Cycling Soundtrack or Safety Hazard ?

[biscuitwull]

https://youtu.be/qc7gAUBOYMY

This subject has always split opinion among cyclists but with these headphones i think it tips the balance. Take a look at the video and let me know your thoughts

[Pingu]

Driving with windows closed and radio playing?

[Kim]

Hearing isn't a reliable sense of anything on the road.  Pedestrians, bicycles, electric vehicles, potholes, low-flying plastic bags, diesel spills, wildlife etc. are all effectively silent, so you still have to look.  Deaf people have no problem using the road (although they're generally better at maintaining their awareness of their environment than hearing people who can't hear).

On which basis I'd consider headphones to be Mostly Harmless, and the issue is how much you're distracting yourself with the audio.  That's likely to be a sliding scale between 'instrumental music' and 'telephone call'.  It's potentially a safer way to receive instructions from a navigation device than a screen on the handlebars.

It's not about the headphones.

[Hot Flatus]

I disagree. But I'm sure we've had this discussion before. Hearing helps awareness. You can hear a fast-moving vehicle before you can see it. You can hear emergency vehicles, which in turn affect the actions of road-users around you. You can also hear changes (or not) in engine sounds coming up behind you which give a solid clue as to the likely actions of the driver (eg, not slowing down and about to overtake at speed with oncoming traffic).

That said, I've been using bone-conduction phones on the bike for years without issue. I can hear all the above.

[FifeingEejit]

Hearing on a bike effectively makes up for not having a rear view mirror.
Except due to wind noise, improvements in tyre design, improvements in sound deadening and Improvements in ICE efficiency that means you need to be trying for them to make a noise, you can't bloody hear what you can't see anyway.


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[citoyen]

Hearing isn't a reliable sense of anything on the road.

This.

As HF says, this feels like retreading old ground, and I doubt any of us have anything new to add to the discussion. Basically, though, I think it's a non-issue.

[Jaded]

Bone conducting headphones are crap at bass.

[Kim]

Hearing on a bike effectively makes up for not having a rear view mirror.

I'm inclined to suggest that having a mirror is much more useful than not having headphones.  But I don't think awareness of what's going on behind you *when you're not about to manoeuvre* is as important as some people think it is.  It's not like you're going to usefully react to someone driving a car into you from behind, which almost never happens anyway.  So it's mostly about not riding off the front of a group and not being startled by unheard vehicles.

[FifeingEejit]

Hearing on a bike effectively makes up for not having a rear view mirror.

I'm inclined to suggest that having a mirror is much more useful than not having headphones.  But I don't think awareness of what's going on behind you *when you're not about to manoeuvre* is as important as some people think it is. It's not like you're going to usefully react to someone driving a car into you from behind, which almost never happens anyway.  So it's mostly about not riding off the front of a group and not being startled by unheard vehicles.

Knowing that someone is directly behind you and hoping you move into a Passing Place is kind of handy though, and as you're already dodging all the crap of the day to keep going I don't generally look behind unless I'm making sure me moving into said passing place will be handy, particularly if it's the Assistant Polis redeployed for Glasgow to chill out on Tiree. (The full time Tiree polis is fine, particularly if your'e buying him drinks in the pub at 4am)
Although they usually freak out when you then use it as if it was a lane and they don't mash it past you in the time it takes to get through it and back into the movement lane.

I don't see the point in the radar things for the embolded reason.

[yoav]

I've never yet found a pair of earbuds that are able to block out entirely the sound of traffic. Having said that, I use bone conducting Aftershokz that don't block my ear canals but mostly because they can't fall out whilst I'm riding.

[toontra]

I don't see the point in the radar things for the embolded reason.

I use one so I have an indication that someone is approaching from the rear if/when I need to move out (e.g. overtaking parked vehicle), backed up by a shoulder check if unsure.  In urban settings this is particularly useful.

Sure it's not going to stop you getting wiped out from the rear but it's an extra source of information.  I really can't see a downside.  Besides, the increase in flashing speed as a vehicle approaches should make drivers more aware of your presence.