Cyclists and MP3 Players?

**Timbuk2**

What are your thoughts on this? I'll admit that I'm sometimes guilty of this, but only with one earphone in, only when cycling alone and only when in low-traffic environments

Is it equivalent to cars listening to music loudly? Is it legal/illegal? Does anyone else do this when riding alone?

TinyExplosions

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

What are your thoughts on this? I'll admit that I'm sometimes guilty of this, but only with one earphone in, only when cycling alone and only when in low-traffic environments

Is it equivalent to cars listening to music loudly? Is it legal/illegal? Does anyone else do this when riding alone?

I do it, and have no problem with it at all personally, though plenty of people will I bet!

bcmf

I used to but after a close encounter with a jeep and a trailer coming horribly close to me on a back road (obviously never heard it coming) and the fright of it suddlenly within an inch of me convinced me to keep the earphones for the rollers

neilled

The notorious cyclogarda that patrolled the clonskeagh road in Dublin used to pull over anyone he seen with earphones in. He hasn't been heard of in a while...........

Alanstrainor

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

What are your thoughts on this? I'll admit that I'm sometimes guilty of this, but only with one earphone in, only when cycling alone and only when in low-traffic environments

Is it equivalent to cars listening to music loudly? Is it legal/illegal? Does anyone else do this when riding alone?

I used to do it, but stopped about a year ago as i realised how dangerous it can be. I'm not one to find myself jumping on high horses saying other shouldn't do it or anything. It was just a case of having a close call and deciding enough was enough really.

paddy's hill

Can't understand why any would want to. I love cycling and that includes taking in all the sounds that surround me. Plus in urban areas I think is is dangerous to the point of stupidity, your scenes are there to keep you safe, why would you complete disable one of them, plus hearing is very important for balance so it must affect your bike handling.

monument

I use the "one earphone in" method. Normal listen to the radio, rather than MP3s. Only put the two in while cycling on off-road tracks, and still not loud enough that I won't hear anything.

In both cases, I'll also take the ear buds out when approaching junctions, heavy traffic where peds could be crossing etc (ie anywhere it is unsafe).

bonzie1

Hi. yeah I listen to the radio when out cycling alone. Where I live its mainly country roads but, I only use one ear piece so i can still hear the cars and trucks coming behind me. I don't no about the legalities. Cant see a problem though. I often hear the music from the cars before I hear the car.

Húrin

Yeah I love cycling into college on a sunny morning listening to Ride of the Valkyries.

pburns

paddy's hill wrote: »

Can't understand why any would want to. I love cycling and that includes taking in all the sounds that surround me. Plus in urban areas I think is is dangerous to the point of stupidity, your scenes are there to keep you safe, why would you complete disable one of them, plus hearing is very important for balance so it must affect your bike handling.

+1
a.) I don't understand why you'd want to. I'll listen to one on a train or bus when there's no other stimulii but not walking or cycling.
b.) It's stupidly dangerous on ANY type of road. Do any of you people who practice this actually DRIVE or are you all cyclopathics?

bonzie1 wrote: »

Hi. yeah I listen to the radio when out cycling alone. Where I live its mainly country roads but, I only use one ear piece so i can still hear the cars and trucks coming behind me. I don't no about the legalities. Cant see a problem though. I often hear the music from the cars before I hear the car.

I cycle mainly on country roads also but what you're describing is potentially lethal. It's not the same as listening to music in a car! You have no mirrors, are totally vulnerable and are moving at a fraction of the speed of most other traffic. Ergo you need to be using all your senses to stay safe and then some!

monument

pburns wrote: »

b.) It's stupidly dangerous on ANY type of road.

Sorry, but could you answer why using a headphone, in one ear and at a low enough volume is "stupidly dangerous"?

tunney

Inexperienced or nervous cyclists shouldn't.

