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Your helmet-visor or visorless?

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Old 07-17-09, 11:55 AM
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Your helmet-visor or visorless?

Do you have a preference, and why?
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Old 07-17-09, 12:04 PM
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Visor, helps to keep a little bit of sun out of my eyes.
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Old 07-17-09, 12:16 PM
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Visor so I can attach my mirror to it.
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Old 07-17-09, 12:40 PM
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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
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Old 07-17-09, 12:44 PM
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visor...looks cool.. naw the one that fit just had it on it
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Old 07-17-09, 01:08 PM
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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.
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Old 07-17-09, 01:12 PM
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No visor here, I spend the majority of my miles down on the drop bars so it would just get in the way.
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Old 07-17-09, 01:23 PM
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No visor. No real reason except I think they are dorky (no offense)
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Old 07-17-09, 01:52 PM
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Not out to impress anyone

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!
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Old 07-17-09, 02:01 PM
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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
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Old 07-17-09, 02:12 PM
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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.
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Old 07-17-09, 02:59 PM
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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.
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Old 07-17-09, 03:02 PM
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I kept the visor on. Sun glare concerned me more than the loss of a few degrees of sky view.
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Old 07-17-09, 03:04 PM
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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).
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Old 07-17-09, 03:16 PM
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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.
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Old 07-17-09, 03:33 PM
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Originally Posted by goaliedad30
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.
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Old 07-17-09, 03:38 PM
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Originally Posted by HelpMeRhonda
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. 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.
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Old 07-17-09, 05:09 PM
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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.
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Old 07-17-09, 05:09 PM
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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.
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Old 07-17-09, 05:30 PM
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Originally Posted by turtlewoman
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...
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Old 07-17-09, 05:37 PM
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Thank goodness it's not just me! Now I have to google dork disk.
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Old 07-17-09, 05:43 PM
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Originally Posted by turtlewoman
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": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_(bicycling
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Old 07-17-09, 05:47 PM
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Originally Posted by turtlewoman
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)
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Old 07-17-09, 05:50 PM
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_(bicycling)

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] a touring rider named Fred Birchmore from Athens, GA. In 1934-35, Birchmore rode around the world on a bicycle he named Bucephalus. Birchmore and Bucephalus traveled approximately 25,000 miles. Bucephalus is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.[3][4] 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]
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Old 07-17-09, 06:05 PM
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Celebrating 25 years of visor free cycling, both road and mountain. To me, it's always represented a solution to a non-existant problem.
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Birth Certificate, Passport, Marriage License Driver's License and Residency Permit all say I'm a Fred. I guess there's no denying it.
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