IPOD whilst on the road?

GavH

Firstly, sorry if this has been done before but...

I've always been of the opinion since taking up cycling that listening to an IPOD (other MP3s are available) was a big no-no as you couldn't hear the traffic coming from behind. I've just read a post where the OP said chatting to others on their first ever group ride was a welcome change to listening to the ipod.

It got me thinking; How prevalent or acceptable is it to listen to music whilst out on the road putting the miles in?

Grateful for your thoughts on this.

Gav

Slow Downcp

It's up to the individual - I wouldn't use one as I feel I'm more aware of what's going on around me if I can hear as well as see.

Jeff Jones

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/d ... dead-20027

mercsport

Normally on the side of the heretic on most things I , nonetheless , regard whileing away time in charge of a vehicle whilst plugged into an 'ipod' or somesuch as madness .

But then there are plenty would regard my reluctance to wear a helmet as madness too .

fuzzynavel

GavH wrote:

Firstly, sorry if this has been done before but...

Gav

LOL, has this been done before??

This subject is only really rivalled by the "helmet or no helmet" debate.... Its all personal preference...I use headphones on my own as background noise but I am very aware of everything that is happening and can hear things coming from a fair distance as the volume is very low.
I don't use them on club runs.

sicknote

I listen to music when on my bike but I can still hear what is a round me but for me it also helps when I have someone car or van with his/her foot down.

I dont take my eyes off the road a round me but it is not for everyone but if with someone else, I would not have them

cougie

I've given it a go a couple of times - in one ear only, and found it distracted me and I couldnt hear cars as far off as I'd like. I'm really not keen on it and wouldnt advise anyone to listen to music.

whyamihere

I never really found it a problem. As long as you look around enough, it's not a problem. Also, I'm pretty sure that Rachel Atherton's crash was more due to being on the wrong side of the road with her head down than the iPod...

Having said that, I don't use music when I'm riding any more. I don't feel any safer without the music, it's just the same in my opinion. However, I have discovered the joy of just riding along with my own thoughts, and without the temptation to ride along no handed playing the air guitar to a Guns and Roses guitar solo...

sicknote

cougie wrote:

I've given it a go a couple of times - in one ear only, and found it distracted me and I couldnt hear cars as far off as I'd like. I'm really not keen on it and wouldnt advise anyone to listen to music.

I use music when I ride but would not advise someone to listen to music but not everyone is the same.

ConsciousPilot

Not something I've ever tried. The sheer pleasure of riding around quiet country roads away from city/town traffic allows me to feel at peace with the world without the intrusion of background music. Might be more appealing on a daily commute but I'd still prefer to hear what's sneaking up behind.

Gav888

I always use mine, but keep the volume down so I can hear the traffic coming, the ear plugs I use keep out wind noise but still allows me to hear traffic

redddraggon

When I'm back home I do sometimes - but only in the left ear and when I'm cycling alone. There isn't much traffic on my routes, so I can easily tell whether a car is behind me or not, and the traffic tends to be well behaved. In Manchester I wouldn't do it, too much traffic with drivers who don't know how to drive properly - so it's not worth the risk.

McHattie

I personally don't like the idea of using headphones on my bike, so I bought a cy-fi speaker from the US for my handlebars. Works wirelessly with an iPod. Fantastic. It works very well, and there are controls for volume and for skipping tracks on the speaker itself.

The speaker is very lightweight, so that's not an issue. It is designed for use on bikes. I've not found any problem with the volume - you don't need to have it very loud to appreciate a few tunes - it's not like having a mini ghetto blaster on your handlebars.

Just Google cy-fi if you're interested.

Sirius631

There are headphones available that are designed to go behind your ears. They basically play the sound through your skull, although I can't testify to the sound quality and I sounds like a bit of a wacky idea to me.

For me, it's speakers driven by the PC when on turbo, and the music of birds and wind when on the open road (sometimes accompanied by the rhythmic clanking of some bit of my bike ).

vorsprung

I have used an mp3 player while riding a bike

It was PBP (paris-brest-paris 1200km ride) 2007. I had left my control card behind at the first control and had to make a 40km round trip to retrieve it. Before that I had 2 hours in hand. After that I was pretty near the time limit. I rode the next couple of stages pretty fast. Then it came to a night time ride to Loudeac. i was planning to sleep at Loudeac. At this point i'd been awake approx 24 hours. I started to feel dozy. The weather wasn't great and there was no obvious shelter to sleep in. Besides, I only had enough time for a short sleep after a day of catching up so I needed quality rest somewhere warm. I took a couple of caffeine energy gels and had a 5 minute rest. No effect, I was still dozing off and moving at a snails pace. If you've ever been in this situation yourself you might understand that even with approx 350km and 24 hours of riding it wasn't my legs or energy levels that were the problem. It was my state of mind. Often it can help to talk to people. There were a couple of groups of americans around but I was a bit shagged for small talk with 'em.

So I used the last resort technique for staying awake. The mp3 with techno on it. I listened to techno on the turbo trainer that year. So as soon as I put the mp3 on and tried to make an effort, my mind believed it was on the turbo back in the garage and raised my heart rate and produced adrenailin. This woke up my dozy mind. My speed went right up and I overtook hundreds of riders in the next 50km. They were riding sensibly for a 1200km distance. I was on lactate threshold. It's quite fun to come across a group of 10 or 20 riders in the dark and weave your way through and then just blast away into the night.

