What Headphones to Wear when Cycling?…Or if any!

When I go out on a ride I do like to have some short of tune source with me to pass the time by. But, for you rookies out there who are just getting into the sport of cycling I wouldn’t recommend listening to music off the bat. Get your surroundings first and understand the elements of the road, and the atmosphere around you. Cars come screaming over hills, hugging the center line all the time, so please be careful.

What’s great about my whole setup is that I bring my iPhone 3G with me and use it as a source of tunes and emergency, incase I find my way into trouble. Kind of like a get out of jail free card. My headphones that I bring along the rides are these Green Sony ones that wrap around your ear, and have bud to go deep in for sound. They work magical things and at the same time if the volume level is at a median, I can still focus on the sounds around me.

Depending on what kind of listening source you’re going for, many styles ranging from $20 to $100 can work. I used to use my iPhone White ear buds that came with the phone and they also worked very well, but sometimes popped out of my ear once I had some sweat source on my face. Get something that is going to be snug, and where you won’t have to worry about during your ride. Because the last thing I feel like doing while climbing a hill is fix my headphones, F$*@ that!

There are many brands of ear buds, headphones, and mp3 portable speaker devices on the market today, but without given some a try you will never find what fits you. Think about it, everyone’s head and face structure are shaped different. You can read reviews non-stop all day until you’re satisfied, but ultimately “who knows”! Who knows what fits you the best and what makes you happy. So, again this is a bit of personal preference, but I will say that some brand qualities are no doubt better than others.

Spend the money on clothing gear rather than little dinky accessories…that’s my own opinion.

Best Cycling shorts for long rides…..!

This is a great question when it comes to those days where its time to tackle those long, curvy hills for about 2-3hrs of pure riding power. You need to look at some factors when deciding on this, which include padding, material, temperature, fit, and Brand.

Lycra a great brand making cycling shorts for sometime now, offering a great short or bib that fits like a beauty with a butt-pad. Another brand that has developed a cycling short with comfort and durability is Royal. They have a great line of Road Bike clothing ranging from socks to bibs, do a Google search and you’ll be impressed with their products. You can also go on Performance.com and see what they have to offer too.

Now if you’re a little more anal, like myself, and kind of are hesitant about ordering online because a picture doesn’t do much justice, then drive over to your local cycle shop, or even sports retailer, like Dicks. Both places will carry very similar products, which can give you a better idea on fitting, padding, and material as you can try on multiple styles. Usually what you’ll notice is that the padded shorts are for more comfortable than non-padded, but to each his own. As you go from a low price short to a higher one you will realize that the brands on the upper level of cycling shorts are a lot better in quality and fit, which might be a solution when investing in a $80 pair of shorts.

Here’s the tricky part. Like I said up above its all about personal fit and the way that short feels on your body when you’re in the saddle. Lycra bibs with very limited padding tend to fit and feel a lot better on longer rides, due to lack of bulkiness and crowdedness in the groin area…if you get the picture. You are going to be sitting for 2-3 hours maybe and after constant pedaling for that time many things can start to develop if restriction comes into play, so just plant that into the back of your head when deciding.