sunglasses versus full facial helmets

[dss3]

On the subjuct of visors... anyone know where to get 'em for a good price? Got told $160 for a blue chromium for my shoei, seems pretty dear?/

[MacD]

If you bin it there is a chance you could get glass in your eyes, whereas much less chance of your visor smashing into little bits.

I suppose a visor could break with potential for a shard to enter your eye but never heard of it happening. I have a tinted visor, but have to be careful so as not riding at night with it on.

If you are going to wear either normal sunglasses or prescription sunglasses under a helmet make sure you get plastic lenses, preferably polycarbonate (sometimes called Airwear lenses). I would strongly recommend against wearing glass spectacle/sunglass lenses when riding. Even toughened glass lenses will cause cuts to and around the eye if they break (think of the old-style car windscreens and the little bits of glass you get when they break).

Also consider whether the frame is likely to break in an impact. Wrap-around shades with a solid plastic frame are probably safest.
:cool2:

[Slim]

On the subjuct of visors... anyone know where to get 'em for a good price? Got told $160 for a blue chromium for my shoei, seems pretty dear?/

That's the recommended retail price in NZ I'm afraid.

You could surf the net & think about getting one in from overseas I s'pose. Or wait until Motomail has it's yearly sale & see if they've got the Shoei visors on sale.




On the issue at hand: I wear Ray Bans and have done for many years. They use glass lenses which are less likely to scratch, unlike The Man's Dirty Dogs. I've even had a couple of accidents whilst wearing glasses under my visor & have never had a problem. If your helmet fits properly and the visor does it's job, there's no reason why you should have a problem.

As to finding the right pair - take your helmet to the sunny shop, explain that you're looking for glasses to wear whilst riding, so they don't freak when you put your helmet on and start trying on sunnies.

[vifferman]

Good to see all kinds of bollocks and misinformation being freely dispensed.

OK - here's my spin on things. I almost always wear sunglasses, apart from when it is too dim, because I like to ride with my visor up. The aerodynamics of my helmet are such that it is fine up to 120km/h.
My sunglasses are Bolles, with shatterproof polycarbonate lenses, neutral (grey) tint, near enough to optically correct (apart from a few scratches - see below), and they DON'T interact with my visor optically (polaroid lenses will though). My sunglasses are also curved, fit very close to my face, and keep all wind and most dust out. They have thin, slightly bendy metal frames, which fit very comfortably inside my AGV helmet, so much so, that I've had to check several times if I actually had them on! (I have a second pair which have the same lenses, but slightly different frames, and they aren't so comfy. I've also been forbidden to wear them on my bike due to the number of times I've dropped my 'bike' pair on the road. I've also ridden over them once in the gargre at work [D'Oh!] so they have the odd scratch or ding, which are so close to my eyes that they don't cause a problem.)
I have NO problems with "starring" because although my 4 year old visor has some scratches, I ALWAYS clean it with Plexus plastic polish, which eliminates starring, distortion etc. which are a result of fine scratches. (Plexus also helps prevent fogging and makes it easier to remove road film, bugs, etc. I use it on my sunglasses too.)
I prefer to wear sunnies to a tinted visor because they are very easy to put on / take off in a hurry - I can do it one-handed at the traffic lights. Can you do that with a visor? My sunnies also fit in my jacket pocket, and cut out so much glare that I can ride straight into the sun in the morning/at dusk and not be dazzled.

[Deano]

Yes but Deano - we all know you are a fair weather rider only riding if it is fine, dry and sunny!!

Fin'ish' weather yes, dry and sunny, not necessarily. But then I have a car as well

I was actually out on Sat night at 11.30pm (yes very cold), but had gone home prior to chuck on the clear visor.

Incidentally, a tinted visor with pro grip anti fog gives better vision than a clear visor without pro grip at night time because of the condensation obscuring vision.

[Lou Girardin]

A top pair of optically correct sunnies, like Serengeti, will always be better than a tinted visor. Especially for aged eyes like mine. They're just a little inconvienient to put on and off, one good reason why I use a flip front Nolan.

[moko]

Best of both worlds?I wear prescription glasses with "Reactions" lenses that change their level of tint depending on the sunlight.Cost me a fortune but they`re very good,part of the cost was that I insisted on plastic lenses and they came from one of the firms that make camera lenses but I forget which ones off-hand,they`re also designed to cut down on headlight glare at night as are my normal-lensed specs which I carry with me and wear if the start of my journey is after dark,these too are anti-glare,anti-scratch and plastic.Frames are lightweight metal and will just collapse on impact.I still have a scar over one eye where years ago I came off and one of the arms of my spec actually stabbed me,12 stitches,luckily along the line of my eyebrow but it could easily have cost me an eye.I believe that in Norway it`s mandatory to carry a spare pair of glasses if you wear them,not here but it makes sense,my eyes are so bad that if I did have an accident I`d be even more stuffed if I couldn`t see anything.
you can get reactions lenses anywhere in Britain so probably in N.Z. as well,also you can get Visor inserts now that do the same thing.

