Recumbent - Another way 'bents are different from DFs!

Today was my fist all-day ride since I bought a ‘bent. I was out in the sun from noon until 6:30. Prior to leaving I put on sunscreen like I always have before an all day ride… focusing on the top of the knee, back of the calf, back of the neck and ears… great if I was riding a DF!!! Not so much on a recumbent… My face is FRIED!!! I have a rather large nose that REALLY sticks out now!!!

Maybe a visor with the helmet, remember proper helmet fitting goes down to your eyebrows. Imagine walking towards a wall, you want the helmet to hit wall before your nose.

My nose and ears always get an extra shot of sunscreen. Adding a visor only helps if you don't plan on going very fast - otherwise the airflow is such that it's nothing but a parachute which constantly pulls the helmet up and back, no matter how tight the straps are.

I have been using SPF 70 and I still got burned yesterday also. Zinc oxide maybe? At least for those of us that were silly enough to have a "Northern European" heritage.

Post ride, aloe vera helps me.

I have been using SPF 70 and I still got burned yesterday also. Zinc oxide maybe? At least for those of us that were silly enough to have a "Northern European" heritage.

Post ride, aloe vera helps me.

+1 to the Zinc Oxide and Aloe Vera. I did a cycle tour in summer and I'm very fair skinned. I slathered Zinc onto my face (one kid called me a clown) and didn't get burnt even after cycling all day. It is a bit greasy and itches slightly but that is a small price to pay to not look like a lobster.:D

Here is a picture of me during my holiday, with my aero-belly showing, covered in sunscreen, Zinc Oxide and a hat the covers the back of my neck.

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Adding a visor only helps if you don't plan on going very fast - otherwise the airflow is such that it's nothing but a parachute which constantly pulls the helmet up and back, no matter how tight the straps are.

Sorry to be contrary, but that doesn't match my experience. Unless, of course, 45+ mph doesn't qualify as "fast". My Bell Influx, with visor, stays put just fine regardless of speed - no sensation of lift or anything. Maybe it depends on the helmet.

Scott P
Bend, OR

Visors are definite drags, and moreso if there is any wind in play.

I don't quite understand why a visor would add any appreciable drag to a recumbent. If you're sitting with your head in an upright position, the visor should be more or less sticking straight forward, and, as such, wouldn't add any frontal area beyond your head and helmet. What am I missing? BTW, in a pinch I've worn a baseball cap under my bike helmet. It didn't seem to affect the fit, and did help with the sun.

I don't quite understand why a visor would add any appreciable drag to a recumbent. If you're sitting with your head in an upright position, the visor should be more or less sticking straight forward, and, as such, wouldn't add any frontal area beyond your head and helmet. What am I missing? BTW, in a pinch I've worn a baseball cap under my bike helmet. It didn't seem to affect the fit, and did help with the sun.

My visor on my Specialized may (or may not) be typical. At higher speeds or in stiff headwinds there is a difference in feel between "looking up" and "chin tucked" head positions. I have no reasonable guess on how it translates into speeds, but the difference feels substantial. If I were riding something more reclined than a Trice Q or Rans Rocket, the visor could well be history by now.

I rode on Memorial day and forgot the legs. They are just now peeling.

If you're reclined very much, the airflow hits you feet first and travels up your torso to your head. And yes, if you have a visor it'll lift your helmet and make the strap uncomfortably tight no matter how it's adjusted. The effect is mostly negated by having a fairing or if you're sitting very upright, as in an EasyRacer.

never done it, but it seems that if it's cool for young lifeguards to sport white noses, why not us?

for a FOGgy white nose, cut a piece out of a styrofoam cup and wedge it in the eyeglasses' nose bridge (invention for ultra-cold winter riding)

I just finished "Bike Across Kansas" - riding from east to west so my wife and I were facing the sun for over 4 to 5 hours for seven days. Used SPF 50 - still had sun burn. I had to pick up an after market visor for my road helmet before the ride. The visor wasn't long enough to keep the sun out of my face for 3 to 4 hours. I am looking at "Carbon Spider Carbon Fiber Visor" to replace the small visor that I used on the trip. I discovered the visor while scanning bentrideronline.com.