Best Headphones For Cycling: It is well-known that music has the capacity to provide athletes with the additional drive needed to surpass their own limitations. New heights of physical achievement are often reached with the aid of song. Whether for transportation, leisure, exercise or competition, cycling is an activity that requires sustained focus. Athletic science has demonstrated the efficacy of music as a tool in accomplishing such focus.
Listed below are bestselling Best Headphones For Cycling which satisfy both affordability and quality.
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To access this tool, headphones are an essential component of the cyclist’s travel kit. To help you choose the best headphone for cycling, we decided to write this article on best cycling headphones for 2023.
Best Cycling Headphones For 2023
1. Aftershokz AS600SG Trekz – Our Pick
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The Aftershokz AS600SG Trekz uses an innovative way to send sound vibrations through your cheek bones rather than through your ear canals. This uses bone conduction technology to deliver the sound.
This technology is most loved my cycling and sports enthusiasts!
The headphones like this are very helpful while traveling, riding, and in some of the scenarios where you want to listen to the music and as well be aware of the things that are going outside.
These headphones enable you to listen to music clearly as well as be aware of the fast car overtaking your Cycle from behind.
Due to the technology used, the headphones are very tough and durability is great. The Aftershokz Trekz have 3 buttons – the volume buttons and the multifunction button.
These buttons let you control the playback without having to pull up your smartphone while riding.
The headphones are also wireless, so you need not mess up with wires tangling while riding. You just need to connect these headphones to your smartphone with Bluetooth, wear it, and forget it.
The Bluetooth range is about 30 ft so that you can have your smartphone in the backpack and wear these on without any loss in quality.
As you’ll not be putting these headphones in your ear canal, they are indeed very comfortable for a longer time.
These headphones also feature a behind-the-neck fit so that it won’t cause you any discomfort due to your Cycling helmet. For some people with extra large heads, these headphones seem a little tight.
The PremiumPitch+ feature of these headphones deliver great sound quality and good bass, that too being a bone conduction headphone.
These headphones also come with a mic, the sound quality of the mic is ok while riding, nothing exceptional.
These are bone conduction headphones. The sound quality will be decent but nothing audiophiliac. This is our top-pick as the bone conduction headphones do not completely isolate noise and are safe for cycling outdoors.
They are also water and sweat proof. These are also Bluetooth headphones, BTW.
2. Plantronics BackBeat Fit Wireless Headphones
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These Plantronics BackBeat Fit headphones are most loved by fitness and cycling enthusiasts for a reason. Because they are the best wireless headphones for your active lifestyle.
The design of the headphone is rugged and waterproof. Similar to the previous BackBeat Go 2, the BackBeat Fit comes with P2i coating that offers good resistance against the moisture to the headphones.
They let you hear the things that are going on the road to ensure safety. They won’t cause any discomfort as they just sit over your ear canal and won’t dig deeper.
The bike helmet strap won’t interfere with the headphones behind the neck.
As like that of AS600SG I’ve reviewed above, these headphones also come with three buttons for volume up, down, and a multifunctional button. These are also wireless headphones and desired by most of the cyclists for comfort.
The headphones also come with a mic, but the quality is not up to the mark. The quality is quite great in silent environments but not during cycling.
The sound quality is great without any noticeable downsides. It’s great for casual listening.
These are also Bluetooth headphones, that come with rugged moisture resistant design. If you won’t prefer Bone Conduction headphones for any reason, this headphone might be your bet.
3. TaoTronics Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones – Value for money
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TaoTronics is one of the most overlooked unhyped brands for headphones. It is the best-selling earbuds on Amazon for a reason.
It offers great value for the money you’ve spent.
These earbuds boast IPX5 splash proof resistance. You need not worry about the sweat and rain to decrease the longevity of these earbuds.
These are Bluetooth wireless headphones, that come with AptX support. That means the sound quality is comparable to that of wired earbuds although these are wireless.
