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Wireless earbuds while riding?

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Wireless earbuds while riding?

Old 12-02-19, 05:49 PM
  #176  
Jim from Boston
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THE QUOTES:
Originally Posted by Athens80
The debates about listening while riding have been done already dozens of times.
Originally Posted by Jeff Neese
Well, there's really not much debate about it, is there? It's a very bad idea.

But it's good that it comes up now and then, for the new folks.
THE CONTEXT:
Originally Posted by Dreww10
Does anyone use a single wireless earbud while riding, and if you do, how is the microphone performance? … Curious to hear you.
Originally Posted by Athens80
Does anyone have a response to the actual question -- will the rushing air drown out his voice?

The debates about listening while riding have been done already dozens of times.
Originally Posted by Jeff Neese
Well, there's really not much debate about it, is there? It's a very bad idea.

But it's good that it comes up now and then, for the new folks.
Originally Posted by bpcyclist
This debate reminds me a lot of American politics, which also involves a lot of vigorous debate and very little consensus
Originally Posted by velopig
I agree. Another commonality is one group non earbud people judging and preaching with an air of superiority over people who choose to use earbuds.
"Vigorous debate..."done dozens of times," IMO refutes rather than confirms, "Well, there's really not much debate about it, is there? It's a very bad idea."

Hardly “settled science.”

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 12-03-19 at 05:21 AM. Reason: added subsequent quote by velopig
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Old 12-02-19, 07:33 PM
  #177  
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Skull candy method wireless

I use these earbud sports headphones but I only use one earbud so I can have one ear to the public. I would never use both.
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Old 12-02-19, 08:22 PM
  #178  
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Originally Posted by bpcyclist
This debate reminds me a lot of American politics, which also involves a lot of vigorous debate and very little consensus.
I agree. Another commonality is one group non earbud people judging and preaching with an air of superiority over people who choose to use earbuds.
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Old 12-02-19, 08:44 PM
  #179  
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Faux Fur Helmet Strap Covers...

Originally Posted by WhyFi
I wonder if something like those ridiculous looking cat ears/helmet strap sideburns would help with voice quality since they evidently help with wind noise quite a bit?
I ride with DIY faux fur covers on my helmet straps in cold weather. They do look ridiculous, but they cut wind noise a LOT, and eliminate the need for ear-pops or a helmet liner for warmth, down to roughly freezing temps.
I use a wired ear bud in ONE ear, listening to NPR "All Things Considered" or similar. I can hear approaching cars just fine & also use a helmet mirror. I prefer to keep a bud in the car-side ear, because Harleys and Horns are louder on that side.
The microphone for the wired earbuds is NOT protected from wind noise by the "cat ears", but the smaller "airpod" style wireless bud might work.
I can hear talk radio just fine, but wind noise is still a problem on phone calls with my wired earbuds, because the mic is a few inches down the cable.
Previously, I used a Plantronics 340 bluetooth earpiece that worked great on the bike, but still suffered in wind, until it died.
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Old 12-03-19, 02:09 AM
  #180  
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Lots of wussies responding in this thread. I ride my motorcycle at speed with earbuds in; dragging knee in the canyons. If I can do that, then I sure as hell can ride a bicycle with earbuds in

Last edited by Princess_Allez; 12-03-19 at 02:15 AM.
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Old 12-03-19, 05:00 AM
  #181  
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Originally Posted by Princess_Allez
Lots of wussies responding in this thread. I ride my motorcycle at speed with earbuds in; dragging knee in the canyons. If I can do that, then I sure as hell can ride a bicycle with earbuds in
How do you hear anything over the loud pipe that's saving your life?
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Old 12-03-19, 08:45 AM
  #182  
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
i cited ways in which we are all distracted to the job at hand when driving in vehicles and compared those ways to riding with ear buds.

I see no difference between all of them.

If hearing is vital to safety and not being distracted when cycling, then the same should apply when driving on the same roads. I argue that a car's noise insulation combined with radio and/or conversation in the car effectively makes both activities(again- riding with buds and driving with radio/coversation) equal in terms of ability to hear traffic.
Yet it's perfectly acceptable to drive in an exterior noise reduced vehicle(less noise is actually a luxury that we pay for) and play the radio.


How is this not tracking for you?

