When the iPod mini came out I thought it was the awesomest thing ever, and rode for a few weeks with earbuds, before realizing how dangerous it was. I'd never do it now.
For the same reasons as you. I like to be fully aware of my surroundings. Hearing cars approaching. Other cyclists ringing bells or talking to me.
I hate when I ring my bell or yell to a runner/pedestrian/cyclist that I'm approaching and they don't hear me and don't move from the middle of a path. Then get scared as I pass.
To be honest, I really enjoy not having music or a podcast/audio book and just being in my own thoughts. Even on 3-4 hour solo rides.
The Following User Says Thank You to KTrain For This Useful Post:
I've been buying earbuds for years and immediately cut off one side, pretty much listen to podcasts every waking minute of the day and always in 1 ear. Never too loud and you just have to be aware what direction you're hearing road noise from.
I feel like transparency mode on Airpods is pretty awesome for allowing in outside noise, but even then, cycling is clearly something that requires all your attention. Earbuds that have noise reduction built in are a bad idea obviously.
Last edited by Flabbibulin; 04-26-2023 at 10:58 AM.
I wear a bud in my right ear usually. I’ve considered wearing 2 more often for safety (weird, right?). Firstly, I like to protect my hearing, and wind noise is the biggest issue. And the wind noise is what usually keeps me from hearing traffic, so having nothing in my ears doesn’t help me hear a car coming up behind, unless they’re running some lame loud exhaust, but even then doesn’t give me much warning.
So I run a small rear view mirror and a varia radar to stay aware of traffic, and the varia chirps come through the earbud to alert me of the traffic, and I can watch them in the mirror.
Might be different if I was riding pathways, but on the roads I ride it works well.
And again, no earbuds just means it’s usually wind (and sometimes road noise) that are preventing me from hearing cars, whether I have an earbud in or not.
I've been thinking about getting into the world of indoor trainers lately and this budget-smart model piqued my interest. I know they dont ship to Canada but I can pick it up at the border.
I don't have a Zwift Hub Trainer, so can't comment on that one. I do have a Wahoo Kickr Snap smart trainer, which is a wheel-on trainer that is likely in the same price range. I use it with Zwift, and I love it.
The Following User Says Thank You to Ironhorse For This Useful Post:
I wear earbuds and listen to music at a normal level, try to stay to the right as much as possible. Try to stay to the less busy side of the river down south in the afternoons helps, that being said I passed a guy yesterday after ringing my bell twice and he seemed startled as he was riding more to the left than he should have been. He probably should take his earbuds out.
__________________
I have Strong opinions about things I know very little about.
I've been meaning to ask, anyone have a recommendation for a quality small mirror? Are the helmet mounted ones any good? Anything decent that mounts on the handlebars that won't get smashed off easily?
I've been meaning to ask, anyone have a recommendation for a quality small mirror? Are the helmet mounted ones any good? Anything decent that mounts on the handlebars that won't get smashed off easily?
Straight bars or drop? For drop bars I use the ones that go in the end, like this:
Does anyone have line of site into a cheaper road bike that might be for sale which I can make into my "indoor trainer" only bike? I'm about 5'10" and it doesn't need to be anything amazing. Wahoo kickr snap trainer if that matters.
I've been meaning to ask, anyone have a recommendation for a quality small mirror? Are the helmet mounted ones any good? Anything decent that mounts on the handlebars that won't get smashed off easily?
Yes, the sprintech that Fuzz mentioned is what I use. I had another brand at first and though it looked very similar, the quality of the mirror sucked. The sprintech is much better quality. It still will take a little time to get used to, but once you do, it works well
I think I tried the helmet mounted kind at some point, but didn’t like it. Certainly didn’t work for the kind of riding I do.
Not necessarily a noob thing, but the dorks that ride around with no hands on their bars, presumably because it makes them feel like a pro, annoy the hell out of me.
My bike has level 7 self driving and it only cost me an extra $3K. You're just envious.
The Following User Says Thank You to Bill Bumface For This Useful Post:
Aftershokz bone conduction works well for riding mtb but I rarely use them even when on gravel or road as I prefer to be more aware and device free/unplugged. Like others have said, when on the path or going past someone who can’t hear your bell or voice then freaks out isn’t pleasant. I’ve been heinously yelled and cursed at for not ringing when in fact they didn’t hear my multiple rings over their headphones.
Straight, looking for something of decent quality, I only have a few kms on my commute with traffic buzzing by. Would be nice to keep an eye out.
Are the small helmet mounted mirrors at all effective?
Ah, I use this on my commuter. Lasted at least a decade, through winter riding too. It's versatile for setting angles and holds them. I've dropped it several times and it hasn't broken.
Anyone in the loop on the new pedestrian/cycling bridge as part of the south bow river bridge project? I was really hoping they'd get it open for this summer but haven't heard anything on this project lately.