The sound is encoded and transmitted via wireless medium losslessly due to the AptX technology used.
When it comes to sound quality, these earbuds are tuned to perform great in bass and mids frequency range.
The earbuds struggle a bit to perform to its fullest in the treble range and has some muddiness in the higher end.
These won’t block out much noise. Although they do isolate some sounds, the isolation is not complete even at high volumes. This is good for safety purposes while cycling.
The comfort is good and won’t cause soreness like the previous version of TaoTronics earbuds. You can wear these on without any discomfort.
The battery life in these earbuds is quite low, the battery runs out every 3-4 hours of good playback.
The mic is also not that great. You need to hold the mic closer to get a good sound quality.
4. SENSO Bluetooth Headphones
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These SENSO headphones are IPX7 rated waterproof headphones designed especially for an active lifestyle like working out, running, and cycling.
These are wireless and noise-cancelling headphones.
The headphones do a great job of keeping out low-frequency wind noise while cycling. The sounds like vehicle horns can be easily heard at low volumes.
These are not the safest headphones for cycling, as you cannot hear the ambient noise while playing loud music.
The ActivBuds offer good comfort for you to wear these on while riding. They are ergonomically designed to stay in place no matter what shape your ears are. The ear tips come with three sizes S, M, and L. So secure fit won’t be a problem.
The earbuds offer a good battery life of 8 hours and feature a quick charge feature to get the juice back up within 1.5 hours which is quite great.
The sound quality is good without any distortions for the price. The bass is pretty decent, as these do offer good sound isolation.
These are not the safest headphones for cycling as they do cancel the ambient noise.
5. Photive PH-BTE70 Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds
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These are wireless headphones that are designed for good comfort while working out, cycling, and running.
There’s nothing to complain regarding the comfort of these headphones. But headphones do not seem to be ideal for small ears.
The headphones are designed so that they stay inside your ears no matter what activity you are doing.
Along with this, the headphones are also sweat-proof which enable you to use the headphones without worrying about the durability.
The bass is great and the mids are very clear. If you are an audiophile, you may feel that treble part has some room for improvement.
The treble part distorts a bit at high volumes. The bass part also appears muddy at high volumes.
The battery life of these wireless headphones is 6 hours. That’s decent.
These Photive PH-BTE70 headphones have a good amount of noise isolation. But the wind noise will be an issue with these while cycling.
You can clearly hear the sounds around you at lower volumes but not at louder volumes. If you listen to loud music while cycling, the safety would be an issue.
6. Aftershokz Trekz Titanium
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The Aftershokz Trekz Titanium are the most popular bone conduction headphones on the market, and their popularity is well deserved. Instead of relying on standard headphone drivers, the Aftershokz, as this particular model is often affectionately called, deliver music through the cheekbones, leaving your ears completely open and allowing you to enjoy ambient sounds and notice hazards on the road before it’s too late.
Despite being packed with modern technology, the Aftershokz are remarkably lightweight and highly comfortable. The wraparound headband is both flexible and durable, and it will conform to the shape of your head regardless of whether you’re a big-boned strongman competitor or someone who still gets ID’ed in bars despite being closer to 30 than 20.
The Aftershokz are IP55-certified, which means they can survive sweat, dust, and moisture, and they feature something called PremiumPitch+ technology for audiophile-grade audio experience, wide dynamic range, and rich bass. The headphones can last up to six hours of continuous playback on a charge, and that’s even when calling using the pair of noise canceling microphones that intelligently exclude surrounding noise and effectively enhance speech.
All of this for $129.95. If you’re not scared to try something new, give the Aftershokz Trekz Titanium a chance; we promise you’ll not regret it.
7. Plantronics BackBeat FIT
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The Plantronics BackBeat FIT are highly recommended behind-the-neck Bluetooth headphones for all active people who don’t want to give up high-end sound quality when squatting heavy weights or conquering some impossible climb on a fixie.