And ultimately, none of this even begins to address the reality that I cant hear much of anything at 16mph or above when riding even without buds in. Wind noise alone cancels out most noise on roads.

...but we all must have our ears available when riding even though they really arent needed for driving and not much can be heard when riding due to wind. Ha- this thread is full of brilliance.**
I have no opinion about the safety of wearing earbuds while cycling. I have no judgement to pass on those that do vs. those that don't. It's merely a matter of preference as far as I'm concerned.

Originally Posted by mstateglfr
How is this not tracking for you?
I think that making a false equivalence between driving a car and riding a bike undermines your argument. In my opinion – and dare I say, conventional wisdom – the risks and hazards between the two are vastly different.
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Old 12-03-19, 08:50 AM
  #183  
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Second that

Originally Posted by velopig
The AirPods work well and can talk on the phone and Siri works reliably.
AirPods have awesome technology where they can detect your voice and isolate it; I get even less wind:background noise with them than I did with wired ear buds.

although not being noise cancelling, if it gets too windy, you won’t be able to hear your music/podcast very well.
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Old 12-03-19, 08:53 AM
  #184  
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Originally Posted by Succhia Ruota
In my opinion – and dare I say, conventional wisdom – the risks and hazards between the two are vastly different.
IKR. I mean, driving a car, you're way more likely to harm others in addition to yourself, so the stakes are considerably higher.
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Old 12-03-19, 08:57 AM
  #185  
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Originally Posted by WhyFi
IKR. I mean, driving a car, you're way more likely to harm others in addition to yourself, so the stakes are considerably higher.
And conversely, on a bike (riding in auto traffic), you are at greater risk of being harmed.
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Old 12-03-19, 09:22 AM
  #186  
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Originally Posted by Succhia Ruota
And conversely, on a bike (riding in auto traffic), you are at greater risk of being harmed.
Per mile? Per hour? By fault of the cyclist or the vehicle driver? Citations, pls, thx.
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Old 12-03-19, 09:40 AM
  #187  
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I think that many of the anti-headphonites are in active denial of one particular point: cycling on the road is an act of faith. I don't mean faith as in the gods and religions thing, I mean it as in the first definition of the word: complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

Riding a bicycle on an open public road, there is generally only one thing stopping a car striking you from behind: the situational awareness and driving ability of the person operating that motor vehicle. The other guy. We as cyclists live (literally) by the faith that said person isn't going to hit us.

The notion that we're in complete control, and that we can use our keen senses to protect us from any and all dangers is at best merely hubristic. Absolutely pay attention, this is what prevents us from getting right-hooked or otherwise pulled into by motor vehicles.

But if a driver is distracted for whatever reason at just the precisely wrong moment, that's that. You've about as much chance of dodging a car approaching from behind as you do hitting a pitched fastball while standing with your back to the pitcher.
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Old 12-03-19, 10:09 AM
  #188  
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Originally Posted by Succhia Ruota
And conversely, on a bike (riding in auto traffic), you are at greater risk of being harmed.
Originally Posted by WhyFi
Per mile? Per hour? By fault of the cyclist or the vehicle driver? Citations, pls, thx.
No reason to be pedantic here. To me it seems fairly obvious that the human body is more protected in a car than on a bike. No citations, statistics or metrics needed. You're welcome.

Last edited by Succhia Ruota; 12-03-19 at 10:19 AM.
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Old 12-03-19, 10:15 AM
  #189  
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Originally Posted by Clarinetrox
AirPods have awesome technology where they can detect your voice and isolate it; I get even less wind:background noise with them than I did with wired ear buds.

although not being noise cancelling, if it gets too windy, you won’t be able to hear your music/podcast very well.
They are truly an impressive innovation. I see people talking with them while cycling in places I couldn't dream of doing it. There's plenty of wind noise, and my cheap earbuds could not allow talking. But I'm just not willing to pay for them, as talking on the phone while cycling is not a priority for me.
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Old 12-03-19, 10:51 AM
  #190  
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Originally Posted by Succhia Ruota
I have no opinion about the safety of wearing earbuds while cycling. I have no judgement to pass on those that do vs. those that don't. It's merely a matter of preference as far as I'm concerned.
I think that making a false equivalence between driving a car and riding a bike undermines your argument. In my opinion – and dare I say, conventional wisdom – the risks and hazards between the two are vastly different.
When I ride, I put myself at greater risk to injury than when I drive.
When I drive, I put others at greater risk to injury than when I ride.

