I don’t know why but this is bothering me more and more all the time. Wind noise when cycling is at best annoying and has become at least mildly uncomfortable to me. I look forward to the quiet of climbs and dislike fast descent on the other side because of it. I don’t have a good solution, do you?
Things I’ve tried:
-Gore windproof headband. Works ok, but is hot AF
-Apple pro ear buds. They have some degree of noise cancelling but still allow ambient sound through for safety. Work ok, and its clearly worse with the noise cancelling off.
-Both the earbuds and windproof headband. Not sure if this is the best of both worlds or the worst of both.
-wearing my aero helmet, which covers my ears. This works, but 95% of what I bike is gravel and full aero helmet on my gravel bike is a bridge too far for me.
Any ideas for something else I can try? What the heck do you all that are genuinely very fast do?
For open eared helmets, some people swear by the “Catears” chin strap add ons you can buy most anywhere online. Or a copy of those. They’re basically like those wind proof microphone covers but adapted for your helmet straps. Guides wind past ear better.
I’ve never bought any, but now that you remind me…I may.
I’m not “that fast” but a few hours at 23+ mph on the TT bike training with the road helmet is a bit noisy.
Ear plugs only block some sound (15-30 decibels?), that’s why they’re often recommended for concerts, etc.
Disposable earplugs are available in different attenuation levels, and the deeper you insert them, the more they’ll muffle sound.
But they pretty much eliminate wind noise.
x2 for CatEars, they are great: Cat-Ears.com | Cat-Ears, LLC | United States
They work best for me with sunglasses over the helmet straps to keep the cat ears snug against my cheek, and/or with helmets that have the straps inside the shell.
Thanks to those suggesting these cats ears things. I’ve never heard of them, but oddly feel vindicated that I’m not crazy and others are bothered by the noise too. I’m ordering some.
Thanks to those suggesting these cats ears things. I’ve never heard of them, but oddly feel vindicated that I’m not crazy and others are bothered by the noise too. I’m ordering some.
You’ll have to work on your Elvis impersonation. Those things look like his sideburns.
I’ve used home made cat ears and they were effective for me, but certainly a talking point for others!
But mostly now I just put some cotton wool in my ears, can still hear sound around me, isn’t so obvious, but it stops the wind noise which really set off my tinitus.
I live in a windy place, so it’s not just any bike speed; head and cross winds are enough to make it quite unpleasant for me.
You’re smart to worry about wind noise. After 40 years of cycling I do think it has contributed to my hearing loss. As has construction work, loud music, etc… but more time on the bike than any of those. Fortunately, when us older fellows go out riding, we know each other’s glory day lies and can just nod like we heard our buddies.
That said, there are lots of earplugs made for motorcycling that actually do a good job minimizing/filtering wind noise while still allowing you to hear your fellow cyclist speaking and car traffic. Go to Amazon and type in ‘motorcycling earplugs.’ I use the Alpine MotoSafe brand. They are soft plastic so you can rinse them off, and they’re relatively cheap so you can sprinkle them around in your toolbox, car, kit bag.
I’m a big fan of the Cat Ears also. At some point, the wind noise started bothering me so I tried them. They don’t make the wind noise completely go away, but they are a huge help. I got the ‘slim’ kind. One thing you’ll notice is you hear a lot more ‘other’ noises. Like, I hear my rear tire road noise a lot more now. I also find my friends yelling on the road to talk to me, and I have to yell for them to hear me.
As to looks, who cares? I’m riding around in tights with a styrofoam cup on my head. Will these sideburns make me look any more silly?
I always thought the Cat-Ears looked goofy but thanks to this thread I bought a pair of the slim version and will try them this weekend. Wind noise hasn’t really bothered me but quieter would be better.
As far as the look, I already run a bar end mirror so I’ve long given up on looking pro.
I’m glad I’m not the only one bothered by wind noise while cycling. I live in the Mojave Desert where there is significant wind at least 330 days a year and the trees all have a permanent lean. It rivals WY on annual average speed. Wind noise can be bad enough to hurt my ears. It’s a legitimate concern that it’s going to cause hearing loss over the long term.
You’re smart to worry about wind noise. After 40 years of cycling I do think it has contributed to my hearing loss. As has construction work, loud music, etc… but more time on the bike than any of those. Fortunately, when us older fellows go out riding, we know each other’s glory day lies and can just nod like we heard our buddies.
That said, there are lots of earplugs made for motorcycling that actually do a good job minimizing/filtering wind noise while still allowing you to hear your fellow cyclist speaking and car traffic. Go to Amazon and type in ‘motorcycling earplugs.’ I use the Alpine MotoSafe brand. They are soft plastic so you can rinse them off, and they’re relatively cheap so you can sprinkle them around in your toolbox, car, kit bag.
I have something similar by Etymotic that I use occasionally for driving a loud work vehicle, but would be reluctant to use them while cycling. Everything is muted because they’re kind of intended for concerts and events where most of what you want to hear is very loud and there’s very little of anything else like conversation.
Ideal would be active noise-cancellation that passes low-volume sound at normal levels and attenuates it as volume increases. I have a Walker shooter’s headset that does that(very well too) and there are earbud options that do the same, but they are quite expensive. Etymotic’s start at $300 and go up rapidly.
You’re right, cycling can be noisy. I often cycle on the paved shoulder of a highway. Large trucks can be deafening when they go by. Use cotton balls. Pull off a suitable quantity and stuff in there. Allows some noise through while deadening most. Also very discrete looking.
