Getting ready to purchase my first helmet for road cycling...previous helmet was a cheap, non-well-fitting Bell from WM, for off road riding.

Do you use a visor on your helmet for cycling on the road or not? Why or why not?

The helmet I'm looking at offers it with (+$5) or without. Looks kind of cheap on this specific helmet but just trying to see if it is an effective addition or not.

Thanks for your opinions!

TripleB

I like the visor on mine. It helps cut the sun out of my eyes with a small tip of the head.

not mine but this is what I have

No visor. It cuts into your field of view. If you ride very upright (mountain bike/hybrid), then the visor is useful, otherwise it blocks your distance vision.

never on the road

no visor on the road. if you need shade, the brim of your cycling cap - which you should have - and sunglasses are your best option. visors on the road are fredly and against the rules, but also cut your field of view when you are in the drops while channeling the v.

I wouldn't say this as a general statement. I use a visor, ride with my back pretty low and with a long reach, in the drops a lot and had no trouble seeing down the road. Of course, I also buy helmets with visors and check to see that everything works and is comfortable in my usual riding positions.

Current helmet is a POC Trabec, selected in part for its visor. (Mostly for the MIPS technology but I waited until I could get the technology with a helmet with visor in the right size and color.) I mount my mirror to the visor via a little fiberglass bracket I make to custom fit the visor. It is screwed on with two small screws and nuts. (The Trabec is also VERY comfortable, at least on my head.)

Ben

True freedom is not playing by the rules, especially "rules" invented by someone who us to conform.

Ben

Here are the helmets I'm considering...the Giro Trinity (no visor) or Giro Revel (visor). To me they look identical except for the visor - one's called Highlighter Yellow and the other Flash Yellow but they look like the same color on the computer. Do they to you? I guess I could pay the extra $5 and get the one with the visor and leave it off (the description says removable) if I don't find it useful.

Thanks for all the input so far...being a newbie to road riding I truly appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions!!!

TripleB67

Rules are made to be broken.


My two questions are...who invented these "rules" and more importantly, who is going to enforce this particular rule, hmmm??

60,000 miles with a visor, no sunglasses..

My comment is an obvious and tongue-in-cheek reference to "the rules" as published by the Velominati, which is in turn, a tongue-in-cheek guide to all things road cycling. Velominati ? The Rules

The reality is that while these "rules" are often humorous and self deprecating, most of them are rooted either in practicality or tradition, and the longer I've been a roadie - and the longer I've been around other roadies - the more I realize that adherence to many of these "rules" is a sort of unspoken code among classy and serious riders with an eye for aesthetics and a desire to carry the flag, so to speak. Follow them or don't, I personally don't care, but if you are looking for the "correct" way to do things as viewed by the international road cycling community at large, The Rules are a good place to start. At the very least, your knowledge of them will give you something to chit chat about on your first group rides.

Edit: For what it's worth - Rule #2 // Lead by example.
It is forbidden for someone familiar with The Rules to knowingly assist another person to breach them.

That is all.

to be fair, you don't have drops, and don't have to crane your neck to look level with the horizon. you also have recumbutt

Classic Cycling cap on your head , then put on the helmet over It.

Cycling cap has a visor. So what's the diff between that and a helmet visor, especially if it is removable?

Helmet visor provides better eye shade for me. I always have to squint a bit with sunglasses because they leak light in from the side--unless they are wrap arounds.

I too wear a cycling cap and no visor. the plastic visors for some reason.

The difference is that a helmet visor is against the rules, but this has already been discussed.

Seriously though, I used to wear a helmet visor, and I found it to be inadequate. A cycling cap has the benefit of soaking up sweat and preventing it from dripping in your face. The visor can also be rotated/adjusted and the brim flipped up and down depending on the specific angle of the sun, vs a helmet visor which is always fixed in one position. Also, they are suitable to wear at the cafe/bar after you stop for a break, so you don't have to sport your messy, sweaty hair in public. And they look cool.

Get glasses that fit your face better? They come in all shapes and sizes, I'm on my 3rd pair and I love the ones I have now, but my last pair was much too small for my face, and let light in all over the place.

there's nothing wrong with visors

I even ride on my aero bars with the visor down.

I like visors, but the type that go before the eyes, for much better protection of every type, like this:

Visor on the road is ok depending on whether the visor is one of those real long ones found on a lot of MTB helmets, or a very shallow one found on some MTB helmets. My Lazer helmet has a very shallow one and I find it useful when riding into the sun; but if the sun is not a problem I take it off. The long visors will make you crank your neck up to high to see the road, which after a while will become a real pain in the neck.

I prefer helmets without visors. But it isn't a big deal either way.

I have to agree with those who prefer no visor if riding low. The visor requires the rider to have to bend his neck more. I've actually noticed a different in field of view from just the difference between sunglasses with and without a frame across the top. I doubt someone young, flexible and very fit would notice the difference but at 46 and just starting to road ride I did.

Then there's the aero drag and weight to consider

I'm joking. If the sun bothers you and don't like glasses, they can't be beat.