Carbonfiberboy 

The difference between good riders and the rest is that good riders pay attention 100% of the time.

Looigi

Yep. I got Westone UM-1s for riding. They seal out wind noise and greatly attenuate ambient sounds. Music will further mask sounds depending on volume. Use at your own discretion and risk.

kingsqueak

Then again, a 2mph right hook could kill you on a bicycle...it would just irritate you in a car.

It's scales of exposure. In my pickup truck I'd run over anything lying in the road, in my small hatchback it could break things, so I had to re-learn my driving habits. At night in a car I just wing it around a dark corner onto a side street with little thought, on my motorcycle I go very easy until I have light on the 'blind' area. The effects of the same mistake are definitely variable.

AdelaaR

True.
But there are more factors at work.
Attention, reaction time, correct reaction training, 3D vision, general awareness, perception, anticipation and ability to capture, track and predict multiple variables at once, proficiency, grade of experience with a vehicle in all kinds of situations, knowledge and even "feeling" of the terrain, understanding of general physics and the consequences on riding in different conditions, traffic awareness and experience, etc ... etc ...

SpeshulEd 

Hmm, I have some etymotics that look very similar to those, as well as some aiaiai ear buds that are also noise cancelling. I'm just afraid to go full on noise cancelling while on the bike. The iphone ear buds suck when it comes to wind noise though. To be honest, I have wind noise even without buds in because my ears are just gigantic.

justkeepedaling

I don't get the hate for music listeners.

I ride with only 1 bud in at low volume. And I check my 6 frequently and never ride with my head down. Never had any problems. Never got snuck up upon by anything.

Biggest part is just being situationally aware. Lots of people ride without ever looking behind them

TampaRaleigh

That's the thing about Florida... you have to be HYPERvigilant. It really is the worst place to ride a bike that I have ever seen. Heck, the other day I rounded a corner on the MUP and a bluehair was coming right at me, ON THE TRAIL, IN HER CAR!!! (She thought it was a driveway)

Nachoman

I passed a yahoo on the road the other day who was riding with no hands and his ear buds were so loud I could hear the music as I passed him. He was an accident waiting to happen.

Camilo

Yea, what the OP describes is the clueless, boneheaded sort of stuff that makes people assume that riding with ear buds and music is dangerous. But that's not because he was listening to music, it's because he was riding recklessly. I'm actually very careful when I ride whether it's with music or without.

Looigi

The Westone UM-1s are not "noise cancelling". They're noise attenuating in the same way that foam ear plugs are noise attenuating. There are (and I have) noise cancelling phones which use active circuitry to null out noise. This is more effective for lower frequencies and less effective for higher frequencies, which kinda works because passive attenuation is more effective for high frequencies than it is for low, so the combination can be very effective.

SpeshulEd 

The etymotics and aiaiai's probably both fall into the noise attenuating category. The etymotics have rubber cups on the end that block the sound, while the aiaiai's have foam - both similar to ear plugs. I have a set of active headphones too. I still can't hear anything going on around me with either set in. Maybe without music playing, but turn the tunes up half way and the outside world just goes away.

Personally, the couple of times I rode with earbuds, I found myself riding slower than normal. I was focusing on the tunes more than my riding/breathing.

thump55

Yeah, sorry man...I was hammering out the awesome drum lick to Sister Christian when you went by. You should have cranked some air bass instead of rolling your eyes at me. We could have totally jammed. It would have been awesome and I bet we could have gotten into that Mumford video too.

Now who's the yahoo?

lolguy

Clueless and boneheaded...riding recklessly?

You don't know enough about me or the situation to draw such a conclusion but everyone is entitled to their opinion...as uninformed as your's might be in this case.

That said, my point had more to do with how easy it is to lose connection with what you're doing on the bike when you're riding a similar route most days and you're doing it at a time of day not too many people would be fully aware. Where I agree with you is that my close calls had less to do with the music than the other factors cited.

I shared my short story as a cautionary note for other cyclists and it seems to have been taken by nearly all in that manner. You chose it to pass judgment on someone you don't know -- duly noted.

lolguy

So, I rode on Wednesday without the music and it was a slog as well as quite boring. Took yesterday off and set out again today with my music albeit at a lower volume. Much more tolerable with the music and I find it actually aids in my thinking. Riding is generally great contemplative time. Riding solitary as I usually do, it's just me and the bike. A nice way to start the day before a 10-12 hour day at the office!

Regarding headphones, I can't stand wires and love the Jaybird Freedom Sprints I purchased last year. They are Bluetooth, so no long wire, good sound, secure in the ears well and very stable for cycling or running. Big fan of the Jaybird's.

Oh, and incident free for two rides! ;-)

Camilo

You're right, I did jump to a conclusion and really don't know your skills and habits. I don't like when people do the same toward me (like calling me an idiot for riding with ear buds) I apologize if I misunderstood, but this is what I based my little rant on:

Be careful out there. I tend to get hyper vigilant when riding w/ the tunes, rather than zoned out. But I'm an old coot (pushing 60) and have been riding with tunes since cassette "walkmen"

Long Tom

Well... those things are not really synonymous.

Music negates a sense (hearing) that I for one use a LOT to help maintain situational awareness on my bike.

What people do is, of course, their own business; at least this is true up to the point where what they choose to do endangers others. Not saying listening to music crosses that line, just finishing off the thought there.

Machka 

Yet another reason to mix up our routes. I like to ride at least 3-4 different routes a week.