jgwilliams

Plus 1 for Cat-Ears. The advantage is that they reduce wind noise only, whereas any sort of ear plug is reducing all sounds which, personally, I would consider to be a bit of a safety issue. It seems, though, that Cat-Ears don't work for everyone.

Lambkin55

Sprigs Earbags Bandless Ear Warmers/Earmuffs with Thinsulate

Camilo

Ah, I see. They're essentially like the ski muffs I have. I doubt they'd be useful for me. Too warm in the summer. When it's cold, I always wear a balaclava (of various weights) or a over-ear skull cap so the wind noise is largely mitigated by that.

cellery

I'm a bald dude so to prevent helmet line sunburn when riding I wear what I call a helmet liner - but it's basically just a sweatband / beanie combo made of a stretchy material similar to what bib shorts are made of. There's a bunch of brands out there and I use them all. Headsweats, Halo, a few no-name amazon ones, various others. When the wind temp gets down below about 60F, my ears hurt pretty bad. I pull the sweatband part down over my ears in these cases and it mostly stops the ear pain. Like how you'd wear a winter beanie. Below about 55F and I have to wear an actual fleece lined beanie under my helmet because the ear pain would otherwise be unbearable.

I have no issues with hearing traffic and other environmental awareness issues wearing these beanies. The cat ears thing seems like a solution in search of a problem but if people like it I can't knock it.

mstateglfr 

Nope, ear buds are not a safety hazard. I play music and can still hear cars approaching behind me. Ear buds dont keep me from looking around either.
Ear buds are no more of a safety hazard than gravel roads are a safety hazard due to the surface noise drowning out traffic behind a rider.

Between a Varia that alerts me of traffic approaching from behind, my ability to look around and see possible safety concerns, my ability to still hear vehicles approaching and passing, and the reality that I dont change how I am riding regardless of if there is or isnt traffic- ear buds create no safety hazard concern.

As for the question of if cycling is boring, people play music while doing things they enjoy. Playing music doesnt mean the activity isnt fun.
- runners play music while running.
- gardeners play music while gardening.
- gyms play music and people play music while exercising.
- music is played during pickup basketball and volleyball games.
etc etc etc.

Troul 

earmuffs ftw

BlazingPedals

DogEarz will also block the wind. They are basically fleecy material that covers the triangle formed by your helmet strap. They're mostly for winter use and might be too warm for summer, but will block the wind noise too.

kap 7

I'm curious how fast some folks are riding that wind is such an issue? I've never noticed the wind in my ears maybe I'm just a slowpoke!

hevysrf

I remarked to my wife this morning how dependent my situational awareness is on hearing traffic. I will only wear one earbud, curb side. I am not fast.

ThermionicScott 

Sometimes the wind is pretty loud just waiting at an intersection.

rsbob 

At 15 MPH the noise reduction is significant, and even moreso with a headwind. I have often caught myself riding at 18+ by surprise because of the reduction in wind noise.

urbanknight

Everybody has different levels of sensitivity. I don't really notice wind noise until about 25 mph (speed + headwind), but that's just me.

indyfabz

I have Dumbo ears that stick out some. I don’t have to be going fast for wind noise to be noticeable.

daihard 

You mean, exercising at the gym can be fun?

DirePenguin

The first year or so that I got my CatEars (the AirStreamz ones), I was constantly looking down at my Garmin thinking I was going really slow only to find that I was at my usual speed (18-20mph)! Without the CatEars, wind noise starts bothering me at about 15mph and drowns out pretty much all other noises by about 20mph! I wouldn’t hear an approaching vehicle until it was right next to me!

Now, with a combination of CatEars and a Garmin Varia, cars and trucks aren’t “sneaking up” on me, anymore!

jadmt

I wore foam ear plugs yesterday on a windy 82 mile ride and made a big difference in comfort. probably wear them all the time now. still could hear traffic but just a lot more enjoyable.

livedarklions

I think differences in ear shape make a huge difference here. My ears are pretty much completely parallel to the sides of my head, so it doesn't bug me much even at downhill speeds. I hear it, but it's just not uncomfortable.

urbanknight

That makes sense. My ears are on the smaller side and rather parallel as well. This would make an interesting study.

rsbob 

You automatically are gaining 2 Watts. My ears, on the jumbo/dumbo size penalize me 4 Watts. Now lets debate the science - or better yet, let’s not.

livedarklions

Two words--magic feather.