Having spent two years testing headphones from most of the major players, I’m here to tell you: cycling with headphones is safe – as long as you do it properly.
I’ve run and ridden for hundreds of hours in all weather, completed numerous half-marathons and cycled to work every day, while putting a variety of sports headphones through their paces. And I’ve lived to tell the tale.
Cycling with headphones is an extremely divisive subject and, let’s be clear: I don’t advocate putting on a pair of on-ear or in-ear headphones, maxing out the volume and riding along your nearest dual-carriageway at Pogačar-adjacent speed – that is very clearly not safe.
There are risks involved in doing anything on a bike that could diminish your concentration (and damage your hearing). However, sitting at your desk for eight hours a day is risky, as is holding in a sneeze, taking a hot bath or eating too many Brazil nuts. Life is inherently dangerous – but it’s fun, too, right?
The good news from my extensive testing is that headphones for cycling and running have never been better – both in terms of audio performance and implementation of tech to help you maintain awareness on the road. And that makes them safer.
If you pick the right headphones, use them properly and exercise a sensible level of caution, you too can rock out to the latest popular beat combos on your ride or run, without risking your life.
I expect the responses to this piece to be as nuanced, detailed and balanced as the refined hi-fi presentation from a set of the best cycling headphones, so let’s crack on with my findings.
Six things I’ve learned from testing the best cycling headphones
1. It’s not dangerous – if you do it right
First off, the science. Cycling with headphones has been linked to slower reactions to auditory cues, lesser awareness of approaching vehicles and a higher risk of accidents.
Countries such as France have gone as far as making cycling with headphones illegal, while others advise avoiding headphone use in high-traffic areas.
So that’s it – an open-and-shut case. We should all be running and riding in solemn silence, eyes fixed on the road ahead, all external stimuli banished.
Well, not necessarily. Firstly, not all headphones are created equal. If your vision of cycling with headphones involves rolling along under a huge set of ‘cans’ like Grandmaster Flash on wheels, or in-ear buds cranked to ear-bleeding excess, you’re doing it wrong.
Bone-conduction headphones, and open-ear buds that use innovative designs to avoid blocking out environmental noise, are wholly different.
While studies have found loud music can impair auditory perception, they have also concluded that low-volume listening, or using bone-conduction headphones, has a fair less notable impact. One, by May and Walker, found bone-conduction headphones affected awareness “in a subtle way that a jogger or cyclist might not be actively aware of”.
Another suggested that, at an appropriate volume, music can in fact enhance concentration and motivation, while a third from researchers at the University of Groningen noted that talking to other cyclists and visual distractions were more dangerous – a blanket ban on bike computers, anyone?
Sound quality has also improved enormously. I’ve been stunned by the balanced, robust bass, wide soundstage and crystalline clarity from some of the best headphones I’ve tested. When I first donned my parka and plugged a pair of in-ear buds into my Sony Walkman back in the early 90s, basslines and subtle details were first to wave the white flag of surrender – especially to wind noise.
With today’s best headphones for cycling, you can hear every element of the music in blissful audiophile harmony. This means you don’t need to reach for the volume control in order to listen to your favourite tunes as they were intended to be heard.
There’s also the option of riding with only one bud in, sticking to traffic-free paths or reserving music for indoor training – things are rarely as black and white as they seem.
2. Bone conduction is safest, but I’d go hybrid
If road safety is your sole concern, you need a pair of bone-conduction headphones. These cheekbone-tickling wonders work by transferring vibrations through your skull, leaving your ear canals unimpeded.
The trade-off is they rarely sound as full, immersive or detailed as a good pair of in-ear headphones. They are getting better, though, and I was pleasantly surprised by the hi-fi performance from Suunto’s sleek-looking Wing.
Shokz also offers some great options.
However, my favoured solution is a compromise – open-ear, or air-conduction, headphones. These get you most of the way to the absorbing sound offered by in-ear buds, without necessarily sacrificing awareness of the world around you.
