Commuting - help I can`t see where I am going!

the one thing that really bugs me about commuting in the rain is that I can`t see where I am going properly. I have got some clear plastic uvex glasses which are OK but inevitably they get covered in water and steamed up and I have to keep taking them off at every set of traffic lights and trying to dry them off on my clothes. If I dont wear any glasses I have the rain driving in my face and I can see even less. I find it very frustrating and it spoils my commute.

I have a helmet with a bit of a peak on and this doesn`t seem to help much.

So has anyone come up with a way to overcome this problem? Or do I just have to cycle partially blind in the rain and hope for the best?

any suggestions?

Put a visor on your helmet, or wear a cap under the helmet with a good visor.

Put a visor on your helmut, or wear a cap under the helmut with a good visor.H_E_L_M_E_T Royalflash is German but I don't think Helmut would like a visor stuck on him This will help www.iespell.com

I carry a cheap ball cap in my bag to use in the rain. It keeps the rain off at least the top half of my glasses even in the worst rain. If I took off my glasses, I wouldn't be able to find the bike let alone ride it.

H_E_L_M_E_T Royalflash is German but I don't think Helmut would like a visor stuck on him This will help www.iespell.com

hold on a minute there- there seems to be a misunderstanding -just because I live in Munich doesn`t mean I am German- didn`t you think that my English was a little to good to be a German - that`s because I am not and I am really English. I am just a "Gastarbeiter".

I have a ball cap round here somewhere I will dig it out and try it. Not sure it will fit under the helmet though.

Have you tried applying something like Rain-X to your glasses? In really heavy downpours you'll still be SOL but if the rain is lighter, the Rain-X should help the water slide off easier.

hold on a minute there- there seems to be a misunderstanding -just because I live in Munich doesn`t mean I am German- didn`t you think that my English was a little to good to be a German - that`s because I am not and I am really English. I am just a "Gastarbeiter".

I have a ball cap round here somewhere I will dig it out and try it. Not sure it will fit under the helmet though.Having never heard you speak the only thing I had to work with was your location. Ich bin für das Anrufen Sie einen Deutschen traurig.

Ich bin für das Anrufen Sie einen Deutschen traurig.

ha ha that means loosely translated "I am sad for the telephoning a German" . I presume you got this from a translation machine

Have you tried applying something like Rain-X to your glasses? In really heavy downpours you'll still be SOL but if the rain is lighter, the Rain-X should help the water slide off easier.

Hi thanks for the suggestion. I have never heard of Rain-X but I will look in to it further

ha ha that means loosely translated "I am sad for the telephoning a German" . I presume you got this from a translation machine
But of course.

Hi thanks for the suggestion. I have never heard of Rain-X but I will look in to it further

Here's their website: http://www.rainx.com/

Most automotive and marine stores should carry it. Or you might want to check out a pilot shop at your local airport which supports general aviation.

One word of caution though: I have heard reports of Rain-X causing crazing in some plastics.

Although it was originally developed for aviation use and thus the original formula should be safe for plastics like lexan and plexiglass, the stuff for car windshields might not be. I would suggest getting the marine or aviation variant and/or consulting the manufacturer of your glasses first to be on the safe side.

Here's their website: http://www.rainx.com/Although it was originally developed for aviation use and thus the original formula should be safe for plastics like lexan and plexiglass, the stuff for car windshields might not be. I would suggest getting the marine or aviation variant and/or consulting the manufacturer of your glasses first to be on the safe side.


Or you can try slicing a potato in half and smearing the juice on your glasses. I know it works on windshields, but do not recall if it makes it difficult to see through because of the potato juice. Give it a shot, they are easy to come buy. :)

>you can try slicing a potato in half and smearing the juice on your glasses
And be sure to store that potato for a snack while on the road :D

Human saliva usually works well for preventing glasses from fogging up too much.

That Rain-X stuff works fantastic. I use it on my cars windshields and when it's been very recently applied and it starts raining, at freeway speeds you don't even need wipers! Most of time bugs just fling off, but if you hit one at the wrong angle it will leave an upward streak instead of a splat. It works really good on glasses when your riding as well. For car or glasses you should reapply Rain-X every 60 days unless you wash your car a lot then every 30 days, but should last about 90 days on glasses.

Human saliva usually works well for preventing glasses from fogging up too much.

Heh. At least one person's figured it out.

I wouldn't want to do a car windshield that way though.

I wear a gore-tex type jacket with a baseball cap under the hood to get it out of my face. Maybe rain-x'll do the trick too. I thought many Germans had wonderful English.
Ich bin ein cyclinger!
:)

thanks for all the suggestions - I am going to try the baseball cap with Rain-X approach (assuming I can get some rain-X in Germany)

this is a great forum

see you on the road

thanks for all the suggestions - I am going to try the baseball cap with Rain-X approach (assuming I can get some rain-X in Germany)

this is a great forum

see you on the road

Our company make the sorts of products that you are looking for. One product would do the job providing its not raining too heavily, Salclear Sport (www.salclear.com).

Apply this inside your goggles as an antifog, and that is the fogging sorted out. Apply to the outside as a cleaning fluid and it will stop rain forming droplets, so your vision isnt impaired. The product does not however chemically bond to the surface of the visor or goggles, so eventually it gets washed away in heavy rain.

So in poor weather you should go the rain repellent route, something akin to Rain X. Our product is called Salclear TT-X, its suitable for plastics whereas most others are not because the carrier solvents are detremental towards polycarbonate visors. TT-X is race tested and approved in the motorbike races here on the Isle of Man, the TT, the Manx Grand Prix and the Southern 100.

Something to be aware of is that if rain drips down the inside of your visor, goggles or glasses, most antifogs wont hang around for very long. The vast majority are easily soluble in water and wash away. Ours are not because they come from a scuba diving pedigree.

cheers, Pippa.

thanks pippa0520-the TT-X sounds like just what I need- I`ll see if I can get some sent to germany-

I tried the baseball cap and that was already a big improvement-simple but very effective

I wear a cycling cap under my helmet when it is rainy or sunny to keep rain off my glasses or shade my eyes. For our sweltering summer afternoons I have an old cap with the top cut out for better ventilation.