Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Your helmet-visor or visorless?

Do you have a preference, and why?

Visor, helps to keep a little bit of sun out of my eyes.

Visor so I can attach my mirror to it.

I generally like a visor on my helmet as it keeps some of the run out of your eyes. Even with sun glasses on this helps nicely. This works great on a hybrid with a fairly upright position. Once I am on a road bike, I can't use a visor as it starts to block my view, especially once I am in the drop bars.

The main down side of keeping my visor on my winter helmet it that I regularly need the rain cover, and that gets in the way. I used to pu the visor on and then take it off when not needed. That got a bit tedious and eventually left the visor off. I still prefer using a visor, but during the Fall and Spring the hassel of removal and installation were too much. In the winter I rarely need the rain cover, but then it tends to be dark so the visor is of no consequence.

Therefore there is no right or wrong answer on this question. Use what works for you.

Happy riding,
André

visor...looks cool.. naw the one that fit just had it on it

No visor. Had one for a while, and it gave me a cramped neck from having to tilt my head too far to see well down the road.

No visor here, I spend the majority of my miles down on the drop bars so it would just get in the way.

No visor. No real reason except I think they are dorky (no offense)

Visor when riding my hybrid or mountain bike. Usually take it off when road biking - and certainly NOT because I think it looks dorky. It does sometimes obscure my vision while in the drops but I do miss the glare protection it offers at times.

Funny thing about appearance and perception. Some people think something like a visor, helmet mirror, or "dork" disc detracts from their appearance (and some of these are safety items). My wife and I think the shaved, toothpick skinny riding billboards are even more humorous!

Both helmets that fit came with Visors, can remove, yet find the visor does help with sun and reduces glare.

Also, IMHO, the Visor on my XL sized helmet provides the illusion of a sleeker piece of gear;)

In order to keep my "Fred" look up, I took the visor off and wear a baseball cap under my helmet. I could do the same with visor and do-rag.

My helmet came with a visor. After my first rain commute I took the visor off and wear a cap type visor with the helmet on top if it's going to rain. Protects my glasses better.

I kept the visor on. Sun glare concerned me more than the loss of a few degrees of sky view.

No visor on my road biking helmet (bars are 4" below saddle height and forward vision would be impared), visor on the helmet I use on my MTB and commuter (commuter is a drop bar but bars are level with saddle so visor isn't a problem).

Thanks all! The helmets I am looking at cost a little more with a visor than without, and while it seems a trifling amount, it adds up when I need a helmet, would like gloves, need some padded pants/shorts/bibs, would like a cyclocomputer, know the tires I have will need to be replaced, etc., etc., etc.

No visor. Had one for a while, and it gave me a cramped neck from having to tilt my head too far to see well down the road.


Same for me...took that vispor off as soon as someone suggested it for my neck pain. Much better without it.

In order to keep my "Fred" look up, I took the visor off and wear a baseball cap under my helmet. I could do the same with visor and do-rag.

I am not a Fred, but I play one on TV. :innocent: I always carry a baseball cap for riding into the sun, riding in rain (I wear glasses), and I wear it backwards to protect my neck from sunburn when the sun is on my back.

Hi all.
This has nothing to do with the topic but as a noob I have to ask---what's a "Fred". I think I might be one but I'm not sure.

BOTH... My road helmet is visorless, my mountain helmet has a visor, for what good it does. The visor is really a bit too small to be that effective.

Hi all.
This has nothing to do with the topic but as a noob I have to ask---what's a "Fred". I think I might be one but I'm not sure.

I was wondering the same thing, but didn't want to ask. I googled it, but didn't come up with anything. I had the same problem with "dork disk", but a google search figured that one out for me...:crash:

Thank goodness it's not just me! Now I have to google dork disk.

Hi all.
This has nothing to do with the topic but as a noob I have to ask---what's a "Fred". I think I might be one but I'm not sure.

I googled "Fred + bicycling": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_(bicycling

Hi all.
This has nothing to do with the topic but as a noob I have to ask---what's a "Fred". I think I might be one but I'm not sure.

I googled "Fred + bicycling": go to Wikipedia and enter Fred (bicycling)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_(bicycling) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_%28bicycling%29)

I suspect this Wikipedia article is biased towards roadies. Being Fred is a proud tradition.


The roots of the term "Fred" are unclear, though some believe it originated from[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_%28bicycling%29#cite_note-1) a touring rider named Fred Birchmore from Athens, GA. In 1934-35, Birchmore rode around the world on a bicycle he named Bucephalus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucephalus). Birchmore and Bucephalus traveled approximately 25,000 miles. Bucephalus is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution) in Washington, D.C.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_%28bicycling%29#cite_note-2)[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_%28bicycling%29#cite_note-3) In one famous incident during touring in Italy, Birchmore passed a bunch of racers during a race he had crossed paths with by chance. And despite going up hill on his loaded 50 pound non-racing bike, he passed the finish line well ahead of the racers. The cheering crowd at the finish line assumed him to be the winner of the race. In addition to the Birchmore origin idea for "Fred," there also is a vague idea that there was an old grumpy touring rider named Fred (but probably not Birchmore) from which the term derived.[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_%28bicycling%29#cite_note-4)

Celebrating 25 years of visor free cycling, both road and mountain. To me, it's always represented a solution to a non-existant problem.

