Riding to music

[Highlander]

If you MUST do it, spend proper money on decent noise canceling ear buds.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=53429 These guys do a great product. Money well spent.

Using headphones while driving/riding is forbidden in some countries. The main rationale is that you don't hear the environment as much (traffic, emergency vehicles, etc), so it's dangerous.

I have never done it because I don't want anything to distract me out there on the road, especially music.

I didn't realise the risk of hearing loss without ear plugs. I will have to think about that, but I'm still concerned that it might cover important noises that I want to hear.

Did anyone experiment with different types of helmets and has some idea about which ones are the most sound-proof?

With the Plugz 4 Lugz set up that I use, I have my ipod turned down to all but the minimum volume, as the wind noise is almost eliminated (I would guess it is quieter in my helmet than in the car).
I have no trouble at all hearing the emergency service vehicles if they have their sirens going.

Most of the time I can hear the other bikes around me over the noise of my bike and the music I have playing.

I find background music is soothing and helps me get a rhythm going, though I don't usually bother for cross town rides, just more than say 1/2 hr.

[faredce]

nah im a fan of having music gets u pumped, and iv never had many oh shit moments yet. i think by the sounds of it people seem to have helmets a tad to large they shuld be cutting down a large portion of wind noise specially at 100k
i may try earplugs just to see wots its like. it wuld prob be disconcerting to begin with but may be worth it in the long run huh

[Boob Johnson]

If you MUST do it, spend proper money on decent noise canceling ear buds.

One word............the ONLY word in earphones/plugs......


Sennheiser


The audiophiles weapon of choice. I recently turned a mate onto them & he freaked @ how good they are & surprisingly not over priced. Good ol fashioned German quality.


In saying that I like to hear everything around me & don't like the distraction of music, for my personal riding style which is reasonably aggressive (on long rides) I like to have everything working for me to stay up right. But I guess if I was riding at a normal pace then music would be fine.

[P38]

Wow! if you guys got hemets that run 80db or more under normal use then somethings gotta be wrong there.

Noise induced hearing loss is a certainty at those levels.

But dont worry it's not painfull, you wont notice it at all.

Hearing loss is silent and cumlative.

I've never measured the db rating inside my helmet but I would be surprised if it is anywhere near that. Must do that on my next trip away.

I always plug in the tunes on rides longer than around town.

Never had any problems with distractions, but then my riding style can only be described as relaxed. No need for pumping when your cruising.

I currently use the ear bud type phones and voulme from these does not appear to be excessive @ 100kms.

Would be keen to try out the earplugs though, just to hear the difference.

I'm currently importing a Nolan N-Com helmet so I can run the tunes, phone etc from my GPS and ditch the wires completely.

Will be interesting to test this as well.

[puddytat]

I heard somewhere that it can take up to a 3rd of your brain capacity processing sound,& usually I cant spare that much when riding....
Usually if I need music I find a tune in my head ...bugger when I get stuck on Boney M's "Brown girl in the ring" though.

[jcupit69]

If you MUST do it, spend proper money on decent noise canceling ear buds.

Exactly what i did, other than that you have to have it so loud its not good. My ear phones are really good they cut down the wind noise, but i can still here police cars etc and my engine. Got quite atune to picking out noises that arent my music, cus i usually listen to the same songs.

Maybe im just odd but i find it helps me concentrate n relax and makes me ride better...or maybe its just cus thats how iv always riden?? Might have to give ear pulgs a try though.....

Got an agv helemt at the moment, find it quite noisy. Had an arai, hjc and a shoei, gota say the arai was the best all round, love the agv except fo the noise.

I heard somewhere that it can take up to a 3rd of your brain capacity processing sound,& usually I cant spare that much when riding....
Usually if I need music I find a tune in my head ...bugger when I get stuck on Boney M's "Brown girl in the ring" though.

Hard one.....loadsa research says all different things...if you learned to ride with music you'll be better riding with music (learned behaviour/association), its an added stimulation that keeps you more alert, it takes up concentration like you said, its all over the place....but i mite have to try ear plugs for a while see if i can get used to it.

