UL Headphones that aren’t earbuds!

Max, if you're wearing headphones while cycling on the road, touring or whatever, you're pretty much taking out your ability to hear what's coming up behind you – which increases your chances of becoming another sad statistic of car-bicycle interaction.

I've heard all the arguments about how headphones still let you hear vehicles coming past you (I teach a road cycling course), and I don't buy any of them. The more noise you shove in your ears, the less you can hear the real world.

It's your life, and I'm an old geezer. Note that: old. As in been there, done that, still kicking. Choose your risks wisely.

IME the main issue with ear buds is comfort and durability …

they are so light that as long as its not those ginourmous ear muffs, the weight is irrelevant either way if the above two conditions are met

;)

I hear you on the risk headphones are while cycling. I have two thoughts, but I really don't want to challenge you because I agree with you.

1. In a lot of situations, hearing a car coming from slightly farther away does NOT provide any reasonable increase in protection. A car coming at 40mph directly behind me and slightly to my left sound the same. That doesn't make headphones ok, but when I have a wide shoulder and traffic is consistent, I'm not going to be listening for anything but a car horn anyways (and I can hear horns over my music).

2. I don't use headphones while biking in the city, or in my town. I occasionally use them very early in the morning when I'm on training rides, because the roads are pretty empty and a car's engine stands out. These particular headphones can be flicked out so I can hear better without having to take them off (really useful).

I use a lot of bike paths and bike trails, especially when I tour. I always use them in places like this except when I want to take in the scenery.

Ultimately, I don't use them that often, but when I do, I use them mindfully. Unfortunately, I have really bad hearing anyways so I am used to using my eyes for danger.

The company I work for has a policy that only one ear phone can be used incase an evacuation alarm goes off.

For backpacking, I like earphones that stay on my ears — I don't trust or feel comfortable with the ones that sort of pressure fit inside the ears. So I like ones that have a hook that goes behind the ears.

These I can find.

And I can also find earphones that have on-the-cord volume control, something else I find pretty important when backpacking, or really any other use (exercising, whatever).

What seems as difficult to find as hen's teeth are earphones that hook behind the ears AND have on-the-cord volume control. And, it I can make it more difficult yet, I prefer earphones that are not priced for wealthy audiophiles.

Last time I found something that worked (after a lot of online searching), I bought a few pairs in one go. It's almost as bad as finding a good trail shoe that works among currently available models (buy a bunch at once when you do).

These don't have volume control, but they do have a manual control (ha!). The hinge of the behind-ear hook is so good, you can flip the entire headphone out like a pair of sunglasses with flip-up lenses. You might look like Mickey Mouse, but your hearing goes up 100% and you can do it quickly, even while exercising.

I do it when I need to hear what's going on around me at a moment's notice, and it works with one hand.

I have long wished for the "one gun" of headphones and I'd pay north of $100 for them because I love music (my studio headphones were north-north of that) but these are pretty darn close. Missing a couple features, but they have the important ones; comfort, quality, stability, light weight.

The cord isn't perfect.