Cycling with earphones in

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
Mark1978
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by Mark1978 »

Psamathe wrote:And as somebody else has pointed out, helmet noise does not help. I find the helmet noise issue is with "false positives" in that I am convinced I hear a vehicle, turn to look and noise stops, look ahead and noise returns, etc. and then establish it is the wind noise on my helmet and it changes as you turn your head. "False positives" can become dangerous as well 'cos when you hear a vehicle you risk ignoring it because it is "just helmet noise".


Yes, I get that all the time, convinced there's someone behind me, turn around and, nothing. I guess it shows most of car noise is wind noise.
Brucey
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by Brucey »

Psamathe wrote: ...But, cycling narrow single track lanes with lots of blind bends I find that most vehicles are travelling slowly and thus quietly. Occasionally you do hear a vehicle, but most you see first.

And as somebody else has pointed out, helmet noise does not help. I find the helmet noise issue is with "false positives" in that I am convinced I hear a vehicle, turn to look and noise stops, look ahead and noise returns, etc. and then establish it is the wind noise on my helmet and it changes as you turn your head.....


I think you may well need a better (or perhaps just better fitting) helmet. In particular, if the straps don't lie flush against your head then they will make a lot of noise very close to your ear. If the helmet is much tilted to the airflow it will also make more noise than it should. A little experimentation may well ease matters.

Re car noise; a good deal of the noise at low speeds is made by the tyres. It is rare that I don't hear a vehicle coming from behind (I don't much care if I see or hear them coming from the front); the exception being when it is blowing gale force from directions that don't allow me to tilt my head to one side and leave one ear in a lee side position where the wind is less noisy.

I would no more choose to impede my hearing using headphones on the road than I would willingly choose to ride blindfold.

cheers
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AndyBSG
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by AndyBSG »

Moodyman1 wrote:It's a no from me too. Besides the lack of hearing, I think it's anti-social to ride in a group and yet, not talk.

One of the joys of group riding is the camaraderie, the conversation and the shared experiences. You lose that when you isolate yourself through earphones.


I wish that when I was cycling I had the breath to talk!

Regarding the OP, it's a split camp and one of those debates that polarises people. For me, I consider my hearing a key sense when cycling. I've tried headphones but found it definitely did have an affect on my awareness so woouldn't use them again.
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gentlegreen
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by gentlegreen »

If you choose to try it - on a quiet path or road, I can thoroughly recommend Koss KSC75 clip-on phones.
Not much over £10, amazing sound quality for the money, and so open to outside sounds that I have some interesting experiences with the ambient electronica I listen to - it often features birdsong and other natural sounds ... the weirdest time was listening to an unfamiliar mix and I thought someone had crept up behind me and was saying random things in my ear. :lol:
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by Vorpal »

I don't listen to music, but I don't have a problem with people doing so. IMO, the potential for distraction is a bigger issue than noise.

This topic has been discussed a few times before, and tends to be a little controversial...

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=77990
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=57746
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=49171
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,

On safety a listener might always be dammed.
Perception is a powerful thing, it can focus you attention on what might be missed by others.

As someone who likes music and listens to it most of the day whilst I am working I am biased.
Some cannot work whilst listening to music, I can and just blank it when I am focusing on measurement or fine assembly.

If I am doing a for instance a 3D modelling test / competition the concentration is chronic (well for an uneduacated soul like me) so as I remember there was no radio but might of been, some years back.
But concentration on dodgeing trees on a narrow forrest trail is not hampered.
It might be the way peoples minds are wired.
But I find when I am doing mundane tasks then music passes the time.

If you are working hard and with others say on a cycle ride there is so much to ocupy you mind that time does fly.
But in the dark on your own for me it makes time a more bearable thing, especially on my turbo trainer, now thats boring unless you can transport your brain to another place of fantasy.................

Off road cycling is easier as there is lots to see hear and explore, hard long road work with not even a car is mind knumbing for me.
Although I trained for moor walking in teams I spent most of my time doing it alone as with 99 % of my marathon training at night in the dark, and wholly for the last 15 years cycling alone, I have spent most of my working life on my own, something others find impossible.

So If I listen to music I can focus in my task which is only training over the last say 5,000 miles with only one or two leisure rides where I cycle with no goal in mind and I might even sit down and take in the view :)

My phones dont block out all the noise and when I am in lanes where traffic can come on you with no warning, I turn the volume down, even though I can hear cars round a blind bend they dont slow till after they see you by which time there face is one of alarm, and If I was a car also driven by them then a collision is imminent.............................

