I don’t know about anyone else, but I have sun sensitive eyes. If riding into the sun at the start or end of the day, or when when the sun tends to be lower during the winter months is very hard on my eyes. So I was looking for a solution.
I researched and found the strips of visor tinting sold for $14.95 online and thought that was a ridiculous price for a slender strip of plastic cling. I headed to Hancock Fabric and found they sell 54″ wide static cling window tinting (no adhesive) by the yard for $3.97. Tough decision. For a buck you can buy enough to experiment a few times. If Hancock has it, I’m sure other fabric stores do as well.
Link to UV window tinting at Hancock
I traced the top curve of my visor on paper and made a pattern for the strip. I ended up trying a variety of widths. On riding tests I felt 1″ was too narrow and didn’t help my eyes enough and 2″ was way too much, so I settled on 1 1/2″ across the top of the visor. It doesn’t obstruct my vision at all.
I wasn’t sure static cling would stay on the visor at highway speeds but I can tell you after thousands of miles not so much as a corner has lifted up. But if I want remove it I just pick up a corner and the strip lifts off with no residue left on visor. When I clean my visor with a microfiber cloth I clean the bugs off the strip as well and it doesn’t move.
It’s made a big difference on how tired my eyes get in bright sunlight and I think it helps with the glare on cloudy days as well.
If you don’t mind paying postage, I’ll send you some to try (I have plenty). Or go to a fabric store and buy a 1/2 yard and you can have a visor tinting party with all your friends. Seriously — if you belong to a riding club you should get some and share it with the other riders. Anything that makes your eyes less tired after staring at the road for 10 hours is a good thing.
