mp3 player advice for riding

23 Feb 2005 20:00:44 -0800,
<[email hidden]>, "Mike G"

Quoted message said:

So, I was wondering if anyone has had problems with hard drive based
mp3 players or if riding is generally smooth enough to keep the hard
drives safe. I would much rather buy a large player, but if it's too
vulneralbe when riding I'll go with a smaller one.

I've an el-cheapo Koss MP3-CDRW-CD player with 120 second shock
protection in MP3 mode (90 seconds in CD mode)

When mounted on the rack it's virtually useless and even worse in cold
weather, even with chemical hand warmers. When I carry on my body a
combination of body heat and fewer shocks makes it quite acceptable.
At 160 bps a CD will hold ~12 albums. Tuck a few more into your
panniers and you've days of music without repeats.

I use battery powered speakers because riding with headphones
contravenes various by-laws as well as being a stupid thing to do.
--
zk

Thu, 24 Feb 2005 08:40:15 GMT,
<[email hidden]>, nobody, "S o r n i"
"the Gameboy with nothing to say"<[email hidden]> proved its
idiocy:

Quoted message said:

Zoot Katz said:

I use battery powered speakers because riding with headphones
contravenes various by-laws as well as being a stupid thing to do.

The most obnoxious person I ever rode with played music (one lousy tape over
and over) over speakers. Good thing no one rides with you.

You snipped this part, [censored]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

At 160 bps a CD will hold ~12 albums. Tuck a few more into your
panniers and you've days of music without repeats.

--
zk

Mike G said:

And, yes, I know, riding with headphones can be a safety hazard...

So don't do it, [censored]. So you're aware of its dangers and still plan on
doing it? That makes you an uber-[censored].

I don't care if you wear a seatbelt or a helmet or if you smoke or
masturbate 10x per day. But when you make a safety decision that affects
other cyclists then you're being selfish.

For those times that you can legally use a player--like at the gym or
strolling about--get a flash player. They're relatively cheap, shock
proof, and amazingly durable.

HDD players are failure prone, bulky, and expensive. Certainly they're the
right choice for some--but really--isn't the ability to tote 500 tunes
around on a stick of gum enough for the most of us?

Jesus christ.... you guys need to relax.

I've found headphones have no effect on ability to hear. The
stereotype that listeners turn up the volume to buzz-saw level
is simply not true. They turn it up until they can hear it,
and that means it's comparable to the outside noise they also hear.

The noise from wheels is ``out of band'' for what you're listening to,
so you hear it just fine.

Noise-cancelling headphones are even better, because they kill
wind noise that masks traffic, in fact.

The only type that actually does diminish hearing is the Sony in-ear
earplugs, which plug out the high frequencies that mean tires, so
perhaps avoid those.

It may very well be illegal. Politicians vote for all sorts of things
they know nothing about.
--
Ron Hardin
[email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Ron Hardin <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I've found headphones have no effect on ability to hear. The
stereotype that listeners turn up the volume to buzz-saw level
is simply not true. They turn it up until they can hear it,
and that means it's comparable to the outside noise they also
hear.

Hey I have ridden by some of these idiots and I think the music is loud
and they have the earphones on. Course they are probably so deaf that
they couldn't hear anything without them.

Ron Hardin said:

I've found headphones have no effect on ability to hear.

and I've found liverwurst that tastes like pixie sticks.

Really now--I've heard this bogus claim way too many times--and many more
times I've been yelled at by somebody wearing "phones" to signal my
pass--after I spent half a minute trying to get their attention.

Focus on the road, people--or even sing to yourself--guaranteed to keep
others at a safe distance.

Every state I've lived in (a half dozen) has had a law against headphone
usage when driving/cycling.

You shouldn't wear them while roller blading either for that
matter--unless you're on a private path w/o cyclists--pretty much keep
your ears clear if you're going over 5mph is a good rule.

Your argument reminds me a lot of the common "I drive fine drunk" I've
heard so many times as famous last words...

Velo Psycho said:

Jesus christ.... you guys need to relax.

