Earbuds in while road riding - yay or nay?

Spanky_Ham

Porcinus Slappius
The whiney swiney one uses bone conducting headphones while commuting to work. They dont have the most awesome sound quality (compared to a set of over ear can style headphones), and over a certain speed wind noise will block anything out anyway but they do allow the sweaty bastard to enjoy the aural surroundings of it's commute to work whilst crappy kpop music soothes the baconed beast...

From a few years of using different brands of bone conducting headphones, Trekz are the only ones for the pigs head....

TLDR : trekz bone conducting headphones..... win
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
That's interesting and something that would not have occurred to me. Cant say I've even been bored on a bike - if its not actively exciting, its a chance to chill.
I find if I dont have something singing or talking to me I get caught up in my own thoughts and can't switch off.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
I find if I dont have something singing or talking to me I get caught up in my own thoughts and can't switch off.
I just zone out, mind wanders to the soothing swoosh of slicks on bitumen and the totally click/creak/rattle free (lol...) mechanical metronome...

I find it very relaxing.
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
The whiney swiney one uses bone conducting headphones while commuting to work. They dont have the most awesome sound quality (compared to a set of over ear can style headphones), and over a certain speed wind noise will block anything out anyway but they do allow the sweaty bastard to enjoy the aural surroundings of it's commute to work whilst crappy kpop music soothes the baconed beast...

From a few years of using different brands of bone conducting headphones, Trekz are the only ones for the pigs head....

TLDR : trekz bone conducting headphones..... win
Trekz because of sound quality?
 

Jim Junkie

Used to sell drugs, now he just takes them
You get all the background noise, which means at speed the wind buffeting is pretty loud.

I use the aeropex and bass is pretty light, but better than expected. You can get pretty good sound with ear plugs in (some foam ones come with them), but that kind of defeats the purpose.

They suit what I wanted, you get to listen to some music and still hear what's going on around you, just don't expect it to sound like in-ear buds for depth of sound.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
 

Spanky_Ham

Porcinus Slappius
Trekz because of sound quality?
Yeah, compared to other cheapy bone conductor headphones he has tried. They also fit his fat head well... his trekz airz (wearing them right now at work) can be on all day and hardly notice them. You can use them to answer calls (handy when your gloved up) and also ask google questions.....
 

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
Yep. Bluetooth noise isolating ear buds. $60. Brilliant. I prefer to not hear cars that drive too close. I just stay on my line/ side of the road and all's good.
Anker Soundcore liberty Neo off amazon
 
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tubby74

Likes Bikes and Dirt
road riding as in commuting to get somewhere I never use headphones. but I often do laps around Olympic park on my own, usually very late so not many other cyclists around even at the start. 5km loop and decent sized bike lane the whole way. Never music though, spoken pod casts which don't block out background noise very much, and don't just become background noise themselves like some music can. jay and silent bob, joe rogan those sort of things.
 

Slow moe

Likes Dirt
How good is your hearing? Personally, I can’t hear the difference between a car that is going to miss me by one metre and one that is going to skittle me (at least not when it is far enough away to take evasive action).

That said, I am a walking contradiction - I ride on road with earbuds but down quite enough I can hear cars coming and there is no way I would use noise cancelling headphones. i suppose I want to know whether they abuse be before they mow me down or whether it is just an accident
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
Why?

Shared paths, trails, footpath or are they walking on the road.
I see them on the trails and bike paths in a world of their own, ring my bike bell and they still don't move. Even if you slow down you don't know if they're going to walk in front of you at the last minute or stop dead in front of you.
 

creaky

XMAS Plumper
Even if you slow down you don't know if they're going to walk in front of you at the last minute or stop dead in front of you.
Yeah, but at least there will be less damage done to both of you and your bike if you slow down and give them a bit more room.
 

nzhumpy

Googlemeister who likes bikes and scandal
Yeah, I get that all the time as well, that's why I just give them a wide berth whenever possible...maybe I have a bit of sympathy because I've had it happen so many times on the bike, when a faster vehicle buzzes you it does boost the heart rate.

Buzzing peds is a bit shit and just gives everyone a bad name and tbh around here anyone on a bikes name is mud anyway.
 

ForkinGreat

Knows his Brassica oleracea
I see them on the trails and bike paths in a world of their own, ring my bike bell and they still don't move. Even if you slow down you don't know if they're going to walk in front of you at the last minute or stop dead in front of you.
I get runners and walkers using them, but it still takes a major sense out of your awareness system. Even walkers and runners have to look around more, and I don't see that happening. I will always ring my bike bell (no point getting a fine when easily avoided) AND give them a wide berth on a bike/walking path.

If you use them out on the roads, you are definitely shortening the odds of getting wiped out by a motor vehicle.

Cardy George has his head on a swivel and that is the only way to partly compensate for the lack of auditory cues.

Not for me though, I get on the bike to relax, whilst still clocking everything that could possibly kill or injure me. Head phones are too much of a distraction.

There was a whole thread on this a year or two back on bike network aus. self entitled fuckwit central. No-one would entertain the possibility that it was a dangerous thing to ride with headphones. Don't get into the compulsory helmet debate there either. if those idiots want to ride without a properly fitted quality helmet, Let natural selection take its course ;)
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Cardy George has his head on a swivel and that is the only way to partly compensate for the lack of auditory cues.
For sure. And I don't even recommend others do it, but I'm another one who gets wound up in my own thoughts, and I spend to much time on a bike for that.

Another factor is now that I live in the bush, I'm only dealing with a tenth of the traffic. And ever since we moved here, at least one direction has been travelled in the dark, so I get a early warning when the road lights up in front of me
 

FatMuz

Likes Dirt
My bike commute is an 80 km round trip with a mix of bike paths and road. I use a set of Trekz bone conduction ear phones and love them. I can hear what I need in terms of cars and conversations, but still get to enjoy my tunes on the ride. I wouldn't do it with standard in ear buds... but have no worries with the Trekz.
 

Elbo

pesky scooter kids git off ma lawn
Nay for me. The silence and space to think is a big part of road riding for me. I enjoy the sound of my tyres rolling on bitumen, the sound of wheat rustling in the field I'm riding next to, or hearing a car approaching and knowing by it's sound what to expect (modded Commodore exhaust or loud mud terrain tyres are a dead giveaway for potential abuse or close call). I mostly ride alone and treat it like meditation, although I'm less of a lone wolf now and will join a bunch for safety in numbers.
 
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