Satellite radio for biking?

Does anyone have experience with a portable satellite radio— for example, Sirius/XM's XMp3i?

(See http://shop.siriusxm.com/xm/ctl10600/cp49759/si4552593/cl1/xmp3i_po...)

If so, what are battery life and reception like?

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Permalink Reply by WillG on May 29, 2013 at 5:14am

Please stop wearing headphones while biking. It's dangerous, not only for you but for other cyclists attempting to overtake/ride near you.

I am going to start ride by kicking people that swerve into me because they couldn't hear my "On your left" or whatever I attempted to audibly communicate.

Permalink Reply by Bez on May 29, 2013 at 5:19am

I use a single bluetooth earpiece and an app that forces the music through just that side.  I also wear it on my right ear so that the ear that is normally on traffic side is clear.

As for the portable satellite radio, you are better off going with the apps on your smartphone.  Last I checked, they are considerable cheaper than the standalone receivers.  Gotta figure that you have your phone with you anyways, so why add another device?  

Will G - 10mi said:

Please stop wearing headphones while biking. It's dangerous, not only for you but for other cyclists attempting to overtake/ride near you.

I am going to start ride by kicking people that swerve into me because they couldn't hear my "On your left" or whatever I attempted to audibly communicate.

Permalink Reply by Dave Jacque on May 31, 2013 at 8:46am

I have the XM handheld. I'm usually listening to NPR, old-timey radio or a ball game, so the one-ear method is fine for me (I just cut one side off a cheap set of ear buds). Reception can be a bit iffy: trees and buildings block the signal. The battery lasts about 4.5 hours at reasonable listening volume.

I use the handheld radio more often on the motorcycle to while away the 2 or 3 hours between here and anything interesting, or when I'm fishing, to save battery life on my phone. 

For the bicycle, I'm generally using the XM app on my iPhone -- much less signal droppage. I used to worry about data usage on the phone, although that's turned out to be a non-issue.

Permalink Reply by Bez on May 31, 2013 at 11:16pm

In regards to battery life:  I actually have a small solar charger clipped somewhere on my person or bike while I ride.  Since I'm normally out in some sort of sun (this being Chicago, "sun" is sometimes debatable), it keeps a charge going pretty well.  The charger and the transfer cable weigh effectively nothing, and it allows me to throw a topper charge onto my my phone (or bluetooth) if I forget or ride longer than normal and kill the battery.  It will charge anything that takes a trickle charge (pretty much anything that plugs in to USB to charge)

Permalink Reply by David on June 1, 2013 at 4:59am
Awesome for the solar charger. Roughly how much do they cost? And how big are they?
Permalink Reply by Bez on June 2, 2013 at 7:00am
I have the Scoshe Solar. It cost me about $20.00 2 or 3 years ago. Currently, I see the upgraded model on Amazon for $12. The one that I have is about the size of a deck of cards. Like I said, it's only for throwing a topper charge on or for an emergency situation.

David said:
Awesome for the solar charger. Roughly how much do they cost? And how big are they?
Permalink Reply by El Dorado on June 7, 2013 at 11:27am

I asked what are the best headphones for biking & was ridiculed. Good luck getting a real answer. Some of us feel safer than other while on a bike. I like biking against traffic because I feel like the drivers can see me better. Not sure about the answer to the question but happy biking david!

Permalink Reply by Shawn M on June 11, 2013 at 4:04pm

And what exactly do you do when your are headed straight for someone riding their bike the right way, along with traffic? People like you annoy the crap out of me. I certainly will not slowdown or swerve to avoid you.

Surprise, You moved to your right to go past me but there's a pothole in front of me and I had to move to my left last second. What do you do?

Permalink Reply by S on June 11, 2013 at 5:03pm

You might be more visible to drivers going straight but drivers or cyclists turning on to your street are probably not looking for traffic coming in the wrong direction before making their turns.  Getting in an head-on collison with a turning car is not fun.

El Dorado said:

I asked what are the best headphones for biking & was ridiculed. Good luck getting a real answer. Some of us feel safer than other while on a bike. I like biking against traffic because I feel like the drivers can see me better. Not sure about the answer to the question but happy biking david!

Permalink Reply by WillG on June 12, 2013 at 1:52am

Obviously they would be Beats by Dr. Dre. I mean, they're the only ones that can completely shut out the traffic noise.

While we're on the topic, I also prefer a Kindle over an iPad when riding. The Kindle reduces glare and distracting reflections. You see when using my iPad while riding, sometimes I accidentally see a reflection of the road and traffic and it's like I'm actually paying attention and aware of my surroundings. I don't have time for that.

El Dorado said:

I asked what are the best headphones for biking & was ridiculed. Good luck getting a real answer. Some of us feel safer than other while on a bike. I like biking against traffic because I feel like the drivers can see me better. Not sure about the answer to the question but happy biking david!

Permalink Reply by yai danche on June 12, 2013 at 2:12am

I used to wear one earbud while riding, but I didn't like the death glares from people.  I now use this speaker that clips to my messenger bag.  I own the non-bluetooth version (reviews looked bad for that and I don't own a smartphone).  On a full charge, I have listened to 90 minutes.  Of course this means you have to be okay with people knowing you listen to Dr. Dre and Nas.  

Permalink Reply by Bez on June 12, 2013 at 2:25am

This is the part I have a problem with

Not that I don't listen to both of those (I am an actual child of the 80s/90s after all), I just have an image to maintain...

yai danche said:

Of course this means you have to be okay with people knowing you listen to Dr. Dre and Nas.  

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