Wrap around glass,s vs goggles

[Daley1]

i ride with a Fox proframe that is a downhill MTB helmet.It is open faced without a visor.I ride in the wet, dry, dust, mud ,on and off trails and the road .I ride with wrap around protective glassses.I cant see the point of goggles as they look heavier,limit vision and are more expensive .Why do other people use them???I,m happy to be enlightened by people who use them!

[.....]

44 minutes ago, Daley1 said:

i ride with a Fox proframe that is a downhill MTB helmet.It is open faced without a visor.I ride in the wet, dry, dust, mud ,on and off trails and the road .I ride with wrap around protective glassses.I cant see the point of goggles as they look heavier,limit vision and are more expensive .Why do other people use them???I,m happy to be enlightened by people who use them!

I've used them (goggles) when its REALLY cold or I'm playing in mud or rain.  Of course, that was on motorcycles. Mostly I stick with cheap sunglasses as I wear them around anyhow. Eventually I got a full face screen helmet for triple digit speeds and wintertime. I personally dont see much benefit to goggles over sunglasses and no shield. If I REALLY needed the protection, I'd simply wear sunglasses (or not) under a full shield. Goggles are just one more thing to worry about. I REALLY don't understand why someone who wears prescription eyeglasses, would bother at all, 99% of the time.

Edited October 8, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[Tawpie]

Those little clouds of gnats. We have them, they go past the eyeglasses and into the eye... which is quite unpleasant. When it's not windy and there's gnats, I throw a pair of safety goggles with more "edge shielding" over the perscription peepers and they work pretty well. I would entertain prescription wrap around sport goggles like they use in basketball, but getting a helmet on with glasses strapped to the back of my head sounds like a recipe for maladjusted goggles.

But I don't go very fast either, because my eyes either water or dry out (well, and my wheels don't go very fast, and I'm chicken)... when speed becomes a problem I'll probably have to use my visored moto helmet rather than goggles/wrap arounds. I haven't considered skiing goggles that go over my glasses and attach to the helmet because at 20+ mph the wind noise is major annoying and not being able to hear my surroundings makes me uneasy—which is a buzz kill.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Tawpie

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50 minutes ago, Tawpie said:

Those little clouds of gnats.

Holy crap, you aint lying. Its like hitting a small rain storm of protein. I wear my sunglasses at night as being partially blind is better than 20 gnats to the eyes. I used to have some clear 'safety' glasses that were perfect for nights.

[davewood1982]

Goggles also make a huge difference in reducing wind noise aswell as stop your face been pelted by rain and other debris, i find the ride much more enjoyable and safer with goggles or a visor especially when your regularly doing 20+ mph on roads with traffic, Probably not so much needed if your riding in a busy city though.

[Daley1]

11 hours ago, davewood1982 said:

Goggles also make a huge difference in reducing wind noise aswell as stop your face been pelted by rain and other debris, i find the ride much more enjoyable and safer with goggles or a visor especially when your regularly doing 20+ mph on roads with traffic, Probably not so much needed if your riding in a busy city though.

Ive found Cats-ears stuck on the inside of the helmet helps noticeably with wind-noise with these open face helmets. 

[Tawpie]

7 hours ago, Daley1 said:

Ive found Cats-ears stuck on the inside of the helmet

What does that look like? (don't know what a cats-ear is... I live in the colonies and am not familiar with that term)

[Toad]

21 hours ago, Daley1 said:

Ive found Cats-ears stuck on the inside of the helmet helps noticeably with wind-noise with these open face helmets. 

Would you post a picture?  Whenever I try this, the rest of the cat dangles in front of my face and I can't see much of the road ahead.  But you are definitely right about wind noise.  I hardly notice it at all, what with the yowling.  Also I should have taken some Slime along for the scratches.

[Tawpie]

Seriously though, I would like to see what you're talking about because wind noise is annoying and your solution sounds nifty. I've heard of using cat crap on goggles...

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/EK-USA-Crap-Anti-fog-Treatment/dp/B003RLJ6UE

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42 minutes ago, Tawpie said:

Seriously though, I would like to see what you're talking about because wind noise is annoying and your solution sounds nifty. I've heard of using cat crap on goggles...

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/EK-USA-Crap-Anti-fog-Treatment/dp/B003RLJ6UE

ear plugs or those slim fit ear muffs? Growing up on sport bikes in a no helmet state, I forgot that wind noise was even a thing. Oddly enough, I hate whistling helmets and visors tho.

