EventServices

Our school didn't have a marching band on bikes.

And our band played El Salon Mexico. Try marching to THAT!

rangerdavid

the dreaded Double Fail.............. dang........ even I've never been double failed...........................................






yet.



RD

furyx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_eye

umd

DataJunkie

I pretty much wear headphones 6 days a week 52 weeks a year.
Keep it at a reasonable level and you are fine.
During my century yesterday I wore headphones for about 95 miles. Still alive. No close calls as usual.

carpediemracing 

For the quibbling folks above, as UMD pointed out, you can hear quite well while running a single earbud, even if you put the earbud in the left ear (I automatically put it in the right one though).

In fact, I could carry on conversations with people on the ride to my right (earbud) side. At one point it got windy during such a conversation and I told the guy to repeat himself after I removed the earbud. He was surprised, we'd been talking 30 minutes? and he didn't realize I had music playing in the earbud.

Basically you can hear much, much better with an earbud than being in a car with the windows up and no radio etc. I'd say there's an extremely minor drop in hearing ability, to the tune of 5 or 10% max, esp with the poor design of the earbuds I've tried.

Usually wind is louder than the music.

Having said that, most of my riding with the earbud was in pretty desolate areas (Gainsville FL and Carlsbad CA). Not that much traffic for the most part, esp the long jaunts out to Palomar etc.

And, as I pointed out earlier, I haven't ridden with an earbud for a while now, a few years.

Also, relating to the cadence thing, you can go in thirds or even double the beat. Having spent a dozen years playing the violin (frankly I was a much better violin player than a bike racer), it's difficult to ride off beat. I found I can adjust my cadence so it's not too grating to my musical side. Thirds means 60 rpm for 90 bpm, or 80 rpm for 120 bpm (more applicable for climbing). On the flatter bits it's easy to do 80-120 rpm. On the downhills I can't hear the music.

cdr

McTufferton

Earbud in right ear.

Traffic noise in left ear.

Only on solo rides though.

DScott

I won't ride with music, it's just not worth it. It's as much an issue of paying attention as it is of losing/diminishing one of your senses. On some level, it's a distraction, splitting your attention between riding and listening. Otherwise, why listen to music?

At lower speeds, my hearing helps me be better aware of what's around me, and that's useful to me. At higher speeds, I can't hear jack anyway because of wind noise, and need my attention focused on what's in front of me and being able to keep an eye on what's behind me (like on fast descents).

FWIW, if I see someone wearing earbuds, I assume they're more a risk to me and act accordingly. They might not be, but most around here are pretty clueless to what's around them.

And for that third eye thing? Mine disappears every time I sit down, so it's really not of much use to me anyway.

grolby

More like, do you listen to the radio while you drive? FWIW, I've known people who can't do it, but most people seem capable of it.

Personally, I don't ride with music outdoors. I just can't feel comfortable doing it, but that doesn't mean that it's particularly dangerous. The only thing that hearing really does is let me know when a vehicle is approaching, which isn't actually as useful as it seems. It just prevents startling when the vehicle zooms by. Sometimes. It's quite easy to be caught by surprise by traffic, and it happens to me (and, no doubt, you) with some regularity. And even though I can usually hear the traffic, I'm generally able to tell absolutely nothing about how far away the vehicle is, how fast it's approaching, how close it will pass, and so on. And if you think that you can tell these things by hearing, you're fooling yourself; hearing has incredibly low resolution. Humans are remarkably bad at telling wear a sound is coming from. The most reliable information we get is which side of the head it's on.

On top of that, if you happen to be riding on a road with steady traffic, hearing it becomes especially useless since you are hearing passing traffic constantly.

My point, basically, is that characterizing reduced ability to hear (even if headphones/music are used in such a way that they do reduce hearing) as a "huge safety risk" is silly. It's mistaken fear-mongering, basically. Riding with music, with a low enough volume to hear one's surroundings, probably isn't all that dangerous. It's not to my taste, and may not be to yours, but that doesn't mean that doing it is unsafe.

