Listening to Music - good idea and what to listen to ?

richardbrown9709

I have recently bought off Ebay ipod speakers (altec lansing IM500) which fit very neatly into my handlebar bag allowing me to listen to music on my 12 mile commute ("Highway to Hell" - AI/A406 junction ?) whilst keeping my ears free for the traffic (no headphones).

Anyway 2 questions

1. Do people think that this is a good compromise to the issue of listening to music whilst riding ?

2. Any ideas for good sounds ?

whyamihere

I wouldn't, because I would worry about annoying other road users/pedestrians. I find riding with earphones fine, I can still hear what I need to (emergency sirens for example), but if someone's behind me and wants to cut too close, hearing them won't help as there's nothing I can do, and no way to differentiate between the engine note of someone who will give me enough room and someone who will cut close.

richardbrown9709

Oh I dont have it that loud (not being a boy racer type) so I reckon (although maybe I should test) that on a busy road, pretty much no-one but me can hear and being as I cycle in London down the A1, then Holloway Road, its busy pretty much all the time.

mazcp

Sounds like a funky thing to do...could make your journey more enjoyable, even quicker depending on the tempo of the track.

Choose your tracks carefully, though...Tunes of Greensleeves or Match of the Day would cause scores of kids chasing you, thinking you're the ice-cream man. You'd be like a modern-day Pied Piper of Hamlin.

Alcdrew

Can't see any problem with it, in fact maybe you should turn it up so others can hear it, especialy ped's it should stop them walking in front of you.

Personally I use head phones, as I bike manly on bike paths so don't need to worry about having to hear car etc.... Although I don't have it turned up that loud that I wouldn't hear important things any way.

domtyler

Don't do it, it's a slippery slope. Before you know it you'll have a full on 3K Watt OBE (on bike entertainment) rig and blue neon lights under your bottom bracket and go round making poor folks windows shake as you go by with cheesy garage 'choons'.
________
Honda cb900f

dondare

I say no to piped music.

Greenbank

There are mixed feelings. Much like h*lm*ts.

Some say it's dangerous as it takes away one of your senses.

Others say it can help you make more observations since it stops you relying on a sometimes unreliable sense (not all vehicles make noise).

Try it and see for yourself.

dondare

Greenbank wrote:

There are mixed feelings. Much like h*lm*ts.

Some say it's dangerous as it takes away one of your senses.

Others say it can help you make more observations since it stops you relying on a sometimes unreliable sense (not all vehicles make noise).

Try it and see for yourself.

What's the worst that could happen?

Greenbank

dondare wrote:

What's the worst that could happen?

He could listen to Aqua - Barbie Girl on repeat?

dondare

Dunno what that is but there's not a song in the world worse that "Lucky lucky lucky" by Kylie. You might be tempted to throw yourself under a bus just to make it stop.

dondare

And Boney M are almost as bad....

secretsam

Just as long as you don't listen to that awful Queen song about bikes

Greenbank

As for music choice, I listen to anything. I use iTunes to load my iPod shuffle with a different random selection of music every week. I then put it on random mode so I really don't know what is coming next.

For long training rides I tend to have hours (160 hours worth thanks to streamripper) of generic high-bpm electronic housey/trance crap downloaded from the "Digitally Imported" station on shoutcast.com

goo_mason

How about the Three From Leith podcast at www.threefromleith.com (plug plug).

Great new music played every week - why not give it a try and see ? It's produced by a really nice bloke who took up cycling last year and now commutes 80 miles a week

dondare

A better idea is to keep your ears free of blockages and extraneous sounds so that you can hear what's happening around you.

BentMikey

dondare wrote:

A better idea is to keep your ears free of blockages and extraneous sounds so that you can hear what's happening around you.

Hearing is useful, but not very, it's only a secondary sense at best from a safety point of view. It's both looking and actually seeing you need to be doing.

Oddballcp

Quite right. You shouldn't be watching TV when you cycle, either.

Being able to hear the click of a car door just before it swings open wide can be a real life saver.

Greenbank

Oddballcp wrote:

Being able to hear the click of a car door just before it swings open wide can be a real life saver.

What are you doing riding in the door zone (regardless of whether you can hear the door click or not)?

Oddballcp

Keeping my eyes and ears open. On a crowded road sometimes it's unavoidable.

