Glasses wearer, 45 minutes each way, and getting a full face on and off over glasses twice a day is wearing me down. Modular obviously solves that. I'm told they're heavier and noisier and I'd like to know by how much, from people who actually switched rather than in the abstract. Budget around $450 and I'm not interested in anything without a current certification.
Certification matters more on modulars than full faces because the chin bar is a moving part. ECE 22.06 tests the chin bar, and helmets approved for riding with it up are marked as dual-homologated. Check for that specifically if you plan to ride with it open at low speed, because plenty of modulars are not.
The single most missed detail in modular threads. "It flips up" and "it is certified flipped up" are two entirely different claims.
The thing I appreciate daily isn't the glasses, it's being able to talk to someone at a petrol station without taking the whole helmet off. Small, and it's why I've never gone back.
And drinking water at a stop. Sounds trivial until it's 35 degrees and you're peeling a full face off every 40 minutes.
The reference for a quiet flip-front is above your budget, but the point stands: a well-made modular can be quieter than a mediocre full face. Modular isn't inherently loud. Cheap modular is loud.
Terse: try both on in a shop wearing the glasses you actually ride in. Some full faces have proper glasses channels cut into the cheek pads and solve your whole problem for less money.
I went modular, hated the extra bulk on a sportbike with a tucked riding position, and went back. Riding position matters here: upright commuter, fine. Head down at speed, the chin bar mass gets annoying fast.
@layoverlurker · 4mo ago · 2 replies
Switched three years ago for exactly the glasses reason and I'd do it again tomorrow. The weight penalty in my case was roughly 150-200 g, which you notice on a long day out and not at all on a commute. Noise was worse at first and got much better once I fitted the chin curtain properly instead of leaving it in the box.
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@chainwax_chloe · 4mo ago
150-200 g is a lot smaller than I'd feared. That's very useful to have as a number rather than a feeling.
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