Hi,
Just wondering if anyone use headphones and if you think is safe to listen to music when on the trail.

No, it puts me off.

Ymmv

Yes. About 50:50 for me. I do enjoy it but sometimes can’t be bothered with all the wiring.

Never, it detracts from the experience I find.
And I would like to be able to listen out for dogs, walkers and other cyclists.

When on the road I have talk radio on very low, so can still hear any approaching traffic and can only really hear the radio when all around is quiet.

No I like to be aware of whats around me and listen to the sounds of the countryside

sometimes but if the music is a bit too full on i tend to overcook it and crash

Yep, all the time when I am on my own, I do find that it makes me very paranoid when on slightly cheeky trails. Same with skiing, if I am on my own it just adds to the whole experience.

Sometimes.

About half the time, yes. Safe, yes don’t see why not.

Open trails here and I don’t go into blind corners fast, walkers / dogs are rarely heard before they’re seen anyway. Some mornings the sound of birds and tyres on dirt beats music, depends on the ride / mood. Really long rides need a morale boost sometimes.

Never. It would spoil part of what s great about being in the countryside

Most my trails have road sections so no. Did so tonight for the first time in ages. Was on random and had forgotten I’d 100 nursery rhymes on. Was too cold to stop and fiddle with iPod.

No, it would drown out the lovely sound of the local gun club as I ride through Wharncliffe

Yup sometimes, and yup doesn’t make the trail any more dangerous that I’ve noticed.

Call me old, but what’s the obsession with having a soundtrack to everything?

As others have said, what you’re doing has its own simple pleasures, why add the complications of earphones popping out / the wrong track from what it is you really enjoy

If i ride by myself yes,all the time DnB Arena gets you hoooooooning

Tried it but found it distracting.

Run with earphones tho.

Only used on solo night rides to keep the howling monsters at bay, too distracting any other time.

I’l stick to the soundtrack of woodpeckers pecking, cuckoos cuckooing, and hope hoops scaring them all away.

Same on skis. Why pollute the tranquillity of the mountains with toons?

I’d like to be able to as reckon with riding alone in would add a bit of ‘company’ to the ride and I do enjoy walking with earphones. However, I need to be able to hear my own dogs proximity and general direction so I can’t! I just listen for her collar bell jangling instead.

I do every now and then. Purely because I tend to ride solo alot. Also during certain times at 24hr events.

Yes,,but I use a “one ear bud” as opposed to earphones in both ears so I can hear losers shouting “strava”!

I don’t have my headphones on. I put my iPhone on with map my ride and turn the music on and have the music blaring out. That way I can still hear what’s going on around me and have the music in the background rather than headphones

Having good tunes makes me cycle faster, or so it seems to me and it certainly motivates on long or hard uphill. I’m careful to often take a quick look behind me & find I have no trouble for listening to tunes all the time. It enhances the whole experience for me. Dnb or Dubstep for me, nice phat heavy tunes brings the trails alive!

I’d used occasionally, but it was pretty much exclusively to the chemical brothers and I’d just ride like a twatt, So I stopped 😀

Bruce Springsteen for me

Don’t like to be isolated from what’s going on around me on a trail or road, but often have a tune going round and round in my head. Conversely can’t ride a static bike or turbo without music to isolate me from the unremitting boredom

Firstly I seldom hit the trails other than with the back of a spade – mostly I just ride them. And secondly no never bother with headphones – I like the quiet or the chat.

I struggle with balance when I’m snowboarding and listening to music, really throws me. On a bike it’s absolutely no bother. Probably makes me faster sometimes.

Going out on a solo nite ride with a set of ear buds buried in my head is my idea of a perfect xc ride.

For everyone who mentions they listen to dnb. Try the new machinedrum albumn vapor city. It’s lush. Perfect for pedalling 🙂

I used to, then nearly ended up in a river taking evasive action after coming close to getting intimate with someone coming the other way round a tight corner.

I don’t any more.

All the time.
Well when on solo rides.
And when running.

I ride a five. It’s like riding with your own drummer.

No … Keep the music for the gym, not out in the countryside

Never – like to be able to hear what the bike is doing and of course be able to hear potential hazards!

Only time I do is when solo night riding. To drown out the sounds of the monsters chasing me. Never ever look behind you! Always stay on the path! 😯

The Prodigy gets you shifting!

Music for the jilted generation works a treat on nite rides for sure.

If riding solo i have music on all the time mainly somthing a bit up beat like Hed Kandi,and it actually improves my times and gets me a lot more motivated.

Hello!

Hello!

Hello???

On your right please!

EXCUSE ME?

HELLO

EXCUSE ME

HELLO THERE

HELLO

CAN I COME PAST PLEASE

Me and Pete to some guy with earphones last week.

Jon Taylor – Member
Hello!
Hello!

Hello???

On your right please!

EXCUSE ME?

HELLO

EXCUSE ME

HELLO THERE

HELLO

CAN I COME PAST PLEASE
Me and Pete to some guy with earphones last week.[/quote]

And to the runners, dog walkers, power joggers, walkers, riders who are too selfish to be aware of whats going on round them.

Simply not safe if you can’t hear whats coming up behind you – same goes for those mobs who amble along gassing away oblivious to other people.

When I rode several times a week, yes, especially at night. It was a motivation and anti-boredom thing, plus I was just younger.

Now that I’m no longer free to do whatever I like, whenever I like, I find I value the peace and quiet, and I feel more connected to the moment and experience. My weekly trail ride provides a much needed mental break from the rest of my life and cluttering it with music doesn’t give me such a satisfactory pause. I’ve even stopped listening to music on the way home in the car to preserve the relaxation as long as possible.