The BackBeat FIT provide superior stability and listening comfort thanks to the unique, ergonomic eartips, which are just as comfortable as foam eartips, but last much longer and are water and dust resistant. Speaking of which, the entire headphones are IP57-certified, ensuring protection from immersion between 15 centimeters and 1 meter in depth and from limited dust ingress.
The sound of these headphones is tuned for voice, but even bass-heavy music doesn’t sound bad at all. Highs can sometimes be too harsh, but this issue occurs only with poorly mixed songs. Best of all, the BackBeat FIT block just the right amount of outside noise for you to enjoy whatever you’re currently listening to while always knowing exactly what’s happening around you.
Depending on how loud or quiet you like your music to be, the BackBeat FIT can last up to 8 hours on a charge thanks to the Deep Sleep hibernation mode, which activates when you’re out of range of your mobile device. You can usually find the headphones for $84.99.
8. Urbanears Hellas
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The Urbanears Hellas are not afraid of sweat because they feature meshy, washable ear cushions and headband, both of which can be easily removed, cleaned, and clipped back in. Besides their sweat-friendly design, they also feature a convenient touch interface that completely eliminates hunting for the right button just to increase the volume or skip a song.
The meshy ear cushions don’t isolate too much noise, making the headphones perfect for biking and other activities that can be safely performed only when one is sufficiently aware of his or her surroundings. Even though you’ll definitely be able to tell exactly what’s going on around you, the surprisingly refined sound coming from the two large drives inside the well-ventilated earcups will take the central stage and motivate you to push yourself towards your goal.
Some owners of the Urbanears Hellas have reported connectivity issues, but that’s something that matters more on the device the headphones are connected to than on the headphones themselves. If you purchase from Amazon, you have nothing to worry about anyway because Amazon’s customer support will always take your side and do anything to help you solve your issues, even if it means giving you a full refund and allowing you to keep the headphones, which is great news considering the Urbanears Hellas costs $119.
9. Jaybird X3
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There’s a lot to like about the Jaybird X3, which is they are among the most popular Bluetooth headphones for biking. Jaybird designed the X3 to be as compact as possible without sacrificing performance and looks. The headphones are sweat-proof thanks to their hydrophobic nano-coating, which keeps moisture away from the sensitive components inside, and they have a long battery life of up to 8 hours.
The Jaybird X3 can be paired with the MySound app (available for iOS and Android). The app allows you to customize your EQ settings to your unique preferences. The settings are saved directly on the headphones, which means your customizations will carry across different playback devices. Apart from creating your own sound profiles, you can also download customized sound profiles from athletes or artists and experience how they like to listen to their favorite music.
At $129.95, the Jaybird X3 have surprised us with how many accessories come included in the box, and we were also surprised by their excellent build quality.
10. Aukey Latitude
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The Aukey Latitude are our bonus recommendation. Costing just $29.99, they are much less expensive than all other headphones on this list, yet their sound quality, comfort, and build quality are all excellent. The Aukey Latitude connect wirelessly via Bluetooth 4.1, they are IPX4-certified, and they last up to 8 hours on a charge.
What’s the catch? Compared to other headphones on this list, the Aukey Latitude block slightly too much outside noise for our liking. If you keep the volume down, you won’t run into any problems, but you might not be able to hear a honking car or a shouting pedestrian if you like to listen to your music at an ear-piercing volume level.
Key Features of Headphones for Cycling
The crucial attributes go far beyond simply noise. There is a lot to keep an eye out for when buying cycling headphones.
You need to consider both your listening convenience and your security. We have actually picked the following functions as crucial for cyclists.
Security
Safety is paramount, especially for road cyclists.
Do not take any kind of opportunities of not having the ability to listen to traffic.
Active noise-canceling headphones go over, yet should not be used at the cost of having your wits about you when cycling with headphones.
A lot of cordless earbuds as well as real wireless earbuds don’t entirely block out noise, so you must still be able to hear some traffic.
