Recently I bought a Walz cycling cap, and while it is a well-made cranial accessory, I guess I just don't "get it" from a functionality standpoint.

If I wear it brim forward and down, I can't see in front of me without craning my neck.

If I wear it brim forward and up, it forces my helmet back at a jaunty angle, not unlike that which you see on many children.

If I wear it brim backwards, the elastic digs painfully into my forehead.

I'm forced to conclude that helmets have made caps obsolete. It just doesn't work.

To each his own. I love my cap (when it's not too hot to wear it). It shades my eyes from the sun, and it mops up sweat. I would be happy to have a brim on my helmet instead, but it doesn't have one.

My helmet feels weird when I don't have a cap under it.

Suggestions:
Visor down only when sun is in front and getting low, or when necessary to keep sheets of rain out of eyes; your helmet is a visor of sorts when the sun is more directly overhead.
Position cap further down on forehead (nearer to eyebrows) to allow visor up without helmet conflict. (Cap positioned to accommodate helmet, not the other way around.)
Try different brands of caps; I've found some to be more helmet-friendly than others, largely based on size of, and material used in, visor.

cap brims can be ones that stick out, or if little arc to them, not at all ..


I just wish I could find another gore tex ish cycling cap to go under my helmet , to keep my head dry in the rain..

last long tour I left the helmet off so I could pull the rain coat hood over my head..
for years I wore a Sou Wester cap in the Deluge..





...

Also, it depends on the size of the brim.
When I order from Walz I order the smaller brim, to reduce neck craning.

Like @Farenheit531, my Walz caps have enough fore-aft flexibility that I can position them where I need the brim.

I've bought and used MTB helmets on the road for years for the visor, but the cap brim is a good substitute for a visor that has broken off for commuting near sunrise or sunset, or when there's enough bright headlights that I need an eyeshade.

I never hears of Walz.

Matching cap and jersey?


-Tim-

To me it makes a big difference. I can't wear cycling caps with long bills, for the reasons we already mentioned.
I just looked at their website and for me the 1 3\4 brims are wearable and the 2 1\4 bills are not.

Same here. When it's hot I use a headband to keep the sweat out of my eyes. When it's cold, I wear a balaclava. When it's in-between, I wear a bandana. For whatever reason, cycling caps don't work for me.

Cycling caps were meant to be used without a helmet IMO.

Peak down works for me, sometimes my bill will flip down if I go peak up, especially on fast descents. I ride into the sun both ways on my commute during the dry season and it keeps the sun out. During the wet season, the brim keeps enough rain drops off my cycling glasses to maintain some visibility. I can wear any of my helmets, no need for visors on every one.

INSTEAD of a helmet.

How can you tell?

I don't see where they say the bill size on on any of their caps.

You're right. Other than wicking sweat, keeping sweat out of my eyes, avoiding sunburn, protecting my neck, shading my eyes at sunrise and sunset, keeping salt off my helmet, and keeping rain out of my eyes, caps are useless. But they sure do look cool!

why I wear a mountain bike helmet with a visor even on the road. Yep I'm a rule breaker.

I just wear cycling hats when I've stopped to eat or walk around on rides. What's the use buying a cool cycling cap to wear under a helmet? I carry a helmet cover for rain or cold weather.

i wear a garden fedora. No helmet. It keeps my head, ears and neck from being burnt and the front from will flip up or down.

It's a pull down option on their custom caps.
Not sure about the size of the bills on the non custom caps.
It probably says somewhere. But I didn't see it either.

If the Walz isn't working out for you, try something else. Giro makes some nice ones. I've got a Pearl Izumi that ridiculous color aside, is a very nice cap.

There are some good reasons to wear a cycling cap, the first being that they protect your scalp from the sun. Those who are a little thin on top can get a sunburned scalp, even when wearing helmet.

For myself, I wear them alone, without a helmet. They keep the sun off the top of my head, help keep sweat from running into my eyes. I don't see them as a cycling fashion accessory (indeed, cycling clothes are not fashionable), but I feel more comfortable wearing a cap.

They make for great pics at the Tour de France!


TdF by Jeff Novak, on Flickr


TdF by Jeff Novak, on Flickr

(But yeah, a waste of $5...)

Sometimes.... it's a fine line between costume and uniform. The original bicycles were created in small shops by skilled metal workers. The cap we call a "cycling cap".... was first known as a wielders cap. I think the small brim/bill would be useful for deflecting falling sparks or splatter... without deflecting grinding debris into the eyes. Of course shop owners would buy hats, gloves, even shirts in volume and have their logo's printed on them. I would guess some of the "branded" materials were given to customers as swag. Hence the functionality of the cycling cap.

Try a different one. There are all sorts of cuts and subtle styles.

I love mine brim down riding into the sun, brim up, and brim behind to protect the neck a bit.

I like it because it fits with my helmet. Kinda key.