Should You Ride MTB With Music? (What I've Learned From Years of Commuting and Trail Riding)
After years of commuting by bike and riding trails in Southern California, here's my honest take on riding with music, when it works, when it doesn't, and the etiquette most people get wrong.
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5/30/20264 min read
Mountain Biking With Music — When It's Fine and When It's Not
I've ridden with music and without music for years. Cheap wired earbuds on long commutes through the IE, wireless buds on trail rides, and plenty of rides where I just wanted to hear the dirt and nothing else. I've got opinions on both sides and I'm not here to tell you music on a bike is wrong — but there's a right way and a wrong way to do it.
Wired vs Wireless
I've mostly used cheap wired earbuds because I go through them fast enough that spending a lot doesn't make sense. Skullcandy has been my go-to, or whatever budget option works. I've used cheap wireless ones too like Tozo and they do the job fine.
The practical difference comes down to this: wireless is cleaner around the helmet and ear area, no cord getting in the way, and you don't get that thing where the cord gets old and twisted and only plays out of one ear. Accidentally unplugging the cord from your phone mid-ride and having the music cut out is annoying in a way that sounds small but adds up over a long commute.
But wired has one advantage wireless doesn't — when I'm riding with my dad or someone else and want to hear them talk, I can just pull one earbud out and let it hang. Quick, simple, no fiddling with buttons or trying to pause. For staying aware of traffic, sirens, or just being in a sketchy area where you need to know what's around you, being able to drop one ear out instantly matters.
When I Use Music and When I Don't
For me personally this is pretty clear: music is for commuting, not for trail riding.
When I'm out in the hills I'm out there to get away from noise. Birds, tires on dirt, the sound the bike makes — that's part of why I go. I'm not looking to bring the city out there with me. So I just don't.
That said I understand not everyone commutes by bike. If trail riding is your only riding you might want music and that's fine. Just know the context you're riding in and act accordingly.
The Safety Reality
You can ride with music and still be completely aware of your surroundings. You can also ride with music and be completely oblivious to everything around you. Don't be the second person.
I learned this early. When I was younger I used to go street riding BMX late at night with music in. My dad and my girlfriend at the time both hated it — they worried I'd get hit by a car. Already riding at night, already pushing it, and then adding headphones on top. Looking back they weren't wrong to worry. Night riding on streets requires full awareness of what's around you and music makes that harder whether you want to admit it or not.
The rule I've landed on: one earbud in, one out in any situation where you need to hear what's happening. Traffic, intersections, anywhere sketchy, anywhere with other people. Two ears in and volume up is for long straight empty paths where you can see everything coming.
Bike Parks and Group Rides — Just Don't
I got some hate on an early video where I talked about headphones at bike parks being bad trail etiquette. People pushed back but I stand by it.
I watched a confrontation once at a bike park — someone was stopped at the bottom of a run, someone else came through and clipped them, and it turned into a whole thing. The person at the bottom was yelling about why didn't you hear me, the other person said they had headphones in. That's the exact scenario everyone who's ever ridden a bike park has seen or been close to.
At a bike park people are calling out behind you, communicating at the top of runs, warning each other. You need to hear that. Headphones in at a bike park isn't just inconsiderate, it's a safety issue for other people not just yourself.
Same logic applies to group rides. If you're riding with other people and everyone has to tap you on the shoulder to get your attention you're not really riding with them.
Bluetooth Speakers
This has become common and I get it — some people like having music without anything in their ears. That's fine on a solo commute or an empty trail.
But blasting past other riders or hikers with a speaker going is its own etiquette issue. Some people are out there specifically for the quiet. They drove to the trail, got out of their car, and hiked or rode up to get away from noise. Having someone bomb past them with music blasting is the opposite of what they came for.
Read the situation. Solo trail with nobody around, do whatever you want. Crowded trail, shared use path, or anywhere people are clearly out there for peace — keep it down or don't use it.
The Bottom Line
Music on a bike is fine. It makes long commutes bearable, it can make a boring flat section more fun, and there's nothing inherently wrong with it. Just don't use it as a reason to tune out your surroundings completely. One ear out in traffic, nothing in at bike parks, and some basic awareness that other people on the trail didn't sign up to hear your playlist.
Learn more on the rules of the trails on my trail etiquette post
Do what's fun. Be smart about it. Don't be a hazard to yourself or anyone else.
