Bone conducting headphones... Yay or nay....?

Wife’s got a set of the Shokx ones- been impressed when I’ve borrowed them. Can hear what’s going around you ok, though still have the tendency to speak loudly to people!

I've got some I use for windsurfing....they're pretty good but they don't fit well with all helmets

wear my aftershockz out on solo mtb road and gravel rides...

Big yay from me. I have the shokz pro or whatever they are called. The top of the line one. Got them in a prime deal so maybe around £40 off rrp. Had them since last July and still going strong. I use them almost daily while cycling through town and they are perfect. Sound is adequate. Volume loud enough.  I ended up going with the mini size as the more closer fitting band makes it much better while wearing a helmet in my experience.

I have some of the older ones you can have for the price of postage.
Still bluetooth but i upgraded to the latest ones when i got a bargain
I think my old set are the trekz titanium

They’re pretty good in my opinion, although sometimes the vibrations tickle my ear canal usually a slight repositioning deals with it though. Not sure about full-face working there’s a gap at the back with mine. Oh and passing traffic drowns it out which is sort of the point but annoying when listening to podcasts. Don’t have the same problem with Beats Flex in one ear. Overall they’re ok but I still use my beats more.

Strong upvote for Aftershokz. As a note of caution, I've killed two pairs within their warranty period and, to their credit, both were replaced without fuss, but I would not describe them as "buy for life". That said, if I lost them, I'd immediately buy another pair tomorrow.

For cycling they are superb, but they are easily drowned out at speed. This is easy enough as I just hit the button on the side to pause the media while I'm blasting down a hill, and they resume again when things calm down again. Useless on planes and trains, of course - the whole point of them is that they *don't* block outside noise - but in the right environment, they are superb. I use them when wandering about the house, or working in the workshop as they are great for "background media".

I've even got the "Aftershokz OpenComm", professional headset which I use for my endless meetings at work. This is pricey, but highly recommended too, if not for the bike!

Love mine for music but for spoken word (audio books or conference calls ) far to easily drowned out and likewise forget using them in an open plan office.

But for music riding my bike or running. Perfect

Not sure about full-face working there’s a gap at the back with mine

That solved by this....?

ended up going with the mini size as the more closer fitting band makes it much better while wearing a helmet in my experience.

Didn't know that existed, so thanks....

Beats Flex in one ear.

My current ones are similar and I do the same, but the cable dangles and gets caught/in the way.

Love mine for music but for spoken word (audio books or conference calls ) far to easily drowned out and likewise forget using them in an open plan office.

Ah.... Quite like listening to podcasts on a long climb or whilst just doing stuff. You wouldn't recommend them for that?

Sound quality is poor and decent normal headphones now have a transparency mode which negates that particular USP of bone conductors. Still useful for sport I guess as less likely to fall out/get lost.

Headphones for riding ? Whats wrong with listening to nature, the hiss or whirr of the tyres (road MTB) and the super silent drive chain.

Or are your bikes like my mate's, a jumble of creaks and cracks.

now have a transparency mode which negates that particular USP of bone conductors.

Not used any that come close to unobstructed ears tbh.

Whats wrong with listening to nature, the hiss or whirr of the tyres (road MTB) and the super silent drive chain.

Distracts me from the other voices in my head.

In the bike park I find I "flow" more with music.

On a long alpine climb I'll listen to a podcast.

I bought the first iteration of Shokz and thought they were garbage so put them on eBay- I couldn’t hear any bass at all through them so seemed pointless.

I often run-commute home though, so did persist and I tried the newer premium ones recently as I read the sound quality is loads better- and can confirm it is. Can hear the bass loads better now so I’d recommend getting the premium ones.

Whats wrong with listening to nature, the hiss or whirr of the tyres (road MTB) and the super silent drive chain.

They drown out the voices in my head telling me I'm worthless.

