SNEAK BIRD

I have been riding and listening to podcasts but I am going crazy trying to hear anything over the wind noise. I have tried the ipod buds and over the ear sony sport phones. I don't want to become deaf to traffic around me but I also don't want to become deaf from cranking up the sound to combat the wind noise. Any suggestions?

Machka 

If you are riding in Manitoba, Canada ... the best headphones are NO headphones. Riding with headphones is illegal in that province.

Before you head out with some, you might want to check to see if they are legal in the part of the world where you live.

Quick_Torch C5

the stock apple ipod headphones are a joke, I like the sony mdr-ex71, but since i'm rough with my 'phones, I bought some JVC "marshmellows". Both have soft earbuds that fit in your ear canal tightly, so you dont have to turn up the volume to hear good sounding music, but at the same time you can hear everything around you, and their snug so they wont fall out! BTW, they're both small and form fitting so you(or other people) hardly notice you have them on!

taddyangle

I use SHURE E2 headphones. They fit snugly inside my ear canal. When I am in the bike route (no cars around) I wear both, when I am riding the street I pop one out and let it hang, so I can hear traffic.

531Aussie

I found a way of cramming these under my helmet:



the good old Sony MDR-101

munkyv22

Get a Campy casette and freewheel and kick back and listen to the hideous clicking.

I saw some that were earbuds, but had a silicone part that went in the canal to form a better seal.

nobrainer440

I haven't actually tried this, so I dont know if it would work, but you could try putting on a headband or something cloth-like that covers your ears. I would think this would cut down wind noise without blocking out too much outside sound.

531Aussie

this is an obvious option, but then your sun glasses might have to compete for the space on top of your ears. Also, I'm not sure how comfortable the rear band is when you're bent over on the bike with your head right up.
That ain't me, by the way

the beef

These work well for me.

slvoid

Of all the headphones I've used, sony EX81's are the best. And that's from a member of both bikeforums and headfi.org

H1449-6

a) That "hideous" clicking is the sound of quality, yo.
b) Seems pretty dangerous to stick anything in your ear that reduces ambient noise (e.g. overtaking traffic) while riding.

xerocoma

IMHO.. the best headphones are no headphones... part of enjoying cycling is the surrounding environment and my proximity to it, including its sounds... and I like hearing those big ass Texas pick-up trucks and SUVs accelerating as they come up behind me....

botto 

get yourself some BOSE noise canceling headphones.

wneumann

I love my Koss KSC75s. And as someone above noted, a headband/earwarmer really helps cut down on the wind noise.

merlinextraligh

the one's with the life insurance policy

merlinextraligh

this argument goes on and on and on. It will never end. However, I'd like to offer a proposal: no one who posts that they wear headphones while riding gets to post in any thread complaining abut cars or riders down. If you're not taking all reasonable measures (i.e. listening to whats around you) to protect your own safety, you have no standing to complain about others.

Scorer75

Ridiculous. I don't have to have silence to hear a car. I have NEVER been surprised by a car behind me when riding with headphones, ever.

I don't know where you ride, but on my rides, I'm surprised when there is silence and I turn around and there is no car behind me. 99% of the time there are cars there and the other 1% I just assume they are there.

What does headphones have to do with cars making turns in fron of you, car doors, or any of the other causes of accidents we deal with?

It's a preposterous proposition.

wneumann

Only if we can also agree that no one can post about how unsafe riding with headphones is unless they can show that it does indeed create a significant increase in risk over riding in the same conditions without the headphones. If you have no supporting evidence, you have no standing to lecture to others.

FIVE ONE SIX

why not just go all out, sell the mp3 player, and do it the right way with Oakley wearable electronics?

https://oakley.com/o/c771s

my friend has a pair of the Thump 2's, and i tried them out for a ride this summer. honestly, i thought they were really nice, and still allowed you hear traffic. the ear buds don't seal in your ear, like some ear buds do. i mean yes, at $250-$350 they are rather expensive, but come on, some of us (like myself) spend more money on their bike than they do on their car...

tbdean

It's entirely possible to listen to traffic and still use headphones provided:
- you use only one headphone (in the right of course)
- the volume isn't too loud
- you have background music, not a podcast (talk / discussion)

Living in Los Angeles I always rode with an iPod and had no problems hearing traffic. In Atlanta I don't for two reasons: 1) It gives me that small bit of extra hearing. 2) These people don't see many bikers. I can't give them any reason to hate cyclists, if they see the headphone cable they're going to assume I'm not riding safe no matter what the truth is.

oilman_15106

N-o-n-e

merlinextraligh

Well, without spending the time to do research, the collective wisdom of a number of state legislatures that have considered the issue,and concluded its sufficently risky to make it illegal.

You're the one advocating using headphones, so the burden is on you to show some data that its safe.
Have at it.

with just a very quick google, wearing headphones makes it significantly more likely you'll crash. ( Now admittedly the study doesn't resolve if this is because of the distraction of the headphones, or because crappy riders were headphones) https://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/344.pdf

And you know I haven't read the peer reviewed literature on the statistial risk of running with scissors, but I'm pretty confident its a bad idea.

spinnaker

Oh no not again!

OP has only 3 posts. I smell a troll.

VeganRider

Bravo, +1 .. And use an eye glass mirror or some kind of mirror and know when there is a car back and ALWAYS look before going out of your line. If you want safety just stay online with BF. Real life on the road has some amount of danger; don't like it,,, then don't ride .

GuitarWizard

Wearing headphones out on the road is stupid. I've come across plenty of people who can't hear ****, startled as all hell when you come up on them. Of course, not that they can hear you when you call out to 'em since they have the 'phones cranked.

If you need that much of a distraction in order to ride, take up running. You can really zone out with a pair of headphones and a 1/4 mile track.