When I bought my LG Rocket I passed on the visor, as several people on here had reported that the helmet tested faster without it. I recently read some posts on here suggesting just the opposite. Am I losing out on speed without the visor?
I believe mine is faster with the visor - I always seem to record my best average speeds with it on. However, this may be a function of the way the helmet fits me rather than a general rule. I have the large helmet and the gap between the ear covers and my head is quite large. The visor covers much of this gap.
Having said that the main reason I usually use the visor is it means I get a bet view of the road. I find with sunglasses they always slip down a bit so the frame obscures exactly where I want to look. Also with Rainex on the outside and antifog spray on the inside it works better than sunglasses in wet conditions.
Does anyone know where you can visors online? Mine is a bit scratched now and could do with replacing.
Tri-Talk podcast just covered this with a ghetto wind tunnel test more for fun that anything else, but it’s an interesting conclusion:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/tritalk/tri_talk_65.mp3
I don’t remember which helmet he was using… but it makes me want to try the visor on my next TT effort. I bought it but don’t even know how it actually does… if it gets too hot or anything.
I may have read the same stuff as you initially. There was a rather crude test performed a while ago by a NY bike shop indicating the visor migt be a fraction slower. I think Gary Tingley or Jens or one of the roadies here actually did some tunnel testing which concurred with that theory (please don’t quote me on that…could be mistaken 
). I’d like to see these more recent posts you mention…could you link them?
Like NoBrakes above I really like the visor for conveniences sake…my old frameless glasses (might be great glasses for riding in the aerobars for some) kept slipping off my nose so I figured I might actually gain a few seconds back not having to move my hands/arms to adjust them every 5 minutes. It’s one less thing to put on in T1, and I’ve found it also provides good wind protection in cold and/or wet conditions (as we both discovered at IMNZ last year).
I’m breaking from tradition and going back to a newer model of frameless sunglass with a grippier nose-piece (these are a golf frame but SWEET for aero riding) and no visor in a weeks time racing IM Malaysia…might be just a fraction too hot with the shield in these conditions and I’m happy to compromise. Back home (NZ) I’ll use the visor again for most races…
Everything I’ve seen recently indicates that it’s only good if the tip of the visor is very close to the face.
No one on this group is fast
I guess I am a bit lost on this one.
Are ST-ers breaking 50min for a 40K?
Are St-ers breaking 20 min for 10 mi?
Are ST-ers breaking 2 hours for HIM bike leg?
I guess that I am lost on this one.
The question should be, how do I get fast?
Not, what geeky minutia can I get tangentialized on?
Hate to be an A- hole, But F-ing A, it is a visor…if you are not fast, guess what, It is not the visor’s doing.
TP
Tom you know all too well,according to ST,all that aero stuff is not going to help all those fast guys much anyway.ST says that the slower you go the better your aero results.I mean what is a second or three over 40k anyway?That 50min/40k guy will not get nearly the benefit that a guy who rides 40k in 5 hours will. 
Following that ST rule,I guess that also means that the guys who got on the podium of the ToC TT didn’t get as much benefit from their aero gear as the guys who came in last.Makes you wonder why the fast guys spend so much time in the wind-tunnel.Mmmmm…
.
Hey
True that
I am going back to basics
52 min swim… no HRM or GPS
5Hr bike…no nothing incl aero helmet
3:30 run no socks, Nike Free’s
Oh, No watch, no nothing, Like 27 of my 28 IMs…the 27 that were 10hr or faster…oh wait, Nick,
I am not a PHD, so I cannot talk tech
I do not have 3rd party peer reviewed data
I am not published anywhere (outside of the adult entertainment world at least
I will go back to being me… Qualy for Kona, and pass it down, to see the look on the benefactors face
PRICELESS!
No one on this group is fast
I guess I am a bit lost on this one.
Hmm, can I ask who you consider to be fast since Torbjorn, Normann, Bjorn, Jonas, Simon Whitfield, Simon Lessing, Monty, Andy Coggan, Gary Tingley etc are on this “group” ergo you consider them not to be fast?
The other point is that people who feel they have reached the limit of their current ability and have a disposible income will always be looking for that extra %. So whilst it might not make them fast to your definition it will make them faster. If their aim is to find that extra 10 secs on a 25 TT to beat their training partner who is 5 seconds faster it would be worth buying the visored helmet.
It’s sometimes hard to see why people do things but if it’s worth it to them who are we to say they can’t?
Hi Julian,
I think Tom and I are having a little swipe at the “Industry” more than the individual.I agree with you that if someone has the money and wants to buy all the go fast gear to indulge what is a great hobby than great,go for it and yes they may see some results.
The issues I have (I won’t speak for Tom on this one) is that there are a great many triathletes who are being told that the magic bullet for them is expensive,high-tech,aero gear.Im not saying that they won’t benefit to some extent but they will benefit far more from being told the truth,which is,hard work will provide far better results in the long run that simply buying gadjets.
The OP may have indeed reached his max potential and is looking for that added aero-addition to eek out and extra 10 seconds for his troubles and more power too him if is that is so.I, and I think Tom, are mearly trying to restore a little sanity to the madness.
(Tom please feel to tell me I’m full of it but I think I’m pretty close)
.
I understand you, Nick. I deliberated over whether I should underline the “acheived their potential” phrase before posting. When did you get back from Penticton? Your typing and spelling has gotten worse since returning hoem, or are you doing an “Andypastns” and typing drunk
My excuse is that I have just had my monthly double espresso after running back from the pool! I concurrently posting on here, Weight weenies, Cervelo forum and Singletrack world!