[NordieBoy]

Damn duplicate posts...

[NordieBoy]

also you can get Visor inserts now that do the same thing.

I have an Iridium insert and it's been brilliant for the last 2.5 years.
Photo sensitive and 'cause of the double glazing effect it never fogged up.

A bugger to install properly but one it's on it's great.

[Holy Roller]

I usually wear an open face helmet and use my work saftey glasses, cause they get supplied and I,m too tight to buy anything decent since I lost my expensive vernnet(sp) set. I put them down while putting on my lid then rode off forgetting them, back again in a few minutes when I remembered but they had gone to a more deserving home.
I must admit to looking at the bikers glasses that have a padded surround around the frame to stop the wind getting in,less of a prob with wrap arounds.
Check out the saftey shops for some great looking specs like the Glacier range. The ones I have are mirror tinted lenses and the other pair are yellow/ orange tint which seem ok at night. If it is really cold and I have to go some distance then the moptorcross goggles work a treat.

[Big Dog]

I prefer the conveniece (daily rider) of sunnys. I want a visor for W/E rides but they are not common enough to justify yet.

Buying sunnys?
Do:
Take your helmet! Try them on with your helmet on. If your helmet fits properly your cheeks will be a different shape with your helmet on.

Check how much of a blind spot the frames create?

Check do the glasses interfere with vents nose curtains etc?

Check whether the tint is affected by your visor. eg both polarised makes you feel like you are tripping!

Keep them on for 10 to 15 mins before okaying them. What is comfortable for a few minutes may rub you raw over an hour of riding, but they won't get any more comfortable.

Avoid shiny parts or lenses on your glasses. Otherwise in bright lights the visor reflects them back at you and this is very distracting .

Pick some that have a relatively straight arm otherwise they can be really painful to take off when in a hurry eg entering underground parking.

Check for incidental light leakage (are you happy with the amount of light coming around the side of the lense?).

Check for optical distortion.

Check the label. Some sunglasses are marked "unsuitable for
driving" due to distortion that is only present in strong light.

Oh and when going to a group ride the uglier the better if you want to wear them on the ride home.

Don't:
Buy them without trying them and expect them to be perfect just cos the cost more than you make in a week.

Waste more than $20 if you are prone to needing replacements more than 6 monthly (unless you can afford to replacemnt at the drop of the proverbial hat or in this case you glasses onto the road).

Buy gimmicky glasses without trying them for yourself. eg Eagle eye, blue blockers, uv zeros etc.

Forget just because your mate likes them does not mean you will!

[Slim]

Don't:
Waste more than $20 if you are prone to needing replacements more than 6 monthly (unless you can afford to replacemnt at the drop of the proverbial hat or in this case you glasses onto the road).

I used to go through $20 sunnies at a pretty dreadful rate. Dropping them, breaking them, losing them, scratching the f*ck out of the lenses cos they kept falling to the ground, etc.

I brought my first pair of Ray Ban's and they lasted for years - when I spend that sort of money on glasses, I will look after them much better than a $20 pair.

[Big Dog]

I brought my first pair of Ray Ban's and they lasted for years - when I spend that sort of money on glasses, I will look after them much better than a $20 pair.

Totally agree, but I am talking about the terminally clumsy. ie myself when I first startes went through 6 pair of bil bass in 6 months (three in one week). Now that I have the proccess ingrained I have more expensive glasses but you have to get the routine right first.

[jrandom]

I used to go through $20 sunnies at a pretty dreadful rate. Dropping them, breaking them, losing them, scratching the f*ck out of the lenses cos they kept falling to the ground, etc.

I brought my first pair of Ray Ban's and they lasted for years - when I spend that sort of money on glasses, I will look after them much better than a $20 pair.

Well, I dunno. Perhaps blokes are just worse at it. I bought a $350 pair of Persols a few years back. Two months later I lost them, found them again, then stood on them getting into a car. D'oh. I decided that was the last time I was fool enough to spend that kind of money on shades.

I bought Bill Basses at $50 a pop from pharmacy sunnies racks for a while, then I realised that I was just prolonging the agony. Now I buy the $11.95 jobs off the shelf at Pak 'n' Save and replace them every couple of months when they get munted. Job's a good 'un.

[sAsLEX]

tried this today, damn finishing uni in the dark and going in the bright sun. Sunnies are nice close Smith's and the only vision they block is of the inside of the helmet. comfy to for the 15 min ride to unni.
HAve an iridium/.shiny visor for weekends