I usually like to have music going no matter what it is I'm doing, and cycling is no different. I find music can make things much more tolerable e.g. if the weather on my commute has gone down the tubes or if the job I'm doing is boring and I need extra stimulation.
I use a Panasonic CD Walkmen I have had for about a month now. It has a claimed battery life of 105 hrs, which I thought would be handy when I go on a touring holiday (my previous one had a batt life of 8 hrs - I had to buy a set of alkalines every day - not cheap!). The headphones are some Phillips HS810 wraparound type which also fold down, and have had these for about 18 months. They have been through alot and are still in perfect working order - and they sound OK too. What is also good about the is that they are open - air and I can still hear what is going on around fairly well. Helping this is the fact that all my MP3's are 'normalized' to 89db, which reduces the volume of most modern music.
I'd have to say that I've never really felt at any extra risk due to having music on while riding. This is due to several factors so I'm definitely not saying that everyone else needs to agree with this. One reason is that the roads I commute over are all 'coarse chip seal' on which approaching motor vehicles are most certainly able to be heard. I also don't think I pose a great danger to cyclists overtaking from behind. Due to the unsociable hours I cycle and the fact that its the main highway I go weeks without seeing another cyclist on the road at the same time. In the last 6000 k's I've been overtaken once by another cyclist, which to me means the risk is low.
To be honest I'm not all that sure it matters if I can hear approaching vehicles or not anyway. If they are going to run me down it won't be any better for me that I heard them coming. I don't turn around at each approaching vehicle to check their line of approach. Just my 0.02 anyway. Bottom line for me is I take great pleasure from music and when combined with something else I like (cycling) is enough to (almost) make having a job worthwhile.
As to what type of music - mostly laid back indie music from the American and British scenes. I also like to occasionally listen to Tool or Perfect Circle - makes those pedals fly. Would like to try some Trance/Electronic stuff but don't know where to start. I find the problem with a lot of hard rock and trance is the lack of decent lyrics so if anyone can recommend ...
I use a Panasonic CD Walkmen I have had for about a month now. It has a claimed battery life of 105 hrs, which I thought would be handy when I go on a touring holiday (my previous one had a batt life of 8 hrs - I had to buy a set of alkalines every day - not cheap!). The headphones are some Phillips HS810 wraparound type which also fold down, and have had these for about 18 months. They have been through alot and are still in perfect working order - and they sound OK too. What is also good about the is that they are open - air and I can still hear what is going on around fairly well. Helping this is the fact that all my MP3's are 'normalized' to 89db, which reduces the volume of most modern music.
I'd have to say that I've never really felt at any extra risk due to having music on while riding. This is due to several factors so I'm definitely not saying that everyone else needs to agree with this. One reason is that the roads I commute over are all 'coarse chip seal' on which approaching motor vehicles are most certainly able to be heard. I also don't think I pose a great danger to cyclists overtaking from behind. Due to the unsociable hours I cycle and the fact that its the main highway I go weeks without seeing another cyclist on the road at the same time. In the last 6000 k's I've been overtaken once by another cyclist, which to me means the risk is low.
To be honest I'm not all that sure it matters if I can hear approaching vehicles or not anyway. If they are going to run me down it won't be any better for me that I heard them coming. I don't turn around at each approaching vehicle to check their line of approach. Just my 0.02 anyway. Bottom line for me is I take great pleasure from music and when combined with something else I like (cycling) is enough to (almost) make having a job worthwhile.
As to what type of music - mostly laid back indie music from the American and British scenes. I also like to occasionally listen to Tool or Perfect Circle - makes those pedals fly. Would like to try some Trance/Electronic stuff but don't know where to start. I find the problem with a lot of hard rock and trance is the lack of decent lyrics so if anyone can recommend ...