Your Portable Music

[lph]

ooh, ooh, ooh, just got my i-ride bike stereo and can't wait to get it up and running The battery cap was missing though but the nice people at active-tunes are going to fix. It feels kinda plastic fantastic but the sound was amazingly loud. And I like that you can switch off the speakers fast with a single button if you need to, and angle the speakers towards or away from you depending on "how many people you want to play for". I think this could be a real boost on long training rides with a friend or two. I don't think it'll hold up to the gravel roads I ride in the woods though.

[kiwi girl]

My ipod Nano is my favourite toy. I have a 4gb - it doesn't hold all my music but it is pleanty big enough to have a range of music, podcasts and audio books when travelling. I use it cycling (one ear bud only) and running and have never had skipping isues.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I just hope that all these people who are starting to put speakers on their bikes are going to be considerate enough to keep it turned way down so that others around them who may not wish to hear their music while riding are not going to have to hear it anyway whether they like it or not.
I get so weary of having other people's music forced on me wherever I go- bank, Post Office, 'public' TVs, restaurants, stores, supermarket, offices, dentist.....
When I go out on my bike, one of my greatest pleasures is to hear the natural sounds around me as ride- it one of the few times I can be outside and enjoy peace and quiet and mother nature.
I can just envision riding down a lovely country back road listening to the birds and crickets, deep in thought and personal enjoyment....and then hearing rock music coming up behind me from a distance, slowly approaching.....

[Dogmama]

I can just envision riding down a lovely country back road listening to the birds and crickets, deep in thought and personal enjoyment....and then hearing rock music coming up behind me from a distance, slowly approaching.....

Agree 100%

I use my bike time for training my body & relaxing my mind. Are our own thoughts so distressing that we must ALWAYS be entertained?

OTOH, I use my MP3 in the gym to drown out the awful rock music, conversations, grunts & groans. Also, it tells people that I'm not there to socialize. I want to work out & get out.

Wow, I'm really a grump this morning! Time to ride!

[BabyBlueNTulsa]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm never riding slow enough to hear the crickets. I hear "whhhhooooooooossshhhh"!

Just kidding.

I know what you mean. I don't always use mine - even on solo rides - but I do enjoy taking my music with me at times. I don't think of it as being entertained as much as I think of it as 'enhancing' my mental state so I can enjoy the ride more. It sometimes help to set my cadence or help me forget the pain in my hip (it tries anyway).

I never miss the joy of being out in nature..with or without my iPod..I always enjoy the 360 views and the feel of the wind on my skin. Maybe its just that I live in a medium-sized city and REAL nature is usually further away than I can usually ride out to.

[lph]

I can just envision riding down a lovely country back road listening to the birds and crickets, deep in thought and personal enjoyment....and then hearing rock music coming up behind me from a distance, slowly approaching.....

Maybe the idea is more palatable if you imagine dulcimer music, instead

Joking aside, the places I would use speakers are hardly oases of zen-like tranquility in the first place, because of traffic. People on leisurely rides tend to ride completely different places - as do I when I want to enjoy peace and quiet.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Maybe the idea is more palatable if you imagine dulcimer music, instead

Joking aside, the places I would use speakers are hardly oases of zen-like tranquility in the first place, because of traffic. People on leisurely rides tend to ride completely different places - as do I when I want to enjoy peace and quiet.

You sound like a considerate and thoughtful person.
I appreciate your comment about dulcimer music, but personally I only want to hear nature sounds when I'm out in beautiful natural surroundings.

I can sort of understand the music thing more if you are already riding in loud situations full of ugly manmade noise anyway. However, I tend to feel there is way too much noise in today's modern world , and that adding more doesn't really make things better. Those are just my own feelings though.

I love music (and I play music in public settings) and I actually do understand why some people like to work out with music. I just don't like to have to hear other people's music when I don't want to, or when it distracts me from my own peace and thoughts.
The conflict comes because of the inherent danger of wearing earbuds in traffic vs. the annoyance factor to others of having speakers that pump the music into the surrounding space instead. It's a dilemma for sure.

[lph]

ooh, ooh, ooh, just got my i-ride bike stereo and can't wait to get it up and running The battery cap was missing though but the nice people at active-tunes are going to fix. It feels kinda plastic fantastic but the sound was amazingly loud. And I like that you can switch off the speakers fast with a single button if you need to, and angle the speakers towards or away from you depending on "how many people you want to play for". I think this could be a real boost on long training rides with a friend or two. I don't think it'll hold up to the gravel roads I ride in the woods though.

Had to revive this thread just to tell y'all that, after a long wait during which the (very) nice people at active tunes tried multiple times to send me stuff but were confundled by the weird Norwegian characters in my name, it finally arrived TODAY. And not only did they send me a battery cap, it came with an entire new stereo attached to it, holder kit and all

And, get this, they included 2 more separate stereos, because they "felt bad I had to wait"... how amazing is that?

I have kewl christmas gifts this year...

[SadieKate]

On the MS150 last month, our string of 6 was spinning along the rural roads when I suddenly heard really weird noises and asked "what's the awful noise?" Turns out it was one of the riders we were passing and she immediately switched off her speakers. Oops . . . .


only kinda.

[Misandal]

I just got a Sansa Clip that I use when I'm bored to death training indoors. It's extremely small but still has a display. Rechargable battery with good life so far. I'm really liking it.