Cars come from behind so what what could I do if I could hear them?

I hear lots of information. Closing speed, an estimate of position, what kind of vehicle it is, if they are gunning it or not, which might be relevant if there is a car say coming the other way and they are going to cut in front. If it’s a lorry or bus for example I might know if they are going to squeeze by or wait behind me.. lots and lots of useful information that I like to have.

Soem car drivers drive with very loud stereos

I reckon this is a red herring, driving a car and riding a bike on the road are so far removed it’s a meaningless comparsion IMO.

Anyway, on the road I like to hear what’s going on around me. As someone further up said, there’s a lot of useful information in engine sounds.

On the trail, personally it doesn’t feel right to me, it feels like I’m not quite engaged in it if I can’t hear all the sounds that come from riding an MTB. I don’t feel like I’m riding quite as well.

The advantage of my hearing is that it tells me what’s happening behind

No it doesn’t. It tells you that there’s a noise behind you, nothing more. The noise might mean the car will hit you, it might mean it will miss you, but without looking or being mown down, you have no idea which it is.

My commute is’nt on the road apart from about a metre before the lockup at work.
Headphones ahoy.
Although just one when i feel i need to hear more.

No it doesn’t. It tells you that there’s a noise behind you, nothing more. The noise might mean the car will hit you, it might mean it will miss you, but without looking or being mown down, you have no idea which it is.

It tells you, for example, whether the car that’s coming onto the roundabout from your left from behind a building is likely to be going too fast to be ready to stop. Or whether the car coming up behind you sounds like he might be planning on turning across you into the entrance you’re just approaching.

Obviously they’re just hints but I reckon they’re worth having.

No it doesn’t. It tells you that there’s a noise behind you, nothing more. The noise might mean the car will hit you, it might mean it will miss you, but without looking or being mown down, you have no idea which it is.

listen to the to the sounds you must young jedi
only hearing leads to suffering

I find the haughty look of disdain I get from off-road cyclists who didn’t hear my bell (due to their earphones) makes me want to punch them even more.

Perhaps listening to music might make you less uptight?

I’m happy to wear headphones any time, but I don’t cycle in a massively built up area or surrounded by **** like in that Londons famous London. Without them there’s plenty of wind noise anyway at decent speeds so there’s not much difference anyway, especially given that I can still hear revving engines etc. above the music. I’m happy to admit that it’s marginally more dangerous but I can live with that. 99% of the time I rely on my eyes for hazard avoidance anyway. The other 1%? Jedi, obv. 🙂

No it doesn’t. It tells you that there’s a noise behind you, nothing more.

Well, whatever works for you 🙂

I found that when I cycled on open roads with headphones turned up enough to hear over wind noise, I could only hear cars when they were right behind me, not from any distance back.

whether the car that’s coming onto the roundabout from your left from behind a building is likely to be going too fast to be ready to stop

Vision does the same thing, more accurately…..
I’m REALLY struggling to think of a corner or junction ANYWHERE where a vehicle could surprise me at cycling speeds, to be honest.
(PS, I’m playing devils advocate here, don’t take it the wrong way 🙂 )

Good god man! Music when riding? Are you insane?
I always listen to the cars behind me, changes in engine noise, changing gear, etc. Up to and including the screeching tyres behind me, listening to the noise gave me options on how to react, and my reaction was to close my eyes and pray!! Maybe music might have been a good idea. as you were.

Tried wearing ‘phones when riding, found it distracting. I like to hear everything that’s around me; buzzards calling, the wind in the trees, rustling noises in the trees that indicate deer running towards me, and I like to be aware of any traffic around me.

Up to and including the screeching tyres behind me

And what would you do in that case, pray tell?

Close my eyes and pray! 😕

I love my playlists whilst riding. Always worry about flying over the bars tho and the I phone snapping a rib as I land on my back!!

I’m REALLY struggling to think of a corner or junction ANYWHERE where a vehicle could surprise me at cycling speeds, to be honest.