The risk of an activity neednt be considered when discussing if an action within that activity is smart or not.
Sure, the risk level is different between the two. But my comments that you take issue with are based not on risk, but rather on distraction. I was responding to a claim that listening to music while riding a bike is distracting. I attempted to point out that its absurd to claim people shouldnt wear ear buds when riding due to distraction when (i would guess) that many who vilify ear buds find it perfectly acceptable to listen to the same music in a noise reduced vehicle. Distraction is distraction to me.

I rely on sight over sound when riding(and driving), even though I can hear vehicles near me.
A lot of trust and verification goes into safely cycling on roads. Like that old guy said- trust but verify. I dont need full hearing to trust or verify while riding. This is quite nice for me since, you know, I cant hear much of anything once I reach the high teens due to wind noise.
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Old 12-03-19, 11:55 AM
  #191  
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Originally Posted by Chi_Z
riding with earphone is unsafe, if you have to, use a bluetooth speaker. Also god forbid if you did get into an accident with cars, the earphone could help the driver's case.
If you have to, use ear buds.

Speakers ruin other peoples' enjoyment riding.

If that blocks out other noise, turn down the volume.
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Old 12-03-19, 12:09 PM
  #192  
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Originally Posted by Succhia Ruota
No reason to be pedantic here. To me it seems fairly obvious that the human body is more protected in a car than on a bike. No citations, statistics or metrics needed. You're welcome.
If all other things were equal, yeah, it'd be fairly obvious. But, to me, it seems fairly obvious that you're overlooking something fairly obvious and quite significant: speed. Cars go faster. Faster most certainly means that time to impact from a given distance is shorter, which probably means that accidents are more likely. Faster also means that the likelihood and severity of injury will increase.

Also, the crux of the conversation is that of actionable means of avoiding accidents by way of auditory input, so we still need to look at that, too.

So yeah - citations, pls, thx.

Last edited by WhyFi; 12-03-19 at 12:17 PM.
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Old 12-03-19, 12:26 PM
  #193  
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Like others have said, my wife and I ride with bone conducting headphones (Aftershokz) and they are fantastic. You can listen to the music and also hear stuff around you. We can even talk to each other on the rides (you just shift your focus from the music to the conversation, though sometimes I pause it if it's going to be a long talk).

Really, it's the safest and lest intrusive route for those around you if you want to listen to stuff and ride.
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Old 12-03-19, 12:31 PM
  #194  
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Originally Posted by WhyFi
If all other things were equal, yeah, it'd be fairly obvious. But, to me, it seems fairly obvious that you're overlooking something fairly obvious and quite significant: speed. Cars go faster. Faster most certainly means that time to impact from a given distance is shorter, which probably means that accidents are more likely. Faster also means that the likelihood and severity of injury will increase.

Also, the crux of the conversation is that of actionable means of avoiding accidents by way of auditory input, so we still need to look at that, too.

So yeah - citations, pls, thx.
At this point, I think you're just arguing for the sake of it. Have a great day, thx.
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Old 12-03-19, 01:13 PM
  #195  
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Arguing for the sake of arguing is what the road forum is all about!
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Old 12-03-19, 01:18 PM
  #196  
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
Arguing for the sake of arguing is what the road forum is all about!
No it isn't.
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Old 12-03-19, 02:22 PM
  #197  
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Originally Posted by Succhia Ruota
At this point, I think you're just arguing for the sake of it. Have a great day, thx.
A common refrain among the wrong.

Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
Arguing for the sake of arguing is what the road forum is all about!
No way. I argue because I'm right and others are *so* wrong.
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Old 12-03-19, 02:44 PM
  #198  
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For what it's worth, noodle soup and @WhyFi know their stuff, and it's a good idea to listen to them.
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Old 12-03-19, 09:03 PM
  #199  
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Originally Posted by znomit
How do you hear anything over the loud pipe that's saving your life?
I have a gentleman's exhaust: Akrapovic. It's not much louder than the factory unit, but that's besdies the point.

Last edited by Princess_Allez; 12-03-19 at 09:07 PM.
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Old 12-04-19, 09:34 AM
  #200  
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Originally Posted by noodle soup
No it isn't.
It's what the entire interweb is about.
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