Anyone half way competent on a bike can do so without any negative effect on their safety. (searching boards for the last rather comprehensive discussion on this would be a good idea)

Nietzschean

pburns wrote: »

b.) It's stupidly dangerous on ANY type of road. Do any of you people who practice this actually DRIVE or are you all cyclopathics?

what has experence driving got to do with it?

pburns

monument wrote: »

Sorry, but could you answer why using a headphone, in one ear and at a low enough volume is "stupidly dangerous"?

Using the one-earphone, low volume method you describe sounds sounds less than "stupidly dangerous" but I still think it's inadvisable.

tunney wrote: »

Inexperienced or nervous cyclists shouldn't.

Anyone half way competent on a bike can do so without any negative effect on their safety. (searching boards for the last rather comprehensive discussion on this would be a good idea)

Without ANY negative effect on safety?
I respectfully disagree but will concede I am a more experienced driver than cyclist. To turn that around though, I'll again ask how many of you who think this practice is OK are experienced drivers? Because even though I'll give cyclists a wide berth I sure as hell want to know he is aware of my presence.

With my cycling hat on, I like to be aware of what's going on around me if at all possible. For example if a car bolts out of a driveway or a dog runs out I'd like to know whether or not I have room to take evasive action. Maybe I'm inexperienced or over-cautious on a bike. I'd say some of you guys are over-confident and have little idea what it's like from the motorists' perspective...

Nietzschean

pburns wrote: »

I'd say some of you guys are over-confident and have little idea what it's like from the motorists' perspective...

I'd doubt that, afaik most of this forum are qualified/experenced drivers, and quite a few have been knocked down while cycling so have a far broader experence base. 'over-confident' is just a massive leap talking about people you don't know.


let me ask you, do you think its safe for drivers to have radios in their cars? there have been studies done in the past which have shown that listening to music while driving impacts on concentration/accident rates. as cyclists we find distracted drivers to be a massive hinderance, they are largely over-confident in their own abilities and don't actually cycle anywhere. All we can ever do is let experenced people judge what is safe for them to do while driving/cycling, other than have a nanny state and outlaw everything...

sy

Nietzschean wrote: »

......
let me ask you, do you think its safe for drivers (cyclists) to have radios in their cars (ears)? there have been studies done in the past which have shown that listening to music while driving(cycling) impacts on concentration/accident rates.......

Maybe in one ear might be acceptable.

BostonB

On the bike with all the noise its pretty hard to hear behind you anyway.

Personnally I just prefer listening to whats around with me, and messing around with cables, earphones falling out, and switching channels tracks, kinda takes away from being on a bike.

As a driver, you can tell very quickly when aother driver isn't paying attention, on phone, messing with radio, etc. They drive erratically.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Nietzschean wrote: »

what has experence driving got to do with it?

Road awareness, sense of judgement & to maybe a better sense of our environ's.

When I'm training I wear the MP3 player with some good pumping sounds, when I commute I listen to the radio and have never been surprised by something sneaking up on me that I haven't heard.

I've never found headphones which have been successful in drowning out even the lowest traffic sounds.

petethedrummer

You shouldn't do it, nor should you talk to anyone beside you, look at scenery, take a drink from a bottle, eat a bar or even blink, as this is time spent not being 110% utterly dedicated to your own absolute safety. Cycling is a very serious business and you should not be enjoying yourself.

zzzzzzzz

Yes, I listen to music while cycling. Most of the time only in one ear though. I also drive and listen to music at the same time.

If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, then don't. No need to rain on everyone else's parade though.

Junior

Anyone got a reccommendation for in ear buds, the rubber on the last set I got with the ipod have gone, I presume it's from sweat...

zzzzzzzz

Junior wrote: »

Anyone got a reccommendation for in ear buds, the rubber on the last set I got with the ipod have gone, I presume it's from sweat...

I have a set of sennheiser (CX300 i think). They're the ones that go right in to your ear - some people don't like that. The sound off them is incredible though - best earphones i've ever had. They were about 50-60 lids FWIR.