Edited October 9, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[Daley1]

Have a look at these. You velcro them between the upper headliner and cheekpad in front of ur ears and they disrupt the airflow across ur ear .Leads to a noticably quieter ride.

 

 https://www.amazon.com.au/Cat-Ears-AirStreamz-Cycling-Noise-Reducer/dp/B077PPCG4G/ref=asc_df_B077PPCG4G/?tag=googleshopdsk-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=3417

 

[Tawpie]

Sweet, thank you! Ordered. (US link: https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Ears-Classic-Cycling-Noise-Reducer/dp/B01H2LSOQ6?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1)

[RockyTop]

2 hours ago, Daley1 said:

Have a look at these. You velcro them between the upper headliner and cheekpad in front of ur ears and they disrupt the airflow across ur ear .Leads to a noticably quieter ride.

 

 https://www.amazon.com.au/Cat-Ears-AirStreamz-Cycling-Noise-Reducer/dp/B077PPCG4G/ref=asc_df_B077PPCG4G/?tag=googleshopdsk-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=3417

 

Cool! …. Everyone kept complaining about wind noise. I didn’t get it because I have a natural set of sideburns. 

 

Edited October 9, 2021 by RockyTop

[AtlasP]

For me once I went full visor I never went back.

My first helmet was a more open/breathable mountain biking one because I was worried about temperature. Then I bought an enclosed one with a visor for the winter. But ultimately I just loved the visor so much that I haven't touched/gone back to the original helmet and use the one with visor year round.

It was definitely the combination of gnats/insects and sun protection.

[Paul A]

Who's David Cilley?

[Spaghetteh]

I've got goggles but I hardly wear them after I saw my safety glasses (akin to these) in my toolbox and got the idea to use them instead. They're super convenient and offer better visibility than goggles. Wind can still get around them at higher speeds and I have gotten a bug in my eye when my head was turned slightly while riding at dusk but otherwise they've been great.

I might still break out the goggles in the cold and for longer rides at higher speeds but 95% of the time these safely glasses provide exactly what I need.

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34 minutes ago, AtlasP said:

For me once I went full visor I never went back.

My first helmet was a more open/breathable mountain biking one because I was worried about temperature. Then I bought an enclosed one with a visor for the winter. But ultimately I just loved the visor so much that I haven't touched/gone back to the original helmet and use the one with visor year round.

It was definitely the combination of gnats/insects and sun protection.

AND living in Denver where it doesnt get too hot? I have a habit of tossing cheap helmets around. Full shields end up scratched too damn fast on mine. Still, Id rather a full shield than mucking about with scratched goggles.

[Tawpie]

@Daley1 I got a set of the cats ears and they seem to work fairly well... my helmet (Bell Super DH) comes down over my ears and while the cats ears do reduce some of the noise, there's still quite a bit. Jury is still out though, I've only taken them out once so far. Odd benefit, my ears felt warmer??? Go figure.

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1 hour ago, Tawpie said:

@Daley1 I got a set of the cats ears and they seem to work fairly well... my helmet (Bell Super DH) comes down over my ears and while the cats ears do reduce some of the noise, there's still quite a bit. Jury is still out though, I've only taken them out once so far. Odd benefit, my ears felt warmer??? Go figure.

have you tried a simple and cheap set of those rubber ear plugs they give out at factories? I hate the foam plugs, but those rubber type aint so bad. I once had to BUY a pair at a concert. Those asshats were dangerous loud (illegally so). I'm a rock drummer and sound tech, if it hurts my ears, its NOT legal for a venue.... I digress.

Of course, you know if you block out the wind noise, it also includes beeper noise. High 20's(mph) on a 16x and lack of noise, MAY be a bad combo..

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/cbgnaw011071/

 

Edited October 17, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[Tawpie]

29 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

High 20's(mph) on a 16x and lack of noise, MAY be a bad combo..

Recipe for disaster. Part of the reason I don't go over 25.

[LanghamP]

13 hours ago, Tawpie said:

@Daley1 I got a set of the cats ears and they seem to work fairly well... my helmet (Bell Super DH) comes down over my ears and while the cats ears do reduce some of the noise, there's still quite a bit. Jury is still out though, I've only taken them out once so far. Odd benefit, my ears felt warmer??? Go figure.