For fantastic comfort, though, bone transmission headphones permit you to maintain your ears discovered as the noise has the ability to vibrate by means of your cheekbones. This is an exceptional solution for cyclists.
Is it also legal to put on headphones when riding a bike?
Stability
Biking can be quite laborious as well as quick. Whenever there is a lot of movement, we advise certain sports headphones.
This suggests headphones which are made to stay in location even while you’re active.
You must be looking primarily at in-ear headphones, as they aren’t extremely cumbersome.
On-ear and also over-ear headphones are generally a no-go (plus will not fit under a helmet).
An in-ear design with wings or ear hooks that stays in the ears is important for undisturbed listening.
Resilience
Changing headphones every couple of months due to the fact that they’ve damaged is a discomfort.
A sturdy collection of headphones is necessary if you are using them for something energetic.
You may sweat a great deal or obtain caught by a shower.
As a result waterproof headphones are a must (search for high IPX score).
They can potentially obtain scraped or sprayed a bit.
If you cycle a whole lot, and on challenging surfaces, think about getting some sturdy earbuds or headphones.
Wired vs. Wireless
Choosing wired headphones can conserve you the trouble of charging however can tangle when moving.
Some bikers don’t mind cables, particularly if you’re cycling on a stationary bicycle (when activity is a lot more consistent).
Even so, cordless headphones have actually come a long way in recent times and also have a great deal to use to energetic people, including cyclists.
Secret features of wireless Bluetooth headphones:
- Not hindering considering that there are no cords, ideal flexibility
- You can maintain your music device (mobile phone) in a bag rather than affixed
- Usually sweatproof or even water-proof
- All have practical controls as well as microphone for call
- You need to bill them consistently
Undoubtedly, the lack of cord is the primary plus point, therefore is the reality that you do not need to have your songs device affixed.
You can keep it in your backpack if you like. Also, you can make use of voice control on some of the headphones we have actually reviewed for also less complicated control.
Battery as well as Bluetooth
If you are dropping the cordless route, assume meticulously regarding the battery life.
You don’t desire the battery to die in the middle of a trip, particularly if you like to cycle cross countries.
Nonetheless, the Bluetooth connection is dependable sufficient to make certain the noise is constant without disturbances.
How to Select Headphones for Biking
Selecting the best headphones for cycling is a case of matching up your very own unique needs to the type of headphones on offer.
While some functions such as good audio quality and also stability are necessary, various bicyclists might focus on various functions.
Just How do Cycling Headphones Differ?
One of the key differences when discovering headphones for biking is that the top priority may shift from noise to stability.
Having a respectable high quality of noise is necessary but pointless if you are using real cordless earbuds as well as they maintain falling out.
Cycling headphones do not tend to find in over-ear or on-ear models, as well as they need to be able to fit under helmets.
Relying on just how your bike helmet fits, ensure you can comfortably fit under a pair of earbuds.
Normally, you will be searching for in-ear headphones/ear buds.
They don’t hinder as much, as well as there is less chance of getting them sweaty. Earbuds are additionally much less large and for that reason more comfy for sports.
Consider Where (as well as How) You Will be Biking
Being able to hear is always crucial for bikers. However, in some areas, it may be even more vital.
If you commonly cycle around hectic web traffic, bone transmission headphones could be helpful.
If you are even more of a leisurely bicyclist, you could be able to pay a little less interest to the high tech works some headphones have.
For example, if you cycle on a static bike or just slowly around regional towns, after that wired exercise headphones might be great.
If you cycle for extended periods of time and need headphones you can rely on for continuous songs while cycling, go for Bluetooth headphones with longer battery life.
If you are a trip cyclist, you could be on the go for long periods of time, as well as your headphones should be able to maintain going as long as you can.
As you can see, knowing exactly how to select headphones for biking is an instance of establishing which includes you assume will certainly be very important for you.
Make use of these attributes as a guide when taking a look at the headphones listed below. We’ve picked 8 versions of top cycling headphones.