It's a big no-no in an outdoor ride (IMHO). Here in Dearborn, Michigan there is actually a city ordinance against wearing headphones while riding a bike. How that got on the books I'll never know.

On the indoor trainer, yup, absolutely. Metallica, Static-X, Godsmack, anything heavy and fast.

I wouldn't do the ear phone thing on the road though. Too dangerous. You have to maintain a high degree of situational awareness.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I don't listen in traffic heavy areas. But when taking long rides in the country, especially by myself, I always have music. Even with earphones, I find that I can tell if a vehicle is coming up behind me. Here are three of my favorites: 1)Santana, Live at Filmore 1968 (2 CDS) 2)Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 4 Way Street (2nd CD) 3) Jethro Tull, Aqualung. All have good tempo songs and some long jams.

I don't think listening to music and riding a bike mix. I find I need all my senses (eyes and ears) to let me know what is going on around me (cars approaching).

ONLY on a trainer!

As I'm sure you're starting to see, the "right" answer is no headphones on the road. However, I've been wondering the same thing lately. My 4 hour rides are on back country roads with little traffic. With the speed of the cars and wind and road noise I don't hear a car approaching behind me until it passes. What would I do if I heard a car behind me anyway? Turn and look at *every* car to see if it is going to hit me?

Possibly it seems more safe to me because of the low traffic roads and that I live in ultra-flat lands where you can literally see for miles in every direction.

Given the right circumstances it just doesn't seem to be very dangerous. I would think that it is more dangerous to ride in town without headphones than in the country with headphones.

I'm going to vote no on ANY roads. I used to think where I rode (back country) was safe until this Sunday morning when I came upon an accident caused by a car hitting two joggers, killing one instantly. Wide shoulders on the road..very light traffic. I've never ridden with headphones but the thought had crossed my mind. No way Jose.

Just don't do it.

We've reached a compromise. Not in a pace line, in town, or busy roads. Only on long, sparsely traveled country roads, only the right earpiece is in, leaving the left to hear cars behind. What is the difference in sound between the car coming up behind that will pass safely, or the one that will hit me. ??

Headphones aren't welcomed on the trail either. Anytime you using a shared resource like a road or trail, safety and courtesy dictate that you be able to hear and communicate with other users.

Todd Scott, Executive Director
Michigan Mountain Biking Association

 
Thanks for responses. My wife got wind of this and put the big preemptive kibosh on the iPod-while-riding so, for me, the point is now moot. The forum seems to agree with her, to boot.

Now I start working on my battery-powered bottle-cage amp with strategically-placed speakers. Better book some wind-tunnel time for the speaker enclosures....

I can't bring myself to wear headphones on the road although, as someone else pointed out, I'm not sure what the different sound a car that is going to hit me makes from one that goes by. Now if the guy getting ready to chuck a full can of pop at me would let out a yell first I would appreciate it.

I have given thought to hooking up a couple tiny, $10 speakers to my MP3 player on my Camelback and serenading the countryside.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

now if the wife says no u have to do it

Beyond the real safety issues, riding and running (and sleeping) are the only times when I can get away from the noise of daily life. I can't imaging ruining the peace that I get while on a long ride or run. The only things I want to hear on a long run or ride are the wind, my heartbeat, my breathing, or a companion's breathing.

Litherland

I do ride with headphones-often actually. When Im in central park (closed to traffic) there isnt much to worry about except what you see in front of you (mostly rollerbladers and skateboarders who weave, kids on dirtbikes who weave, stupid tourists that forget the rules of the road because they are in a park and on vacation, people with hyperactive dogs on the leashes that can extend 30ft (always fun)).

On rides out of the city, I play the music with the headphones around my neck (not ears), music as loud as it will go. I CANT hear the music whenever there is wind or a car passes by, but when it gets quiet and there is nothing around me, I hear it fine, as well as all my surroundings.

i'd say "listen missy! i bought the i-pod, i listen to it when i want! now get your ass in the kitchen and make me a pie!" then i'd take the top tops off my firebird, hop in and lay some bad ass rubber out of the trailer park. i'd fly down the road at a hundered miles an hour blasting 'hells bells' feeling the wind in my mullet as i take another pull from my coors light. yeah. yeah that's what i'd do.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

I only listen to music on the trainer. I make sure it's good and loud. I even sing along to help with my lung capactiy. I recommend KISS Alive, or KISS Unplugged. But the energy one gets from KISS can make you feel like Superman.

I usually yell at people who ride their bikes in the following ways:

1) On the wrong side of the road

2) Sans Chapeaux (No helmet- correct me if "chapeaux" is misspelled)

3) Wearing headphones

4) Combination of any of the above gets a double or triple screaming

I am not afraid to give one a piece of my mind (and ask for it back), especially since I ride with mace.

Ride safely, please.