Greenbank

Indeed. Classic Risk/reward trade-off.

The reward is being able to go faster and make progress quicker.
The risk is that the faster you go, the less likely you are to be able to stop in time to avoid being doored, and if you are, the injuries are likely to be more serious the faster you're going.

If I can keep clear of the door zone I'll try and maintain a good pace. If I've no option but to ride in the door zone then I'll slow right down to mitigate the risk.

BentMikey

I don't think even a slow cyclist would be likely to be able to hear the click of a door over normal wind noise. As greenbank says, you'd be well stupid to be riding in the door zone, except very slowly and with maximum caution. Dooring causes the most cyclist KSIs in London.

dondare

I've been doored once, whilst walking past a car. (Me on the pavement, car parked in a cycle-lane.) The front-seat passenger timed it just right, then laughed and shut the door again. It hurt like hell for weeks, I'd hate for it to happen at cycling speed.
But I do ride in the door zone when there's no other way through; slowly, carefully, watchfully and certainly listening for the click of a door being opened. Believe me, I know that sound.

notanotherusername

I think sound is important in keeping me aware of the road around me.

Yes, I look over my shoulder whenever I am pulling out, and I am constantly scanning the road and the pavements ahead of me. But I do use sound a lot - I have used it to let me know if the vehicle behind me is attempting to push past (you can tell by the engine noise) and I have heard the click of a car door opening.

Only on one occasion have I cycled with headphones - that was in the countryside with quiet country lanes, and I did find myself perturbed by overtaking vehicles.

Is there not a similar argument as with mobile phones - you are not really fully engaged with your current activity. Which would suggest we need to ban in car entertainment as well!

Cheers

Stephen

louis winthorpe 3rd

Oddballcp wrote:

Quite right. You shouldn't be watching TV when you cycle, either.

Being able to hear the click of a car door just before it swings open wide can be a real life saver.

It saved me the other day when one of those boy racers overtook on the inside. :shock:

I wear headphones although they were not up too loud luckily for me.

richardbrown9709

I have found that at the volume I listen at, I can hear vehicles approaching still. Also I have a rear view handlebar mirror which is actually pretty useful on the A1, although I dont substitute it for a glance when I am changing position, more as a re-assurance that I am not going to be taken out my a left turner and also to keep an eye on whats coming from behind (ooh err) in bus lanes.

I think Bentmikey talked about wind noise,and I dont have the speakers turned up high enough to hear them above the highest wind noise at 30mph and above, and at that speed your pretty hard pressed to hear much anyhow.

As for the doorzone, I dont ride in that if I can help it, and if I have to then slow down, look for telltales (exhaust, indicators, front wheel movement, driver in car, open windows) and slow down. Also at the risk of beginning to sound like Mr Health and Safety, I ride with front and rear lights all year round.

Having said that I almost collided with a ped last week who was concentrating on his mug of tea rather than the traffic.

cyclone

Bloody Peds eh!

They always do the "Step off the pavement and then look right" technique.
Always thinking they can hear traffic coming.... Wrong.

And then they have the nerve to have a go at you for hitting them.

As for the door-zone.

I ride it quite a lot during rush-hour as it's sometimes the only way of getting through traffic.
Although I do have the luxury of a 203mm disc brake for panic stops.

louis winthorpe 3rd

And then they have the nerve to have a go at you for hitting them.

Not me I was too busy kissing tarmac. :twisted:

Greenbank

cyclone wrote:

I ride it quite a lot during rush-hour as it's sometimes the only way of getting through traffic.
Although I do have the luxury of a 203mm disc brake for panic stops.

My bog-standard caliper brakes are good enough to lock up both wheels, even in the dry, but then I've only got skinny 700c x 25mm tyres (if you want a shorter braking distance you need more rubber on the road, not better brakes).

Almost doored on the commute home last night but I saw the guy getting ready to exit the cab as he was in a long queue of non-moving traffic on Embankment.

Sorry, going off-topic there, I think I was listening to The Doves at the time. There you go.

louis winthorpe 3rd

Good point with the tyres greenbank.Im planning to get my first disk braked bike in the near future

cyclone

Hydro disc brakes are SOOOOOOOO nice.
The control you get is amazing.

Bit heavy though.

Forgot to mention I also have 1.5" Xenith slicks on my "Commuter" so plenty of rubber on the road.