Are helmets with visors lame?

uphillbothways said:

Just went from Mtn. Biking to Road. I still have the visor. Is this un-cool or something?😕

who cares? If you think its good then it use it.
I would care more about if it is comfortable enough 🙂

it is, on the road, the stylistic equivalent of a pocket protector in the office.

anyone who suggests otherwise is doing you a grave disservice.

uphillbothways said:

Just went from Mtn. Biking to Road. I still have the visor. Is this un-cool or something?😕

Hypnospin said:

it is, on the road, the stylistic equivalent of a pocket protector in the office.

anyone who suggests otherwise is doing you a grave disservice.

The following is tongue in cheek, not hostile, but the points reflect my feelings... 🙂

What an elitist comment. Of course it is in response to a question from someone who seems to care.

If wearing the wrong helmet is a concern,then change it, be sure it is a top of the line Giro (or other brand depending on crowd) to avoid all scorn, and be sure to leave it at home if you ride with the hard headed people that think anybody who wears one is a dweeb.🙄

I would also suggest if your concern is to avoid any scorn from the elitists, to be sure to wear the right jersey and shorts. Shoes and pedals next. Then of course get a GOOD job, because the next step is to make sure your bike costs ore than your parents spent in a year when you were growing up.😎

End of tongue in cheek...

Do what you feel most comfortable with! However, if I felt that a helmet was causing issues fitting in, I would use it instead to express myself like Sheldon Brown:

sheldonbrown.comeagle.htmlOpen ↗

Road = visor bad

Mountain = visor good

Well I've seen the pros (Lance) ride with a visor on the road, so....

Anyway, the real question should be, does it impede your view? I wear a visor when mtn biking because the position is more upright, and when I come out into a clearing, the sun can be a problem, especially since I'm using clear or amber lenses to see better in the woods.

On the road, my position is not as upright, so a visor would block my forward view. Also, since I usually wear dark lenses on the road, having to have protection from the visor is not as critical.

Do what works for you.

I used to think helmets looked dorky without the visor! I think my brain works more on a MTBing level even though I've been road cycling more this year. Anyway, I ended up removing my visor because I was having to wrench my neck upward to see, causing some horrible neck pain! The visor works well for XC cycling in the woods - it, along with a nice pair of glasses, keeps branches from poking my eyes out. :p

When I switched from mountain to road I ditched the visor because it hurt my neck to lift my head up that extra bit to see under it. There have been plenty of early morning rides since then where a visor would have come in pretty handy.

My helmet came with a detachable visor... Of course, I long ago lost the visor, so now I guess it is a road helmet... 😉

There used to be a brand called SkidLid that had translucent removable visors in a selection of colors (I seem to recall amber and smoke). Many of the readers here probably weren't born yet, but it was a strange design.

Not something I've ever worried about too much, I have a helmet, it has a visor, I wear it when I'm riding, on road or off road, end of story. Other peoples opinions of how it looks are of very little importance.

some good points regarding the visibility issue. I guess I'll decide which one to wear depending on how sunny it is. I can't seem to block out the sun enough; visor, sunglasses, riding throught the dark forest at night...ouch!

kaian said:

I used to think helmets looked dorky without the visor! I think my brain works more on a MTBing level even though I've been road cycling more this year. Anyway, I ended up removing my visor because I was having to wrench my neck upward to see, causing some horrible neck pain! The visor works well for XC cycling in the woods - it, along with a nice pair of glasses, keeps branches from poking my eyes out. :p

Very lame. The pocket protector analogy is spot-on.

As the riding position is different (or should be) and the average speed is much higher (or should be) than on a mountain bike there will be issues with the wind as well.

Ditch it! Jay.

if you're worried about how the visor makes your helmet look dorky to other people, remember that you're wearing biking shorts too.... then you'll forget all about that silly visor.

[quote="dgregory57"]The following is tongue in cheek, not hostile, but the points reflect my feelings... 🙂

What an elitist comment. Of course it is in response to a question from someone who seems to care.

If wearing the wrong helmet is a concern,then change it, be sure it is a top of the line Giro (or other brand depending on crowd) to avoid all scorn, and be sure to leave it at home if you ride with the hard headed people that think anybody who wears one is a dweeb.🙄

[font=Arial Narrow]sure, leave it at home, if anyone asks, just tell 'em your going through a stupid phase.[/font]



I would also suggest if your concern is to avoid any scorn from the elitists, to be sure to wear the right jersey and shorts. Shoes and pedals next. Then of course get a GOOD job, because the next step is to make sure your bike costs ore than your parents spent in a year when you were growing up.

[font=Arial Narrow]too bad, a pocket protector will spoil the class of a 20.00 ramey department store shirt or a 300.00 egyptian cotton bespoke number just as surely as the visor drags the style of costly bike. [/font]



End of tongue in cheek...

i hold my visor in place with duct tape.
my mirror is epoxied on to the helmet.

i ride up and down the road and never gave it a thught.

where is my pocket protector, time to go to work.
bye bye,
larryb

kaian said:

I used to think helmets looked dorky without the visor! I think my brain works more on a MTBing level even though I've been road cycling more this year. Anyway, I ended up removing my visor because I was having to wrench my neck upward to see, causing some horrible neck pain! The visor works well for XC cycling in the woods - it, along with a nice pair of glasses, keeps branches from poking my eyes out. :p

I like a visor to shade my eyes from the Sun but when I wear my visor I need to bend my neck back more to get a better view of the road. It also seems to cut down on air flow to my face.

kaian said:

I used to think helmets looked dorky without the visor! I think my brain works more on a MTBing level even though I've been road cycling more this year. Anyway, I ended up removing my visor because I was having to wrench my neck upward to see, causing some horrible neck pain! The visor works well for XC cycling in the woods - it, along with a nice pair of glasses, keeps branches from poking my eyes out. :p

I agree the visor makes the helmets look more "bad a$$" but the wight savings and head position on the road may make the visor more of a pain in the a$$. Also on my helmet when I took the visor off, there were holes where it clipped in. I feel that these now nonpluged holes help with keeping my head cool LOL.

Pete

Gentlemen

The visor would probably create a lot of drag on the road too. So probably not a good idea.

Seriously?????Does it matter. I ride in cut off parachute pants from the 80's and only wear one riding glove (yes it has the rhinestones on it).

So the last thing you should worry about is a visor.

Hypnospin said:

it is, on the road, the stylistic equivalent of a pocket protector in the office.

anyone who suggests otherwise is doing you a grave disservice.

cydewaze said:

... SNIP ...
Anyway, the real question should be, does it impede your view?
... SNIP ...
On the road, my position is not as upright, so a visor would block my forward view.
... SNIP ...

I think the two main reasons for not to use a visor en the road has been stated. Neither one it's absolute, but definitively you have to consider both.

TrekDedicated said:

Road = visor bad

Mountain = visor good

Well for the non competitive road rider I'd think the opposite. Road=good, in that especially here in Arizona it provides some degree of shade from the blazing sun, which is the norm when you are riding. Mountain=bad in that you have the shade of the tree canopy, and since falls are more frequent off road you might find the visor mashed into your face if you bang your head.