I’ve run half-a-dozen half-marathons, put in thousands of training miles and ridden to work countless times in the Shokz OpenFits and there’s a reason so many brands have produced similar designs – imitation is the highest form of flattery.
3. If they don’t fit your ears, they’re useless
I’ve had to write off several pairs of otherwise impressive headphones because they don’t fit or won’t stay in my fussy ears when exercising.
This is a clear disadvantage of the in-ear design and another good reason to opt for bone-conduction or open-ear buds with a hook that slips over your ear for stability.
If you are set on in-ear ‘phones, make sure they come with a few different-sized adaptors – I like brands that offer both tips to match the size of your ear opening and fins that act as an anchor, such as the Sony LinkBuds or Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2.
I can tell you from experience, few things spoil a run or ride as efficiently as watching your new £200 earbuds bounce off the tarmac and disappear under a car wheel, into a bush or down a riverbank.
4. You don’t need to spend £200 to get great sound
To quote chirpy chappy McCartney rather than the sardonic Lennon on the fourth track of Sgt. Pepper’s… sports headphones are getting better all the time.
While, once, budget headphones would leave you straining to pick out one of Peter Hook’s thundering basslines and your poor, fatigued lugs fizzing like a Mento in a bottle of cheap cola, today the market is flooded with very capable options.
Sure, you can easily part with more than £200 for the best Sennheiser, Beats or Google have to offer, but you can have a great time with a pair of budget headphones and still come away with enough change from £100 to buy a couple of choice vinyl long-players.
Chinese brand EarFun knocked it out of the park with the Free Pro 3 in-ear buds and has just released the open-ear OpenJump, which has a very similar design to the Shokz OpenFit, for a piffling £69.99. Huawei's FreeArc is another one to watch for less than £100.
5. Don’t waste money on tech you don’t need
As with any piece of tech, the designers are working to a budget – and investing it in one area means sacrifices elsewhere.
So, whatever you’re able to spend, focus on the things that are important to you. That might be comfort, supreme sound, battery life, LED lights for added road visibility or a well-developed app.
Having tested headphones from most of the major players, I’ve come to appreciate the ‘find your phones’ feature – if you’re a runner or cyclist, trust me when I say you will need this at some point.
Also important to me are responsive, but not over-sensitive, tap controls so you can skip, pause and change the volume during a run or ride. You don’t want to hit the wall 20 miles into a marathon with the entirety of King Gizzard’s 18-minute The Dripping Tap bouncing around your beleaguered dome.
Many in-ear headphones come with transparency and anti-wind modes that use an in-built microphone to dial in traffic noise – and the best designs enable you to play soundman and tweak how much of this appears in the mix.
Somewhere I wouldn’t spend money is on fitness-tracking tech such as the biometric sensors found in the Sennheiser Momentum Sport. You’ll need a smartwatch to get the best out of it and if you’ve already got a smartwatch, why do you need your headphones to tell you your heart rate spiked on that savage climb?
6. You need to look after your hearing
This one may seem contradictory – after all, the best way to look after your hearing is to avoid wearing headphones altogether.
Prolonged exposure to high volumes will damage your hearing and can lead to tinnitus, hyperacusis and an increased risk of ear infections.
The World Health Organisation warns against exceeding 85dB and some experts recommend the 60/60 rule – which suggests sticking to 60 per cent of maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes at a time.
On-hear headphones and noise-cancelling modes can help reduce the risk, although these are useless for cycling safely.
Bone-conduction designs are your best bet, because they bypass the eardrum, while open-ear buds are typically better than traditional in-ear alternatives. However, more background noise may mean you turn up the music to compensate.
Once again, it’s about being a grown-up and judging your own level of acceptable risk. Whatever you opt for, proceed with caution, take regular breaks and don’t crank Kick Out The Jams by the MC5 up to 11 – that really isn’t safe.
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