# Helmet with a visor a bad thing for the road?



## rotary16 (Apr 19, 2004)

OK, I have way too much time and have appearently been hanging out on this board too much lately.

Kinda new to road cycling, been MTBing for years, is there a taboo in wearing a helmet with a visor on the road?


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## gzb10 (Jun 5, 2004)

*good question!*



rotary16 said:


> OK, I have way too much time and have appearently been hanging out on this board too much lately.
> 
> Kinda new to road cycling, been MTBing for years, is there a taboo in wearing a helmet with a visor on the road?


I too am new to road biking. I've experimented with helmet w/ visor and w/o visor. I don't know about taboo, but my modest experience has been that if you ride like I do, hands mostly on drop bars and head facing downwards, I look at the road with my eyes kinda rolled upwards. In that awkward position, I find that the visor obstructs my view of the road. To me safety is a tad more important than taboo (mind you, I'm not much of a fashion guru myself since I prefer to ride in baggy shorts w/ inner padding as opposed to the skin tight and not so comfortable road biking pants).

Hope that helps.


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## johnny99 (Apr 2, 2004)

The main problem with visors is that they can block your vision, especially when you're on the drops. If that's not a problem for you, then leave the visor on. Some helmets come with shorter visors for road use to help with this problem.


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## MisterMo (May 31, 2004)

rotary16 said:


> OK, I have way too much time and have appearently been hanging out on this board too much lately.
> 
> Kinda new to road cycling, been MTBing for years, is there a taboo in wearing a helmet with a visor on the road?


Don't know about taboo but I like a visor in the rain to keep the drops off my glasses; I don't like a visor otherwise because it tends to obscure my forward vision.

I rode until very recently in a baseball hat in the rain & bareheaded otherwise; I've recently been wearing a visorless helmet & squinting between the water splats.


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## bimini (Jul 2, 2003)

*Yes, even the top rim of my sunglasses*

can block my view when down in an aero position. You may as well put a blindfold on and play in traffic if you leave the bill on the helmet. Either way you will be running blind when running aero.




johnny99 said:


> The main problem with visors is that they can block your vision, especially when you're on the drops. If that's not a problem for you, then leave the visor on. Some helmets come with shorter visors for road use to help with this problem.


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## JohnL (Feb 4, 2004)

If you want to wear it, wear it. Don't worry about it being taboo. Heck, even Davis Phinney has been quoted as recommending them. It think some of the AG2R boys have been wearing them in the peloton, too. Go ahead.


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## Allez Rouge (Jan 1, 1970)

*Can't dispute the vision-blocking gripe, but ...*

... sometimes it works in your favor. A high percentage of my weekday-rides loop has me riding right into the low evening sun, and being able to dip my head a fraction and use the visor to block the glare is mighty nice.

The edge of the visor also provides a convenient tie-down point for the arm of my helmet mirror (and this really helps give me that Full Fred look, dontchaknow). Before I did this, the arm was just loose enough that the breeze would catch the mirror head and yank it out of alignment, especially on a descent.

I don't do the aero thing, so for me the visual obstruction is not enough to seriously compromise safety. I do, however, find that my neck tires a little more quickly, due to the need to tilt my head upwards slightly more to see under the visor's lip. And this is with a visor that's pretty short (Bell Paradox).

All in all, I could go either way. The helmet came with the visor and I'd never used one before so I decided to try it, and ended up leaving it on. But if my next helmet doesn't have a visor, that'll be okay too.


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## happycx (Jul 6, 2003)

*I agree...*

Sometimes I'll wear it, sometimes I won't. In fact I always carry it with me just in case any of the above reasons come into play. My big problem is that all of the great areas to ride here are East/West, the same direction the wind blows. The visor keeps the sun out of your eyes and for me, the dust as well.

No matter what people tell you, riding is supposed to be an enjoyable form of exercise and entertainment. Not a fashion show.

Ciao!


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## Cory (Jan 29, 2004)

*Commute both ways into the sun; I need a visor*

If your bars are very low, I suppose a visor could make it harder to see ahead (but they probably shouldn't be that low). Personally, though, I ride to work into the sun in the mornings and come home into the sun in the evenings, and a visor really helps. I haven't bought a helmet without one in years.


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## Kram (Jan 28, 2004)

*Yes. Taboo. Very bad taste.*



rotary16 said:


> OK, I have way too much time and have appearently been hanging out on this board too much lately.
> 
> Kinda new to road cycling, been MTBing for years, is there a taboo in wearing a helmet with a visor on the road?


Real roadies use cycling caps under their *road *helmets. Visors are for schmucks. 

(Now for the real answer! I was KIDDING! I sometimes use on on my commutes and rainy rides. problem is, I have several helmets and several visors and I can's seem to match them up.......)


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## gregario (Nov 19, 2001)

rotary16 said:


> OK, I have way too much time and have appearently been hanging out on this board too much lately.
> 
> Kinda new to road cycling, been MTBing for years, is there a taboo in wearing a helmet with a visor on the road?


I'm strictly a road rider but I won't buy a helment unless it has a visor. They are invaluable for riding into the evening (or early morning) sun, and since I work during the day, well.....
I do however usually remove my visor if I'm riding in the middle of the day or if it's not sunny.

Ignore anyone that says visors are not cool.


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## coonass (Feb 4, 2004)

*Limited use here,*



rotary16 said:


> OK, I have way too much time and have appearently been hanging out on this board too much lately.
> 
> Kinda new to road cycling, been MTBing for years, is there a taboo in wearing a helmet with a visor on the road?


I only wear the visor when all of the following are relative:
1) temps are >95°
2) the ride is longer than 40miles and is 90% in the scorching sun.

Provides 'shade' and keeps me from squinting the whole ride....


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*All our helmets have visors.*

But we are not young racers that care about what others think about the way we look.


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