helmet visors
#1
Thread Starter
30mi/day commuter
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 797
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, Canada
helmet visors
I was just wondering if anyone uses a visor on their helmet?
Most helmets come with them but I find that they reduce my vision so i get rid of them.
I am fairly horizontal while riding so maybe people who are upright use them.
I'm just trying to figure out if im the norm or an outlier.
Most helmets come with them but I find that they reduce my vision so i get rid of them.
I am fairly horizontal while riding so maybe people who are upright use them.
I'm just trying to figure out if im the norm or an outlier.
#5
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 4,571
Likes: 16
From: Oxnard, CA
Bikes: 2009 Fuji Roubaix RC; 2011 Fuji Cross 2.0; '92 Diamond Back Ascent EX
I have one without and two with. My MTB and my commuter both have minimal saddle to bar drop so the visor isn't in the way and is nice for sunrise/sunset or rain. My road bike has a fair saddle to bar drop and a visor would limit visibility.
#7
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
From: Philadelphia, PA
My visor clicks in with four little plastic pegs. I leave the two on the side attached but pop out the ones in the middle, so the visor pivots up and down. It mostly sits partway up the front of the helmet and out of the way, but when I find myself riding right into the sun or into headlights, I can pull it down. I ride drop bars about even with the saddle, so when the visor is down it definitely blocks part of my field of view, which is usually annoying but occasionally useful.
I don't think I invented this myself, but I forget where I got the idea. I've never assessed the effect in the mirror. I assume it looks incredibly dorky. I think it's a good system, though.
I don't think I invented this myself, but I forget where I got the idea. I've never assessed the effect in the mirror. I assume it looks incredibly dorky. I think it's a good system, though.
#8
Intrepid Bicycle Commuter
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 819
Likes: 95
From: Upstate New York
Bikes: 1976 Motobecane Grand Jubile, Austro Daimler 'Ultima', 2012 Salsa Vaya, 2009 Trek 4300, Fyxation Eastside, State Matte Black 6, '97 Trek 930 SHX, '93 Specialized Rockhopper, 1990 Trek 950
I'm a visor kind of guy.
#9
Mad bike riding scientist




Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 29,135
Likes: 6,180
From: Denver, CO
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
If you have a helmet light, it cuts down on the overhead glare too.*
*But not at night in the snow and rain. Helmet lights don't work well there. Too 'warp factor 10'
*But not at night in the snow and rain. Helmet lights don't work well there. Too 'warp factor 10'
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Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
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Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#11
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 4,599
Likes: 158
From: Santa Fe, NM
Bikes: Vassago Moosknuckle Ti 29+ XTR, 90's Merckx Corsa-01 9sp Record, PROJECT: 1954 Frejus SuperCorsa
I wear this Bern for cooler weather and a conventional lightweight helmet (no visor) in the Summertime. I kind of like having a visor.
#12
Senior Member

Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 9,684
Likes: 2,602
From: northern Deep South
Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee
Most "MTB" helmets come with visors, most "road" helmets don't.
I like a visor to keep glare down, even though I'm almost exclusively a road rider. Helps for light showers, but a hard rain will come through.
I've got one helmet without a visor, which is great for winter riding with a helmet cover. (It's also darker commuting in the winter, so there's less glare from the sun!)
I like a visor to keep glare down, even though I'm almost exclusively a road rider. Helps for light showers, but a hard rain will come through.
I've got one helmet without a visor, which is great for winter riding with a helmet cover. (It's also darker commuting in the winter, so there's less glare from the sun!)
#13
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 182
Likes: 5
Bikes: 86 Nishiki Olympic Sport, 87 KHS Montana Team, 06 Dahon Mariner
For years I had a helmet without a visor, and I liked it. Then I got a new one recently (A Bell Muni, should you be curious) and it came with a visor, and I don't really notice that it's there in actual use. Plus, it makes for a good place to mount the foldaway rearview mirror too.
-Warr
-Warr
#16
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
From: Santa Cruz County, CA
#17
Middle-Aged Member
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,276
Likes: 1
From: Mesa, AZ
Bikes: Bianchi Infinito CV 2014, TREK HIFI 2011, Argon18 E-116 2013
I've taken the visor off every helmet I ever purchase, but like many have said... riding on drop bars / bull horns means a very forward position and the visor is annoying.
#20
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.

Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 13,863
Likes: 6
From: Washington, DC
Bikes: Some bikes. Hell, they're all the same, ain't they?
Some visors are just plain better than others, too, when it comes to blocking sun or rain.
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zeppinger
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