[PrincessBandit]

Interesting that most people have focussed on the mechanics of the sound -dB ratings and all that. I personally tend to go with what skidMark and puddy tat have mentioned that the distraction factor might be just as important, if not more so. Maybe I'm just weird, but music transports me (in a way different from my bike duh) and I can well do without that while i'm concentrating on riding. Having said that, it is quite common for me to get a particular song stuck in my head while i'm riding anyway and it drives me bonkers. So perhaps there's no real difference between that and listening after all.

[xwhatsit]

One word............the ONLY word in earphones/plugs......


Sennheiser


The audiophiles weapon of choice.

Lol, are you being serious? They're like Bose -- expensive crap marketed to people who don't know better.

Etymotics or Shure are the business when it comes to canalphones (noise-insulated earphones).

That said, Sennheiser do make a good pair of budget earphones -- their CX300s, which are a rebranded Sharp MD33 (and Creative EP630 -- all the same thing). That said, yet again, you can get the Creative EP630s for about half the price, the rest of the money just goes on the Sennheiser name and packaging.

I ride with my cheap EP630s in on long rides, I value my hearing. Not as good as proper construction-worker earbuds for blocking out the wind, but still reasonable. Also, I get my Coltrane crystal-clear. Sometimes wear them for the commute, but it's mostly 50kph so wind noise isn't too bad, and I like having good hearing for encroaching cagers.

[Highlander]

Hearing loss is silent and cumlative.

[WasPhantom]

Ear plugs are good for you...

Trust me, a noticable hearing loss at 27 is NOT that fun.

Having to ask: excuse me? What? You were saying? every 5 minutes at the pub isn't that fun to be quite fucking honest (TBQFH)!

Yeah, I couldn't agree more eh, I have that now, and it really sucks. I have kitted myself up with the Plugs4Lugs crew's ear plugs, best money I've ever spent I would say. Like most senses, hearing doesn't come back once it's gone.

[Colapop]

One word............the ONLY word in earphones/plugs......


Sennheiser


The audiophiles weapon of choice. I recently turned a mate onto them & he freaked @ how good they are & surprisingly not over priced. Good ol fashioned German quality.


In saying that I like to hear everything around me & don't like the distraction of music, for my personal riding style which is reasonably aggressive (on long rides) I like to have everything working for me to stay up right. But I guess if I was riding at a normal pace then music would be fine.

What he said. I have a pair of Sennheiser coming from ebay that cost $30 NZ and virtually no shipping (have a mate that travels regularly) so I haven't found them overly expensive. I've found that having music on helps me to concentrate better on my riding without over analysing things like cornering.

[Mikkel]

Since ive been off a bike for ages, it has come back a bit. find myself not saying "whatttttt!?!?!?" every 5 mins.

Good for you that it isn't chronic. Mine isn't so bad it's a real problem - just an annoyance. It's weird how it works - I hear noises and such just as easy as anyone else. It's extracting one particular noise (or voice) from the general murmur of a place like a pub (or e.g. hearing the TV when other people are cooking in the kitchen...)

Yeah, I couldn't agree more eh, I have that now, and it really sucks. I have kitted myself up with the Plugs4Lugs crew's ear plugs, best money I've ever spent I would say. Like most senses, hearing doesn't come back once it's gone.

Where are Plugs4Lugs situated? What's the best place for such earplugs near Christchurch?

[faredce]

i just have a flat pair that slips over my ears but i like the sound of the in ear

headfones can they be piked up on trade me or are they sold in stores becuse

they sound like there worth investing in..never seen them before so not reali sure wot im trying to spot on the shelves

[Colapop]

Just email them (Plugs 4 Lugs) off their profile page or PM them. They are at most meets so will probably be down your way soon

[Highlander]

Where are Plugs4Lugs situated? What's the best place for such earplugs near Christchurch?

Based out of Rotorua but keep posting here http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=41 as to their where abouts. I see they are heading to Dunedin shortly.

They made mine at the Gun club at Papamoa, takes about 20 Minutes, custom made for YOUR ears.

i just have a flat pair that slips over my ears but i like the sound of the in ear

headfones can they be piked up on trade me or are they sold in stores becuse

they sound like there worth investing in..never seen them before so not reali sure wot im trying to spot on the shelves

I have tried the ones that hook over your ears, and some others that had little silicone cups that fitted in my ears. They were ok, but the Plugz 4 Lugz are by far better than anything else I have found.
At first I thought they were expensive, but realised that I 'd spent more than that between the others that didn't work all that well.