DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to be an attack on Pearl Izumi, which I find to have great products. As someone who is very bike-safety-conscious, however, I am having a very hard time understanding the mentality that went into this product.
In the current issue of Men’s Health, Tech Guide: Pearl Izumi cycling bibs with built in MP3 player. The add advises that the miles will fly by as you listen to your favorite music. Retail for $500. There is a picture below. You can barely see it, but, the control buttons on are the left leg.
Call me crazy, but, is it not insane to actually promote riding w/ ear phones and music???
In anticipation of an argument that this is no different than the Oakley MP3 shades, remember that Oakley does not actively encourage you to ride your bike while wearing them. In fact, Oakley actually has a disclaimer (somewhere) telling you not to do so.
If someone can point me to a disclaimer on these bibs, then, I apologize in advance. However, they still appear to be marketed toward actual cycling, which I cannot understand.
Pearl Izumi have some great stuff as always, but these new shorts (which they’re actually making) take the cake for 'technical shorts…'They come with a Pearl Izumi mp3 player - which also Bluetooth’s to your phone…
I think it is pretty stupid, probably a lawsuit waiting to happen, but what is more stupid is spending $500 on bike shorts with an MP3 player. What do you do with them when you wear the shorts out? (Assuming you live long enough to wear them out
Someone’s gonna get sued! and it’s going to be Pearl Izumi… So long as other manufacturers are enclosing literature telling you not to wear earphones while cycling etc. these guys are walking right into product liability by encouraging the same behaviour… Amazing that they’ve failed to notice how litigation-happy society has become and the risks they’re opening themselves to.
It’s way too expensive anyway so maybe no-one will buy them…
I wear headphones on my of my rides. They help me get through the long miles out on country roads and the highway. I don’t have any training partners that can put in the miles that I like, so riding along is really my only option. I don’t turn the player on until I am off of any roads with turns and high traffic. I really don’t think it’s a big deal if you are responsible about it.
This might be the dumbest product I’ve seen in 2006. First, the concept is ridiculous. Second, the price is even more ridiculous. I can’t believe they will sell even one of these things. These people clearly have no marketing acumen whatsoever.
I wear headphones on my of my rides. They help me get through the long miles out on country roads and the highway. I don’t have any training partners that can put in the miles that I like, so riding along is really my only option. I don’t turn the player on until I am off of any roads with turns and high traffic. I really don’t think it’s a big deal if you are responsible about it.
Chris
I also think noone will buy these shorts.
I normally dont ride with headphones, but sometimes I do. When I do so, I only put one headphone in one ear (the ear away from the road). This way I have something in the background, but am not oblivious to what’s going on.
I agree that this product is insipidly stupid – both in concept and in price.
There are people who log more road miles than me, but not many. I do many “lone wolf” miles on remote, rural roads. Regarless, I would never take away one of my senses while riding. I’ve been hit by cars twice and I’ve had countless close calls over the years. I’ve learned by painful experience to ride with all my senses on high alert at all times. I’m guessing that anyone who is willing to block one of their sensory inputs while riding has a delusion of invincibility and/or hasn’t had a near-death episode … yet. If you’re doing the miles, you will. YOU WILL!
Don’t be stupid.
And if you’re not comfortable being alone with your own thoughts out there on the road, perhaps you should find another sport.
Not only do you need all your senses but you have to think several steps ahead to anticipate danger. If I’m listening to headphones, I lose some of the senses and definitely the thinking ahead part.
I would agree that they are more for spin class or on your own on the trainer, but for spin class I think they’d be really only for the instructor. That way they can just load their playlist and control the tracks and volume on their leg instead of having to reach over to the CD player and such. Probably a much nicer experience and something I’d love to have as a spin instructor.
That being said, you’d have to teach a HECK of a lot of spin classes in order to justify the price tag. I think the better method would have been to embed the controls in the shorts, but leave the actual MP3 player out of it (my understanding is the shorts have both the control and the player?) - just have a way to connect your player to the controls on the shorts and then hook to the larger soundsystem for the speakers. Much broader audience and probably cheaper shorts. Something along the lines of what Nike did with their Nike+ iPod gear - controls are on the garment but the MP3 player is separate.
Interesting concept but probably only useful as a concept.
Don’t you worry… some one will by these shorts… And they will wear them with their 800 dollar custom Gore Tex Jacket… and they will mount their spotless Custom Vanilla Cycles bike, and they will use them every third sunday of the month… May through September… maybe…
not to mention that their seat will be too high.
…
and they will have like 400 spacers.
…seriously though… why is it a bike / clothing maufacturers duty to enforce anything… i’m sure there will be a niche market… just as the one for the current 300 dollar bibs out there… can you expect every company to have every single riders safety in mind? It’s a nice thought… but I’m in the NYC area… would i use an ipod day to day while riding… hell no… but if i lived out west somewhere maybe i’d like to more often.
…
holy S^&T though…500?
I think the bibs are dumb to but just for the price. I wear an ipod with one earpiece on long solo rides.
I’ve seen it written here before…what does a vehicle sound like before it hits you from behind? I’ve been hit before. It sounded just like every other vehicle that passes!
Aside from all this “irresponsible” stuff, uh, how do you wash the shorts?
I’m sure PI’s counter-argument would be that they’re making music lovers lives safer by placing the controllers easily accessible as opposed to someone taking out their ipod from their back, fiddling with the little buttons etc. while riding. Whatever, I’d rather get 5 pairs of shorts as I get fatter than one ugly set.