When I could see the lights of Loudeac in the distance I turned off the mp3 so I'd have a chance to wind down a bit before sleeping

At Loudeac the helpers offered me some omelette at the food stall. "C'est ne pas possible pour mon ce soir" I kept down some rice pudding and got a couple of hours in a sleeping bag liner on the floor. Bliss.

So if you are in France and have to cover 50km to the sleep stop after 24 hours awake then I recommend the mp3 player. On the way to work I don't - it's idiotic.

MrChuck

No, I don't think you can hear what's going on around you as well. As for having it so quiet that you can still hear just as well, what's the point?

Chip \'oyler

NO

Is it really worth it? Just read Jeff Jones link :roll:

schmako

If you've got half a brain (yeah, yeah) you should be able to without a problem, I have for the past 5 years. I can still hear cars coming up behind no bother. Being aware of your surroundings helps too.. Nothing better than a good song to help you up that hill (whether it be road or mountain)!

sicknote

Chip \'oyler wrote:

NO

Is it really worth it? Just read Jeff Jones link :roll:

Its does not suit everyone as my wife does not like music when she needs to think but I do, so how can it be one rule for all.
so for drivers that play music, should not be on the road as well?

Plus I read the link and she was on the wrong side of the road, that was not to do with the music as much as it was to do with her just not paying attention to what she was doing, that almost got her killed.
Some is said for a driver that does the same thing.

Music does not come in to it then.

Tom Butcher

I've only recently got an MP3 and having tried it on the bike I think it definitely does reduce your awareness of traffic - even on low volume. That said on a relatively wide road unless you are in the habit of riding in the middle of the lane and moving in when you hear traffic then I'm not sure being aware of traffic behind you makes much difference to whether it hits you or not.

hodsgod

I listen to my ipod, as I listen to the radio in the car when I am driving. The secret is to use the same senses, i.e. your eyes! You don't listen when you are driving a car, most of us have the required skill set to listen and ride. Just do it properly.

singlespeedexplosif

I do, all the time.
I can still hear what's happening around me.
Interesting comments about 'hearing people coming up behind you'. Firstly, yes, you'd be stupid to listen to music and not use your other senses too, but if someone decides to drive into the back of you, they're going to do it whether you can hear them or not.
Unless you have a habit of swerving wildly around without looking first, I can't see what difference it would make

davidmiller

So if you are listening to music and you are involved in an accident how would the authorities look upon it?? Is it a "distraction" like using a mobile phone or eating/drinking?

sicknote

DavidMiller wrote:

So if you are listening to music and you are involved in an accident how would the authorities look upon it?? Is it a "distraction" like using a mobile phone or eating/drinking?

Not seen that question an any car insurance form that I have had to fill in

dessertwarrior

I listen to my MP3 (don't do iPOD) player when running but not when cycling.

When running I have no problems hearing what is going on around me but when cycling I often find that I don't hear cars coming up behind me, which can be a bit of a problem on narrow country lanes. This is worse when riding into a headwind.

Comes down to personal choice.

Mark Alexander

redddraggon wrote:

When I'm back home I do sometimes - but only in the left ear and when I'm cycling alone. There isn't much traffic on my routes, so I can easily tell whether a car is behind me or not, and the traffic tends to be well behaved. In Manchester I wouldn't do it, too much traffic with drivers who don't know how to drive properly - so it's not worth the risk.

Right on the money. left ear and when you're on your own. Never when in a group. that's rude.

Chip \'oyler

Sicknote wrote:

Chip \'oyler wrote:

NO

Is it really worth it? Just read Jeff Jones link :roll:

Its does not suit everyone as my wife does not like music when she needs to think but I do, so how can it be one rule for all.
so for drivers that play music, should not be on the road as well?

Plus I read the link and she was on the wrong side of the road, that was not to do with the music as much as it was to do with her just not paying attention to what she was doing, that almost got her killed.
Some is said for a driver that does the same thing.

Music does not come in to it then.

Car drivers are surrounded by impact resistant metal. Cyclists aren't. Plus - have you not thought she wasn't paying attention because she was listening to music?

bluecow

I think this was my posting you're referring to. I always have my ipod on when out on the bike (though on a club run it would be downright rude and antisociable). I can hear cars approaching and background noise just fine. I dont have the music ear-blisteringly loud.
I think having the music playing through just one ear would be distracting though.
Glancing over my shoulder is second nature. I would never ever substitute checking my shoulder for any enhanced level of hearing.
So, ive ridden with and without music and i can honestly say i dont feel any less safe. Just as i wouldnt if i had music on in the car.

bluecow

http://www.bikexprt.com/bicycle/hearing.htm

Regarding what i said about one earphone being more distracting, read this excerpt....


One-ear laws don't make scientific sense, since a single headphone can actually have worse effects on hearing than binaural (two-ear) headphones. The desensitization of one ear by a single headphone played loud enough to cut through background noise changes the apparent location of sound sources. This problem is much less likely with binaural (two-ear) headphones.

bornagainbiker

I really don't see why the analogy of driving with music is just as safe as riding with music.

1. I have 3 rear viewing mirrors available.

2. If I need to twist or swivel in my seat to look/see it doesn't upset the handling of the car.

3. I generally don't have to worry about cars/vans/lorries trying to squeeze past which probably means I can concerntrate a bit more on the road infront.

:shock:

whyamihere

Quite a few of you are going to be terrified when electric cars become more common...