Always been against it on safety issues, obviously, but lots of bike jackets now come with iPod pockets etc so lots of people must be doing it.

Anyone? If so where? Commuting? Out in the trails?

Everywhere, people who ride motorised bikes, have a full face or enclosed helmet on , and cant hear, and most car drivers are deaf to us cyclists shouts.

Not many by the looks of things…

I do while commuting or on the road bike.

all the time, but if i’m on the road I use one of those ‘one good bud’ things to give myself a fighting chance. Except on the odd occasion i’m out with someone else, I’m not rude.

I do on my commute but only the bit on the cycle path, although that’s 12 miles of it. I don’t listen to music on the road bit of my commute or on road rides as it does make me feel a bit disconnected from what’s going on around me.

Listed to music off road too.

Used to listen to music on my commute, had a nasty shock when I hadn’t heard a car coming up behind me so never bothered since. Don;t think I’ve ever ridden offroad with headphones

Ridden on the road in the past, didnt like being one sense down.
Ridden some of the SDW, didnt like it as I was missing out on nature and the ride felt like it was lacking.

Used to and would off-road but on the road i don’t anymore. Roads are dangerous enough without losing one of my senses!

I can’t do it on the bike. if I do I feel somehow disconnected from the environment and it just doesn’t feel right.

I like to use all my senses when out on the bike.

Couldn’t imagine doing it on the trails – would mess with the flow (and my head). Don’t even do it on the road, partially H&S viewpoint but usually concentrating on the road conditions and the views, I can barely allocate enough brain to hum a tune let alone have tunes imposed at random.. So, no, not for me..

Sometimes if I’m out for a long one on my own off road. Not normally music, but various podcasts and the like.

never have, never will. Like to hear whats about to hit me.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/road-ride-with-head-phones-yay-or-nay

I ride 6 miles to work and luckily 95% is on a cycle/walk way path, so music on all the time. On the road, no way, too risky for me personally.

Off road on my own I take music with me.
Sometimes I listen to it sometimes not – depends on my mood.
Usually have fast paced music that makes me ride fast so if I’m feeling relaxed I like to hear what’s around.

Is cycling really so boring you have to listen to music too?

I always listen to music on/off road unless I’m riding with other people. I find it helps me to focus rather than robbing the senses.

I don’t and don’t understand folks who do, too risky on the road and too much else to listen to when in the woods.

I saw a fellow cyclist at the side of the road yesterday morning on my commute, looked like he was just finishing fixing something. I slowed and called out to make sure he was OK, nothing, then I noticed he had earphones in and was paying no attention. How rude! 🙂

I do off road, but only on slow fireroad climbs and the like, not on singletrack or where there is likely to be people needing to pass me.

Don’t MTB, but very often on road, no problem with it at all, I can still see, you can still hear traffic around you, no more dangerous than listening a radio in the car

Very rarely but on the odd occassion where I’m doing a long ride on my own, all offroad, I have done and quite enjoy it. I do find it affects my experience of the ride though – not better or worse, just different.

I do while commuting or on the road bike

+1

I do, when MTBing by myself

Solo riding yes, never when in a group.

Commuting yes.

I never listen to music while riding, I like the sound of my bike when its ticking along and the birdys singing 😀
Allthough unwillingly I always hear the theme tune to Steptoe and son endlessly while climbing… 🙁
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRaiiT3ZnJw&sns=em[/video]

I don’t and don’t understand folks who do, too risky on the road.

Could you explain why it adds more risk please.
Oh , and does this also mean that people with a hearing impairment should never cycle on a road?.

Thanks

Could you explain why it adds more risk please.

Because the ear plugs are right in your ear and cut out the noise of traffic, not completely but enough for me to feel very uneasy, so no music. Peoples choice if they want to, pretty stupid as far as I’m concerned.

no more dangerous than listening a radio in the car

Bit more dangerous I’d say. Getting a bump in the a car or getting bumped BY a car would be more painful I’d say…

all the time, i would rather listen to my music than the power walking, dog walking moaning brigade, when you ask them to move they make that tut tut sound, when ive got my headphones on i dont hear any of that, thats my excuse when i barge past when thay dont move i didnt hear them moaning lol, 23lb mtb plus 16 stone fat bastard they soon tend to move aswell, works for me.

I have never understood the appeal of music while running or cycling. I never find myself doing either of those things and needing to be entertained or motivated by something other than just enjoying the activity…

Ok, it’s a bit like riding somewhere attractive or ugly. It’s still the same activity but riding somewhere attractive makes the ride more enjoyable for some people, possibly not for others…

Wearing headphones and listening to music whilst riding has always puzzled me – it’s a bit dangerous on the roads, and it ‘insulates’ you from one of the main attractions of riding when offroad – namely being in the countryside. Quite a few times I’ve only noticed things because I heard them first – such as a group of birds mobbing a roosting owl about 10m away from me. I wouldn’t have seen it otherwise.

However, what has really annoyed me in the past is the few nobbers who ride around with speakers on their bikes blasting out music. Even if I happen to like the music being played, the assumption that everyone will be OK with this betrays an arrogance and sense of entitlement that grates!

it ‘insulates’ you from one of the main attractions of riding when offroad – namely being in the countryside

one of the main attractions for you. I’m pretty much the same but not everyone is.

My new shorts have an iPod pocket/headphone opening so I gave it a go when out on some dh runs on my own. Was fine on the way down and I could still hear the bike on the trail but I was really impressed on the pushes/climbs back up, they seemed to go by much quicker.
Deadmau5 and downhill works quite well 🙂

Running yes.

Riding no.

Tried it a few times, but didn’t like it. Felt I was missing out on something in the ride, and it felt rude having to ‘unplug’ when I had to be nice to people on cheeky trails.

On the BMX and on the more well-known-pootle trails one ear for sure.

I can do two ears on the BMX if the park is empty but being totally deaf to the world can be dangerous.

On new or faster/more knar trails I think my earphones would just fall out anyway.

I used to take a cassette player specifically for the descents when out on the mtb in the 90s but not anymore and I didn’t when I rode a road bike.

I don’t even listen to music whilst running unless it’s on a treadmill, the sense of being cut-off from my environment is too unnerving.

On the road sometimes but always fairly low level. You can’t here much anyway because of the wind noise. Am slightly put off by the thought of being in an accident and being held culpable because I was using them.
I wouldn’t use them for commuting in town though – to many things going on and you need your wits about you.
Never tried for MTB but I imagine I wouldn’t like not hearing my tyres grip.

I nearly always listen to music when riding on my own. And when commuting mostly off road or off main roads. Not so loud as to drown out sounds around. Tend to listen to radio shows such as huey morgan. More like background music than being cut off from round about.

fasthaggis – Member

Could you explain why it adds more risk please.

Because it reduces your ability to hear other road users before you can see them.

Oh , and does this also mean that people with a hearing impairment should never cycle on a road?.

Of course not, but then people with impaired hearing are used to it and alter their behavior accordingly.

Thanks

No problem.
I can point out the bleeding obvious all day long, should you require it. 🙂