Considering helmets are dorky to start with, I have one on my helmet, but don't use it on the road bike. I do have a few caps for rainy rides that I try to avoid. The sun can be relentless down here, so nose protection is important.

My first helmet had a visor, but for some reason I decided against it on my new one. I did however go to wearing one of those dorky short billed bike hats. I flip up the bill most of the time, but flip it down when a hard rain hits or I get blinded by the sun.

The visor on my Louis Garneau helmet can easily be flipped up or down, so most or the time I leave it up. When I'm riding into low sun in the morning, I can pull it down to keep the glare out. I don't think I'd like a helmet with a rigidly fixed visor.

I ride early in the morning and in the evening a visor is a big plus when the sun is low.

I use a Giro Pneumo. Sleek, well vented road helmet with a detachable visor.

Dan

Visor can be good at night, you can tilt your head down and to the left to block on-coming glare from passing vehicles.

I'm visorless, too.

Visor always. Helps keep sun and rain off eye protection. Adjust the helmet so it doesn't block as much view.

A couple of months ago a lady I know crashed and face planted. Her visor took much of her impact and snapped -- it appeared to have saved her nose, eye socket, and mouth from more extensive damage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_(bicycling) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_%28bicycling%29)

I suspect this Wikipedia article is biased towards roadies. Being Fred is a proud tradition.

Back in June, I posted my Fred Manifesto in reply to a thread, "Your One Piece of Fred "


...As I was riding this AM, contemplating these essential questions, I thought: certainly there are the roadies, who are indeed “Beautiful People” and are splendid in their spandex and peletons; and there are Freds, kind of clunky but sincere and loveable. But there is IMO, a large segment of noble cyclists, e.g. tourists and commuters who are neither BP’s nor Fred’s, but certainly serious cyclists.

I recalled how politicians in Massachusetts are derided as “hacks.” In a memorable speech to the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth, a former Speaker of the House proclaimed “I am not a hack, you are not a hack, we ought not be treated this way." Similarly, my manifesto is, "I am not a Fred you are not a Fred, we ought not be treated this way". So I propose a new name, currently applied to frequent business travelers—ROAD WARRIORS. I AM A ROAD WARRIOR—think Mel Gibson.

I envision RW’s as linemen on a football team as compared to the glamorous backfield, as the infantry on the ground compared the glamorous top guns in the military, or Mission Control as compared to the glamorous astronauts in space travel. All contribute in their own way to the success of the enterprise. In the 1980’s I told a secretary at work that I am road warrior a la Mel Gibson and she smiled and said, “Yeah, right.” Yet I still believe.

John Gardner once wrote: "An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher. The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity, and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because philosophy is an exalted activity, will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.” IMO, the society which exalts roadies and scorns road warriors will have roads only built for cars.

:crash:

I don't have a visor on my current helmet but am thinking about an upgrade. I have worn ball caps under my helmet but found they made my head too hot. are the cycling hats any cooler than ball caps?

I had one, but in my crash this spring, it broke off when I went down and would have gotten my eye had I not been wearing glasses. I went visor-less after. But that's probably a paranoid reason to avoid them.

Visors are for mountain biking/commuting IMO. I have a Giro Atmos helmet and I don't even think I can put a visor on it which is fine by me. I wear a cycling cap underneath if it's that sunny out. This is the first helmet I have ever owned and only problem was initially figuring out how to fine tune and adjust the straps.

Visor, helps to keep a little bit of sun out of my eyes.

I took off the visor during my short-lived dreams of being a roadie. I've never put it back on.

3 out of 5 have visors.
I bought the upscale Bell Metro helmets when they were on sale several seasons back.
Main reason was the rounded helmet vs the spikes and wings on the road helmets.
I like the visor.
It does keep the glare down to a minimum and acts as a fair awning during those rainstorms we in the northeast have been experiencing all summer.
The two visorless helmets are lightweight expensive jobs and while I love the feather weight on a long ride, I miss the visor.

Visor, just cuz it was on the helmet I bought (Bell Triton). I'm riding a hybrid right now, so field of view is not an issue for me. If and when I get something with drop bars, I'll need to reconsider my position on visors, though...

Visor, helps with sun and rain.

no visor. No real reason except i think they are dorky (no offense)

+1

I have a Visor on my MTB helmet. Visors block my vision when I am on my road bike. So I got a new helmet wit hno visor for road-biking

I like visors. Mostly because I can't read road signs without glasses on (no contacts available for my prescription), and I use the visor to cut down on rain and/or road-spray from passing cars to a minimum on my glasses.

Thanks Jim from Boston and Tex Arcana. Now I know I'm not a Fred. I'm a Doris!!
Kate

Both - without for the road bike, with on the hybrid.