Junior

Thanks dude, I've looked at them before, I'm not sure is it worth spending that much on them if my sweat is going to destroy them again, but I know I've used cheap assed one's before and after about 20 minutes they become uncomfortable..

zzzzzzzz

Junior wrote: »

Thanks dude, I've looked at them before, I'm not sure is it worth spending that much on them if my sweat is going to destroy them again, but I know I've used cheap assed one's before and after about 20 minutes they become uncomfortable..

I've been using them on the bike around a year now and I've had no problems... Maybe your ears sweat more than mine though...

TinyExplosions

Junior wrote: »

Anyone got a reccommendation for in ear buds, the rubber on the last set I got with the ipod have gone, I presume it's from sweat...

I wholeheardedly recommend JVC Gumy Earbuds -cheap as chips (between 7-12 yoyos), and the sound is great out of them -certainly more than enough to listen to mp3's on, and cheap enough to be practically disposable. I tend to get a couple of pairs in Dublin Airport when I fly anywhere, but a fair few places should have them -even seen them in some Spars

Raam

The Sennheisers are the way to go. I use em commuting and no probs. Great sound out of them also.

rubadub

petethedrummer wrote: »

You shouldn't do it, nor should you talk to anyone beside you, look at scenery, take a drink from a bottle, eat a bar or even blink, as this is time spent not being 110% utterly dedicated to your own absolute safety. Cycling is a very serious business and you should not be enjoying yourself.

So I would presume you would not want people listening to radios in cars. What about people out walking? I see many put themselves in danger wandering around with ipods on. What about deaf people?

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, then don't. No need to rain on everyone else's parade though.

+1, I listen on my bike but I actually do not while driving.

I've never found headphones which have been successful in drowning out even the lowest traffic sounds.

+1 and I actually find it can be better to have slightly muffled sounds. With no earphones on I have had close calls and speed wobbles when you hear a car horn out of the blue, I often see other cyclists getting "the wobbles" due to car horns too.

pburns

Nietzschean wrote: »

let me ask you, do you think its safe for drivers to have radios in their cars? there have been studies done in the past which have shown that listening to music while driving impacts on concentration/accident rates. as cyclists we find distracted drivers to be a massive hinderance, they are largely over-confident in their own abilities and don't actually cycle anywhere.

Again, the car/radio, bike/earphones debate. Sorry, I don't think it's a like-for-like comparison... Interesting to note that the EU are making noise compulsory for electric cars specifically for the benefit of pedestrians ans cyclists (yesterday's Times)

Distracted drivers over-confident in their own abilities and don't actually cycle anywhere?
That's as presumptuous as making a point of distracted cyclists over-confident in their abilities who don't actually drive anywhere...

Nietzschean wrote: »

All we can ever do is let experenced people judge what is safe for them to do while driving/cycling, other than have a nanny state and outlaw everything...

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

Yes, I listen to music while cycling. Most of the time only in one ear though. I also drive and listen to music at the same time.

If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, then don't. No need to rain on everyone else's parade though.

Agreed - not trying to rain on anyone's parade. I never advocated 'banning' anything. I don't agree with the general consensus here but do think we need fewer rules and regulations in these times and deplore the 'nanny' state. So live and let live, if you think it's safe good luck.

It would be interesting what the consensus on the motoring forum would be though.

petethedrummer

rubadub wrote: »

So I would presume you would not want people listening to radios in cars. What about people out walking? I see many put themselves in danger wandering around with ipods on. What about deaf people?

Do deaf people listen to ipods?

blanco

rubadub wrote: »

So I would presume you would not want people listening to radios in cars. What about people out walking? I see many put themselves in danger wandering around with ipods on. What about deaf people?

Perhaps pete should have put a few of these in to help you see the gag?;):D:p:pac:

:rolleyes:

kenmc

FWIW.
Currently don't bother, used to on my commute, but haven't for well over a year - maybe even 2. Although I plan to taken a shuffle on the W200 for the times when the mind starts to wander into the black evil darkness.

Highway_To_Hell

Junior wrote: »

Anyone got a reccommendation for in ear buds, the rubber on the last set I got with the ipod have gone, I presume it's from sweat...

I use these sony ones for both cycling and running and find then great as they never fall out and as they only cost €10 they are cheap to replace.