So if you are riding along and a car appears in your peripheral vision without having had any warning at all, you don’t get surprised?

Haha! this rubbish turns up again.
Been commuting for at least 15 years, started with cassette Walkman, then minidisc player, now iPod.
Not ONCE has having music on caused even the slightest of issues. The main problem is when the battery is dead and I have to listen to the woosh wooosh woosh of shitty cars going past.

tried it and didnt get on with it. so now dont bother.

riding on the road to friends house, gym or to the woods = yeah, better than the constant draggy sound of 2.3s rolling over tarmac and cars.

riding on flat or uphill fire-roads = yeah

riding on singletrack or downhill on pretty much any surface apart from tarmac = no, i like to hear the bike… adds to the experience for me.

my ears appear to be shaped in a weird way that collects an overpowering wind noise whether i’m going 4mph or 40mph, i need to turn my head to the right or left to get it to cut out. this means i cant hear friends talking to me or cars approaching until they overtake anyway so music doesnt get in the way of anything 🙂

Erm.. I never used to listen to music when riding, then I started commuting to the station on my foldie.. the things so slow that I now listen to Chris Evans on my 15min pootle.
I tried listening to a few podcasts of a DJMate whose into DeepHouse stuff with a decent BPM, but that didn’t work as it started to disrupt my trainng rythum, so ditched that and I couldn’t hear the Skylarks anymore, I kinda prefer listening to Mother Nature when proper riding.

I reckon this is a red herring, driving a car and riding a bike on the road are so far removed it’s a meaningless comparsion IMO.

Leave it to Mr Fish to point out another fish!

I ride with left earphone in (cos I’m partly deaf in that one anyway) and loud enough to just hear over traffic. Off road unless its a fireroad then no music.

Haha! this rubbish turns up again.
Been commuting for at least 15 years, started with cassette Walkman, then minidisc player, now iPod.
Not ONCE has having music on caused even the slightest of issues

It’s caused me issues, that’s why I stopped doing it.

Seems our brains all handle cycling differently.

So therefore it’s not rubbish, simply a personal matter.

Thankyou for your contribution though – it wouldn’t be a forum without it 😉

commuting 7 miles each way into london – ipod everyday, im lost without my tunes!
riding, cant get on with it really, maybe for dh its ok but too much faff with the helmet etc

So if you are riding along and a car appears in your peripheral vision without having had any warning at all, you don’t get surprised?

No. I’m on a road. There are cars on roads. I expect to see them. Duh!

Trumpet blowing time! I have bonkers good peripheral vision, and good spatial awareness: I know what’s happening around me. And apart it’s VERY rare I’m surprised by anything when driving. It’s like some sort of 6th sense, I just know what people are going to do somehow.
I’m trying to think of the last time something caught me out unawares….. err…. nope, sorry. It’s been a long time, shall we say? 🙂

EDIT
Oh yeah, on a motorbike, 3-4 years ago. Woman turning right decided not to as I went up her LHS, I braked too sharp and went down. Lack of skill on the brakes, but I wasn’t expecting that to be fair.

I too am very good with all round awareness on the bike, even if I do say so myself – however for me, my hearing adds to this.

There might also be something psychological going on because even on the trails music makes me feel penned in, claustrophobic, and tunnel-visionified. I’ve tried and it really does stress me out for some reason.

Ok Molgrips, this is what I meant by rubbish:

IMHO it is stupid to ride with one of the senses turned off
and
It’s more that you aren’t concentrating properly if you are listening to music

ie. Those who think they know what is better for others.

Well tbh that was what I first thought when I saw people doing it, but having read the carefully thought out posts on this thread I think I’ve learned a bit about how our brains can differ.

It does make me a bit nervous though (rightly or wrongly). I think perhaps some less experienced cyclists (ie not those here) would do well to take the earphones out to begin with. I expect that most posters here were already experienced cyclists before the iPod became so ubiquitous.

molgrips – Member

So if you are riding along and a car appears in your peripheral vision without having had any warning at all, you don’t get surprised?

