Will a street or modular helmet be insufficient for adventure riding?

[anm89]

Looking at helmets right now. Originally bought a bell mx-9 and found the chin strap to be incredibly uncomfortable (it was some how simultaneously choking me and too lose).

I am now looking to buy a second helmet and was curious how necessary it is to buy an adventure specific helmet. I have seen they all have a visor with aero features so it doesn't push your head up at high speeds. Is the visor necessary at all? Is it mostly to keep dirt off your visor or sun out of your eyes or what?

I kind of like the idea of a modular helmet. Anything I am going to be missing out on if I go this direction?

[Warin]

Your head and your ride.
While it might be trendy to have visors, movable chin guard, internal sun visor, colour graphics etc etc. there is nothing wrong with the hat you pick for yourself.

Yes visors help with mud, branches and sun ... that may be rare enough for a visor not to be worth it for you. Same with other dodads. Chose one that suits you and your riding.

I have used my hand as a visor when the sun is low ... that works while you can maintain your hand there .. gets tiring.

[anm89]

Yeah, I'm all with you in terms of not following trends. I want to buy which ever helmet I will enjoy most on my ride. The problem is I haven't done any adventure style riding so I really want to get other people's input on what they have liked and disliked in terms of styles and features.

[Warin]

OK.

The flip up chin bar is handy for taking photos.

I have had visors - but don't have them any longer.

Some prefer MX hats - with goggles. I prefer the wet weather protection you get with a full face hat.

[mark manley]

There are no rules only what you are comfortable with, I wear an open face helmet and goggles for everything from my daily commute to crossing continents because that is what I like but not everyone's choice.

[Arma]

As others have said - there are no rules. I wear a street full face helmet, I see it as the safest choice and I find the one I have very comfortable. If I'm in very dusty conditions I have a set of work safety glasses with rubber seals around the edge which cost about 5 euros that go in like sunglasses.

[Threewheelbonnie]

There is no such thing as "Adventure" riding except in the heads of Touratechs marketing department and self promoters who want you to pay for their "extreme adventure RTW extreme" holidays. There is only riding. Riding is always a mix of varying speeds and surfaces unless it becomes a sport. The mix makes any choice a compromise.

All helmets either pass or fail a known standard, EC, DOT etc. You don't buy the Chinese **** without a sticker or the army helmet your mate wears as a village people tribute act.

After that you want something that fits your head size and shape and after a few hours use won't be either trying to rip your head off through having a plank tied to the forehead, be misting up because its like wearing a letter box or be causing you to spend more time taking it off and putting it on because its the sort of thing bank robbers would wear and the road/track is full of people you need to talk to.

If you are mostly at 40 mph in a wet/cold climate I would start seeing if you get on with a full face touring lid. If you are mostly slower go more open and use goggles be it MX style or open face. Above all get the one that fits.

Andy

[John A]

The peak on so called "adventure" style helmets is useful for keeping the sun out of your eyes when its low in particular, and that style of helmet tends to have better ventilation as the chin bar is usually that little bit further away from your mouth. Downsides is that the peak can vibrate quite badly, but that can depend on the bike / screen / rider / wind direction / trucks / cars etc etc, also the extra ventilation might not be wanted when it's cold and / or very dusty so having a removable chin curtain is a great help.

If money is no object then have a look at the Schuberth E1 https://www.schuberth.com/en/product...elmets/e1.html for a helmet that ticks most of the "adventure" boxes including an eye watering price. Only you can decide whether it's good value for money.

Personally I'd look for a helmet which includes an internal drop down sun visor, very useful.

[Threewheelbonnie]

+1 on the internal sun visor

My Roof "adventure" MX with a visor thing didn't allow enough adjustment of the peak, so useless for anything except trying to rip your head off at speed.

Andy

[Tim Cullis]

Confusing terms to some people, so my definitions are...
- full face: fixed chin bar, sometimes with a peak
- flip top: chin bar that swings up (normally taking the visor with it)
- open face: 3/4 helmet without visor, to be used with sunglasses or goggles
- jet style: 3/4 helmet with visor that can be raised or lowered, but no chin bar
- modular: can be converted from one format to another

I'm now a fan of the Caberg Hyper X which is a modular helmet that converts from Jet Style to Full Face (but having said that, I very rarely fit the chin bar).

