Riding with music?
Road Warrior
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,857
Likes: 7
Jose, what I meant was that too much outside noise like the bike exhaust and tire and car noise. It kind of waters down the music unless you can form a better seal in the ear canal, thats why I am considering these plugs that mold to the inside of the ear.
I dont think hearing makes much of a safety difference, its all about keeping an eye on things for me...besides no matter how good your earbuds or stereo are you always hear sirens on a bike anyway.
I dont think hearing makes much of a safety difference, its all about keeping an eye on things for me...besides no matter how good your earbuds or stereo are you always hear sirens on a bike anyway.
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 3
From: Mebane, NC
This is what has worked for me. I buy a set of custom molded earplugs like the Radians for around $10-12. Then I buy a pair of Sony Model: MDREX10LP/BLK earbuds currently on sale from Besy Buy for $11.99 with free shipping.
My ears are kind of small so I divide the the plug material so I can do 2 sets. I mix the material and insert it deep into the canal. I remove the interchangeable ear pieces from the buds place a small piece of tape over the end so no material will get in the buds. Insert the earbuds in material paying attention to the direction. You want the speaker to line up with the ear canal. I like to put them deep and then form the material around the bud to encapsulate it in the material. Let the material set up and remove. You will have to do some trimming to "open up" a hole for the music to come through. There several tutorials on line and there was even a write up on here some time ago.
Anything uneven or with edges catches air and causes turbulence which in turn creates alot of noise. This method fills the ear and creates asomewhat flat surface for the air to flow over. These are super comfortable, much more than just buds which often hurt my ears after an hour or so. There is no need to buys a high end set of earbuds because you are listening over pipes, wind noise, etc. Just don't use earbuds that are ported (have holes in them) as these holes will let air in and the noise will be worse than riding with nothing. These custom buds have enough noise isolation to block out noise and still be able to listen to music at a fairly low level so i can hear what's going on around me.
Another trick I've found is to turn my helmet strap perpendicular to my face. If it lays flat against the face wind will whip right by it and over the ear catching and irregularities to create noise. By turning perpendicular it formas a wall just in front of my ear and deflects the wind out and around. Of course, different designs may not work with what I've sadi but this is what works for me.
I wasn't sure if I would like the earbuds in the beginning. I like to hear the pipes when I'm riding. But over time the wind noise was just too much an I decided some plugs were in order. That's when I strted looking into the idea of some plugs with music. Hope this helps.
My ears are kind of small so I divide the the plug material so I can do 2 sets. I mix the material and insert it deep into the canal. I remove the interchangeable ear pieces from the buds place a small piece of tape over the end so no material will get in the buds. Insert the earbuds in material paying attention to the direction. You want the speaker to line up with the ear canal. I like to put them deep and then form the material around the bud to encapsulate it in the material. Let the material set up and remove. You will have to do some trimming to "open up" a hole for the music to come through. There several tutorials on line and there was even a write up on here some time ago.
Anything uneven or with edges catches air and causes turbulence which in turn creates alot of noise. This method fills the ear and creates asomewhat flat surface for the air to flow over. These are super comfortable, much more than just buds which often hurt my ears after an hour or so. There is no need to buys a high end set of earbuds because you are listening over pipes, wind noise, etc. Just don't use earbuds that are ported (have holes in them) as these holes will let air in and the noise will be worse than riding with nothing. These custom buds have enough noise isolation to block out noise and still be able to listen to music at a fairly low level so i can hear what's going on around me.
Another trick I've found is to turn my helmet strap perpendicular to my face. If it lays flat against the face wind will whip right by it and over the ear catching and irregularities to create noise. By turning perpendicular it formas a wall just in front of my ear and deflects the wind out and around. Of course, different designs may not work with what I've sadi but this is what works for me.
I wasn't sure if I would like the earbuds in the beginning. I like to hear the pipes when I'm riding. But over time the wind noise was just too much an I decided some plugs were in order. That's when I strted looking into the idea of some plugs with music. Hope this helps.
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 213
Likes: 0
From: North San Diego
I use skull candy earbuds. great sound for the price and you can even change songs and answer calls by pressing the button that hangs right by your throat. I usually wear a bandana and it holds it in place and cuts wind enough to talk freely. Cost is 30 dollars too.
Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 183
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas
This is the way I went. I have some Shure 215's in mine, but there really is no need to get a high end earbud. Just make sure of 2 things: 1. it has a "tube" where a foam or silicone plug fits over and 2. they are not ported.
Most all of the responses you get talk about the noise canceling ability of an earbud, not the sound quality of the bud itself. There is a reason for this. On a motorcycle, noise canceling is paramount. I can just about promise you that nothing (under several hundred dollars) will work as well as the Radians setup. Radians costs about $15. It is cheap and it works exceptionally well.