On my training rides where there is a few miles of lanes I am constantly looking behind as the hedges can muffle cars and at your speed they barely make a noise at all.

I am not making excuses just saying what I do, car driving sends most of us to sleep on a motorway in few hours, motorcycling lands end to john a groats is easy in a day as the elements keep you awake, your muscles are active all the time in just hanging on.
Cycling is like that and its been said before we are just more alert and tuned in.

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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
gentlegreen wrote:If you choose to try it - on a quiet path or road, I can thoroughly recommend Koss KSC75 clip-on phones.
Not much over £10, amazing sound quality for the money, and so open to outside sounds that I have some interesting experiences with the ambient electronica I listen to - it often features birdsong and other natural sounds ... the weirdest time was listening to an unfamiliar mix and I thought someone had crept up behind me and was saying random things in my ear. :lol:


A car horn on a song track still makers me turn around even though I have listened to it twenty times and always occurs on the same road :?
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Neilo
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by Neilo »

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:Hi,
A car horn on a song track still makers me turn around even though I have listened to it twenty times and always occurs on the same road :?


Don't listen to Time by Pink Floyd, or Bicycle Race by Queen then :P

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TrevA
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by TrevA »

We used them a bit on our JOGLE. You are mainly cycling on lightly trafficked roads, so the issue of hearing traffic is a bit of a red herring. Even if you can hear car coming up behind you, the information is of little use unless you can see the car too. You don't know if it's going to hit you or pass you leaving a 6 ft gap. A mirror helps here.

However, a word of caution. We were cycling from Lockerbie to Gretna. I had my i-pod on. My wife stopped to take a photo of the Blacksmiths wedding venue, I didn't hear her call out and carried on cycling. We lost each other and by the time I realised she wasn't there, I had to backtrack about a mile, through several left and right turns to find her again. I'd given her my mobile to put in her handlebar bag too, so I couldn't even phone her!
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toontra
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by toontra »

I listened to music on my last LEJoG - probably about 7-8 hours out of the 14-hour days in the saddle. Long stretches of the route I took were rather "plain" so it relieves the boredom. Since then I use music regularly to brighten up dull long-day rides. Some of my best memories of rides is when a particular piece of music echoes with the landscape.

It means concentrating a bit harder on your road position and doing more shoulder checks. Otherwise I can't see the problem. If you are going to get wiped out from behind by a deranged driver then it will probably happen anyway.

I wouldn't suggest it's for everyone - it's a personal choice, like helmets :wink:
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
TrevA wrote:We used them a bit on our JOGLE.
However, a word of caution. We were cycling from Lockerbie to Gretna. I had my i-pod on. My wife stopped to take a photo of the Blacksmiths wedding venue, I didn't hear her call out and carried on cycling. We lost each other and by the time I realised she wasn't there, I had to backtrack about a mile, through several left and right turns to find her again. I'd given her my mobile to put in her handlebar bag too, so I couldn't even phone her!

The trick when traveling in groups or even two, when you cannot be heard (motorcycling) is to remember to always look behind when you make a turn at all and spy the next rider has seen you turn, this works very well on motorcycles when speed and navigation down unfamiliar roads lanes etc is mandatory if in a group of six or ten riders, on long distance reliability trials.
The first and last rider navigates with map, the last rider checks that the lead rider is correct, if the chain is broken every one stops at a turn and waits for confirmation up and down the line.
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StellaLdn.
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by StellaLdn. »

I listen to music while cycling (alone). And I also sing along (loudly). That said, I have the music on a level that enables me to hear the traffic. It helps me find a rhythm and concentrate better. When I had to cycle without music for a few days, it felt odd.
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RJS
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by RJS »

Hi, just to add, if your friend does you his ipod he could use induction headphones, they sit on your temples, so your hearing of traffic etc is not masked so much.
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irc
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by irc »

TrevA wrote:We used them a bit on our JOGLE. You are mainly cycling on lightly trafficked roads, so the issue of hearing traffic is a bit of a red herring.


I disagree. One of the joys of low traffic roads is that I can stop constantly checking my mirror to watch the overtaking gaps because I know I'll hear any traffic coming.
Ayesha
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Re: Cycling with earphones in

Post by Ayesha »

What I ought to do is wear the Bluetooth earpiece for my TomTom in my left ear.

When I turn my head to look rearward and she says something, the signal gets interrupted by my super dense neuron brain and the message is garbled.
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