My eyes easily water if there's draughts in the helmet, so I really appreciate the deep visor on the Hyper X which comes down extremely low to the chin, and it also has an inbuilt sun visor. There are times when riding into the sun when I would like a peak, but when it came to buying a second helmet to leave in Spain I bought another Hyper X.

This thread is four years old so some things will have changed, but this was the search for my perfect helmet.


The height of helmet fashion in 1972 (setting off to ride my TriBSA to Morocco)

[normw]

I use a strip of painter's tape along the top of my helmet screen/visor as a sunshield. This is the typically green or blue "easy off" type and I find it not only effectively blocks the sun when it is low in the sky but does not meaningfully interfere with my general field of vision.

Since this type of tape is somewhat translucent it takes two or three layers to effectively block sunlight. The whole intact strip pulls off with no problem and leaves no residue whatsoever. I also find that it can be reused several times. Just pull it off and stick it to the inside wall of a panier (or anything smooth such as the outside of a laptop). It remains sticky and can be reapplied on the helmet with no problem.

The glare at or near sunset used to drive me nuts, even with sunglasses, and I was thinking of switching to a helmet with a peak for that reason alone. The tape solved the problem and is actually more effective than a peak, which sits higher on the helmet.

[Carpediem1970]

I've been wearing a modular c3 for a long time, in all my trips, mainly in marrocos (last 3times) and i have to say it's been the best in terms of lightweigt, confort, sturdiness and aerodynamics. Bought another one this year for my marrocos trip next year. I have no interest in the brand it self but they make a very good helmet. Hope it helps.

Enviado do meu SM-T580 através de Tapatalk

[Robbert]

Originally Posted by John A

The peak on so called "adventure" style helmets is useful for keeping the sun out of your eyes when its low in particular,...

When the sun is low, a peak only works when you're looking at your speedometer.
When the sun is low and reflecting on the road in front of you, and cars suddenly appear out of that glare, the only thing that works is something that reduces the amount of light reaching your eyes but where you can still see through, or better, put your bike on it's sidestand and enjoy the sunset... .

[Phaedrus68]

Interested in this too.

I recently got an 1150GS. I've used only full-face helmets on my previous bikes (which included an FJ1200 and VTR1000).

On buying the GS I was reluctant to go with an "adventure" helmet (not keen on the term, nor the "twatness" of the bike/lid combo) - I saw no need for the peak, as 90%+ of my riding will be on roads.

So I got an AGV Compact flip-up helmet. I like it - very comfy, and quiet enough when wearing earplugs. It has an internal flip-down sun visor, but it's not always as effective as I'd like. A dark main visor might be better but I'm not inclined to carry two visors with me to swap as necessary.

On my FJ and VTR, I used to simply tilt my head down, so the brow of my full-face helmet would mitigate against low sun glare. But the more upright riding position on the GS doesn't really allow that.

I don't want to be a GS + "adventure helmet" guy, but lately, when riding in the low winter sun, I have started wondering if a helmet with a peak might be worth investing in for the GS.

I read a review recently of the Schuberth E1, which mentioned that the peak is kinda cheap & flimsy - that's an utter disgrace on such a costly helmet. I'm sure I'd be happy with a decent equivalent of half the price (or even less) of an E1.

A comfy & quiet, well-ventilated flip-up (homologated in both up & down positions) with an internal sun visor and a removable peak seems to me to be an ideal helmet for a touring rider.

AFAIK, that's just the Caberg Tourmax and Schuberth E1? Any others?

[John A]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus68

I don't want to be a GS + "adventure helmet" guy, but lately, when riding in the low winter sun, I have started wondering if a helmet with a peak might be worth investing in for the GS.

I read a review recently of the Schuberth E1, which mentioned that the peak is kinda cheap & flimsy - that's an utter disgrace on such a costly helmet. I'm sure I'd be happy with a decent equivalent of half the price (or even less) of an E1.

Maybe get something like this: Product Review: Spada Intrepid helmet | MCN

to see if the peak / internal sun visor are things you need to have / can live with / can't live without, at a fraction of the cost of the "proper" adventure helmets.

I've an Arai Tour x4, nice helmet, but no internal sun visor and the lining doesn't feel that nice some am thinking about the X551 or E1, as both allow easy bluetooth installation. I like it that the E1 can become a flip helmet just like the C3 by taking off the peak, and maybe they'll sell an improved version later that can be retro fitted. X551 gets good reviews, and I've already got a dark visor to go with the internal sun visor. I suspect that when I go to the NEC at the end of the month, I'll be trying both helmets on.