This post will get flak

[Jdero_620]

I guarantee it will get flak.
What are YOUR options on music (headphones) while riding? One ear, two, whatever. Assume daily riding. Or track. Whatever

[Roark]

I wear foam earplugs with a Sena bluetooth. If you want music, radio, or phone capabilities, a bluetooth system is the best way to do it..

[VaFish]

Originally Posted by Roark

I wear foam earplugs with a Sena bluetooth. If you want music, radio, or phone capabilities, a bluetooth system is the best way to do it..

What he said.

[crazymadbastard]

Only reason for flak would be for a non-descript title. Jus' sayin..

[csmith12]

Street: earbuds or earplugs
Track: earplugs only

I did listen to music on the track once, it slowed me down 1-2 seconds per lap.

[verboten1]

Sena 20S and Good earplugs.

[HoneyBadgerRy]

I have Bluetooth speakers on both sides if my helmet I use for communication and nothings else, and I keep it at a volume that I can clearly hear the person talking, and anybody talking IRL besides me when I'm not moving (so I can hear everything when riding).

I know of people who listen to music when riding MX, and I can't imagine doing that, it would destroy my focus. That said, those I know of that listen to music on the track are much slower than me.

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Street: earbuds or earplugs
Track: earplugs only

I did listen to music on the track once, it slowed me down 1-2 seconds per lap.

I found that it increased my pace slightly
then I tried earbuds and my pace increased more

street is music 75% of the time

[csmith12]

Yea Ben, I know of another rider about your age that says the same thing. I guess I will just be content with being old.

[chugs]

I just use ear plugs.

[Abu_Mishary]

I listen to earphone when riding daily. It actually depends on how you focus on the road.

I always keep my eyes in front of me (and the vehicle which is in front of the one in front of me - d*mn my English sucks!) and vehicle at my rear. I also try to keep a distance when it comes to heavy vehicle or any vehicle in peculiar driving patterns. I also memorize the vehicle registration number of the ones in front of me, those overtaking me and other fellow bikers. I could also memorize their models and colour, driver's attributes, clothes they are wearing, how many passengers in vehicle and if the vehicle's window is clear, the colour of their attires.

I am more focused doing this while wearing my earphone (this is strange habit, yes i admit by profiling every motorists i encounter).

But when it's on the track, I just use ear buds.

[Mechanikrazy]

My street helmet has speakers and a Camos bluetooth. I normally wear earplugs for any riding outside of the city. Wind noise at higher speeds can permanently damage hearing.

[tfkrocks]

Earplugs + Sena SMH10R

[CaliGrrl]

I don't do any of it. Husband and I use intercoms, but that's it. Not interested in having music on a ride. I think it might interfere with my zen or something. It feels like it would be a distraction.

[corksil]

Flugzeugabwehrkanone!

[taz]

sena 20s on the street.

[adouglas]

Plug-Up S-Plug earbuds and podcast or radio (NPR) on the street. Never music because it distracts me too much. Spoken word, however, does not. Go figure.

Earplugs on the track.

My street helmet is a Schuberth S2, and they make a Bluetooth intercom accessory built into the neck roll (I think it's a repackaged Sena). I bought one, hoping to simplify the whole audio thing, but wound up sending it back. Wearing earplugs to keep ambient noise levels down, the speakers never did provide adequate volume. That's just my experience... others swear by these things.

I absolutely love the S-plugs. I've found that other earbuds either get pulled out of my ears when I put my helmet on, or protrude enough that when I'm wearing the helmet they press into my ears and cause pain.

The S-plugs fit entirely inside the ear canal, provide outstanding isolation and are completely comfortable. Highly recommended, but compared to other earbuds a bit on the pricey side.

http://www.plugup.com/the_S_plug_ste...rbuds_s/67.htm

[allanoue]

Audio Books for me

overdrive app and get free books from your local library

[spooph]

I use etymotic research HF5's: http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones/hf5.html

They have a significant noise isolation DB rating and all of that translates into hearing protection from internal helmet noise. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned internal helmet noise.
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/popu...ng-loss-study/
https://www.researchgate.net/publica...e_helmet_noise

You chose to believe what you believe, I'm not saying it absolutely IS this way, but I do know from personal experience that having noise isolation earbuds means I can play audio at drastically reduced levels, and I have a set of "earplugs" if I'm not in the mood for audio playback. Keeping things quieter keeps me a better rider for longer.

I used to cover around 20K miles a year on the bike so long term hearing loss was a real concern for me. I'm glad to report I just turned 31 and I can still hear 18Khz and I have no dead spots (thanks to an audiologist for a mother).

With better hearing I'm also able to be safer on the roads as even with music playing I'm able to identify issues of concern earlier on. Following on that note, I can dedicate more mental space to identifying possible issues of concern instead of fighting off the garbled background noise in my helmet.

The only recommendation I can make is the same one I make for all others, from daily wear clothing to motorcycle safety gear. Buy quality (and quality isn't always top of the line, most expensive of the bunch) and it will treat you right. Experiment and see what best works for you. If you stay objective and have informed goals, you will pick the right option.

