This might be a stupid question, but what happens when you face plant with a fixed peak? At least a f,exi one snaps off but doesn’t the fixed peak make it more uncomfortable?

Peaks have the ‘cool’ factor, so we dont look like roadies

Genuinely funny irony, well done sir you made me laugh.

Funny thing is, he’s right. Back in the day MTB helmets didn’t have peaks. Troy Lee Designs released a retro-fit peak as a bit of a laugh, inspired by their motorcross stuff. Riders went for it because they had more of an association to MX and to distance themselves from roadies.

The rest is fashion faux-pas history.

When yer arse is in the air ( like ya just don’t care )
& yer nose is on the bars ( no we’re not from Mars )
We can’t see through peaks ( disrupting vision of ruts )
Thereby clear trails ahead ( indirectly protecting our nuts )

Peaks on helmets reduce vision, if it’s cold or training we’ll use a casquette ( cap ) underneath but we like to see where the best/smoothest/fastest line is.

Quite simple really. ..

I like it because it keeps the sun out of my eyes and the rain off my face when I commute.

If you ride a road bike, peaks get in the way, if you only have one helemt for both it wont have a peak.

Or get a helmet with a pop on / pop off peak, like mine, a Giro. Takes a couple of seconds.

aye the pop off peak is great – no need to find tools to remove and throw it in the bin.

Never noticed a peak do anything except get in the way of forward vision.

This, other than cut my face when crashing.

Is it not to help stop strobing effects when riding through forests?

I also tend to find they stop the little branches hitting my face when going through the undergrowth.

Be interesting to see some of you guys ride if you can’t see where you’re going with a peak above your eyes.

So you also don’t wear caps or use the sun visor in your cars? You know that lifting your hand to for forehead to keep the sun out of your eyes actually improves your vision allowing you to see up to 6x further. It’s true, I’ve seen it in films.

except that with anything other than sit up and beg – short stems and gnar core – which i expect most folk on here have tbh they are not above your eyes but infact infront and you must then raise your neck to see where your going.

Depends on position – head is lower in road/XC racing position and the peak obscures the view forward. But it’s a helpful sun/rain shade in a more upright position.

Moto have them to stop dirt, thrown over by the back wheel, from landing in your face.

Mine fell off a while back and I couldn’t be ar5ed to fix it properly.

I don’t have a peak on my road helmet because it obscures my vision when I’m on the drops. Wasn’t a problem for a while, but now I’m riding more I can actually stay on the drops for more than 20 seconds (about as long as I can hold my breath).

I do have a peak on my MTB helmet, but that’s just because it makes it look less bulbous.

Troy Lee Designs released a retro-fit peak as a bit of a laugh,

yeah I remember that and agree there is a fair bit of fashion involved, however I think this is one aesthetic that is useful in some cases.
I forgot about the morning sun/trees strobe effect portlyone mentions, sunnies don’t really help there.

Be interesting to see some of you guys ride if you can’t see where you’re going with a peak above your eyes.

On the road. I suppose it doesn’t matter if you are too fat to get on the drops…

I suppose it doesn’t matter if you are too fat to get on the drops…

I didn’t ride much for the last few years so got a bit <ahem> portly, when I started commuting last year I was disappointed to find I couldn’t get on the drops any more as my belly was too big! Fortunately that’s resolved itself (especially with this recent wind) but I see a lot of folks riding very comfortably on the drops and have noticed that in a lot of cases their drops are almost at saddle height, so what’s the point in that?

Is this a touring/audax thing so just for comfort and more hand positions? I always thought the idea of drops was to get more aero. My stem isn’t exactly slammed but it’s probably at least two inches below my saddle so drops are lower still.

but I see a lot of folks riding very comfortably on the drops and have noticed that in a lot of cases their drops are almost at saddle height, so what’s the point in that?

Well, as you say it gives a different hand position which is nice on a longer ride, and if you are a bit fat or have a bad back, you can still get the advantage of better control/ braking for descents.

Plus you can see properly if you have a peak on your helmet…

i struggle to see how you can get reflections off the inside of a set of mframes then.

Me neither, but it happened. Sun shining in my face illuminates my face, which is then reflected off the inside of my glasses. That’s with black iridium too.

“Is this a touring/audax thing so just for comfort and more hand positions? I always thought the idea of drops was to get more aero. My stem isn’t exactly slammed but it’s probably at least two inches below my saddle so drops are lower still. “

Its called folk realising that bike fit comes before aero and looks.

having aero is no good if you cannot breath.

I had to lift my TT bars as im currently 2 stone over weight (race weight that is ….. im still the ideal weight for height) and couldnt get over and onto the bars without kneeing my gut everytime….

I get the bike fit thing, but if your drops are higher you’re not getting any of the aero benefits, so why not just ride on the hoods? Personally I have enough hand positions to keep comfortable for long rides without having to go to the drops, and I find shifting and braking easier from the hoods (prob because that’s where I ride most). If I’m into a headwind I get onto the drops to get out of it a little and as they’re lower my arms don’t ache as I can keep them straighter.

Each to their own I guess, it just doesn’t make that much sense to me.

Different on a TT bike I’d guess, you’d look a bit silly if you were riding sat upright!

I get the bike fit thing, but if your drops are higher you’re not getting any of the aero benefits, so why not just ride on the hoods?

Descending is best done on the drops.

Descending is best done on the drops.

<Runs off to Google>
But why? It’s probably not a definitive guide, but according to this site it’s about getting a lower centre of gravity, so lower drops means more control.

Anyway, I’ll stop now. Sorry for the thread hijack!

more leverage on the brakes as well from the drops.

lower is only better if you can be there comfortably and get the power down

slammed stem IS NOT optimal for everyone contrary to what some of the muppets try to say.

“Not like peaks on their helmets?”

It’s so they can see to post on the correct forum………….