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Helmet/Headphone/Earbud Question

1K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  Flash6R 
#1 ·
Well,
I recieved an iPod for my birthday just a month or so ago, and so I am trying to find a way to listen on the bike. I bought a set of Sony earbuds, but they tend to pop off when I put on the helmet. Anyone know of a manfacturer of helmut specific earbuds/headphones, etc? I have and HJC helmet.

Thanks for any help you can provide,
Charles.
 
#2 ·
Listening to music takes some amount of your attention away from the road--where it should be. That's a bad idea all around.

If you want to claim that it won't take your attention away from the road, then that means that you either don't need the music (won't be paying any attention to it) or you need to pay more attention to the road (Full attention not on it to begin with).
 
#6 ·
Well,
Didn't think it would be a problem. I ride highway A LOT, and the drone of the engine, and the buffeting of the helmet gets to be just plain annoying after awhile. I agree on city part, I wouldn't be using it on city streets, but I know a lot of people who ride with earplugs (including some big-time magazine writers). That definitely removes your hearing from the equation.
Anyway, I went into the local bikeshop, and they had some earbuds that had large foam covers on them that attach them to the inside of the helmet. They were kinda pricey- about $50, but I may try them yet. UP VFR- I'll try your link, looks promising.

Thanks for your help guys,
Charles.
 
#7 ·
chargincharles said:
but I know a lot of people who ride with earplugs (including some big-time magazine writers). That definitely removes your hearing from the equation.
Actually, earplugs lower the noise level, but you can still hear everything going on around you. For longer rides or highway rides, I put in earplugs... it'll save your hearing in the long run.
 
#8 ·
chargincharles said:
Well,
Didn't think it would be a problem. I ride highway A LOT, and the drone of the engine, and the buffeting of the helmet gets to be just plain annoying after awhile. I agree on city part, I wouldn't be using it on city streets, but I know a lot of people who ride with earplugs (including some big-time magazine writers). That definitely removes your hearing from the equation.
Anyway, I went into the local bikeshop, and they had some earbuds that had large foam covers on them that attach them to the inside of the helmet. They were kinda pricey- about $50, but I may try them yet. UP VFR- I'll try your link, looks promising.

Thanks for your help guys,
Charles.
right now i ride iwth earplugs anytime i go more then about 5 miles. I actually think riding with them makes me more attentive to what's going on around me. It blocks out the wind noise so 1. i can hera traffic better, 2. I can hear my engine more clearly, and 3. It makes the ride more relaxing because my ears are not getting bombarded and tired out from all the wind so they are not ringing 6 hours after i am done riding...just my .02

I do a lot of highway riding too so that is why i want to be able to listen to a little music once in a while.

i called them today...the said you can go to your home town audiologist and get standard ear impressions made, send them to this company and in 6-8 weeks they will send the speakered ear plugs back. or if htey have a branch near you, you can go see them and it would only take 2-4 weeks to get them. They have a branch 400 miles from me, but i will be in that area next week so i am going to call tomorrow and see if they can get me in on such short notice..
 
#9 ·
I bought a set of Koss "The Plug" earbuds today. Unfortunately my bike is out of comission for a while, so I couldn't give them a road test, but I did test them in my living room with my helmet on.

Actually, before I did that I messed with them a little bit. I swapped the foam plugs that they come with (which is very springy) for a set of compressible foam earplugs that I put a hole in. They seemed to block out noise fairly well and the music sounded good, but I couldn't get running fast enough to create any wind noise.

Putting a helmet on with them in was no problem, they stayed put. Removing the helmet, the earbuds started moving around and felt like they were digging into my ears. So I either need a little more fine tuning on the earplugs, or I just need to figure out the right way to take my helmet off.
 
#11 ·
Slo_Tom is going to have to run faster to tell us that!
Sounds like a good plan though. The earbuds I have are Sony so they are good quality, but try as I might, I could not get the helmet on without distrubing the hell out of them.
I might try Tom's technique though. I have several pair of cheap foam earplugs. Might be a nice little project for the weekend. I am also thinking of getting some foam sheet and installing the buds permenantly in the helmet, like the ones I saw in the bike shop. I'll see what I can sort out. As for the website from UP VFR, all I can say is OUCH! $125+ clams! Well, if they lasted a LONG, LONG time, and you could use them at other times (like jogging, mountain biking, hiking, etc) then I could see the cash outlay, as they would be the MOST comfortable earbud available.
Anyway, I'll tinker with the buds and the plugs this weekend and see what I can come up with.
As for regular earplugs- never have worn them while riding, have to try it and see if it makes a difference. If anything, it will be easier to hear myself cursing at the cagers!

Have Fun,
Charles.
 
#12 ·
I don't want to be a wet blanket, but you may want to check to see if it's legal to ride with headphones on. I know it's illegal in some states to drive a car with headphones on. It's probably a moot point as it would be pretty hard for a cop to tell if you have them on, but I'm sure they could probably give you a hard time if they pull you over for something else. Just something to think about.
 
#17 · (Edited)
slo_tom said:
They seemed to block out noise fairly well and the music sounded good, but I couldn't get running fast enough to create any wind noise.
HAHAHA...too funny.

I have the sony earplugs MDR that are at the riderswearhouse. they go directly into your ear, so they do a good job blocking out the noise. btw, they arent the noise cancelling kind. i like them though.
my bike is out of commision also. so i dont know how they are in my helmet while riding. but im gonna get my lid out of the closet and see how they fit.


ok...so i tried the headphones with the lid...blocked out the tv pretty well. not sure if thats good or not since i may not hear that car horn either...
helmet went over headphones without disturbing them at all. helmet took out the headphones wen i took it off. but thats no biggie. overall, impressed.
hope the neighbors didnt see me through the window :twofinger
 
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