Of course not. In the same way that when a car comes along and you hear it, you don’t get surprised.

They surprised me by wearing headphones because I was oblivious to their existence until they were 2ft to my right. Without, I can hear them from 10-100 yards away depending on ambient noise.

But molgrips, what do you do differently when you hear a car approaching from the rear? If I’m approaching some kind of obstacle I’d normally glance over the shoulder anyway, never relying on hearing alone. Indeed I find that not using the hearing makes me focus on visual awareness.

I’ll admit to experiencing the surprise thing initially, but it dissipated. As you say, I think it’s more of a personal preference thing.

So… Consensus so far is:

-You don’t need to hear cars
-Some people like to listen to the wildlife/environment around them.
-The music distracts you from the joy of hearing your tyres on the ground

But molgrips, what do you do differently when you hear a car approaching from the rear?

If a car’s coming up then it puts me on alert. For instance, I know straight away to say bunnyhop that drain cover instead of going around it, for instance. If I hear a car coming along side me as I pass a junction, then slow when he’s clearly at my rear quarter, I know I’m about to get side swiped for instance. I can tell if it’s a lorry, which means it’s wide, and if there’s something coming the other way I can tell if he’s going to slow down and wait or just squeeze past anyway. If the latter I can just be that bit more prepared and closer to the kerb.

It’s often fairly subtle, but sometimes clear that I need to look behind me and take evasive action pronto. Often it’s just a cue to look behind actually, thinking about it.

molgrips – Member

For instance, I know straight away to say bunnyhop that drain cover instead of going around it

Not trying to be funny here but why be in that situation in the first place?

What, having to traverse drain covers? Because there are drains on the roads on which I ride 🙂

For instance, I know straight away to say bunnyhop that drain cover instead of going around it

Because having both wheels off the ground and landing is so much safer than looking behind you and judging the situation. Don’t get this argument.
I cycle with phones, nice and quiet a bit of background I can hear Endomondo every mile, keep a keen eye on any roads, but live in the sticks so don’t see that many cars.

Because having both wheels off the ground and landing is so much safer than looking behind you and judging the situation.

That’s not what I’m saying. If space is at a premium and some bugger is going to come through and squeeze you into the kerb, you don’t want to be swerving to avoid it because you’ll get hit. I’m not advocating not looking, clearly. I’m not saying REPLACE vision with hearing, I just like to use both, that’s all.

So for those who ride with music – how often do you routinely look behind you? Every drain cover?

I can still hear traffic as I am not blasting the tunes out, but i just am in the habit of regularly having a peek over the shoulder. Don’t really think about it, more of an instinct. Still do it when I’m on the bridleways.

molgrips – Member

how often do you routinely look behind you? Every drain cover?

I think maybe you missed the point… You don’t need to check behind you every time you move out for a drain cover, if you just position yourself better in the first place so that you don’t need to move out. The gutter is the wrong place for a bike. I could be wrong but your posts give the impression that you’re very passive/reactive on the road. “I can just be that bit more prepared and closer to the kerb” also suggests that- if there’s a chancy gap, I’m not getting ready to move to the kerb, I’m establishing a strong position to prevent the stupid move that would force me over.

When I tried it, headphones made the wind noise very loud indeed, which necessitated turning the volume up very loud. I searched quite hard for cycling earphones – mainly for use on the outdoor track (which was always deserted) – but I could only find these little wind deflector things that you clip to your helmet straps and then you fit your earphones to them so that they are near but not actually in your ears. Supposedly you can hear traffic as well as your music. Not a bad idea really but I couldn’t get them to work very well, too flimsy.

Re road position – I usually don’t ride in the gutter of course, but sometimes drain covers/potholes/whatever are not in the gutter. Plus I don’t like to hold up car drivers too much by riding further out when it’s not needed. When I need to I’ll move out and claim my piece of road of course, but I don’t do it all the time as it gets the haterz hating.

better to keep your eyes open than your ears

better to keep your eyes open than your ears

Yep and both better still, for me 🙂