What races have you planned for this coming season?
Tom,
Thanks for your irrelevant, unhelpful comments. After nearly 3 years of cycling I have had my FTP as high as 325W at 72kg. I’ve had my VO2max tested at the same hospital, on the same bike, by the same PhD physiologist as perhaps the world’s greatest triathlete. I hit 425W at peak, he hit 470W. He weighed more than me and had a faster ramp of wattage up to max, so I would have performed better than I did if I had used his ramp rate. So maybe I’m not fast by your definition, but I don’t think that’s relevant. I train hard and I’m trying to maximise my results for the work I put in and the watts I put out. I’m not getting “tangentialized” on “geeky minutiae”; it took me all of 60 seconds to post my question. £15 for a visor is money well spent since I have yet to find a pair of sunglasses that works well for me in the aero position.
Okay, I’ve spent enough time getting “tangentialized” on your post.
Cheers,
Don
Thanks for your irrelevant, unhelpful comments. After nearly 3 years of cycling I have had my FTP as high as 325W at 72kg. I’ve had my VO2max tested at the same hospital, on the same bike, by the same PhD physiologist as perhaps the world’s greatest triathlete. I hit 425W at peak, he hit 470W. He weighed more than me and had a faster ramp of wattage up to max, so I would have performed better than I did if I had used his ramp rate.
Hey Don, who was the "world’s greatest triathlete you allude to? I only ask as 72kg is pretty heavy for a world class triathlete, so I am mentally going through the taller triathlete in my mind.
PM me if you don’t want to keep it private.
Julian,I’m currently under a phase of Rosemount Estate Shiraz induced dyslexia.My apologies.
No real racing for me this year but I am planning to ride from Cairns to Sth Africa(minus the wet bits) starting in Sept/Oct.Sould be fun riding through the Himalayas in winter!!!
I’m sure once I actually do get fit in about four months I’ll end up entering the Coral Coast tri here in Cairns before I go.If I’m in the neighbourhood maybe I’ll do Laguna Phuket as well.
.
Cairns to SA! Crap that’s a great tour! Phuket will be like a short training session for you, that’s one in my future schedule of must do races.
Raise a glass of Shiraz for me.
Good luck.
Wow … that really WAS an A-hole response. The OP just wanted to know if it’s faster with or without a visor. Sheesh. Lighten up.
I know you have a pedigree in cycling. You should know as well as anyone that speed CAN be found in the little things … even if it’s only a little speed. Getting fast in the TT world is partly about training the engine. It’s also about refining the positioning and the equipment selections. When it comes to that, very few things make a big difference. It’s adding up the little things that makes a difference. If you, of all people, haven’t learned this you must have had the attention span of a gnat.
What’s it to you if others want to learn about these things that make these differences? Where would you propose that they learn them if not here or places like this? We don’t all live in major markets and we don’t all have access to major coaching and training facilities.
.
Equipment choice took me from a 59-minute 40K to a 53-minute one (baring a flat, I’d have had a 52-minute one, too). I guess that’s not quite 50-minutes, but then I’m 47. Until you investigate, you’ll never know for sure whether seemingly trivial things (like tires and visors) aren’t actually important.
I tested about 1/2 Watt faster with a visor at the A2 wind tunnel.
That is around a second for a 40 Km… so not much faster, but still faster.
Having said that, for nationals and all my TTs, I choose to race without a visor for the reasons outlined below:
The visor tends to trap moisture due to body heat, and can fog up.
I’ve seen fog really mess up one woman’s state championship race…
Additionally, when in a low head extreme aero position, the visor/helmet interface can get in the way and obscure vision.
If using a visor, I would suggest using it with your aero helmet on warm days, riding at TT pace to see if any of these
conditions effect you. If not, then by all means, you most likely will lose a little drag, but not very much.
Dave Linenberg
Hey
True that
I am going back to basics
52 min swim… no HRM or GPS
5Hr bike…no nothing incl aero helmet
3:30 run no socks, Nike Free’s
Oh, No watch, no nothing, Like 27 of my 28 IMs…the 27 that were 10hr or faster…oh wait, Nick,
I am not a PHD, so I cannot talk tech
I do not have 3rd party peer reviewed data
I am not published anywhere (outside of the adult entertainment world at least
I will go back to being me… Qualy for Kona, and pass it down, to see the look on the benefactors face
PRICELESS!
Yawn. I guess someone always has to play the part of enlightened one who is looking out for the poor unknowing masses who are being ‘taken’ by the industry.
How about this- if you’re not into the tech, then don’t post on a thread about a tech question. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all heard the ‘I can go faster than you on wooden wheels’ schtick a few more times than we care to.
Hey
True that
I am going back to basics
52 min swim… no HRM or GPS
5Hr bike…no nothing incl aero helmet
3:30 run no socks, Nike Free’s
Oh, No watch, no nothing, Like 27 of my 28 IMs…the 27 that were 10hr or faster…oh wait, Nick,
I am not a PHD, so I cannot talk tech
I do not have 3rd party peer reviewed data
I am not published anywhere (outside of the adult entertainment world at least
I will go back to being me… Qualy for Kona, and pass it down, to see the look on the benefactors face
PRICELESS!
I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make by listing those times, because I’m pretty sure I could ride and run faster than that in an IM. I’m a duathlete though, so that swim looks ridiculously fast to me.