No windscreen - I eat grit a flies for breakfast?
Discussion
Having purchased my tiger avon - it has no windscreen, just a aeroscreen. I took it for a fairly sedate first drive yesterday morning, with wooly hat and my clear biking glasses. Apart from being pretty cold I found it quite ok, didnt get me teeth knocked out by stones or was I blinded by flies!
My question is for just a sunday morning blast should I really be wearing a helmet, I can see that on a trackday it would be a definitive yes, however I did have to ask myself - should I really be wearing a helmet for the road? It has a rollbar that clears my head by 4 inches, however its not a full cage, just felt a bit wierd being so open?
Has anyone come a cropper with no windscreen or do I just need to MTFU?!
My question is for just a sunday morning blast should I really be wearing a helmet, I can see that on a trackday it would be a definitive yes, however I did have to ask myself - should I really be wearing a helmet for the road? It has a rollbar that clears my head by 4 inches, however its not a full cage, just felt a bit wierd being so open?
Has anyone come a cropper with no windscreen or do I just need to MTFU?!
MTFU 
Seriously - its up to you but eye protection has to be at the top of the list. I bought some Dixon TEPS glasses on the recommendation of another PHer, and they are excellent. The lenses and frames have a ballistic rating, a choice of lenses supplied (clear/polarised antisun/yellow tint for grey days) and a removable gasket which seals to your face if you want & stops your eyes watering at speed. It is good kit.
Seriously - its up to you but eye protection has to be at the top of the list. I bought some Dixon TEPS glasses on the recommendation of another PHer, and they are excellent. The lenses and frames have a ballistic rating, a choice of lenses supplied (clear/polarised antisun/yellow tint for grey days) and a removable gasket which seals to your face if you want & stops your eyes watering at speed. It is good kit.
You will find mixed opinions on this (it's been discussed to death before on this forum). Some people reckon it's instant suicide to even look at an aeroscreened 'Seven' without a full face helmet - in much the same way that some people won't drive one unless its fully caged.
Personally, I've been driving aeroscreened cars on the road for the best part of a quarter of a century and I've yet to have any serious problems. You do catch the very occasional stone or bumble bee on the forehead, which can smart a bit, but they're few and far between and (IMO) the balance of risks is lower than the restricted vision you get with a full face helmet when you're strapped in with a harness, in a car with tiny mirrors that vibrate a lot, and so have limited rear 3/4 vision.
...and I've never turned a car over, so the lack of a cage (or even a basic roll bar) doesn't bother me much, either.
If I had my time again, though, I'd probably consider earplugs for longer runs, as the continual battering from the airstream (whether or not you have a full screen) damages your hearing in the longer term.
Personally, I've been driving aeroscreened cars on the road for the best part of a quarter of a century and I've yet to have any serious problems. You do catch the very occasional stone or bumble bee on the forehead, which can smart a bit, but they're few and far between and (IMO) the balance of risks is lower than the restricted vision you get with a full face helmet when you're strapped in with a harness, in a car with tiny mirrors that vibrate a lot, and so have limited rear 3/4 vision.
...and I've never turned a car over, so the lack of a cage (or even a basic roll bar) doesn't bother me much, either.
If I had my time again, though, I'd probably consider earplugs for longer runs, as the continual battering from the airstream (whether or not you have a full screen) damages your hearing in the longer term.
Sam_68 said:
I'd probably consider earplugs for longer runs, as the continual battering from the airstream (whether or not you have a full screen) damages your hearing in the longer term.
+1 to this. I use them for even quite short runs and losing most of the wind noise makes concentrating on the drive a lot easier.Sam_68 said:
You will find mixed opinions on this (it's been discussed to death before on this forum). Some people reckon it's instant suicide to even look at an aeroscreened 'Seven' without a full face helmet - in much the same way that some people won't drive one unless its fully caged.
Personally, I've been driving aeroscreened cars on the road for the best part of a quarter of a century and I've yet to have any serious problems. You do catch the very occasional stone or bumble bee on the forehead, which can smart a bit, but they're few and far between and (IMO) the balance of risks is lower than the restricted vision you get with a full face helmet when you're strapped in with a harness, in a car with tiny mirrors that vibrate a lot, and so have limited rear 3/4 vision.
...and I've never turned a car over, so the lack of a cage (or even a basic roll bar) doesn't bother me much, either.
If I had my time again, though, I'd probably consider earplugs for longer runs, as the continual battering from the airstream (whether or not you have a full screen) damages your hearing in the longer term.
Great post Personally, I've been driving aeroscreened cars on the road for the best part of a quarter of a century and I've yet to have any serious problems. You do catch the very occasional stone or bumble bee on the forehead, which can smart a bit, but they're few and far between and (IMO) the balance of risks is lower than the restricted vision you get with a full face helmet when you're strapped in with a harness, in a car with tiny mirrors that vibrate a lot, and so have limited rear 3/4 vision.
...and I've never turned a car over, so the lack of a cage (or even a basic roll bar) doesn't bother me much, either.
If I had my time again, though, I'd probably consider earplugs for longer runs, as the continual battering from the airstream (whether or not you have a full screen) damages your hearing in the longer term.
It's so nice not to have the usual doom laden internet safety talk. I have quite happily driven Lotus Elans on track without roll over protection.
Back on topic, safety glasses have got to be a good idea, and ear plugs are a must or it will affect your hearing eventually.
