best headphones for cycling

[Bicycle]

I'm Johnny Cheapskate, so I just use what I have.

Thus, the standard earpieces that came with my iPod. Either under a headband or under a helmet.

I find they allow me to hear sufficient traffic noise and tyre roar to feel 'connected', although sometimes not the direction the noise is coming from.

I don't get concert-hall acoustics for my music, but I'm not sure anything would give me that and allow me to stay dialled into the road at the same time.

It works well for me.

I'd be wary of spending big money (anything over £2) just to get a 13.4% improvement in sound quality....

But I really am a dreadful cheapskate.

 

[headcoat]

I have also been looking for some, after my last set went missing I tried a cheap £2 pair from Asda and they are useless with the wind. I wouldn't be looking at spending more than say £10, not really interested in the quality (as most the music I listen to is 50's mono recordings), and wouldn't want to lose an expesive pair.

 

[Barrow Challenge]

The best headphones I have found for cycling in are Sennheiser Sport Line MX75, they are the in ear type and they have a second little piece that fits in your ear to hold them in place and I have found this a fantastic addition to them for my chosen sport.

You just twist them in slightly when you are heading out and other than an occasional moniro adjustment of a truck blasts past you or you alter position slightly and tug a wire they stay put for the rest of the ride, they are also claimed to be waterproof, or you can rinse them when they get sweaty after a ride or run.

They provide enough wind rush protection whilst still delivering enough volume and clarity for both music and to be able to hear what is going on around you with regards traffic and peds.I have 2 clips (they come as standard with one wire clip) so I can pin the wires to my shirt collar and keep them out of the way and run the wire down my back inside my shirt so it stays well out of my way. Not the loudest headphones I've ever owned, but they have enough volume to help me ride up hills when I need that extra little boost and you can still hear what is going on around you when a car is rushing up behind you, your MP3 player will of course affect the volume they put out.

The Lime Green colouring of them may put some users off them but I like people to be able to clearly see I have earphones in and they can make their own choices if they want to jump into the road in front of me or come up close behind me in a car, then again that one is rather amusing as I ride with a Bike-Eye mirror on my bike and often see cars coming up close behind me long before they have actually spotted me.