No. No. Nothing. Nothing, zip, zero, nada.

The whole reason I mountain bike is to get away from civilisation. I don't want to be called, texted, notified, spammed, paged, faxed, messaged, tweeted or "liked".

I love music as much as anyone, but can we just have a break from mobile communication devices for a few minutes? Please?

 

Winner.

 

Yes, but only 29er specific

 

The only time you should listen to music while mountain biking, in my opinion, is if you have a completely private place to ride, where you're guaranteed to never see another soul, because no one else will ever be there. Because you won't need to hear someone over taking you, you won't need to hear someone coming down a descent that you're climbing so you at least know they are there before they come whipping around a corner (I know, the SHOULD yield to you, but we should all maintain complete control of our bikes at all times too, right?) and lastly, the one thing you never want to have to hear, but may be glad you did, the person who went riding by themselves, and went off the trail and hurt themselves, calling out for help because they can hear you.

 

I was going to chime in but I couldn't have said it any better.

 

I love listening to music, but while on a trail I like to be aware of my surroundings. Hearing is a great way to tell what is coming and roughly how far away that object is, (usually another biker). If you cannot hear the biker coming, and if he is screaming down a hill that you are climbing, you will not move out of the way until you see him, which may be too late. Listening for things in the woods calms me, so that is another reason why I do not listen to music while riding.
And by the way, this thread should be in the "General" or "Passion" sections, not "29er Bikes".

 

Yes, I listen to music but only in one ear at a low volume. I can hear someone coming up behind me or towards me on the trail, never had a problem related to listening to a little music while riding. I've noticed many other riders on our trails listen to music, no big deal to me. Just be responsible and respectful of others and everyone will have a good ride.

 

Covered well above. One ear, low volume, seems to be the max acceptable, if there is ANY chance of encountering ANY other trail user.

 

Personally, I don't listen to music while riding or walking, just to be aware of my surroundings, but if you are gonna listen to music, don't use ear buds. They are designed to block out noise. Use one of those ear phones, at low volume.

Also, I don't know about others, but I find listening to music with just one ear tends to throw out my balance. I don't know how that'll affect me on a bike, but at least that's the case when I'm on a treadmill.

 

50/50.

I use 1 Stereo-to-mono earphone. You can hear and are aware of your surroundings.

Amazon.com : XDU Stereo-to-mono Noise Isolating Earphone - Fabric-wrapped Cord : Electronics

 

Nope. Only recently did I start the one ear low volume when getting to the trails.
I get annoyed by bikers , hikers , joggers who have both ears and music up. Its really presumptuous.

 

A mix tape of Matchbox Twenty and Nine Inch Nails :band:

 

Answers in order of questions:

No!
No!
I listen to the music of nature: birds, deer, bear, the wind, approaching storms, etc..

I wouldn't mind a product that announced my approach to bears on the trail. I've stopped riding solo on the local trails because of a recent bear encounter. If I had been listening to tunes with earbuds, I would have most certainly run right into a mother bear & her cubs.

Further editorializing on trail-tunes topic:
I can't think of any good reason to ride with any kind of headset or earbuds on the trails (or roads for that matter). I think you need to be aware of your surroundings while riding. If you find riding without tunes to be too boring, you are in the wrong sport. Go find a stationary bike at a gym or put your bike on a trainer in your basement & listen to tunes there. Don't become a hazard to yourself or others.

 

I wouldn't mind a product that announced my approach to bears on the trail. I've stopped riding solo on the local trails because of a recent bear encounter. If I had been listening to tunes with earbuds, I would have most certainly run right into a mother bear & her cubs.

I saw a half eaten deer leg on a trail couple weeks ago, and as I remembered about big cat sightings at the park, I heard bushes moving above the cliff, about 10 feet above where I was. I'd never bothered to go fast on my single speed until that day. lol.

 

Rick Astley cranked. "Never gonna give you up...."

 

No.

 

No, I don't.

I'd be interested in a product that mutes the music of others who are blasting it while riding their bikes. Noise pollution. I have no problem if you want to listen to your headphones, though.

 

I listen to audiobooks.

 

Runs counter to why I'm out there.

I will however do so often while roadbiking. Doesn't make much sense in the name of safety as a car is much more apt to run my flat than a deer, but there it is.

 

Runs counter to why I'm out there.

+1 on this, so no.

I could *maybe* see doing it on a long, grueling ride. I carry a small MP3 player on backpacking trips where we routinely go >20 miles in a day. The last few miles seem to go a lot faster with music as a distraction. At that point I'm not really enjoying the surroundings anymore So maybe it would work for long touring rides, when you're just trying to make it to a place to clean up, eat, and crash for the night.

 

Nobody seemed to notice that only spammers post this far off topic except Bonesetter2004 and MTBeing.
You guys win 1 internets each!

 

Okay, I'll be the bad guy - YES. Both ears. Volume at 11. Really. I like the music loud. I've been riding bikes for 40+ years. I've been riding a mountain bike for 20+ years. I don't need to hear nature to detach, engage and enjoy. Loud music lets me disconnect from everything else and just ride.

^That^ said, I do have the iPod (little Shuffle) mounted to my visor, earbuds wired into the helmet, so I can FF, RW or pause the music easier than grabbing a bottle. I am very aware of anyone coming up behind me.

The only downside: I miss it when racing. It's not permitted, and I probably wouldn't do it if it were legal - too much communication needed with other riders.

 

No.

 

The local mountain lions have learned that bikers / hikers with ear buds are easy prey, and true Darwin Award candidates.

 

All the time. It makes riding more fun, motivates uphill. If you look out for the other people and the traffic enough I don't think it would be a problem. If you don't want to be called by anybody turn on airplane mode and that's it.

 

..yes, & loud, but im on old nature trails that are deserted & ive cleared them out & fixed them up over the years. ive never seen anyone. But on normal trails with other riders on usually don't just b/c theres other riders in my group. if I went alone id prob do the low volume/1 ear thing.

 

......no my "boom box" doesn't fit in my bottle cage....darn-it!

I do have an itube that's cool designed for motorcycles - kicks out a lot of music but it is a little disrespectful to be playin music out there in the dirt... my opinion...

Stay Vertical out there...speed is good!

 

Last week I saw a GoPro video posted here from a guy who rear-ended a girl who stopped suddenly for no reason on a straight stretch of trail, then cussed the guy out. (If this was you, please repost it, I forgot the thread). I'll bet she had earbuds in, because I can always hear when a rider is right behind me. And a few weeks ago I almost ran down an ear-budded hiker who did not hear my bell (yes my Cannondale Jekyll is equipped with a handlebar-mountain bell for these situations) and took a few HELLO! shouts for her to realizse I was there.

Botton line - Safe, Fast Zen riding means having ALL of your senses in tune with what your body & bike are doing & all your surroundings.

 

Yes!

iPod/iPhone......Pandora. ( as soon as I move in to my new house and get my small iPod back custom mixes will prevail )

Something mellow like reggae on my way to the trails, raging industrial or metal during the ride, not always but almost always.