iPod wearing cyclists

[dans]

are completely mad. I come across them on my cycle home every night and they are oblivious to other road users. It surely has to be the sort of stupidity worthy of a darwin award. You wouldn't wear an iPod while driving a car after all...

[burnt]

Depends where you cycle, if I go out on a ride on my own XC then I always listen to music...otherwise I hear my lungs wheeze and my knees creak!!

[pdV6]

burnt said:

if I go out on a ride on my own XC then I always listen to music...otherwise I hear my lungs wheeze and my knees creak!!

As well as the nasty noises that indicate impending mechanical failure? (e.g. twig caught in the rear mech)

[matthew_h]

I tried wearing headphones on my bike once. Lasted about 20 seconds at the most. Hated the loss of a sense.

Never again

[burnt]

pdV6 said:

burnt said:

if I go out on a ride on my own XC then I always listen to music...otherwise I hear my lungs wheeze and my knees creak!!

As well as the nasty noises that indicate impending mechanical failure? (e.g. twig caught in the rear mech)

Ah the element of suprise..

[pdV6]

burnt said:

pdV6 said:

burnt said:

if I go out on a ride on my own XC then I always listen to music...otherwise I hear my lungs wheeze and my knees creak!!

As well as the nasty noises that indicate impending mechanical failure? (e.g. twig caught in the rear mech)

Ah the element of suprise..

Always brightens one's day!

[oc7]

dans said:

are completely mad. I come across them on my cycle home every night and they are oblivious to other road users. It surely has to be the sort of stupidity worthy of a darwin award. You wouldn't wear an iPod while driving a car after all...

have seen people driving with headphones in their ear sockets. very dangerous but could not say anything, just looked at them when they drove past. i remember when my brother got his first car, he had no music stereo in it, so put his ghetto blaster (?) on the back seat. No wonder it got broken into a week later and they pinched the stereo. I obviously got the brains of the oldies.

[Graham@Reading]

dans said:

are completely mad. I come across them on my cycle home every night and they are oblivious to other road users. It surely has to be the sort of stupidity worthy of a darwin award. You wouldn't wear an iPod while driving a car after all...

No, but that's because you have speakers, so don't need to. In fact, with windows up in a car even with the music off you can hear a lot less than you can with headphones in on a bike.

I regularly use an ipod while cycling. I haven't "lost" a sense at all - you'd need some pretty fearsome thrash metal at full whack to not hear an approaching car engine, bike bell or someone shouting "coming through" Not to mention the wind rushing past your ears anyway,

Edited by Graham@Reading on Thursday 9th November 16:19

[madbadger]

Graham@Reading said:

dans said:

are completely mad. I come across them on my cycle home every night and they are oblivious to other road users. It surely has to be the sort of stupidity worthy of a darwin award. You wouldn't wear an iPod while driving a car after all...

No, but that's because you have speakers, so don't need to. In fact, with windows up in a car even with the music off you can hear a lot less than you can with headphones in on a bike.

I regularly use an ipod while cycling. I haven't "lost" a sense at all - you'd need some pretty fearsome thrash metal at full whack to not hear an approaching car engine, bike bell or someone shouting "coming through" Not to mention the wind rushing past your ears anyway,

Edited by Graham@Reading on Thursday 9th November 16:19

On the bike I normally have either Terry or the iPod on, but not so it is loud enough to drown out other noise. I can still hear external noise much better than I can in the TVR.

[beyond rational]

I think Ipods and cycling are mad.

Hearing something is usually the first sign of failure, you either hear it rubbing or falling off, case in point my brake pads, shim and bolt fell out of a caliper (it was done up last I looked honest guv), I heard it and was able to recover the parts, if I had not heard it I would have had no brakes later, and probably would have got oil over the rotor as well as losing +£20 of brake parts.

[shannon]

A 14 year old boy got killed outside my friends how because he was riding his bike while listening to music and didnt hear the car on the road behind him. The driver wasnt speeding or doing anything wrong either.

[coopers]

See I went out for another hour joint across the country side this afternoon, and I always have my headphones on, only in bad weather do I think twice…. Mind due I only dare have one attached in my left ear, as others have pointed out you would be totally numb to anything around you if you had them blaring out in both.

