Bike Face shield protection?

EdBarnbrook

I'm currently designing products for my Course work and have crossed a bit of a situation. Im a moutain biker, but have had a couple of ideas for the road bike scene, so i have no clue if they would work in realife or they would just be a waste of space and im hoping i could get some third party assistance. One of my Ideas is a high impact polymer shield on the bike, which is both stylish( so being kinda stealty and discrete ), Aerodynamiclly correct and practical so it can stand up to weathering and hard use. I wear glasses so it would be able to prevent rain from getting my glasses wet and stop fly's getting in my mouth :oops: . Any thoughts? like is it a terrible concept or is it alright?

drlodge

You're fishing for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

EdBarnbrook

drlodge wrote:

problem that doesn't exist.

Okay, so which problem doesnt exist, Bugs and other forein objects entering the mouth , glasses getting wet and preventing sight or gravel hitting the face?

First.Aspect

What you are describing is effectively going to be a full face helmet, if I have understood correctly. Which already exists and for which there has been absolutely no motivation for anyone to seek to modify for the purposes of road cycling.

The key do good product design is to identify the problem first, not to repurpose a solution to another problem (that's sales).

shirley_basso

It exists already or is not useful:

Either by way of sunglasses for most riders or visors on Time Trial / aero road helmets. Rain will get visors or glasses wet equally so not sure how one is better than another.

Gravel is unlikely to hit the face but I concede it does happen sometimes, but very rarely. Not enough to worry about, sunglasses will stop it from getting in your eyes.

If a visor can block bugs entering the mouth then it will be like a space helmet and way too hot.

First.Aspect

EdBarnbrook wrote:

drlodge wrote:

problem that doesn't exist.

Okay, so which problem doesnt exist, Bugs and other forein objects entering the mouth , glasses getting wet and preventing sight or gravel hitting the face?

All of them.

If you insist on this avenue, some form of aerodynamic fairing for a helmet to prevent rain hitting your glasses might be an option. But you'd need to have some form of understanding of fluid dynamics for this, and its hard to see it being any more effective than a cycling cap.

EdBarnbrook

First Aspect wrote:

What you are describing is effectively going to be a full face helmet, if I have understood correctly.

Sorry i dont think i made it quite clear, it will effectivly be like a reinforced windshield on the bike , not on the helmet.
beacause the problem ive had with alot of full face helmets in multiple sports is their tendency to fog and overheat and if its not a full face and only protects the eyes then it still doesnt prevent foreign objects

sam_anon

EdBarnbrook wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

What you are describing is effectively going to be a full face helmet, if I have understood correctly.

Sorry i dont think i made it quite clear, it will effectivly be like a reinforced windshield on the bike , not on the helmet.
beacause the problem ive had with alot of full face helmets in multiple sports is their tendency to fog and overheat and if its not a full face and only protects the eyes then it still doesnt prevent foreign objects

Hi Ed,

Motorbikes have big screens which do divert wind flow (for more comfortable riding primarily) but also divert rain and other airborne things too.

But they have bigger engines than you and I and therefore travel faster. I guess it's likely the lack of speed on a bicycle, and the fact that any solution is going to kill aerodynamics will be problematic here.

imposter2.0

EdBarnbrook wrote:

Sorry i dont think i made it quite clear, it will effectivly be like a reinforced windshield on the bike , not on the helmet.
beacause the problem ive had with alot of full face helmets in multiple sports is their tendency to fog and overheat and if its not a full face and only protects the eyes then it still doesnt prevent foreign objects

As above, most cycles are not going to be going fast enough for a windshield to have any meaningful effect. All it will do is add weight. And look absurd. It will also not be legal for competition under existing rules.

Just give it up and move on.

shirley_basso

Absolutely complete waste of time.

Anyone on a proper road bike wouldn't want a massive windblock in front of them and people who ride city bikes wouldn't likely go out in the weather required to use one.

mamil314

TT scene might find something like this useful if designed with aerodynamics in mind, but then you might as well ride one of those velo blimps.

navrig2

Buy a car. It has a windshield which does exactly what you are look for.

sam_anon

EdBarnbrook wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

What you are describing is effectively going to be a full face helmet, if I have understood correctly.

Sorry i dont think i made it quite clear, it will effectivly be like a reinforced windshield on the bike , not on the helmet.
beacause the problem ive had with alot of full face helmets in multiple sports is their tendency to fog and overheat and if its not a full face and only protects the eyes then it still doesnt prevent foreign objects

Good luck with your project Ed, some of us are more helpful and positive than others...!

I think a few products which individually tackle valid problems could be combined to result in a more total solution.

imposter2.0

mamil314 wrote:

TT scene might find something like this useful if designed with aerodynamics in mind, but then you might as well ride one of those velo blimps.

As already mentioned, it will not be legal..

First.Aspect

Heavy.
Illegal.
Already exists (recumbents).
Probably dangerous (cross winds).
Doesn't solve any of the problems its supposed to, because they aren't really problems.
Absolutely no commercial market for it.

There is just nothing to recommend this idea. It is a bad idea. The idea isn't good. This has saved me writing three more posts.

You would be better off trying to design a rolling treadmill to enable people to run outdoors.

cougie

Bike mounted will be a no go.

Helmet mounted is a better idea. One of my road helmets has a visor and I love it. Better protection than glasses and better visibility as there's no frame. It works much better than I hoped.

cooldad

Always a good idea to proof read if you want to be taken half seriously.

kingstongraham

EdBarnbrook wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

What you are describing is effectively going to be a full face helmet, if I have understood correctly.

Sorry i dont think i made it quite clear, it will effectivly be like a reinforced windshield on the bike , not on the helmet.
beacause the problem ive had with alot of full face helmets in multiple sports is their tendency to fog and overheat and if its not a full face and only protects the eyes then it still doesnt prevent foreign objects

Look at Zzipper fairings. http://www.zzipper.com/Products/prod_upright.php

Sounds like the major advantage is keeping your hands and from freezing when it's proper cold.

motogull

After Branson smacked his face in I wondered whether he would start something like this. My suggestion would be an american football field goal kicker type thing. Single bar at chin level. Might have spared my mate surgery for a depressed cheekbone #.

de_sisti

First Aspect wrote:

You would be better off trying to design a rolling treadmill to enable people to run outdoors.

drlodge

EdBarnbrook wrote:

Okay, so which problem doesnt exist, Bugs and other forein objects entering the mouth , glasses getting wet and preventing sight or gravel hitting the face?

Bugs are stuff entering the mouth...not a problem.
Gravel hitting the face...not a problem.
Glasses getting wet and preventing sight...has been a problem, twice in 6 years as I recall. If its really raining hard then glasses get wet and mist up making it impossible to see. Solution is to remove glasses. That might be something to focus on if you want a project...how to design a pair of glasses that maintain visibility even in really heavy rain and don't mist up.

EdBarnbrook

Thank you for the comments and suggestions i think ill change topic!