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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a waterproof, open-ear pair you can wear straight into the pool and still hear traffic on the bike, choose Clooissr 32GB; if you need a helmet-mounted comms unit that keeps a group of riders talking over long distances, choose Oumurs Y8X. These two get lumped together as "cycling headphones," but they solve completely different problems. One is a music player you wear on your head. The other is a communication system you bolt into a helmet.
• Clooissr 32GB — biggest strength: IPX8 waterproofing to 2m plus 32GB of built-in storage, so it works as a standalone MP3 player with no phone attached. Biggest trade-off: it's a solo listening device — no intercom, no rider-to-rider talk.
• Oumurs Y8X — biggest strength: Mesh intercom for up to 8 riders at 1500m with a 1000mAh battery rated for 25 hours of music. Biggest trade-off: it's designed for motorcycle helmets and group comms, not swimming, and it depends on a paired device for audio.
• Who Clooissr 32GB is for: swimmers, runners and cyclists who want one headset for both dry and wet training and refuse to carry a phone.
• Who Oumurs Y8X is for: motorcyclists and group riders who need to talk to each other, hear GPS prompts and share music at the same time.
The Clooissr 32GB is built around one idea: a headset that survives water and doesn't need a phone. The IPX8 rating covers submersion up to 6ft (2m), and the sealed shell with a nano-hydrophobic coating is meant to shrug off sweat, rain and pool water alike. In MP3 mode it plays from its own 32GB of memory, which matters because Bluetooth signals don't travel through water — so underwater, you're listening to stored files, not a streamed playlist. Above the surface, both MP3 and Bluetooth work normally. The included swim earplugs and two stabilizing straps exist for exactly that wet use case: block the ear canal, lock the fit down, and get a bit more perceived volume.
The fit design is worth understanding before you buy. Instead of the usual two-point clamping over the cheekbones, this uses a front cabin plus ear hook layout that distributes force across the auricle, the ear bone and side-to-side clamping. Clooissr claims this reduces cheekbone pressure versus traditional bone conduction, and the low-frequency conduction tech is stated to cut vibration by 80%. In practice, that's the difference between a headset you forget about on a two-hour ride and one you're constantly adjusting. It weighs about 0.8oz (24.95g total item weight), uses a titanium memory alloy rated to 12,000 bend tests, and charges magnetically in 2 hours for 8–10 hours of playback.
On the bike specifically, the open-ear design is the real selling point. You hear traffic, pedestrians and your surroundings while music plays — the safety argument for open-ear over sealed earbuds, and the reason I'd point cyclists toward this over anything that plugs the canal. The 12mm drivers (the spec sheet lists 10mm in the measurements and 12mm in the feature copy — worth knowing both figures appear) drive bass you can physically feel through bone conduction, which is a genuinely different sensation from normal earbuds. Bluetooth 5.3, a built-in mic for calls, and push-button controls round it out. It also comes with a 2-year warranty.
Who should skip it? Anyone who wants to talk to other riders. There's no intercom here, no mesh, no group channel. And if you never get the thing wet, you're paying for waterproofing and onboard storage you won't use.
The Oumurs Y8X is a motorcycle helmet communication system, and it should be judged as one. Its headline feature is Mesh intercom for up to 8 riders with a claimed 1500m group range and 500m rider-to-rider. That's the whole point: a group ride where everyone stays in contact without shouting, dropping out, or stopping to regroup. It handles four things at once — Mesh communication, GPS navigation, intercom conversation and music — so you can take a turn instruction without cutting off the person talking to you.
The connectivity is the other half of the story. It runs Bluetooth 5.4 alongside Qualcomm Bluetooth 5.1 in a dual-chip arrangement, which Oumurs says means faster pairing, lower latency and a stronger signal. Qualcomm CVC noise reduction handles call clarity. For a rider, lower latency matters most when you're listening to navigation prompts at speed — a half-second delay on "turn left" is genuinely annoying. The battery is a 1000mAh cell rated for up to 25 hours of music playback, 15 hours of intercom use and 270 hours of standby, charging in 2.5 hours. The 40mm dynamic drivers are large, which is what you'd expect from a unit that has to be audible through a helmet at highway noise levels.
Controls are deliberately glove-friendly: oversized buttons and a long-press voice assistant button for calls, music and auto-answer. That's a design decision made by people who understand you can't reliably tap a small target with winter gloves on. The kit includes a detachable boom microphone, adhesive tape, a cable and a wireless transmitter, and it's backed by a 2-year manufacturer warranty.
Who should skip it? Swimmers, runners and anyone who wants headphones on their head rather than in a helmet. It's over-ear, plastic-bodied and clearly themed for motorcycle use. If your "cycling" is a group ride on motorcycles, it's the right tool. If it's a bicycle, it isn't.
• Best for swimming and wet training → Clooissr 32GB. IPX8 to 2m with onboard MP3 playback is a combination the Y8X simply doesn't offer.
• Best for group communication → Oumurs Y8X. 8-rider Mesh at up to 1500m is its defining feature.
• Best for phone-free listening → Clooissr 32GB. 32GB of built-in storage means no paired device required.
• Best for long battery life → Oumurs Y8X. Up to 25 hours of music and 15 hours of intercom versus 8–10 hours on the Clooissr.
• Best for hearing traffic while you ride → Clooissr 32GB. Open-ear design keeps your surroundings audible; the Y8X sits over the ear inside a helmet.
• Best for glove-friendly controls → Oumurs Y8X. Oversized buttons and voice assistant are built for hands you can't spare.
• Best for a single do-everything sports headset → Clooissr 32GB. Swim, run, cycle and gym with one device.
• Best for navigation plus music plus talk at once → Oumurs Y8X. Four-scenario audio multitasking is the differentiator.
For cycling as most people mean it — a bicycle, open air, traffic around you — I'd buy the Clooissr 32GB. The open-ear design keeps you aware of what's behind you, the IPX8 shell means rain and sweat aren't a concern, and the 32GB of storage means you can ride without your phone. In my opinion it's the more versatile pick for one person training alone. I'd choose the Oumurs Y8X only if your rides are group motorcycle rides where staying in voice contact is the priority. Check the current price on Amazon before you decide — the two sit in different categories, so value depends entirely on which job you actually need done.
can you bike with headphones
Yes, and open-ear designs are the safer way to do it. The Clooissr 32GB leaves your ear canal open so you can hear traffic, people and your surroundings while music plays, which is the main argument for open-ear over sealed earbuds on a bike.
how to bike with headphones
Keep the volume low enough that ambient sound still reaches you, and favor open-ear or bone conduction models. The Clooissr 32GB is worn on the head with a front cabin and ear hook fit that distributes force across the auricle rather than clamping the cheekbones, and its push-button controls let you change tracks without pulling out a phone.
what are the best cycling headphones
It depends on whether you're riding alone or in a group. For solo riding with awareness of traffic, I'd point to the Clooissr 32GB — IPX8 waterproofing, 32GB of onboard storage and an open-ear fit. For group motorcycle rides, the Oumurs Y8X with 8-rider Mesh intercom is the better match.
can cyclists wear headphones
They can, and plenty do. The practical question is which type: a helmet-mounted comms unit like the Oumurs Y8X for group rides, or an open-ear headset like the Clooissr 32GB for solo cycling where hearing your surroundings matters more than isolation.
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See also: PROHEAR 033 vs JrnyEote OWS-G206: Cycling Headphones, Generic Bone Conduction Headphones vs Opinta Swimming Headphones, Williams AV Sound Deluxe Rear-wear vs Queemie Headphones