If you've spent any amount of time using a bike lane/path with these
headphone wearing idiots--it'll tweak your nerves too.

There's a few things other cyclists do that warrant my rage: headphones,
riding the wrong way, riding at night with zero reflectors/lights
(usually done by racer-boys around here who unscrewed their oh-so-heavy
factory reflectors), and blatant disregard for traffic laws (rolling a
stop sign at 3mph when it's *your turn* and such doesn't bother me 😉).

Mike G said:

So, I was wondering if anyone has had problems with hard drive based
mp3 players or if riding is generally smooth enough to keep the hard
drives safe. I would much rather buy a large player, but if it's too
vulneralbe when riding I'll go with a smaller one.

an ipod mini is ideal, imo. 'specially now that they get ~18 hours per
charge and are 6gb. never had a problem with mine (i carry it in my jersey
pocket), no skips, no abnormal wear and tear .. just works. forget the
flash players, just get a mini. the full size ipods are a bit too large to
easily carry.
--
david reuteler
[email hidden]

maxo said:

If you've spent any amount of time using a bike lane/path with these
headphone wearing idiots--it'll tweak your nerves too.

There's a few things other cyclists do that warrant my rage: headphones,
riding the wrong way, riding at night with zero reflectors/lights
(usually done by racer-boys around here who unscrewed their oh-so-heavy
factory reflectors), and blatant disregard for traffic laws

we can only hope that the darwin effect works, and that they
don't continue in the gene pool.

it's the airheads on skates with phones on that irritate me,
since they always take the full lane or full multi-use path for
some reason. most of the cyclists here seem to have had enough
close calls with phones on to stop doing that.

When I was looking into MP3 players (for use in the gym, not in the bike), I
went thru the same decision process you are. Although I found many mentions
of possible problems with hard drive based players, I was never able to find
any actual documented incidents.

In the end I opted for a flash player as it was significantly lighter than
any hard drive player.

In my case I bought a 256MB Rio Cali (functionally identical to the Rio
Chiba) and then added a 1GB SD card. Total cost to go this route these days
could be as low as $100 for the Cali/Chiba and $50 for the SD card.

Good luck!

Chris

Quoted message said:

I'm in the market for an mp3 player to use while at the gym (on the
bike there in bad weather) and when riding in general. I've heard that
hard drive based MP3 players (ipod, rio karma, dell jukebox, etc) are a
little more sensitive to movement and bumps. Not in terms of skipping,
but the player actually breaking because it has moveable parts.

Flash mp3 players, on the other hand, are very durable, but don't hold
nearly as many songs (usually about 512 mb as opposed to 30 gigs).

So, I was wondering if anyone has had problems with hard drive based
mp3 players or if riding is generally smooth enough to keep the hard
drives safe. I would much rather buy a large player, but if it's too
vulneralbe when riding I'll go with a smaller one.

Thanks in advance.

And, yes, I know, riding with headphones can be a safety hazard...

On 23 Feb 2005 20:00:44 -0800, "Mike G" <[email hidden]> from

urlhttp://groups.google.com/url said:

I'm in the market for an mp3 player to use while at the gym (on the
bike there in bad weather) and when riding in general. I've heard that
hard drive based MP3 players (ipod, rio karma, dell jukebox, etc) are a
little more sensitive to movement and bumps. Not in terms of skipping,
but the player actually breaking because it has moveable parts.

Flash mp3 players, on the other hand, are very durable, but don't hold
nearly as many songs (usually about 512 mb as opposed to 30 gigs).

So, I was wondering if anyone has had problems with hard drive based
mp3 players or if riding is generally smooth enough to keep the hard
drives safe. I would much rather buy a large player, but if it's too
vulneralbe when riding I'll go with a smaller one.

The Diamond RIO is a greta flash player. But ... get the iPod. I suggest the
Shuffle.

maxo said:

Mike G said:

And, yes, I know, riding with headphones can be a safety hazard...

So don't do it, [censored]. So you're aware of its dangers and still
plan on doing it? That makes you an uber-[censored].

