# Goggles for winter riding?



## pulser (Dec 6, 2004)

Should I get mountain bike goggles or snow goggles for winter riding. I’m going to use them for mountain biking and gravel riding. I’m wondering if the snow goggles would be better when I’m on the gravel bike because of the higher speeds. I am also using a snow helmet so I would think snow goggles would work better with it.


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

I've never worn goggles for winter riding. I do ride on the road to the trails and river/ponds and the wind does sting so I wear light weight sunglasses. They help

Some people do wear goggles but they may fog up so I'd recommend cross-country ski goggles. They're designed to block the wind without fogging up with your sweat.


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

pulser said:


> Should I get mountain bike goggles or snow goggles for winter riding. I'm going to use them for mountain biking and gravel riding. I'm wondering if the snow goggles would be better when I'm on the gravel bike because of the higher speeds. I am also using a snow helmet so I would think snow goggles would work better with it.


How fast are you going to be going and how long will it be sustained for? The problem with riding is the slow speeds and high exertion, they are perfect recipes for fogging and then it gets frustrating because you can't see where you are going, you crash or you have to get off, which compounds the problem (because your body heats up even more, you have even less airflow, etc.). I only think about goggles in temps colder than about -20F. If you are using things like balaclavas, buffs, helmet liners, good base layers, etc., your eyes shouldn't be getting cold. I would recommend glasses of some kind, either clear for night or amber for day, but IME goggles just doesn't work on bikes, except for higher speed stuff like DH-only riding (where it's generally warmer too). For our spring DH fat-bike races at the ski-resort we do wear goggles naturally, but the situations where we reach speeds like that are pretty limited.


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## Christopher Robin (Dec 1, 2004)

And depending how hot you run (like I do), glasses are going to fog up as well.

IF you use goggles, get dual lensed ones.


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

A snow helmet? For riding a bike?

You’re going to fog up and crash, or cook your brain, and crash.


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

I use dual lensed ski goggles for riding in temps starting around 50- 55° as my eyes tear badly. Fogging only becomes a problem at walking speeds and under in my conditions. I don't see very cold temps though (maybe 12° at the top briefly at the coldest) but very high moisture in the Cascades. I definitely prefer riding with them and don't find the pain in the ass factor all that high. 

* I'd also add the yellow tint is splendid for winter overcast woods. 
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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Le Duke said:


> A snow helmet? For riding a bike?
> 
> You're going to fog up and crash, or cook your brain, and crash.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Only below about 20 degrees F, and where we ride it's normal that it drops another 10 degrees due to the location no matter what the starting temp is.


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

Jayem said:


> Only below about 20 degrees F, and where we ride it's normal that it drops another 10 degrees due to the location no matter what the starting temp is.


It was 22 on my ride last night and I was sweating heavily wearing a regular half shell. I can't comprehend wearing a ski/snowboard helmet for that. With a Buff under it, I'd probably be good down to 10.

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## pulser (Dec 6, 2004)

The snow helmet is for gravel riding more then mountain biking. I don’t have any place to mountain bike close to me so I have to get out on the road at night. With speeds reaching 30 mph at times in temps below freezing a snow helmet and goggles works well. I also don’t go super hard in the winter time. So body temp stays lower. Once you start sweating allot It gets hard to control how cold you get. When the temps drop in to the low 30s I keep my face covered as much as I can.


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## SkyAboveDirtBelow (Apr 14, 2019)

pulser said:


> Should I get mountain bike goggles or snow goggles for winter riding. I'm going to use them for mountain biking and gravel riding. I'm wondering if the snow goggles would be better when I'm on the gravel bike because of the higher speeds. I am also using a snow helmet so I would think snow goggles would work better with it.


Sometimes when mountain biking in winter or cross-country skiing I rock a pair of these.










Oakley released the factory pilots in their heritage collection. Pricey. They look really dorkish in summer but fit in well with winter sports.


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## StumpyandhisBike (Jun 26, 2012)

I wear a helmet liner under my bike helmet when biking in the winter. I have a snow helmet and there are times when it's too warm while snowboarding, I can't imagine biking in it. I also use snowboarding goggles. They work fine with the added air-flow of the bike helmet. I have an enduro-ish half shell helmet from MET that the visor easily flips up and I can neatly place the goggles up there when I'm stopped or for real slow technical climbs but I don't have that many problems to be honest. It's definitely nice to have when the speeds pick up.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

I wear a fleece skull cap to keep the head warm under my helmet and as a Prescription glasses wearer I just were my normal sunglasses or dailies. Only time I have had them fog up is if it was REAL cold, there was no breeze and I was sitting still. Otherwise I have had no issues and no anti-fog coating on either of them.


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## ocnLogan (Aug 15, 2018)

I live in the PNW, and constantly ride in temps in the 30-40f range, with 90-100% humidity, while it’s raining or foggy out.

Fogging is a serious problem here, and one I’ve not figured out yet.

Usually I don’t bother with eye protection here in the winter, and instead rely on the giant fender up front to keep my eyes free of debris.

But on really wet days, sometimes I need goggles/glasses to keep gunk from getting in my eyes.

I’ve got a pair of smith squad goggles, and tried them a few rides ago, but they fogged uncontrollably. I tried them around my neck on the climbs, under the visor, and backwards. By the top of the 5-10min climbs they were solid fog. If I waited 5min at the top they’d unfog finally, but that was a lot of waiting around.

eventually I found that if I wrapped the goggles around my wrist it worked fine enough. There was still some fog around the edges as I started, but usually cleared up within the first 5-15 seconds after moving.

So, I’m in the market for a pair of goggles or glasses that I can ride with in the wintertime, that ideally doesn’t fog at all. Or at least fogs way less.

There doesn’t seem to be many mountain bike goggles that advertise double pane lenses.

The Leatt velocity goggles advertise anti fog fairly heavily, but I can’t recall if they say the lenses are double pane at all. There are some POC goggles that have double pane lenses, but I’m still looking for more affordable options.


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