PoorInRichfield

TL;DR... Do any of you who wear an aero helmet notice an increase in wind noise over your non-aero helmet?

Earlier this year I purchased the Specialized S-Works Evade 3 helmet for reasons that had nothing to do with it being an aero helmet... Mainly it fits my "long oval" head better than any helmet I've ever owned in the past. One thing I noticed on my very first ride with the new helmet was how much wind noise I was hearing, even when there didn't seem to be any wind (other than me moving, of course). Since most of my rides are at least 2 to 4 hours long, the loud wind noise in my ears is annoying to me.

I've been wearing these geeky "Cat-Ears" (Amazon link) for years which have helped reduce wind noise on previous helmets, but they don't seem to do much with the Evade. After an entire summer of riding with the Evade, I still find the wind noise to be really high.

My theory is that because this helmet is an aero helmet with fewer vents, air doesn't go through the helmet, it goes around the helmet, and thus directly over my ears. I'm considering switching from wearing the Cat-Ears to using my Loop Quiet noise reducing ear plugs (Amazon link) as they do reduce ambient noise without blocking it out. I'm trying to strike a balance between getting rid of the annoying wind noise yet still be able to hear traffic.



Cat-Ears... Only for geeky cyclists like me that really hate wind noise...



Loop Quiet Noise Reducers...

ThermionicScott 

I prefer the Loop Engage earplugs. They don't attenuate the high end nearly as much, but still cut down the wind noise quite a bit.

Jeff Neese

If wind noise bothers you while riding your bike, you'd really hate riding in a convertible.

_ForceD_

I don’t think my helmets are necessarily “aero,” but I do notice the wind, and how it impacts my hearing from time to time. I keep telling myself that I need to set some of those Cat Ear things. Occasionally…and not sure why it’s only occasionally…I’ll experience a whistling created by the wind over some opening on the helmet surface.

Dan

Iride01 

Perhaps your ears are more exposed than with the previous helmet. Or it's made you so aero, you ride faster and therefore more wind is blowing through your ears! <grin>

eduskator

I have an aero helmet and a regular one with more ventilation for when I do hills, and I don't notice any difference.

EDIT: By aero helmet, I don't mean the ugly TT ones.

PoorInRichfield

Truth! I'm a "car guy" as well with no interest in a convertible. Plenty of research done to show that extended trips with the top down at higher speeds can indeed cause damage to one's hearing. No thank you.

PoorInRichfield

I will check those out! I think the Loop ear plugs are way overpriced, but they work, are very comfortable, and don't stick-out a mile from one's ears... so I guess they're worth it.

PoorInRichfield

That could be. The Evade does seem to ride higher on my head than my previous helmet, a Giro Synthe.
Let's go with this... Helps me justify the high price of the Evade brain bucket even more!

ThermionicScott 

Yeah, I was a little concerned paying $35 a pair, but I have been very happy with my purchase. Sometimes I'll pop them in for loud family gatherings and they are wonderful for just turning everything down a notch so it's not as overwhelming.

tempocyclist

It probably varies from helmet to helmet, and with head shape also.

I have had two aero road helmets (Bontrager Ballista and now the new Trek Ballista) and I find them quieter than my regular vented road helmet.

base2 

I too have a Specialized Evade. Mine is a 2, not a 3 though. I choose the Evade more often than not because it seems impervious to any wind noise whatsoever. I attributed that to smooth airflow around the helmet. But what do I know, ya' know?

Maybe my glasses are a factor? Maybe having the straps over the glasses arms instead of straps against my head like the cool people do could have an effect? All just guesses.

GhostRider62

I have 5 or 6 different aero helmets (some road and some TT) and the latest one does seem designed to flow the air thru the helmet and it is noisy as hell.

Shadco 

I have tinnitus which drowns out the wind noise quite successfully.

.

mschwett 

hmmm, i have that exact helmet (but faster, because it’s red) and a couple others and have never noticed any difference at similar speeds. but wind noise also isn’t objectionable to me. i have excellent hearing, or at least my kids who are always whispering and trying to sneak around doing things a few rooms away seem to think i do!

Jrasero

in my experience no, but actually quieter because you have less turbulence, granted aero helmets tend to be less cool since they have less vents. I wear a Scott Cadence Plus (aero) and it's pretty breathable but also comes with covers for the vents if you want to be a tad more aero or you are riding on a cold day

PoorInRichfield

I finally remembered to try the Loop ear plugs today instead of using the "Cat Ears" on my 70-mile ride today. As expected, the ear plugs certainly muted sounds, including wind noise, quite a bit. However, there were some drawbacks. As one might expect when wearing ear plugs, they might mute the sounds outside your head, but suddenly you are very aware of sounds inside your head and body, such as breathing. The harder my ride got, the more I heard my own breathing. Perhaps more troubling than that was that when I had a strong crosswind, I still heard a lot of wind noise to the point where I almost couldn't hear the beeps from my Garmin and traffic noises were much harder to detect. That's a problem. The other problem with ear plugs is that I know I often misplace them, especially since they aren't attached to my helmet.

On my next ride, I plan on transplanting some ear covers I have on my mountain bike helmet onto my road helmet (which I totally forgot I owned until today). I originally purchased the covers to keep my ears warm which will work just fine now that it's Fall. The version I have aren't wind proof like the Wind-Blox sold on Amazon, but are pretty close.

PoorInRichfield

A company called Earpeace makes noise reducing ear plugs for motorcyclists who undoubtedly have more issues with noise than bicyclists do.

https://www.earpeace.com/pages/earpeace-moto

PoorInRichfield

I took the first outdoor ride of this year yesterday and wind noise was intolerable as I rode into a strong headwind. I'm pretty sure it's the combination of my helmet and perhaps my ear shape? I've never dealt with such bad wind noise from previous helmets in over 3 decades of riding. If my Evade helmet didn't fit so well, I'd be looking for something else.

I tried an experiment to reduce the wind noise... I tied my headband so that it covered my ears, which made a considerable difference. At first I thought it did nothing until I saw my reflection in my Garmin computer and realized my "ear holes" weren't covered. Once I covered my ears completely, the harshness of the wind noise was noticeably reduced. The problem with this "solution" is that the band kept slipping-up and off the bottom of my ears. I'm on the hunt now for a wider headband / sweatband that will serve the dual-purpose of keeping sweat out of my eyes and hopefully cover my ears. A third benefit would be that covered ears would protect them from sun damage on long rides.

shelbyfv

JMO, but I wouldn't ride for a year with a helmet that annoyed me, no matter how well it fit. Hard to figure your head shape is so unique there is only one helmet that fits. I'd do some shopping.

79pmooney

It takes real skill to play a flute. You gotta get that wind stream just right. I'm guessing your helmet isn't al that different.

Sy Reene

Aluminum... ? I'll wait for the more vertically compliant, laterally stiff, aero-shaped, and noise absorbtive carbon fiber edition.

Ssj

This is exactly what I do. I ride with a headband from Gore that is made of a thin fabric like a bike jersey.