[adouglas]

I have found the same re volume.

The business end of those etymotics is identical to the S-Plugs and as noted above, provides superb isolation.

The hard parts, however, would never work with my ears. Helmet padding would press on them and there would be painful pressure points.

[NevadaWolf]

I wear earplugs always; puttering, long distance, track, even a short commute. Doesn't matter, wind noise is wind noise and I find it fatiguing, engine noise in engine noise and that's headache inducing. Bad combo when riding a bike. I use EarLove plugs because when they told me their plugs use Etymotic Research, I asked what was the difference between them and ER. "Our packaging is cooler. Other than that, it's the same product." sent me into giggle fits and I bought theirs. Customer service wins my money and that was golden.

My helmets have speakers for my Sena SMH5FM and I end up listening to the radio, Pandora, my own MP3s, audio books, podcasts, or a phone call. The volume and my focus changes based on what I'm doing, but something is almost always playing. The rare times when I turn it off completely is on the track, through the heart of a city's spaghetti bowl, or a tight technical mountain road, anywhere extreme focus is needed and my mental monologue is loud enough to block out the white noise or where my speed is down to a crawl and there is no noise.

I really want an electric bike....

[algs26]

Originally Posted by tfkrocks

Earplugs + Sena SMH10R

How's the SMH10R? I'm thinking about picking up the revised version (Sena 10R).

Missing a turn and then running into a crazy heavy traffic has me considering a BT headset for the GPS directions.

[cadd]

Foam disposable earplugs + a Chinese motorcycle blue tooth headset. I don't listen to music much. I find it too distracting. When a Justin Bieber song comes on (FM radio I'm listening to), I find myself riding more aggressively because I want to keep the revs up to drown out the music.

[corksil]

Shure SE-425 used to be my go-to helmet music solution. If you can stuff they etymotic tips far enough into your ear canal, they won't interfere with slipping a helmet on or off.

Someone needs to come up with a solid solution for situational awareness, music, phone calls, and in-helmet communication and media. I started on the project once, but learned that I am better off with no electronic distractions in my ears while riding.

Given, if I would have worn normal foam earplugs between the abandonment of that project and now -- my hearing would be in much better shape. It makes me want to revisit the "situational awareness" part of the system now that my hearing has suffered from riding a loud bike with no ear protection for quite some time.

Someone needs to design and produce a system with external directional microphones on the exterior of a helmet, all piped into a directional microprocessor which has a sonic cutoff of around 130dB. In practical application, it would amplify higher-frequency sounds (such as a vehicle in front or rear of the rider hitting the brakes hard, or tire chirp from a nearby driver accelerating rapidly) while simultaneously cutting out constant lower-frequency sounds at higher volumes (such as high-rpm engine drone and wind noise.)

Cartoon comic book "super hearing" suddenly cheap and available for all... it would be profitable if someone could pull it off.

[tfkrocks]

Originally Posted by algs26

How's the SMH10R? I'm thinking about picking up the revised version (Sena 10R).

Missing a turn and then running into a crazy heavy traffic has me considering a BT headset for the GPS directions.

I've never used any other BT headset so I've enjoyed it so far. My main use for it is for music and GPS directions although it seemed to work fine the one time I answered a call. I like the low profile design of the controller. I don't have a good secure place to put the battery pack so it occasionally slips out from the lining into the neck of my jacket but that's because I don't want to stick anything over the graphics of my Rossi replica helmet lol. My only complaint is that I'm not really sure what to do with the wiring but that's relatively minor.

[spooph]

Originally Posted by corksil

Shure SE-425 used to be my go-to helmet music solution. If you can stuff they etymotic tips far enough into your ear canal, they won't interfere with slipping a helmet on or off.

Someone needs to come up with a solid solution for situational awareness, music, phone calls, and in-helmet communication and media. I started on the project once, but learned that I am better off with no electronic distractions in my ears while riding.

Given, if I would have worn normal foam earplugs between the abandonment of that project and now -- my hearing would be in much better shape. It makes me want to revisit the "situational awareness" part of the system now that my hearing has suffered from riding a loud bike with no ear protection for quite some time.

Someone needs to design and produce a system with external directional microphones on the exterior of a helmet, all piped into a directional microprocessor which has a sonic cutoff of around 130dB. In practical application, it would amplify higher-frequency sounds (such as a vehicle in front or rear of the rider hitting the brakes hard, or tire chirp from a nearby driver accelerating rapidly) while simultaneously cutting out constant lower-frequency sounds at higher volumes (such as high-rpm engine drone and wind noise.)

Cartoon comic book "super hearing" suddenly cheap and available for all... it would be profitable if someone could pull it off.

I like the idea, but its much too complicated.

http://www.earplugstore.com/electronic-ear-plugs.html

and these types of shooting ear-buds have various types of active technologies, and since they fit inside your ear they use the naturally excellent acoustic of the ear shape. If you have good situational perception with your helmet on, these will enhance that in exactly the way you're stating, without ending up with a Skully, instead, just some really expensive ear buds.

Now, for connectivity/BT, etc, etc, that's a whole nother ball-game.