DisasterIRL

+1 on the JVC gummy earphones, great things, I've bought a couple of fairly expensive pairs and they all seem to brake, and as like most electrical items these day they are built to be disposable(I sound old I know, but I've gone through 10 mp3/4 players from just heavy usage, not to mention 10's of earphones)

I used to do it, not much any more, never really think about it, but I never really found it drowning out the sounds of cars and the like, muffle them somewhat yes. Also if you choose to do it you just have to be a bit more aware and look around a bit more.

TimAllen

The only direct comparison with a car radio would be a radio mounted on a bicycle pushing out sound through a speaker, not headphones.
Headphones are designed to block out other noises , a speaker is deisgned to compete with other noises in the environment.
Using headphones while cycling is aginst the rules of the road and for good reason. An ounce of cop on would be enough to realise that headphones while operating a bicycle or car on a public road is dumb as well as against the rules. Worthly of a Darwin award when the inevitable happens!

Raam

TimAllen wrote: »

Worthly of a Darwin award when the inevitable happens!

Anyone wanna wager which one of us is gonna get it first?

TinyExplosions

TimAllen wrote: »

The only direct comparison with a car radio would be a radio mounted on a bicycle pushing out sound through a speaker, not headphones.
Headphones are designed to block out other noises , a speaker is deisgned to compete with other noises in the environment.
Using headphones while cycling is aginst the rules of the road and for good reason. An ounce of cop on would be enough to realise that headphones while operating a bicycle or car on a public road is dumb as well as against the rules. Worthly of a Darwin award when the inevitable happens!

Welcome back Tim, we've missed you!

Headphones are designed to block out other noises, this is perfectly correct -but then cars by default, without a radio or anything else on are also designed to block out noises from the road, from the engine, from everything outside the car. The only comparison to driving really is to cycle with those builders ear defenders on, or a pair of ear plugs in

DirkVoodoo

TimAllen wrote: »

Worthly of a Darwin award when the inevitable happens!

Tim, I guess you meant "worthy".

Earbuds don't block out sound completely, these are what most people would use. Full sized headphones on a bike are obviously completely stupid, but for me earbuds provide the same distraction as humming a tune to yourself as you cycle. I prefer the earbuds as I get fewer odd looks.

Radios in cars can be pretty distracting, as are children messing in the back, trying to light a cigarette, fixing make-up, using the phone, trying to read a map, fiddling with sat navs, talking to passengers, telling the dog to sit down for a minute, etc. The trick is not to be so distracted that you lose awareness, this applies to cars, bikes, buses, trucks, pedestrians.

But I guess for you Tim it is easier to point out the cyclist with headphones, just don't take your eyes off the road as you pass him!

stevie_b

TimAllen wrote: »

The only direct comparison with a car radio would be a radio mounted on a bicycle pushing out sound through a speaker, not headphones.
Headphones are designed to block out other noises , a speaker is deisgned to compete with other noises in the environment.
Using headphones while cycling is aginst the rules of the road and for good reason. An ounce of cop on would be enough to realise that headphones while operating a bicycle or car on a public road is dumb as well as against the rules. Worthly of a Darwin award when the inevitable happens!

cars should probably drive with all windows down at all times so

fletch

I cycle with one earphone and only ever in my left ear so I can hear traffic coming behind me. Takes the boredom out of my commute.

Lobster

I don't think cycling and driving can be compared, in a car you might not hear whats outside but you do have three mirrors available to you without having to turn your head so you are more aware of whats behind you and and you can check frequently at ease. I don't believe you rely on sounds as much in a car.

Junior

Highway_To_Hell wrote: »

I use these sony ones for both cycling and running and find then great as they never fall out and as they only cost €10 they are cheap to replace.

I'm normally found wearing glasses when cycling so one's that wrap round the ear are out - but thanks all the same..

DirkVoodoo

Lobster wrote: »

I don't think cycling and driving can be compared, in a car you might not hear whats outside but you do have three mirrors available to you without having to turn your head so you are more aware of whats behind you and and you can check frequently at ease. I don't believe you rely on sounds as much in a car.