CrimsonKarter21

if you have to ask, you'll never know.

lineinthewater

As several have mentioned, it is the brain's ability to multi-task that is as much an issue as the straight-up hearing issue. Not to mention, I use a mirror - which combined with hearing is my best safety combo.

Hmmm ... read across as many forums as you wish - there are a lot of silly people out there. Go figure. I'll happily ride in my silly "fear-mongering" silence. Anything to ensure I come back in one piece. (BTW, how does fear-mongering benefit someone like me who would love to listen to music while riding?)

Also, riding with earbuds on high/medium volume (like many do around here) is a HUGE safety hazard (IMO). And as you decrease the volume, and take an earbud out, the hazard gets lower - duh. It's not like this is a black-and-white issue.

mzeffex 

I listen to music when I mountain bike. Which I will be doing in 20 minutes. Woo!

dark13star

I put in the right headphone and listen to audiobooks on my climbs, but take it out, or at least pause it, on descents. I can't hear over the wind noise anyway. A typical climb up the Front Range takes an hour to an hour and a half, so I can makes some good progress. I am also going slow enough while climbing that I have no safety concerns.

nazzo

I've done most all of my rides with ear buds in. While I mostly listen to NPR podcasts (damnit I sound like some uppity liberal when I say that) I also switch over to some music if I'm not feeling The Story or The Moth podcast.
I can still hear approaching cars even when listening to some 70's hard rock but I always still react the same to approaching cars, which is no reaction at all. I stay my ground on the shoulder of the road and continue in a straight line.

Lazyrider

This is one of the few times I agree with umd. Think about driving a car with someone in the car having a conversation with you or listening to music. I am sure you can do this just fine. So, one earbud in and riding you bike shouldn't be a hazard because you still need to use your vision and be generally attentive. Plus I can hear all traffic coming as I don't wear a bud in my left ear.

Now, if it is just that you cannot process music while riding, then that is an issue with how you are wired.

coasting 

i always have an earbud in one ear when riding. usually radio recently but also audio books and sometimes music.

what's the problem?

FR4NCH1SE

Its pretty easy, the problem occurs when you put the music too loud. I listen to my ipod everytime im on the bike, I usually dont use my Ipod but it's good for working out. I have a beat to spin with, and when I get to my favorite part (usually a guitar solo) of a rock song, I sprint. But if you put the sound so that you can still hear the cars and the people out in your environment there really shouldn't be a problem.

genius1265

I find it easy and takes your mind off pedaling, Im sure most people ride like this but I ride into head on traffic untill I see a car coming then I switch to the right side. Check behind to make sure no cars are coming and switch back after the car passes. I love my headphones so much Im buying Oakley thumps to elimate the wires, and I plan on wearing them even when I race next year.

chipcom 

^^^ this

If you can walk and chew gum you can ride and listen to music.

chipcom 

I'll let you in on a dirty little secret...if you keep the music turned down to a reasonable level, you can still hear what you need to hear.

fazzman

I think creative makes a clip on that has a loud speaker on it. Clip it on the brake cable and ride. Ill use ear buds that have a clip that goes around the ear. I only wear them on the bike path though. If im on the road i wont wear them, trafic is crazy here. Plus i kinda like to listen to the bike.

chipcom 

They don't care what you are wearing or what you are listening to unless you do something stoopid that makes them have to react to you.

As far as the volume...if you need it that loud to enjoy it, it prolly isn't very good music anyway.

chipcom 

Then you got the wrong music on your playlist.
Don't choose your songs from the Greatest Hits of the Lawrence Welk Show and you'll be fine.

chipcom 

See, I don't get this. Why must your attention be between one or the other? Music is background and has nothing to do with what I am paying attention to, no more than listening to some other rider yak at me or someone talking to me via a radio. Multi-tasking and being able to prioritize your tasks is your friend.

Hamish200sx

I'm really at a loss trying to figure out what you guys think you are missing out on by not hearing the traffic. What benefit are you receiving by hearing cars pass you? You are riding in a 2 foot wide lane that cars don't drive in and that doesn't change no matter what you hear.