NateOn my first bike ride to work after getting an Apple Watch, I got this fun new warning when I passed through the most auto-dense portion of my commute. A reminder from @notjustbikes that cities aren’t loud, cars are loud.
Mark Ingalls 
@notjustbikes @voiceofunreason Yup, always happens to me when I take a major road. Biking (for the rider) is pretty loud with the wind going past, but it’s nothing in comparison to cars. Biking along main roads is pretty much the only time I get this notification.
@ingalls This specific section of my commute is least likely to result in a collision because it’s on a (jersey barrier) separated path, but it’s still causing me harm.
Erik@voiceofunreason @ingalls my Apple Watch warns me of this as I drive because the A/C blows on my wrist. I do not believe that my car with the windows closed and no music playing is loud enough to hurt me.
How to test that hypothesis on a bike? Might be very challenging.
Teal Amore@edebill @voiceofunreason @ingalls maybe strap the watch to your helmet so it gets a reading that's closer to your ears
@edebill @voiceofunreason @theelectricteal I would expect the ambient noise while biking to be roughly similar on your arm as it is by your ears.
legraLeGra@ingalls @edebill @voiceofunreason @theelectricteal
If you have the iPhone to go with that, there is a NIOSH App (supposedly calibrated) that you could test your watch against
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/niosh-sound-level-meter/id1096545820
— you can further calibrate this app and your watch against known sounds or get a more expensive, decibel meter to calibrate your watch and phone.
AI6YR Ben@ai6yr @ingalls @edebill @voiceofunreason @theelectricteal
I SAAAAIIIDDD:
Just had a conversation with a colleague that although our two neighborhoods are adjacent and have a bike-safe connection across the Hudson River (Henry Hudson Pkwy), we rarely take this road biking or walking because the highway noise is so very intense — even with sound protection in your ears — that you feel physically bad after traversing it.
@atthenius @ingalls @edebill @voiceofunreason @theelectricteal Yikes... that is terrible. When we were out looking for a house some number of years ago, I recall touring homes that were badly placed and outdoors was so loud you needed to cover your ears, and the sound level indoors was so much you could feel trucks rumbling by on the freeway from indoors.
@ai6yr
I have no idea how people can live that way. It’s not the kind of thing you *want to get used to. But for many folks, there probably is only the option to live someplace noisy. (Full disclosure— the above ground subways are brutal sound-wise too— it’s not just cars.)
I have no idea how people can live that way. It’s not the kind of thing you *want to get used to. But for many folks, there probably is only the option to live someplace noisy. (Full disclosure— the above ground subways are brutal sound-wise too— it’s not just cars.)
Scott Flowers@voiceofunreason @notjustbikes I get this too while bike commuting, but since I'm already hard of hearing and can't really hear cars, it just makes me chuckle.
calciume@mrcranky @voiceofunreason @notjustbikes Yeah who said hearing loss has to be a bad thing? That just means you don't hear the cars as much!
@calciume @voiceofunreason @notjustbikes Well, I'd say losing your hearing has a few pros, and a whole lot of cons, so if you still have the chance to protect your hearing, please do so, take it from me!
Geoff Green@voiceofunreason @notjustbikes @Andres4NY tbf, I get that notice when there’s not much traffic when I’m going down a hill at 30 mph.
echarlie@voiceofunreason I consistently winced every time a bus would pass me on my bike ride to work. When the town bought electric busses, I noticed: they were quieter braking, and quieter accelerating to pass me. It's a shame there isn't money for more to be put in.
Michael Hemingway@voiceofunreason @notjustbikes this is unfortunately a flaw in the Apple Watch. Wind / moving at speed will trigger this. I get this every single ride, no matter where, because I go faster than 20kph. It has nothing to do with cars, or other bikes, or anything else. Try driving / speeding downhill with your wrist out of the car, it will read 130db lol
@stockhuman I’ll take my decibel meter tomorrow morning and check it while motionless.
@voiceofunreason Sensible. I trust you’ll be relieved. As loud as cities can be, you’re surely not regularly exceeding highway noise just going about your day. :)
@stockhuman @voiceofunreason @notjustbikes these are all bike rides. The lower variance is post WatchOS 10, which I just noticed
mnl mnl mnl mnl mnl@voiceofunreason @notjustbikes @csepp I have a loop earplug on the left (traffic facing) ear when biking. F that noise…
Steve Tanner@[email protected] Happens all the time on rides. It’s wind noise more than anything that trips it up.
ZaphodHarkonnen@voiceofunreason @notjustbikes There's a reason I started wearing an ear plug in the ear facing towards traffic. :|
Jason Nickel@voiceofunreason @notjustbikes Did you ride fast? I get decibel warnings even in quiet areas due to wind on higher speeds with my bike.
RealWaaagh@voiceofunreason @notjustbikes and some idiots in the EU forced all EVs to do a freaking sound. Silent cars are surprisingly something bad for the government.
Kevin Lyda@voiceofunreason @notjustbikes I don't think people get how much noise can be harmful. In the process of electrifying my house I got rid of my power showers (the pressure pump is in the garage) and the heat pump is behind my garage and when I do drive, it's in an EV. All of which are so much quieter than what was there before. It's had noticeable effects on my energy levels.
bravado@voiceofunreason @notjustbikes The people in noise-insulated cars have no idea the mental costs and actual suffering they are imposing on everyone just trying to exist nearby.
Alan Rycroft 🇨🇦@voiceofunreason @notjustbikes 👇🏻
...and if you want *really* loud think of how many people are impacted by the noise (not to mention pollution) of each and every airplane flight