Road or Adv

[AdventuresOfAnAndrew]

Been pondering this one a while. Thought I'd ask the opinions of those who may have used both.

In recent years, I've only ever used road helmets. As a younger man, I wore MX helmets on my dirt bikes but found the visor often got caught in the wind at highway speeds.

The problem I'm finding with my road helmet is that I can't easily drink from my hydro pack.

Other than potentially the ease of drinking, are there any other benefits to having an adventure style helmet.

What do you wear? And why?

[OX-34]

Andrew I have one adventure helmet and 3 road helmets.
The adventure helmet affords sun/sunset protection via the peak. Not much else.
The road helmets are quieter at highway speeds.

The real winner in the 'drinking game' is the modular or flip face helmet. I have a Shoei Neotec. The quality is fine but the utility a bit stoopid as I can't raise the jawbar anywhere but straight up where it has a great windsock effect and takes the windshield with it. Slow speeds and when stationary it is great. So a good choice for LD rallies with lots of stops and reading and writing.

I have a Shark Evoline where the jawbar flips completely over the back of the helmet leaving the windshield in place forming a jet style. That is the best for eating and drinking on the ride in my opinion. It is a noisy bit of gear though.

[Nev..]

All of my helmets now are modular flip up helmets.  My daily rider is an Adv helmet with a peak.  It keeps the sun out of my eyes.  Not an absolute necessity, but nicer to have than not have.  After using modular helmets for the past 16 of my 31 years road riding history, I don't think I could use a non-flip up helmet. 

[Walshy]

Yeah, I'm a Neotec fan.

[Vlad]

In this type of riding I find convenience to be the priority, and to that end I've used the Arai CTX half face for the last decade or so.

Eating and drinking whilst moving becomes a necessity and nothing beats a good half face in that regard. Admittedly I do have cup holders on the bike.

The visor is full length so when down is pretty quiet and gives excellent weather protection. I always ride with ear plugs these days anyway.

The helmet has a sun peak which does indeed make a difference.
The visor is long enough that I can run a 2 inch wide tape along the bottom of it and that gives you an adjustable sun visor in the early morning or late arvo. This proves invaluable when on the road.

Both my bikes have enough wind protection to let you ride very comfortably with the visor up for extended periods, there is no wind drag or buffeting.

The helmet is extremely comfortable, if you have an Arai shaped head and ventilation is of course great.

The down side, they are hard to get and not cheap. I have recently come across the HJC half face and it's a well specked lid but with out the sun peak or the 900 dollar price tag. Comfortable too.

[AdventuresOfAnAndrew]

Thanks for all the input. After reading your thoughts and also trying on some options at the shop, I went with a flip helmet. I got the Shark one because the HTC didn't fit my head. I like the feel of the Shark helmet and think it will provide me with what I'm looking for (until something better comes along - isn't that always the way). The Shark will be quieter than the helmet I currently have.

Thank you again. Without your thoughts, I wouldn't have looked into flip helmets or any other style.

Funny how despite having ridden bikes for over 25 years, I haven't ever put much thought into my lid. I had off-road helmets when I was young and rode dirt bikes. Then traditional road helmets since.

[Tabledrain]

Hi Andrew,
The points that have been made are all true but one that hasnt been sounded out is air flow.
In slow, hot traffic, or in weather that makes the inside of your lid an uncomfortable place to be, flipping up the front exposes you to slow speed air that is comparitavely cool and freash compared to the closed helmet with visor up.
While this next point isnt something that most riders would consider important, I also use the flip up to self irrigate. I suck in as big a mouthful of water as i can, then spray whale style out in front of me . The heat reduction relief is real. I used this trick on a recent big ride and there were days when this saved me in slow hot humid traffic.

[AdventuresOfAnAndrew]

Hi Tabledrain
Funny you should mention the cooling effects and ability to hydrate. Those are the things I'm enjoying most about my flip helmet. When I'm riding in slow areas, I like to flip the helmet open. And also when I'm super thirsty ... I just flip the lid and drink.