I love cycling to music, I happened to come across on some classical and cycling around 1600 – 1700 when the sun is starting to go down is amazing with everything just going still although your still hammering it as hard as you can , brilliant.

[Matts_Zed]

I've thought about this quite a lot as I started to wear my Ipod to and from work on my bike.
Initially I thought, may be a bit dangerous, but then I thought, even if I had it on loud enough not to hear a car behind, how would it modify my behaviour?

If a car is coming up from behind, unless I am actually looking at it, I don't know if it is going to knock me off or not. Maybe not even then.

Also....

shannon said:

A 14 year old boy got killed outside my friends how because he was riding his bike while listening to music and didnt hear the car on the road behind him. The driver wasnt speeding or doing anything wrong either.

So how did it happen? At some point the car must have hit the bike, maybe the bike swerved, maybe the driver wasn't speeding but may have not left enough room allowing for what kids on bikes are like, of course I don't know, but what difference did the music make?

Also........

beyond rational said:

I think Ipods and cycling are mad.

Hearing something is usually the first sign of failure, you either hear it rubbing or falling off, case in point my brake pads, shim and bolt fell out of a caliper (it was done up last I looked honest guv), I heard it and was able to recover the parts, if I had not heard it I would have had no brakes later, and probably would have got oil over the rotor as well as losing +£20 of brake parts.

My bike is extremely well maintained, I used to work in a bike shop and know that every important bolt is checked reguarly, so I reserve the right to not listen for things falling
off. I reserve that right for my 15 year old Jap car (not really!).

Sorry, don't mean to be difficult, but I fail to see how it makes a difference.

[shannon]

The boy was doing a paper round and its a small village he was used to just riding out across a road only this time there was a car coming and he didnt hear it or see it and there was no room for avoidance unfortunately. So maybe he didnt look but had he not been listening to music he would have probably heard the car coming.

[beyond rational]

Matts_Zed said:

beyond rational said:

I think Ipods and cycling are mad.

Hearing something is usually the first sign of failure, you either hear it rubbing or falling off, case in point my brake pads, shim and bolt fell out of a caliper (it was done up last I looked honest guv), I heard it and was able to recover the parts, if I had not heard it I would have had no brakes later, and probably would have got oil over the rotor as well as losing +£20 of brake parts.

My bike is extremely well maintained, I used to work in a bike shop and know that every important bolt is checked reguarly, so I reserve the right to not listen for things falling
off. I reserve that right for my 15 year old Jap car (not really!).

Sorry, don't mean to be difficult, but I fail to see how it makes a difference.

Although it may not sound like it, mine is also well maintained, I used to work in a bike shop, and I check every bolt reguarly - I can not tell how on this occasion (and because it does sound contrary to the above) the circlip was not there and the bolt worked loose, but it happened. This was only an example though, I just like to listen, to hear it all working correctly, make sure I haven't picked up any foreign debris, the deraileurs are spot on and shifting sweetly.

[dubbs]

They're a menace. I tend to find I'm cycling a bit faster than most (not bragging, I'm sure it's all the bike!) iPod wearers are oblivious to you.

Not lost a sense - no, but you have DEFINITELY tempered one. Car drivers are the same, they lose elements of their sense too in the steel cocoon. The idfference is they're stuck in a queue and it won't kill them with a 10mph nudge.

Those that run them on low volume are better.

[4WD]

Don't assume everyone wearing phones is actually listening to music. I used to wear them to avoid getting bad ear ache due to the wind - they were never plugged in. Anyone know of any decent ear portectors for the winter winds?

[orgasmicliving!!]

4WD said:

Don't assume everyone wearing phones is actually listening to music. I used to wear them to avoid getting bad ear ache due to the wind - they were never plugged in. Anyone know of any decent ear portectors for the winter winds?

Yes, look in sporting goods/ski stores. Lots of good choices, from headbands with flaps to ear muffs (heh) to gizmos with built-in speakers.

[Parrot of Doom]

I always listen to music while cycling. Its at a level that allows me to hear traffic quite normally. I don't think its at all unsafe.

[Baldspeed Racing]

I listen to music while riding, I find it ok and I can still hear the traffic in the background no problems. I do not think its any different to anyone who has their music very loud in a car, if anything I can hear more than them.

On long rides I find the music helps break up the ride and if you have got a good track on it helps with those long old climbs