Of course if it was my car, I'd fit a screen, but then I'm a wimp who likes to stay dry when it's raining
OP as others have said ask enough people you'll get a split decision on this topic. Personally i've covered about 25k miles in the last 2.5 years, with just the aero and a decent ( stress that word) set of glasses. To me it seems pointless being in an open top car and wearing a helmet, the caveat being if i know i'm going to do a seriously long motorway stint then i'll wear one, and when there's the chance of rain there'll be one in the car in case - believe me - 50mph and no helmet in the rain and you'll have the cheapest ex-foliation known to man.
BUT i dont know which rollbar you have on the Avon, i've a Tiger Cat and one of teh 1st things i did do was to replace the crap bit of black butter with a rollbar that was atleast sturdy and braced. Irrespective of whether anyone does TD's or not, my view is that many rollbars including the standard tiger one are worthless - and frankly i dont want to be in any kit that does the highly unlikely and rolls. And before anyone says - 'yeah its really unlikely'....i agree, but 3 weeks ago i was on a blat and in the dark hit a dead badger, lost steering for a second or two and ended up being pushed off course and no amount of braking was going to stop the car. End result ditch - a 4 ft ditch. Now for once i was taking it relatively easy on an unknown road - another few miles an hour and i reckon the car would have gone over, as it was i was climbing out of it at about 40 degrees. Worth thinking about.
uksportseyewear are worth talking to - mike there knows his stuff and the TEPS or TAC glasses which turn into goggles are the business. Other than that, suggest you invest in a variety of clothing for all weathers (especially wet/cold).....keep a set of wp trousers or over trousers in the car ( dont skimp cos when/if you get caught in the rain you'll end up sitting in a puddle of water). And as a top tip, look out for army long sleeved thermal vest/tops - there's one out there that has a long tail at the back - perfect for our cars as often its the base of the back that gets cold/exposed.
BUT i dont know which rollbar you have on the Avon, i've a Tiger Cat and one of teh 1st things i did do was to replace the crap bit of black butter with a rollbar that was atleast sturdy and braced. Irrespective of whether anyone does TD's or not, my view is that many rollbars including the standard tiger one are worthless - and frankly i dont want to be in any kit that does the highly unlikely and rolls. And before anyone says - 'yeah its really unlikely'....i agree, but 3 weeks ago i was on a blat and in the dark hit a dead badger, lost steering for a second or two and ended up being pushed off course and no amount of braking was going to stop the car. End result ditch - a 4 ft ditch. Now for once i was taking it relatively easy on an unknown road - another few miles an hour and i reckon the car would have gone over, as it was i was climbing out of it at about 40 degrees. Worth thinking about.
uksportseyewear are worth talking to - mike there knows his stuff and the TEPS or TAC glasses which turn into goggles are the business. Other than that, suggest you invest in a variety of clothing for all weathers (especially wet/cold).....keep a set of wp trousers or over trousers in the car ( dont skimp cos when/if you get caught in the rain you'll end up sitting in a puddle of water). And as a top tip, look out for army long sleeved thermal vest/tops - there's one out there that has a long tail at the back - perfect for our cars as often its the base of the back that gets cold/exposed.
I wear a full face (car racing) helmet pretty much every time I go out in the car. Having ridden motorcycles for 20 odd years I'm used to putting a lid on and I appreciate the type of items that get kicked up into your face by other vehicles. Also I wear normal glasses and they would disappear much over 40MPH if I didn't wear a lid. I don't have a sense of restricted vision wearing a helmet and it keeps the noise down and your ears/head warm.
Definitely some form of eye protection - I used to wear a helmet, and I still wear Dixons goggles (with bifocal insert!) even though I've got a windscreen now! I'd regard the safety glasses as a bare minimum.
The occasional stone or bumble bee used to make me jump when they hit my visor at speed... they'd have probably hit my eyes, or very close. The worst thing I found was the standard builder's lorry, with all the sand and cement dust blowing off the back.
The occasional stone or bumble bee used to make me jump when they hit my visor at speed... they'd have probably hit my eyes, or very close. The worst thing I found was the standard builder's lorry, with all the sand and cement dust blowing off the back.
Exactly - that's why I like the TEPs.
Anyway, for earplugs: don't get stung by Boots or similar. Try either motorbike dealers, who often have bulk offers e.g. 100 pairs for £10-15 either in store or online; or Builder's merchants which also often offer huge jarfulls for , well, bobbins price-wise.
I'm long used to the things by reason of other audio interests, but using good (-30dB) 'plugs in-car has two odd effects: one, when you remove them as you park up the entire world is unbelievably loud and bass-rich, let alone the car at idle; and two, in summer you'll get to hear even greenfly pinging off your skull by bone conduction %)
Anyway, for earplugs: don't get stung by Boots or similar. Try either motorbike dealers, who often have bulk offers e.g. 100 pairs for £10-15 either in store or online; or Builder's merchants which also often offer huge jarfulls for , well, bobbins price-wise.
I'm long used to the things by reason of other audio interests, but using good (-30dB) 'plugs in-car has two odd effects: one, when you remove them as you park up the entire world is unbelievably loud and bass-rich, let alone the car at idle; and two, in summer you'll get to hear even greenfly pinging off your skull by bone conduction %)
Biggest factor for me is passenger communication - if i take someone else out in my BEC we'll both wear wooly hats and ski goggles, and a balaclava too if its cold. It does worry me though the potential for distraction getting whacked in the face by something which would just ping off a lid - if i'm pushing the car on a quiet decent road i'll have a lid on - I value my face. Pootling around in busy traffic though, its safer to not have a helmet on for the extra peripheral vision. Balance of risk really...
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