I've used cats ears and went back to foam earplugs or in ear speakers. While drivers rarely honk at me, when they do I really need foam or ear speakers so as not to be startled. And diesel engines and motorcycles (especially if they rev bomb) can often be extremely loud. You kinda need ear protection if you're around motorized vehicles.

[Daley1]

ive tried ear plugs. They reduce all noise and therefore awareness. Ive tried the foam ones and ones with different filters. They are fiddlly and cant be adjusted when u have ur helmet on. The Cats ears "reduce wind noise".They dont block it all out and when u start going hard they are not as effective ,For a simple everyday cruise ,they are the best i have found for me. I still need to hear cars and the machine beeps and thats what they do for me.@mikesacristan uses a type of earmuff without a helmet which might be useful to look at or even a light/half balaclava that covers the ears under a helmet.

[AtlasP]

On 10/16/2021 at 2:08 PM, ShanesPlanet said:

AND living in Denver where it doesnt get too hot?

Actually when I first got the more enclosed helmet with visor I was living in the southeast where it was much hotter. I determined it's fine (for me) up to about 95 degrees F as long as I'm doing a route where I can mostly stay above 25 mph without too much slowing down/stop & go. And of course can handle even hotter anywhere with more shade (certain streets/routes downtown based on time of day are entirely shaded by buildings, or wooded bike trails, etc.) With easy adjustments to my routes during the week or two here or there where it actually gets that hot it's enough, and certainly anywhere below there is absolutely fine.

The thing with the visor is you don't always have to leave it down, and as it gets hotter I certainly leave it up most of the time. But it's just so nice to turn a corner or crest a hill where the sun is particularly bad, or getting into an area with more gnats, and be able to flip it down in 2 seconds and leave it there for a min or two until I can make the next turn or whatever and I can put it back up. The bottom line is that you can get 99% of the benefit of the visor just by having it attached even if you leave it up 95% of the time at certain times of year for temperature reasons. There's just such a benefit to having the ability to flip it down basically instantly whenever you might want it. (The exact same as people leaving glasses/sunglasses/safety glasses/etc on top of their head for instant access when necessary, even if they don't need them most of the time.)

Edited October 17, 2021 by AtlasP

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12 minutes ago, AtlasP said:

Actually when I first got the more enclosed helmet with visor I was living in the southeast where it was much hotter. I determined it's fine (for me) up to about 95 degrees F as long as I'm doing a route where I can mostly stay above 25 mph without too much slowing down/stop & go. And of course can handle even hotter anywhere with more shade (certain streets/routes downtown based on time of day are entirely shaded by buildings, or wooded bike trails, etc.) With easy adjustments to my routes during the week or two here or there where it actually gets that hot it's enough, and certainly anywhere below there is absolutely fine.

The thing with the visor is you don't always have to leave it down, and as it gets hotter I certainly leave it up most of the time. But it's just so nice to turn a corner or crest a hill where the sun is particularly bad, or getting into an area with more gnats, and be able to flip it down in 2 seconds and leave it there for a min or two until I can make the next turn or whatever and I can put it back up. The bottom line is that you can get 99% of the benefit of the visor just by having it attached even if you leave it up 95% of the time at certain times of year for temperature reasons. There's just such a benefit to having the ability to flip it down basically instantly whenever you might want it. (The exact same as people leaving glasses/sunglasses/safety glasses/etc on top of their head for instant access when necessary, even if they don't need them most of the time.)

Different strokes.... I'm not a fan of visors in the up position. Wind noise and all. Some not as much as others. Whenever I have a shield on a helmet in the summer, it tends to get simply destroyed as I'm not so keen on being careful when the sweat is pouring and I toss a helmet to the grass I will concede that its probably better to have a shield and not need it, than not have one and need it. Again, I dont ride in cold, and being inside a shield kind of changes my entire ride persective. Something about being in that tiny bubble of plastic, makes me ride more like an idiot in a video game. Tunnel vision like a mofo for sure. I welcome the perspective at 100+mph on a bike, but euc riding is a little different. I say why not just own more than one? Some peope buy safety gear like girls buy shoes. I can see the advantages of that too. I never go anywhere without shades, so in effect, I always have a partial visor at my disposal.

[Spaghetteh]

On the topic of reducing wind noise, I got a pair of 180 earmuffs and they work great. It fits under my helmet though it's a little challenging to put it on without displacing the earmuffs. They don't eliminate wind noise entirely but do reduce it significantly. It does muffle other ambient sounds slightly but I can still hear a car approaching behind me as I'm riding.