I know it is a weight issue but what about a small mp3 player that has an integrated speaker? so no headphones. That would be nice.

heh heh. well b-man i hope we meet up some day. i nearly always use a walkman when i ride. i started this 25 years ago when said devices were the size of suitcases and you had to wear them around your shoulder like a courier bag - listenenig to a roomful of taper's grateful dead tapes. moreover, i never used a helmet then, and often elect to go with a black cotton cap now ( the horror!). finally, for unknown reasons - i like to ride facing oncoming traffic deep in the countryside where i ride and find myself over there regularly. oddly, the sheriff's dept will readily wave and smile at me as i do so - and even as i roll right thru a rural stop sign - tho they might razz me about it later when i see them back at the courthouse where i work. interestingly, though i have seemingly been riding thru the very jaws of death itself all these many years i have never so much as sustained a near miss or heads up attention getting incident. what would it then be, that you would yell at me, i wonder ??? and on what would you base it ? there are in fact, ample studies which prove the relative safety of simply getting on a bicycle and going riding - and that the current fashion of militant "safety" oriented demagogery is in truth more feel good in nature than reality based. you would do better yelling at people to put out their cigarettes, wear their seatbelts, lose weight, and be sure to get their children immunized, and that is the truth.

The truth (and common sense) rarely has anything to do with safety issues.

Don't worry, I yell at people for other reasons, as well. But don't be a homeless person asking me for money, my finger puppet Son of Bun will read you the riot act!!!

I base my militance on these factors: I have been saved not once but twice by a helmet, and that I generally see people who ride with headphones not paying much attention to anything in particular. I don't want to see these people hurt or brain dead. I do pick my battles- if it's the same guy who always goes "sans chapeaux", then I just call him "future organ donor" as I pass. No, seriously- I have seen so many people get hurt doing the non-helmet and headphone-wearing thing, and I am afraid that enough accidents will happen that the anti-bike crowd will relegate us to "proper bike trails", whatever that means. I certainly don't want it to be legislated as to what we can and can't wear, though maybe a cap on what a plaintiff could win in a bike accident if they don't wear helmets or wear headphones while riding could influence a few people to wear them.

IN the end, it's your choice. But I have to say that I don't want to see anymore of my cycling bretheren's (and sisteren's) life taken, especially if it were to be avoided by not wearing their headphones and not wearing helmets. Helmets are very light weight these days- there's no excuse for not wearing one.

I think that the law in some states and the concern of some on the forum is the earphones, if you have a speaker then you should be ok.

I often wear headphones and my little mp3 player while riding. I never do so on a group ride. But from what many here have written, and what I see of some other cyclists on the road, I think many cyclists aren't riding safely to begin with - its not about the headphones. Consider the following:

If you are riding on the streets, you should be as far to the right as you can safely travel - taking into account road, traffic, and weather conditions - at all times. I see far too many riders who inconsiderately ride wherever they please, only to anger motorists and/or have to move to the right quickly when a vehicle attempts to pass. The fact is, these cyclists should ALREADY be in the most reasonably safe place to ride on the right side of the road. In some cases, like a debris-filled bike lane or a very narrow sections of road, it may be safer to ride a few feet into the road, rather than ride through debris or encourage a vehicle to pass when it shouldn't.

Since you should always be riding in your proper place on the road, what difference does wearing headphones make? With wind noise, I typically don't hear cars any sooner when I'm NOT wearing headphones (the volume is loud enough for enjoyment of music but permits other sounds to reach me!). Either way, I can't tell the difference between a car passing relatively safely and one about to run me over without turning around and LOOKING at it. So I occasionally do that - as I approach an intersection, I quickly glance to see if a bad driver approaching from behind is about to speed up to cut me off with a right turn in front of me. This is "riding defensively" and I do it all the time. I ride to the right of the road, I look before changing lanes, I signal for turns, and I stop at stop signs and lights, even for a right turn. Many cyclists don't do these things.

Contrary to what some people above stated, I think it might be safer to wear headphones on a busy street than riding alone on a country road. If you are on a busy street, you should (1) know that there is lots of traffic, and expect passing and turning vehicles at all times, so (2) you will ride defensively (as far to the right as reasonable and prudent) at all times. The constant traffic noise would do you no good to listen to - it's got no rhythm! If you are on a lonley road with little traffic, however, it might be good to hear that one vehicle that passes every 15 minutes or so - but of course if you are already riding in your proper place on the road, it likely won't matter at all.

Are headphones riskier than no headphones? Yes - but if you ride defensively and attentively, I think the difference in risk is very, very minor. Perhaps I am blessed to live near ample roads with bike lanes or plenty of room for cyclists - but I have still encountered dangerous motorists - and the fact that I wore headphones on those occasions had nothing to do with my safety or the motorist's actions.

Ride defensively, be safe, and have fun!