Do you listen to music whilst cycling? If so this is for you ...........

[PBancroft]

Your cycling safety depends on your observation - if you're relying on hearing, then for the most part you're almost certainly not looking enough.

True enough, but hearing can give an early warning too.

 

[BentMikey]

... which indicates a fail of observation.

 

[PBancroft]

... which indicates a fail of observation.

Much of my ride (about fifty percent) is down narrow country lanes, which bend and turn so that you can often hear cars or other vehicles coming long before you can see them... and that's those approaching from the front.

I can see where you are coming from, but using your ears isn't necessarily a "fail" of observation.

 

[Little_McKay]

Oh tell you what I did like about this article - the idea that cyclists may be allowed to turn left at red lights! Nice! Why not, too? In America and Canada (prob more places) CARS are allowed to turn right on a red light so seems fair enough to me!

 

[Clamson]

If you want to listen to music while cycling...then this is for you! Get a bike speaker! I have a DIY version, which was great for my commute. Not only can you still hear the road...you can share your fantastic taste in music with other people!

...

I really like this idea. In the summer I sometimes ride with the left earphone in, but never both (just too dangerous for my liking).

How loud is the speaker? I have no conception of how loud a 1.5 W speaker is. I would like to still hear it above trucks and buses. And I would like to share my fantastic metal collection with all my pedestrian friends and fellow cyclists .

 

[slowmotion]

Your cycling safety depends on your observation - if you're relying on hearing, then for the most part you're almost certainly not looking enough.

I can hear round corners. I can't see round corners.

 

[BentMikey]

I can hear round corners. I can't see round corners.

How does this help you? I take it you mean narrow country lanes like Kaipath's, in which case I assume you hear a car and immediately leap into the hedge to get out the way. What do people in cars do in this situation?

If you mean at junctions, then I rarely cross on green lights without at least a cursory glance to either side. There are too many RLJers to not do this.

And why do you assume people with headphones can't also hear the cars?

 

[gaz]

And why do you assume people with headphones can't also hear the cars?

true that.

When i used headphones for commuting a few months back, even with my iPod on much louder than it should be, i could still hear all the traffic around me.

 

[PBancroft]

How does this help you? I take it you mean narrow country lanes like Kaipath's, in which case I assume you hear a car and immediately leap into the hedge to get out the way. What do people in cars do in this situation?

In my situation, it might mean that I could hear what sounds like a particularly large vehicle approaching me (from either direction) on a single carriage road. I might be aware of somewhere easy and convenient that I can pull over to let him pass safely without having to "leap into the hedge." The vehicles I am referring to are tractors, skip trucks, that kind of thing.

When cars get into that sort of situation, usually one ends up reversing to the nearest passing point. Of course, that isn't a life or death scenario, but being able to listen out for that kind of thing is, for me, a 'nice to have'.

Alternatively I might hear a car travelling rather too fast or aggressively for the road (again, from either direction). Being able to hear it in advance can be useful to ensure that you are at a point in the road where you will be visible. I don't just mean primary here, I mean to say that you do not meet each other coming round a corner but will be visible early enough to give sufficient stopping time.

What do cars do in that situation? Well, they might crash. Six times more people die on rural roads than on motorways. I'm not saying that happens every day on my commute, but its something to be aware of.

At no point have I suggested that hearing is in some way a replacement for looking properly, which you are trying to insinuate that I am saying. Instead hearing is an addition to sight, and can be handy in some situations. Remember I did say earlier in this thread I've been commuting to work listening to an audiobook this week and simply tuned out to the words when I wanted to listen to the nearby vehicles... I reckon people can do that listening to music too.

 

[Valy]

I think that it could reduce your ability to hear the doorbell, yes. For instance, if you are somewhere in your home where the doorbell isn't heard clearly, then having the radio on could make it inaudible, just as listening to music in my office means I can't hear the pinger on the oven, even though it's in the next room.

Not necessarily remove but, as I have said all along, under certain circumstances, I think that using headphones could reduces your ability to hear other things.

Bascially, one would hear better without headphones. That is it. Norm - a fair point you are making.

Bascially if you wear headphones, you will generally not hear things around you as well as without headphones, but if you are sensible and try to be alert and aware it would be less risky than if you were to just tune into the music and start drifting.

 

[BentMikey]

ISWYM Kai. Based on my own experience of country lanes, hearing doesn't add much useful information at all for me. I've a mixture of club and solo riding, with and without music, and have dealt easily with speeding motons through positioning. This includes some very twisty singletrack, btw.

OTOH there is one junction where hearing is useful - it's often quiet when I pass there out of rush hour, and tapping pause on the music can help me to go more quickly, when with looking alone I'd have to slow a little more. This T-junction has a blind corner very close to it on the major road, and drivers often go too fast. I suppose that's me doing what I complain about in others - not looking as much as I should be doing.

 

[hackbike 666]

Oh tell you what I did like about this article - the idea that cyclists may be allowed to turn left at red lights! Nice! Why not, too? In America and Canada (prob more places) CARS are allowed to turn right on a red light so seems fair enough to me!

...and Thailand,I had this at a set but I didn't know about it.

Moton behind me was very good about it though.

Totally different traffic behaviour out there.

 

[Norm]

OTOH there is one junction where hearing is useful - it's often quiet when I pass there out of rush hour, and tapping pause on the music can help me to go more quickly, when with looking alone I'd have to slow a little more.

It's ironic, BM, with the amount of time that you spend defending those who listen to music that, in your own riding, you recognise that hearing can be a useful addition to sight alone.

Then again, every thread about this, you don't seem to understand that our various senses can be complimentary.

I'm with slomo. I use hearing and observation together. If others decide to reduce some of their sensory inputs, that's their choice.

 

[BentMikey]

You've missed two points - that I'm taking a small risk by relying on my hearing at that junction. Also that listening to music is perhaps a step further than not relying on hearing.

 

[BentMikey]

Kaipath, I made a special effort to check whether looking or hearing worked better on the ride I went on today. Catford CC Sunday run, fairly slow so not too much wind noise.

I was surprised quite how noisy the whole ride was - I saw every car before hearing it, and this is in some pretty narrow and twisty Kent lanes. The only cars we heard before seeing them was when we were stationary for a hedge stop.