Big fan of my aeropex especially for running. Not brilliant with one of the bike helmets as they interfere with the retention band, but the other helmet is fine. Oh, and I get to hear the nature sounds too.

As in the OpenRun Pro version?

The swimming specific ones are excellent. The sound is quite tinny when not in the water, but underwater they are excellent. I assume the none swimming ones have similar above water sound quality.

Love mine for music but for spoken word (audio books or conference calls ) far to easily drowned out and likewise forget using them in an open plan office.

I'm on my second pair. I wear them every day. Riding, working in the office gardening. I use them in an open plan office and listen to music and podcasts without any issues. The only problem can be busy traffic and podcasts that aren't quite loud enough.

For cycling they are superb, but they are easily drowned out at speed.

I was pleased to figure out if you put your finger in your ear you can hear perfectly! Blocks the wind noise and the bone conduction still works.

Maybe not advised at speed though...

I don't swim, at least not intentionally. I've seen cats that are more proficient swimmers than me. Although I do sweat so the waterproofness might not be a bad thing.

I'll go and check them out tomorrow and take my helmet with me..

At least with these the store should let me try them on unlike in-ear headphones.

I’ve been through 2 pairs of Amazon sourced cheapies both of which lasted a bit over a year and then bought some shockz ones.

Love them for walking the dog listening to podcasts and doing outside jobs listening to stuff without broadcasting it to my neighbours and still being able to hear. Good on the bike but do struggle with wind noise when get faster. ( so not very often then)

some limitations when it’s noisy like the lawnmower but mine are so comfy I often forget I’m wearing them.

Not used any that come close to unobstructed ears tbh.

Got a pair of shockx and love them for running and walking but they don't work for riding as the wind noise is too high.  I use the for audiobooks as well and they're great

Aftershokz great for mtb where in general the speeds are slower - they do get drowned out at high speed on the road bike but hey ho. Ignore the hair shirt puritans above, listen to what you like, when you like.

I love my Aeropex for running and cycling. I also have AirPod Pros for general use, but I don’t think their transparency mode compares to the Shokz.

I’ve got some of the Oladance ones which I bought off here.

Sound wise fine then much better than the aftershokz. Great for cycling but lack of a band means not so good for running if you do that as well.

I bought a pair which I use for running and dog walking etc. Never tried them on a bike for whatever reason.

Sound quality is perfectly fine. People saying it's poor are usually just humble-braggingly letting you know that their headphones are much more expensive than shokz 😉.  Compared to a bog-standard pair of Bluetooth headphones there's not much in it quality wise.

I've never found pass-through modes to work quite as well but more importantly, they don't feel like they'll work as well so I always get the sense that they'll block something important even if they don't. You don't get that feeling with shokz type designs.

Love my Shocx, or however its spelt. Solid on my head, work with helmet and riding glasses.

you can’t be an Apple guy then 

A demo highlighted they are not much better or worse than other transparency modes. I bought Sony mx4s in the end as buds suck  the transparency mode was better I found but neither were as good as an unobstructed ear

They are good but need to be turned up loud if there is any competing noise eg in the gym.

I've got a pair of Aeropex I use for solo mountain bike rides.  I mostly listen to podcasts and have no issue with the sound quality.  I'll mute them on descents when the wind noise gets too much.  You can still hear any traffic around you.

I like mine for cycling and walking. The sound quality is fine and I don't often go fast enough that wind noise is a big problem. Only bad aspect is the neckband interferes with hats and hoods.

I have a pair of Aftershokz  and use them all the time, on a 5 hour ride today, every work day for webinars and conference calls but my office is solo and hence quiet.

Is the sound quality as good as proper (expensive?) headphone well no, but good enough for me yes 🙂

James

I get a bit of weird tinnitus (that’s comes and goes) with some headphones: it’s like my eardrum over compensates for some noise and makes a thudding sound which is horrible.

Does anyone know if bone-conducting ‘phones would make that less likely to happen?