disks on bumps. Running especially with it will significantly shorten the life of the iPod. It likely won't die the first time you use it for exercise, or even the 50th time, but it will die, at some point, and that is a big bummer experience as I saw my investment in a $350 iPod and about $200 worth of accessories basically evaporate. Plus, I am an electrical engineer working in high technology - I should have known better!

Notice that Apple's new Nike + iPod product line developed specifically for running, yet is not available for the big iPod. Apple releases this product line only for the nano because the regular iPods are not designed for exercise, and Apple would never openly endorse exercising with a hard drive, becasue then they'd have to replace them every time they broke, and the rate of replacement would be close to 100%.

Anyway, tons of ppl use iPods regularly for exercise but I'd strongly caution against it because eventually it will break. Apple will never discourage this practice, but it's not a good thing, for sure.

regarding safety, its a real issue. My iPod earbuds have relatively low noise isolation, meaning that you can still hear ppl speak (if the volume is adjusted accordingly). The wind noise is much higher than the volume, and I personally can hear cars and so forth. At speed, the music sounds like background noise. Still, it's awesome to be able to fast forward through a playlist to find an exceptionally cool "power song" which I'll turn on during fast sprints or climbs. Very cool!

Monument Man

HDD = Hard Disk Drive = the thing that breaks when you hit bumps on your bike or when you run with your iPod.

cwickman

I dont have the FM version, personally cant stand the radio, but I've had the Apple integrated remote for a long time and cycling is one of the major reasons i LOVE it. it's actually starting to short out after 2-3 years of hard use, time to go get a new one!

I make a playlist too when i ride but its a massive one on random of all the songs i might want to listen to while riding so sometimes i choose to skip a song. For some reason im also anti-normalization so it's nice to adjust the volume without digging back in my shirt too.

As for stress on the HDD... I agree that it should be a concern of any iPod user and that you shouldnt run with the big boys if you want to keep them in functioning condition for very long but i dont think cycling could possibly be worse than walking, especially since you're there to absorb a lot of the shock, and mine's been going strong walking and biking for three years.

Personally, I think my iPod is one of the greatest motivational forces I have and adds a huge extra dimension to the pleasure i take while out riding. I definitely find traffic situations where i get nervous and choose to take out a plug or pause it altogether but nothing beats Over the Hills and Far Away while eating up miles of open road.

Kenal0

I use one with my Nano all the time. Works great. I am selective when I use the Ipod however. I try to stick to roads that have minimal traffic or ride on paths. I won't wear it on rides where there are a lot of other cyclists around or when there is a lot of traffic. I agree that eventually the HDD takes a beating although I would say less if kept on the person as opposed to fixed to the bike.
Kenal0

Monument Man

A picture of the read-write head on a hard disk, travelling over the platter where the memory is stored. Hitting bumps causes this platter to be dented and memory to be erased. Eventually you will encounter either mechanical failure (from dents or non-spinning HDD) or from electrical failure due to memory loss and resulting software failure. The regular iPod has a miniature one of these inside of it.

GP 

How is the FM reception without an antenna?

If I'm understanding this correctly, you can control the regular nano functionswith this controller?

I bought a Nano a couple of weeks ago but I'm new to the whole ipod thing. I just figured out that an mp3 is not a tiny little cd.

cwickman

ipods and other HDD's that are 'fall-rated' or otherwise geared for shock have safety features that stop the hard drive when the system detects a shock, this is why your iPod 'freezes' when you run with it. stopping the hard drive's rotation keeps the read head from plunging into the platter and shredding it in what would be a disastrous spectacle i'd really like to witness

caligurl

i have an ipod remote that i clip to my jersey front.... the earbud end goes into it.. and the wire of the remote goes into the ipod...

i can turn it off (pause it)... (or the volume up/down and switch songs with it)

so if someone comes along side me... i can turn it off (without looking... just reach up and touch the button... no different than scraching an itch)

i always ride with the volume at a lower level... i can actually talk to people and hear them (and cars)...

the thing that drowns out people (and cars.. .and even my music)********** WIND NOISE! i'm forever having to say "WHAT**********" cuz of wind noise!

shakeNbake

Umm, didn't sony's stuff have these, like, almost 10 years ago?

Monument Man

The FM reception is honestly very good. I live in a big city so I've got plenty of close stations, but there's also plenty of interference and the FM Radio remote really does a great job on the reception.

DRLski

I don't find that I need an IPod, the voices in my head keep me plenty occupied

zimbo

IMO, a better interface for cyclists is the iPod Shuffle. I'll leave the religious debate alone.

--Steve

Treespeed

How does a car safely passing sound different from a car about to run you over?

recursive

And once you've identified the difference, what can be done?

Flak

Quote of the day

Monument Man

When the car is about to run me over, I can usually hear loud screams of "get him! its 100 points for the guy dressed in spandex!".

When the car safely passes me, it's usually accompanied by a loud "get onto the sidewalk, *insert popular regional expletive here*!" and the whooshing noise of an extended middle finger passing a few inches from my head.

Two very distinct sounds.

rpc180

Wind Noise is worse ... I've ridden without headphones while getting to a ride start and then putting them in after a few miles if I outpace riders and am by myself. The wind noise still gets in even with foamless earbuds. Still, I almost always ride with one out and a helmet mirror - and only in really safe areas (like a park with a single road) do I even contemplate using both.