Listening to music whilst out on a ride

I wouldn’t do it. I use my
I wouldn’t do it. I use my eyes of course, but my ears as well to know what is happening around me. In winter I rug up and often have my ears covered. I dislike it. Personal preference of course. If someone I was riding with was listening to music instead of my amazingly gripping and interesting stories I would send them to the front so that they at least shield me from the wind. If they weren’t going to do that, I would drop them and ride on my own – they are of no use to me…

Of course you do realise that
Of course you do realise that your comments are falling on deaf ears 😀

Commuting: no way I would
Commuting: no way I would listen to music. Morning traffic over here is distracting enough as is.
Training/Rec: Of course! Get a little adrenaline from a great song, catch up on NPR (BBC Radio over here), or listen to what’s going to be coming up on you schedule-wise.

I have to say, the concern over the image of cyclists as a whole is impressive. If you really think about it, where else is there such a large community (with loose to no ties to each other) so concerned with their public image?

As some people have mentioned
As some people have mentioned wind noise is sufficiently loud to be a major problem when going at reasonable speeds on country roads. That is why I’m thinking of getting a mirror. After all no-one would dream of driving a car without one, so why go on a bike without one, although I have been for 44 years. Used to have an iPhone on max volume in my back pocket occasionally but could only hear it if I turned my head a bit, which shows how loud wind noise is, especially compared to modern quiet cars.

divingrob wrote:Anyone tried

divingrob wrote:

Anyone tried aftershokz they conduct the music through the bone near your ear?

Yes, I tried them. Sound quality was lacking. You only get bass if you hold the speakers against the bone with your fingers, which would defeat the point. Also, the volume was either too low to hear against the ambient noise, or loud enough to drown out other sounds. Neither is good.

One of the lads in the club wears one earphone when riding. On Sunday, he and another lad took the wrong exit off a big major roundabout. I shouted into the wind, and the other lad heard me (maybe 50 metres away). He shouted repeatedly at maximum volume to the earphone wearer less than 2 metres in front of him. No response. That was the last time we saw him. One lad tried calling his phone. The other 6 of us regrouped and took the correct exit.

I listen to music on the
I listen to music on the rollers (gotta find some way to entertain yourself) but, for me, on the road music’s a no-no. I get enough entertainment from the world around me and, even if I was bored to death, safety first! Rather bored than dead!!! 🙂

IMHO riding my bikes around
IMHO riding my bikes around London and South East England is either an exercise in tilting the odds towards survival as much as possible, or a matter of enjoying it.

Busy roads, even on Boris blue lanes, are dangerous places (partly due to reckless cyclists) and I’ll take every 0.1% advantage I can get. I’ve been properly mashed once in ten years of regular riding and despite a great service from the NHS its not good, probably with lifelong future joint problems. Dozens of less lucky cyclists have died – the pedestrians and cyclists will always come off worse in a wrestle with a big lump of steel. The human brain is very good at picking up clues and processing them instantly on a “System 1” automatic level, so I don’t want to compromise any of that.

Out in the sticks I can’t see the point of even partly cutting off the environment, the breeze in the trees, the joy of the birds twittering away whilst winching up a quiet climb, the patter of footsteps as a hedgehog overtakes me etc etc. And, the possible early warning of a mechanical problem from a change in bike noises.

So for me no headphones on the road and personally I would lobby for all of you out there to keep your ears peeled as well when out on the public highway, or on towpaths etc.

Keeps you safer, keeps everyone else safer.

joc wrote:People that listen

joc wrote:

People that listen to Susan Boyle deserve to be run over :D