I don't care if you wear a seatbelt or a helmet or if you smoke or
masturbate 10x per day. But when you make a safety decision that
affects other cyclists then you're being selfish.

Agreed.

Quoted message said:

For those times that you can legally use a player--like at the gym or
strolling about--get a flash player. They're relatively cheap, shock
proof, and amazingly durable.

HDD players are failure prone, bulky, and expensive.

Wrong. I use my iPod on the cardio machines at the gym. It works great and
I've used it for over 2 years now.

Certainly

Quoted message said:

they're the right choice for some--but really--isn't the ability to
tote 500 tunes around on a stick of gum enough for the most of us?

They have more use than just toting around. They travel well, too, in the
car and in the hotel room and on visits to friends/family.

Mike G said:

I'm in the market for an mp3 player to use while at the gym (on the
bike there in bad weather) and when riding in general. I've heard that
hard drive based MP3 players (ipod, rio karma, dell jukebox, etc) are
a little more sensitive to movement and bumps. Not in terms of
skipping, but the player actually breaking because it has moveable
parts.

Flash mp3 players, on the other hand, are very durable, but don't hold
nearly as many songs (usually about 512 mb as opposed to 30 gigs).

So, I was wondering if anyone has had problems with hard drive based
mp3 players or if riding is generally smooth enough to keep the hard
drives safe. I would much rather buy a large player, but if it's too
vulneralbe when riding I'll go with a smaller one.

Thanks in advance.

And, yes, I know, riding with headphones can be a safety hazard...

Don't ride a bike while wearing h'phones. It's stupid and deadly.

How else are you going to climb and insane grade without listening to
"Matallica" ?

In article <[email hidden]>,

Edward said:

How else are you going to climb and insane grade without listening to
"Matallica" ?

I've got an edetic memory, so I don't need music playback
hardware; the wetware is good enough. Sometimes it's too
good, like when I get annoying tunes like "Rock the Casbah"
stuck in my head.

The Doobie Brothers' "Clear as the Driven Snow" works
pretty good for me, for insane climbs.

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

maxo said:

Quoted message said:

And, yes, I know, riding with headphones can be a safety hazard...

So don't do it, [censored]. So you're aware of its dangers and still plan on
doing it? That makes you an uber-[censored].

People who criticize me for doing it have invariably never tried it with
the little non-sealing ear buds that come with players these days. They
don't conceal traffic noises at all when playing music at a comfortable
volume. I suppose they could be cranked up to that point, but anything
can be abused.

I use a 256Mb flash player, which holds about four hours' worth of music.
It's light, small, skip-proof and doesn't seem to mind sweat. I only
use it when riding alone, of course.

--
bpo gallery at http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/mvw1/bpo

Chris Neary said:

When I was looking into MP3 players (for use in the gym, not in the bike), I
went thru the same decision process you are. Although I found many mentions
of possible problems with hard drive based players, I was never able to find
any actual documented incidents.

In the end I opted for a flash player as it was significantly lighter than
any hard drive player.

In my case I bought a 256MB Rio Cali (functionally identical to the Rio
Chiba) and then added a 1GB SD card. Total cost to go this route these days
could be as low as $100 for the Cali/Chiba and $50 for the SD card.

I'll second that opinion, although I only use my
Cali at the gym. :-)

--
Scott Johnson / scottjohnson at kc dot rr dot com

Roger Zoul said:

Don't ride a bike while wearing h'phones. It's stupid and deadly.

This topic comes up regularly, and draws so many people with such
strong opinions. But based on what facts?

Read this article, by one of the most prominent safety experts in
bicycling - John Allen, the guy who wrote the "Street Smarts" booklets
distributed by some states' DOTs:

http://www.bikexprt.com/bicycle/hearing.htm

I've never seen a cyclist riding with earmuff-style headphones. Those
could be a problem, I suppose - but OTOH, it _is_ legal for a
profoundly deaf person to ride a bike.

And it's certainly possible to ride with earbuds turned to a low
volume. They need have no more effect on your hearing than, say,
whistling a tune while you ride. Is that deadly, too?