BMX helmet for mt'bing?

Phonk7

Hey, i currently use a rather old bmx helmet whenther i go riding (my full face is a little hot) i am very pleased with it and am not bothered about the extra weight it brings compared to normal open faced lids.
However ive never been unfortunate enough to actually test how good this helmet is in a crash.
My question is do bmx helmets provide as as much, more or less protection than standard open faced helmets (fox flux etc)? :?

blakef111

all helmets have to pass the same safety standard, wether its bmx, xc, or whatever, as long as you haven't crashed it, it will be fine

Phonk7

blakef111 wrote:

all helmets have to pass the same safety standard, wether its bmx, xc, or whatever, as long as you haven't crashed it, it will be fine

Thanks alot, never new that

NatoED

in some ways they are better as they have a hard outer casing. This stopps sticks, stones and other hard objects from penetrating your skull . Down side is they are warm . I used to use one when I was doing my general riding as i used one bike for XC , BSX, trials, DH all in one day . Oh and here is a tip. Stick a peak on it it will look like an old TLD helmet then .

Anonymous

blakef111 wrote:

all helmets have to pass the same safety standard, wether its bmx, xc, or whatever, as long as you haven't crashed it, it will be fine

This is true, but only ensures a minimum level of protection that each helmet must pass.
Different helmets have different characteristics. For example, a motorcycle helmet is designed to absorb impact where your head is sliding along tarmac at high speed - it will deform, but save your head.
Whereas a race-car helemet is designed to prevent standing impacts from your head hitting the rollcage and so forth.

Of course, motorcycle and Rally (for example) helmets share many similarities, but they are optimised for different scenarios if you see what I mean.

Not knowing much about BMX full face helmets, I'd hazzard a guess that they're primarily meant to absorb very hard single impacts with vert ramps, or something similar. They'll still be safe for MTBing, but will be much heavier, less vented, and have a much harder outer shell, which may be uneccesary for general trail riding.

nwmlarge

i use a diamond back full face one and its quite warm
pretty light though which i like

diy

Firstly your rather old BMX lid is likely to be made from epoxy/resin and will have been made brittle by UV light over the years. Basic rule of thumb is that an epoxy lid is good for 4-5 years. Fibre glass/carbon fibre lids are good for a few years more.

Secondly the poly shell will get compressed by your head over time, which will further reduce strength.

Lastly with all helmets you have to balance strength over weight, as a heavy lid increases the risk of other types of head injury and while basal skull fractures are not that common for cyclists - the risks are increased with a heavy lid.

The one benefit your bmx lid will have is a chin bar which provided it doesn't pop off will hold the helmet in place during a crash. A standard cycle lid is only good at impact damage and then for a very limited scope.

nwmlarge

if it's an old lid as diy says it's well worth changing lid