Cycling UK Forum

Re. Electric cars; isn’t it the case that at normal road driving speeds ( as opposed to walking pace in car parks etc.) most of the noise from a car approaching from behind is tyre noise not engine noise?
Electric cars are generally heavier than the petrol equivalent, so might be noisier?

Psamathe wrote: ↑23 Dec 2023, 5:34pm

Norman H wrote: ↑23 Dec 2023, 4:09pm ...
There are downsides to not wearing them when cycling; the most obvious is not hearing motorised traffic approaching from behind. ...

I wonder if we need to get more used to using mirrors and less reliant on hearing motor vehicles approaching behind? - electric vehicles are a lot quieter so maybe need to get more used to not using hearing for awareness of card?

531colin wrote: ↑24 Dec 2023, 11:57am Re. Electric cars; isn’t it the case that at normal road driving speeds ( as opposed to walking pace in car parks etc.) most of the noise from a car approaching from behind is tyre noise not engine noise?
Electric cars are generally heavier than the petrol equivalent, so might be noisier?

Below 20 kph there's an EU requirement for minimum sound: "Approaching Vehicle Audible Systems", but that won't affect vehicles moving faster than that. There are also lower limits on external sound:
https://single-market-economy.ec.europa ... duction_en

I haven't seen any evidence that tyre noise from EVs is greater. (But it's certainly more noticeable within EVs because there's so much less engine noise.)

Jonathan

My point remains;
If most of the noise you hear from a car behind you is tyre noise, not engine noise, then the quietness of an electric car motor isn’t a problem?

Thanks for all the useful replies.

As it happens all my cycling mates with hearing aids have behind the ear NHS ones and they all do exactly the same - take them off when they get on their bikes in case they get dislodged while riding, and put them back in at cafe stops. Then they complain that they can't hear conversation in the cafe because the background noise is amplified so much! I know it's possible to get aids that work out where the conversation is coming from and amplify that and reduce background noise, but I don't know if NHS ones do this.

So I wondered if "in the ear" ones were more secure if anyone has experience of those?

And I wondered if these and the ones that reduce background noise would reduce the sound of vehicles coming up from behind. I do have a rear view mirror, but one of my regular right hand turns for example is on the busy A59 with cars and HGVs whizzing past at 60 mph, and I'm reluctant to rely on the mirror alone unless there's absolutely no traffic noise to be heard. Now I'm of a certain age and not as flexible or balanced as I used to be that means stopping on the left hand verge so I can look behind. Maybe I will just need to do more of this.

Steve Snook wrote:Thanks for all the useful replies.

As it happens all my cycling mates with hearing aids have behind the ear NHS ones and they all do exactly the same - take them off when they get on their bikes in case they get dislodged while riding, and put them back in at cafe stops. Then they complain that they can't hear conversation in the cafe because the background noise is amplified so much! I know it's possible to get aids that work out where the conversation is coming from and amplify that and reduce background noise, but I don't know if NHS ones do this.

So I wondered if "in the ear" ones were more secure if anyone has experience of those?

And I wondered if these and the ones that reduce background noise would reduce the sound of vehicles coming up from behind. I do have a rear view mirror, but one of my regular right hand turns for example is on the busy A59 with cars and HGVs whizzing past at 60 mph, and I'm reluctant to rely on the mirror alone unless there's absolutely no traffic noise to be heard. Now I'm of a certain age and not as flexible or balanced as I used to be that means stopping on the left hand verge so I can look behind. Maybe I will just need to do more of this.

I asked the audiologist about my NHS aids getting dislodged while riding and they gave me additional plastic 'wires' that loop inside my outer ear, these act as keepers and I've never had any worries about them coming out since when riding or doing other exercise.
I think they might be called "sports locks", but I'm not sure. These are standard NHS fitments - your pals should ask about them.

My reason for taking them out when riding (as mentioned previously) is wind noise - the product for dealing with this is marketed as "Ear Gear" (Google it) - expensive but effective, the extra 'bulk' becomes a problem when you add glasses!
I suspect 'in the ear' aids will also be affected by some wind noise but have no experience

Steve Snook wrote: ↑26 Dec 2023, 10:01pm Thanks for all the useful replies.

As it happens all my cycling mates with hearing aids have behind the ear NHS ones and they all do exactly the same - take them off when they get on their bikes in case they get dislodged while riding,

If that works for them that is great, but as I said, I never thought not to wear my behind ear NHS hearing aids while cycling. It works fine for me; they don't fall out, wind noise is minimal and it's great being able to hear while cycling. Why not try wearing them and see how it goes for you?

geomannie wrote:

Steve Snook wrote: ↑26 Dec 2023, 10:01pm Thanks for all the useful replies.

As it happens all my cycling mates with hearing aids have behind the ear NHS ones and they all do exactly the same - take them off when they get on their bikes in case they get dislodged while riding,

If that works for them that is great, but as I said, I never thought not to wear my behind ear NHS hearing aids while cycling. It works fine for me; they don't fall out, wind noise is minimal and it's great being able to hear while cycling. Why not try wearing them and see how it goes for you?

Wise words indeed!

geomannie wrote: ↑27 Dec 2023, 8:08am

Steve Snook wrote: ↑26 Dec 2023, 10:01pm Thanks for all the useful replies.

As it happens all my cycling mates with hearing aids have behind the ear NHS ones and they all do exactly the same - take them off when they get on their bikes in case they get dislodged while riding,

If that works for them that is great, but as I said, I never thought not to wear my behind ear NHS hearing aids while cycling. It works fine for me; they don't fall out, wind noise is minimal and it's great being able to hear while cycling. Why not try wearing them and see how it goes for you?

The behind-the-ear hearing aids I use were more problem than benefit when riding the bike, even in a group.

Wind noise varies with wind direction - I never found a means to suppress it in all conditions.

Plastic "wire" keepers stop the wee loudspeakers from falling out of your ear canal but they don't stop them being dragged out of your ear completely when you forget they're there and drag off your specs and hat at the cafe. I once spend half an hour searching the gravel outside the cafe to find one-such.

But the most pressing reason not to wear them on the bike is that sweat eventually gets in to them and rots them. It takes a while but after three months of trying to use them when out riding with the club, they both died and couldn't be revived by the menders, who showed me the sweat-rot.

When club riding, I took them out in a small pouch in the jersey pocket, to put in at the cafe or other stops when needing to hear better. I enjoyed listening to the cursing of a puncture mender not very good at it, for example.

**********
Perhaps some aids are more resilient to the sweat than others? Perhaps there is an anti-wind noise device that works in all conditions? But unless you're riding in a group in which your want to have conversation, why use them when cycling? If you want to know what's behind, get mirrors, which give far more information about the behinder than does an engine roar or tyre swish.

My main reason for me not wearing them on the bike is the replacement cost NHS £70 !!!!
OK I can hear enough like emergency vehicles ect so I don't really need them on a ride
and not been able to hear Mr Car Drivers verbal abuse is a bonus