Best headphones for cycling 2025 — stay entertained safely on the bike, whether you're riding indoors or outdoors

Bone-conduction headphones have become a hot commodity in the cycling and wider sports market over the last couple of years. In case you haven't ever worn bone-conduction headphones: it's the buds that sit in front of your ears that conduct sound to the inner ear through vibrations. The Suunto Wing Bone Conduction Headphones are the Finnish company's first attempt at entering the market.

The Wing comes in what has become a standard look for bone-conduction headphones: two buds that sit just in front of your ears, joined together by a band that loops over your ears and behind your head. The main material in shaping the Wing is titanium alloy, which is then layered with soft silicone so it's soft against your skin. The battery life promised on these is 'more than eight hours', which tester Suvi found to be accurate, and in practice the carry-case extends the battery life to more than 20 hours.

If you're looking for a good quality, well-designed headset that allows you to hear your surroundings while cycling, the Suunto Wing is an excellent choice. It is pricey, but you do get features such as the head-movement controls, the integrated LED lights, and the charging dock, which really set these headphones apart and go a long way to justifying the higher price tag.

The JLab Epic Air Sport ANC True Wireless Airbuds are comfortable, have an excellent sound quality and a seemingly endless battery life. JLab quotes 15+ hours of playing time without charging from the case, with charging from the case giving you another 55 hours. Using ANC will reduce that time a bit, but JLab still quotes 50 hours, or 70 hours with the ANC turned off. Tester Iwein said, "to be honest, I don't know exactly what the actual battery life of these earbuds is – and that's because it's so long that I've not yet found the limits". 

These JLab earbuds come in a charging case with an integrated USB cable. Size-wise, it's about half the size of a glasses case, which makes it easy to fit in your jersey pocket. They are also rated IP66, which means they're protected against dust ingress and jets of water. 

Fit and comfort is good too. Iwein said, "these are the best I've used – and I was happy to wear them all-day long. The ear hooks are firm enough to hold the earbuds securely in place, but they have enough give so that they stay comfortable". 

The Oladance Open Ear Headphones are an excellent way to listen to music while you're riding, delivering incredibly clear sound while you barely notice you're wearing them. Oladance has approaches open-ear headphones differently and created something similar to an open-back headphone. This is effectively a small speaker that sits just in front your ear. Crucially, though, this is achieved without your ears being blocked from the outside world.

Tester Josh writes: "How do these work in the real world? In one word – excellently. The second I put these on, I knew they were very different to bone conduction headphones, with the clarity of music I was listening to immediately impressive."

"The headphones are extremely comfortable, and with a weight of just 12.5g per phone, you almost forget you're wearing them. I was also impressed with how easily they sat around my helmets and glasses, and they paired with every helmet and glasses combo I tried", he adds. The battery life is also very good. Oladance claims a life of up to 16 hours, and in the real world this translated to between 12-15 hours. 

The Oladance OWS Sports open-ear bone-conduction headphones have a pair of 23x10mm drivers that provide a crisp, clear, high-quality sound – with an impressive bass – while still allowing you to hear your surroundings. Throw in a great battery life, low weight and a first-rate build quality and you've got a pair of phones with very few down sides.

The OWS Sports is the latest model in Oladance's range of open-ear headphones. The design features a single band that goes around the back of your neck, linking the headphones at either end. Tester Josh recommends putting your helmet on first and then putting the phones on over the top of the helmet straps to reduce the chance of the straps getting tangled. 

The battery life is excellent. Josh managed 15 hours of use after a single charge, so unless you're an endurance rider you're extremely unlikely to run out of battery life during normal day-to-day use. They also come with an IPX8 rating meaning they can survive submersion in water.

The Beats Fit Pro are great wireless, noise-cancelling earbuds that offer some of the best bits of the Airpods Pro, and some great sports and fitness features, for an attractive price. These perform in a very similar way to the Airpods Pro, not just in terms of functionality with Apple products, but in how they sound.

Although these don't compare to some of the high-end earbuds, they sound great and are more than adequate for everyday use. That transparency mode is (thankfully) similar to the Airpod Pro's, and works well. As you would expect there is a degree of wind noise as wind rushes past the external microphones, but it isn't overwhelming. 

Beats claim a life of six hours per charge for the buds and 18 hours for the case. This is pretty good, and tops the Airpods Pro buds by 1.5 hours. Tester George felt that the Beats Fit Pros beat the Airpods Pro for security – especially during activity – thanks to silicone wing tips, which help anchor these into the ear very well.

The AfterShokz OpenMove bone conduction headphones are extremely light, very comfortable and don't block your ears, leaving ambient sounds unblocked, which feels far safer on the road than plugged-up ears. They are attractively priced too. 

The headband – titanium-sprung for a secure yet gentle grip that weighs next to nothing – is non-adjustable and just lies about on the back of your neck. Tester Steve said, "They have no problem wrapping around helmet straps and cycling glasses at the same time – they're well shaped to loop over specs and sit comfortably without touching them. Plus, the loose-feeling fit and gentle pressure of the headband don't actually struggle to stay put at all". 

Bone conduction headphones can struggle to reproduce bass but tester Steve found the audio more than acceptable. The battery life of around six hours is also very usable, and they have a charge time of two hours.