# Road vs MTB Helmet



## js1221 (Aug 15, 2008)

I have been wearing my MTB helmet while riding my road bike but have been paying more attention to actual road helmets. I have noticed that unlike MTB helmets, road helmets do not have a sun visor, but what other differences are there (besides price)? I am currently using a Giro Havoc, it has 27 vents and weighs 295 grams. The road helmets I have looked at have 25-27 vents and weigh about 20 grams less. Do I need to be looking at road helmets or should I just continue to use my MTB helmet, which serves its purpose?


----------



## andulong (Nov 23, 2006)

No difference except most roadies don't use a visor...guess the sun doesn't shine on the road??? I think the lack of the visor is just a style thing. Wear what you want. Some of those visors are removable and then you have a dual purpose helmet.


----------



## bolandjd (Sep 12, 2008)

My MTB-type helmet finally gave up the ghost about a month ago, so I took Grant Peterson's advice and went out and got the cheapest helmet I could find (they all have to meet the same safety standards anyway) and it happened to be a roadie-type helmet. It looks a little nicer, I think. It vents better, but that just might be the brand. I miss the visor less than I thought I would. But, for the most part, it works exactly the same. I would say that for the non-competative cyclist, the visored MTB-type helmet is probably more practical and in most cases, the better choice.


----------



## Jwiffle (Mar 18, 2005)

I had to take the visor off the helmet when I got a road bike. The more aggressive position made the visor get too much in my field of vision. I use a helmet with a visor on my mtb.

Supposedly, a helmet with a visor is less aerodynamic than a helmet sans visor. I doubt it really adds very much wind resistance, though.


----------



## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

bolandjd said:


> ... I took Grant Peterson's advice and went out and got the cheapest helmet I could find (they all have to meet the same safety standards anyway) ...


 _Minimum_ standards isn't necessarily best protection for your head & brain. Go read Consumer Reports' crash-testing of helmets, helmets are definitely not alike! And, it doesn't necessarily correlate with price, either.

For example, one Trek-branded, $125 helmet was tested & rated "unacceptable" .

Two $45-50 Bell helmets had the best impact absorption.


----------



## bolandjd (Sep 12, 2008)

tom_h said:


> _Minimum_ standards isn't necessarily best protection for your head & brain. Go read Consumer Reports' crash-testing of helmets, helmets are definitely not alike! And, it doesn't necessarily correlate with price, either.
> 
> For example, one Trek-branded, $125 helmet was tested & rated "unacceptable" .
> 
> Two $45-50 Bell helmets had the best impact absorption.


I would actually be interested to read that. Do you have the link? Does it require a subscription to view? But, as far as which helmet provides the best protection, every normal road or MTB bicycle helmet is already a compromise to weight, comfort, and style, no matter its cost or Consumer Reports crash rating. The absolute best in head protection is a full face motorcycle helmet. Are you going to ride around with one of those? Even a half-shell motorcycle helmet that Harley guys wear is a substantial improvement over the average bicycle helmet. What about a full face BMX or downhill helmet? Will you wear that on the street? If you ride in a situation where you are gravely concerned about head injury, than you need something better than an ordinary bicycle helmet anyway.


----------



## Slim Chance (Feb 8, 2005)

*Link, I think.*

Link to Consumers Reports helmet ratings.


----------



## bolandjd (Sep 12, 2008)

thanks.


----------



## Jett (Mar 21, 2004)

Jwiffle said:


> I had to take the visor off the helmet when I got a road bike. The more aggressive position made the visor get too much in my field of vision. I use a helmet with a visor on my mtb.
> 
> Supposedly, a helmet with a visor is less aerodynamic than a helmet sans visor. I doubt it really adds very much wind resistance, though.


+1 on the limited field of vision. Visors tend to get in the way when your in the drops.


----------



## Cory (Jan 29, 2004)

Jwiffle said:


> I had to take the visor off the helmet when I got a road bike. The more aggressive position made the visor get too much in my field of vision. .


FWIW, I wear a mountain bike helmet BECAUSE OF the visor. I commute east in the morning and west in the afternoon, sun in my eyes both ways. I haven't bought a "road" helmet in years.


----------



## cdsmith (Apr 13, 2008)

I had the same questions about helmets when I got my road bike last year... Should I just keep using the helmet that I had or get a new one... I decided on a new one, mainly because the helmet was kinda old and the color didn't come close to matching the bike (green helmet - red bike). A little vain, but... 
I settled on the Bell Slant - good ratings, and the visor is removable... 
So far I'm happy with it..
cd


----------



## bolandjd (Sep 12, 2008)

cdsmith said:


> I settled on the Bell Slant - good ratings, and the visor is removable...
> So far I'm happy with it..
> cd


That one's a CR best buy. :thumbsup: Good choice.


----------



## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Yep! They're exactly the same thing......only different.

Just the visor, that's all.


----------



## 2ndGen (Oct 10, 2008)

andulong said:


> No difference except most roadies don't use a visor...guess the sun doesn't shine on the road??? I think the lack of the visor is just a style thing. Wear what you want. Some of those visors are removable and then you have a dual purpose helmet.


I would imagine that the visor would act as a sail and "catch" the oncoming wind at high speed and I'd guess that most road bikers were sunglasses anyway. Aerodynamics definitely play a part in that decision (in my opinion). 

My Giro Encinal is called a "sports" helmet by them leaving the doors open for both road and MTB usage (though it has a removable visor and is pictured with a MTB rider). I guess that makes it a dual purpose.  

But I'm going to pick up a Giro Hex for MTBing. 

Here's a site I found helpful in my research: 

http://helmets.org/types.htm


----------



## BrownieSC (Oct 12, 2008)

I wear a helmet mount light for night riding so I never use my mtb visor. Maybe one day I'll be fast enough on my road bike and will need to worry about aerodynamics but that isn't a factor to my slowness right now!


----------



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

Just wear your MTB unless you have an unquenchable desire to fit in with the roadies. One helmet at a time has served me well for years. At one point I took off the visor from my MTB helmet for some road rides, but then I realized that the visor really was keeping the sun out of my eyes. If it works, use it. I ride with the visor on and don't worry about it.


----------