Most all of the responses you get talk about the noise canceling ability of an earbud, not the sound quality of the bud itself. There is a reason for this. On a motorcycle, noise canceling is paramount. I can just about promise you that nothing (under several hundred dollars) will work as well as the Radians setup. Radians costs about $15. It is cheap and it works exceptionally well.
This is what has worked for me. I buy a set of custom molded earplugs like the Radians for around $10-12. Then I buy a pair of Sony Model: MDREX10LP/BLK earbuds currently on sale from Besy Buy for $11.99 with free shipping.
My ears are kind of small so I divide the the plug material so I can do 2 sets. I mix the material and insert it deep into the canal. I remove the interchangeable ear pieces from the buds place a small piece of tape over the end so no material will get in the buds. Insert the earbuds in material paying attention to the direction. You want the speaker to line up with the ear canal. I like to put them deep and then form the material around the bud to encapsulate it in the material. Let the material set up and remove. You will have to do some trimming to "open up" a hole for the music to come through. There several tutorials on line and there was even a write up on here some time ago.
Anything uneven or with edges catches air and causes turbulence which in turn creates alot of noise. This method fills the ear and creates asomewhat flat surface for the air to flow over. These are super comfortable, much more than just buds which often hurt my ears after an hour or so. There is no need to buys a high end set of earbuds because you are listening over pipes, wind noise, etc. Just don't use earbuds that are ported (have holes in them) as these holes will let air in and the noise will be worse than riding with nothing. These custom buds have enough noise isolation to block out noise and still be able to listen to music at a fairly low level so i can hear what's going on around me.
Another trick I've found is to turn my helmet strap perpendicular to my face. If it lays flat against the face wind will whip right by it and over the ear catching and irregularities to create noise. By turning perpendicular it formas a wall just in front of my ear and deflects the wind out and around. Of course, different designs may not work with what I've sadi but this is what works for me.
I wasn't sure if I would like the earbuds in the beginning. I like to hear the pipes when I'm riding. But over time the wind noise was just too much an I decided some plugs were in order. That's when I strted looking into the idea of some plugs with music. Hope this helps.
My ears are kind of small so I divide the the plug material so I can do 2 sets. I mix the material and insert it deep into the canal. I remove the interchangeable ear pieces from the buds place a small piece of tape over the end so no material will get in the buds. Insert the earbuds in material paying attention to the direction. You want the speaker to line up with the ear canal. I like to put them deep and then form the material around the bud to encapsulate it in the material. Let the material set up and remove. You will have to do some trimming to "open up" a hole for the music to come through. There several tutorials on line and there was even a write up on here some time ago.
Anything uneven or with edges catches air and causes turbulence which in turn creates alot of noise. This method fills the ear and creates asomewhat flat surface for the air to flow over. These are super comfortable, much more than just buds which often hurt my ears after an hour or so. There is no need to buys a high end set of earbuds because you are listening over pipes, wind noise, etc. Just don't use earbuds that are ported (have holes in them) as these holes will let air in and the noise will be worse than riding with nothing. These custom buds have enough noise isolation to block out noise and still be able to listen to music at a fairly low level so i can hear what's going on around me.
Another trick I've found is to turn my helmet strap perpendicular to my face. If it lays flat against the face wind will whip right by it and over the ear catching and irregularities to create noise. By turning perpendicular it formas a wall just in front of my ear and deflects the wind out and around. Of course, different designs may not work with what I've sadi but this is what works for me.
I wasn't sure if I would like the earbuds in the beginning. I like to hear the pipes when I'm riding. But over time the wind noise was just too much an I decided some plugs were in order. That's when I strted looking into the idea of some plugs with music. Hope this helps.
Advanced
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 69
Likes: 0
From: NC
+1 on the Skull Candy headphones. I have the Heavy Medal Mic'd earphones and they are the loudest in-ear headphones Skull Candy makes. They also have four sets of ear tips so fitment shouldn't be a problem. I wear them under a bandanna and it drowns out almost anything. $100 retail, but I got them on eBay for about half that.
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,908
Likes: 19
From: Dayton
Jose, what I meant was that too much outside noise like the bike exhaust and tire and car noise. It kind of waters down the music unless you can form a better seal in the ear canal, thats why I am considering these plugs that mold to the inside of the ear.
I dont think hearing makes much of a safety difference, its all about keeping an eye on things for me...besides no matter how good your earbuds or stereo are you always hear sirens on a bike anyway.
I dont think hearing makes much of a safety difference, its all about keeping an eye on things for me...besides no matter how good your earbuds or stereo are you always hear sirens on a bike anyway.
I keep thinking about that guy who got smashed buy a UPS truck pulling out in front of him and wonder why he didn't have an eye on that huge truck and was he zoned out listening to music?
Last edited by Benway; Jun 3, 2012 at 12:58 PM.