If you find it harder to turn your head on a bike than you do for checking your mirrors in a car, you probably shouldn't be cycling.

Lobster

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

If you find it harder to turn your head on a bike than you do for checking your mirrors in a car, you probably shouldn't be cycling.

I don't cycle, my point is that you have three mirrors available to you when driving almost without taking your eyes off the road. Its easier to be aware of your surroundings in a car without sound than on a bike.

kenmc

Lobster wrote: »

I don't cycle, my point is that you have three mirrors available to you when driving almost without taking your eyes off the road. Its easier to be aware of your surroundings in a car without sound than on a bike.

And yet some drivers can't even manage that.....:rolleyes: Them there mirrors are only actually useful if they are used.

DirkVoodoo

Lobster wrote: »

I don't cycle, my point is that you have three mirrors available to you when driving almost without taking your eyes off the road. Its easier to be aware of your surroundings in a car without sound than on a bike.

Well, no offence but how can you judge how aware someone is on a bike without being a cyclist? I do both, so allow me to climb up on my high horse here and say that personally I find my awareness is dependent purely on me and not my mode of transport. I have never once thought that I am at a disadvantage for not having mirrors on my bike.

How can you check a mirror without taking your eyes off the road? I clearly lack your eyeball control. You can glance at your mirrors right? Well I can glance over my shoulder on the bike pretty quick, I also only need to glance over my right shoulder so whereas a driver has to check 3 mirrors to get an accurate picture, a cyclist need only look over one shoulder.

Lobster

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Well, no offence but how can you judge how aware someone is on a bike without being a cyclist? I do both, so allow me to climb up on my high horse here and say that personally I find my awareness is dependent purely on me and not my mode of transport. I have never once thought that I am at a disadvantage for not having mirrors on my bike.

How can you check a mirror without taking your eyes off the road? I clearly lack your eyeball control. You can glance at your mirrors right? Well I can glance over my shoulder on the bike pretty quick, I also only need to glance over my right shoulder so whereas a driver has to check 3 mirrors to get an accurate picture, a cyclist need only look over one shoulder.

Its only my opinion, doesn't mean its right. Didn't say I never cycled, never said I can check a mirror without taking eyes off the road either.

BostonB

Lobster wrote: »

I don't cycle, my point is that you have three mirrors available to you when driving almost without taking your eyes off the road. Its easier to be aware of your surroundings in a car without sound than on a bike.

You've a lower point of view, (you sit much lower) and narrow view angles and blind spots. Theres also pillars with more blind spots. Also you are travelling faster so have less time to look. Which is why you have to turn around and check when reversing, and not reply on the mirrors. Ditto changing lanes you have check bind spots by looking back, not relying on mrirrors.

DePurpereWolf

What should I be listening for on a bike? Cars from behind should be mindful of me, not the other way around. I am not going to turn right without looking because I don't hear a car?
If you can't hear a car that is 3 meters behind you, you have your music on too loud and you might damage your drums. (ear drums that is, not brake drums)
I've been biking with music forever, the problem is the wind and the traffic noise getting in the way. You should never have your music so loud you can't hear traffic anymore, even if you are not around traffic, it's just not good for your ear. Traffic noise is too loud to drown out.

I have to agree with BostonB, you are more aware of traffic when you are biking. Just because you move slower and you can see over everyone.

lukester

I use these bad boys on the fixer in traffic around town, 'cos they go with the whole 'zen' thing:



I do find I can't hear much other than Maceo doing his thang, but I have it up pretty loud, it actually gives me a headache!!

Also the cable hangs quite low, pretty close to the crank arms, but my knee usually knocks it out of the way.

Should I change headphones? Or listen to different music????

BostonB

http://www.stax.co.jp/ FTW...

DePurpereWolf

Whatyathink yourself?

A gettoblaster on your shoulder would make more sense.

It's like smoking while biking. You can do it, but it just doesn't taste the same.