KC8QVO

I'm not sure if this is the best forum for the question/discussion, but I'll give it a shot -

What are some of you using to listen to audio while riding?

I don't really listen to music too much, more talk shows/podcasts. At the moment I use my phone on speaker mode tied with a string on top of the bar or in the bar bag (outside the bag its louder, obviously). When touring I do go through periods of not wearing a helmet. In this scenario I have a single ear phone headset that works well. However, it doesn't fit under my helmet.

I have wired earbud headphones also, but dealing with the wire is a pain while riding.

I do have a handheld ham radio that has a general coverage receiver I'll use for broadcast radio (traditional AM/FM). With its remote speaker mic and the volume of it that works fine on the bike - plenty loud and I can aim the speaker towards me. I can't do the same with my phone as easy.

I do use a RAM X-Grip for the phone when touring. Though that is a decent holder for the phone, it still doesn't answer the speaker scenario very well.

Does anyone use wireless earbud headphones? Do helmet straps interfere with them when you're riding? Do they stay in (though, everyone's ears are shaped differently).

Does anyone have a "bluetooth speaker" that has an analog 3.5mm plug input also? Not sure if one exists - if it does that might solve another conundrum.

Polaris OBark

My ears.

I listen mostly to these:

Birds.

Radar notification on my Garmin.

Occasional honks and obscenities that waft my way for having the audacity to ride my bike on roads built for fossil-burners.

This helps to keep me alive.

I listen to mostly lossless (uncompressed) music at home, using an external DAC (Teac 503), a good, powerful and transparent amp, and some B&W speakers, augmented with room correction. All of this is wired, because Bluetooth is inherently lossy.

For things like airplane travel or protecting my ears from chain-saws, I have some over-the-ear Senheisers.

I haven't used them for bicycling, but I have some Apple Earbud Pros or whatever the over-priced ones are called. They have a transparent mode that would allow one to hear traffic and other possible hazards and warnings. I believe this is crucial for safety reasons, at least on-road, but even on trails where I share the path with faster people.

Whatever you do, please don't feel compelled to share your love of Pitchfork at high volume with the forest residents.

Tusk

https://www.sony.com/za/electronics/...akers/srs-xb10

Reasonably water resistant. Sounds pretty good for what it is.

Sal Bandini

I also have a problem with earbuds staying in my ear, so I use something like these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They have the loop so it stays in my ear. I put the right side ear bud in, let the other one dangle, put on my helmet, and hook the other one onto the ear strap from the hook. It works great.

They don't make that model anymore but I'm sure you could find something similar.

fooferdoggie 

I only listen to podcasts or audiobooks with one wireless earbud that hooks over my ear. so I can hear all thats around me. not sure if I would want to listen to music with one earbud though.

2_i 

My set up is of bone conduction headset coupled through bluetooth to audio devices. Bone conduction does not cover ear canals, so you can hear the surrounding fine. Bluetooth eliminates dangling cables and I use a single transmitter to which I can connect different devices, so switching in-between does not require reconnecting. The headset allows me to make phone calls too.

KC8QVO

Can you find a link to what you have, or something that functions the same as you describe? Interesting.

2_i 

Below is the photo, on the left Mp3 player + radio connected to a transmitter and, on the right, Aftershokz Unicom headset. The audio devices attach with velcro to any bike and go to a pocket during a rain. The particular Mp3 player is on a trial - I got fed up with small buttons on the typical ones and am trying out a larger one. The phone goes with the other audio devices in listening only mode and gets connected directly for a 2-way conversation.

fooferdoggie 

the 90s called they want their stuff back.

2_i 

With that respect you might look at JBL Wind 2.

anthonybkny

I use a jbl flip 5 Bluetooth speaker. Fits into a bottle cage but no 3.5mm jack

KC8QVO

Interesting.

What is the "splitter" you are using? Does it prevent back-feeding audio to all the other devices if one is driving audio and, say, 3 others are connected? Or is it just a bare bones simple "splitter"?

2_i 

It is just a simple 3-pole splitter. I looked for 4-pole, for flexibility, but they apparently do not make them. I experimented various systems for electrical connection, but this emerged as the simplest one. When you use one output device you need to switch off the remaining ones, but not unplug. Otherwise the device with the lowest impedance that is on overwhelms the remainder. In practice this is not a big hassle as you are accessing the controls then anyway. That splitter piece also has a velcro patch, so everything can be attached together in a tar-ball fashion when needed.

gpburdell

I use Aftershokz Aeropex bone conduction bluetooth headphones. Nothing covering my ear canals. I put them on over my helmet straps.

Mostly when I listen to anything it's spoken-word podcasts, though sometimes I enjoy a bit of music. Never loud enough to occlude my situational awareness.

noglider 

I use a collarbone-mounted headset. This way, my ears are not blocked. Monster Boomerang

Garfield Cat

Clip 3

sean.hwy

I just got these from costco
air pod pro

It has three modes and it's very noticeable. In transparency mode with your music low you can hear birds, wind, cars etc...
I tested the noise cancellation in my noisy rav4 ( lots of repetitive white noise ) it was like night and day.

speedyg0nz

Sony recently released the LinkBuds, which have an open ring design that allows ambient sound to come through while streaming audio through the wireless earbuds. I thought they were perfect for cycling actually.

YouTube Review:

You Tube

oris

I used to wear an earbud in the right ear so I can still hear traffic and my Karoo alerts. However during group rides, I can't hear well enough to hold a conversation with friends. Since then I tried some bone conduction headphones; Shokz OpenRun and these work great. It's great for workouts, sound quality is good; just don't expect awesome bass or podcasts/audio books in traffic.

https://shokz.com/products/openrun

caloso

While commuting or doing workouts on the road, I'll often listen to podcasts or baseball with one earbud in the ear away from traffic. I don't wear any earbuds during group rides.