So what do we think about helmets?

unquestioned

I'm a noob on a bike, I know this, my mates know this but it doesn't stop us having fun.

When I first started I wore a cheapo full face helmet from Argos, it was last minute, my first time on my new bike & I wasn't keen on bashing my head in so for £23 it was fine, it also had a removeable faceplate so worked both ways.
It actually worked out well, didn't get too hot, it was matte black because that's cool right? & it actually saved my face a couple of times, like when I took it down Nevis & left my bike behind at the start of the red run & decided to carry on by air.

Now obviously it's cheap so the protection to the face would be minimal & the hard ABS plastic would probably shatter & impale me with a thousand tiny plastic knives to give me a weird desperate Dan look but it's made me realise why a full face helmet is better.

So what's cool with helmets nowadays? I only ever see full face helmets of DH bikers, I'm an XC guy with a leaning towards DH & as my bike gets better I get faster/braver/stupiderinthefaceofdoom but I never see an XC guy with a full face helmet & when I wore mine I got some funny looks a some chortles, which meh, whatever, I like my face.

I've found a few that are 2-1 helmets, the Cratoni C-maniac, Met Parachute & the Cratoni shakedown, the 1st too look pretty stupid, gotta say & the 3rd looks better but looks as if it would boil your head on the uphill parts in anything approaching a warm day. Right now I'm leaning toward the shakedown but also considering a FF & just buying a normal helm for the charity runs & other non dangerous bike riding I do.

I totally agree that a full face helmet is the best option in regards to safety, I honestly thing commuters should have to wear some form of full face helmet so that when an accident occurs it's extra protection on what is a fairly fragile part of the human anatomy but I don't want to look daft.

So what are other peoples opinions on what is actually quite an important piece of kit?
And recommendations & alternatives for XC riders?

welsh_14

I wouldnt ever wear a FF for doing XC riding, far to hot and dont really think they are needed. I wear a Fox Flux helmet which is lower at the back to save the skull!
If it is mainly XC you do then I would be looking more towards trail helmets like the 661 Recon, Fox Flux, Met and Giro also do similar ones (Hex maybe?)

rockmonkeysc

Those half arsed full face helmets are completely pointless. They move back on your head in an impact so the ground will still mash your face.
I use a standard xc helmet for xc riding and a good quality Urge Down-O-Matic full face helmet for downhill.
Downhill tracks are steep and lumpy and your usually going fast so when you crash you do often go over the bars and land on your face. I also wear full body armour and knee pads for downhill and I wouldnt even consider using them for XC.
XC trails are smoother and mostly not as steep and because the bikes are less stable at speed your usually going slower and crashes are usually less violent. You have less protection but your not pushing the limits of your ability to shave a couple seconds off a run.

Northwind

I'm more likely to hurt myself doing pedally stuff in a full face than in an xc helmet- reason being, I boil over and get distracted. Primary safety- not crashing- is better than secondary.

You should wear whatever you're comfortable in but very few people are comfortable doing serious pedalling in a proper fullface. The middle grounds... Well, it's not a terrible idea but rather than thinking of them as full face, think of them as XC with a little face protection. There's an argument that they increase the risk of serious injury- the chinbar could end up basically being a lever on your spine. Theoretically possible, realistically unprovable.

There's also the well proven psychological effects of armouring, which are interesting- not everyone gets it, and not everyone that does gets it badly but on the whole you're more likely to do something stupid if you feel safe, and more likely to ride safe if you feel unprotected. That's YMMV.

KernowCB

I really feel the need for a full face helmet unless it's a full on downhill course and I'm going for it.

I went for the 661 Recon and think it's fantastic.

bikeleasingco

Kali are good: http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/arti ... ali-34186/

The image is the design for the inner protection on the full face helmets.

At shows it attracts a lot of attention. Someone should probably make a helmet like it

Mojo_666

I have fox flux and 661 recon, both are good but the flux is a slightly better fit for me. My full face is for DH only, would never wear it on trails. Cool might be the new troy lee lid? A1?

Richie63

Spesh Deviant as a choice

rockmonkeysc

I tried one of them on. Seriously pointless helmet (like the Met Parachute etc) it would never stay in place if you land on your face, your going to get your nose or jaw broken by the chin bar. I doubt it would be any cooler than my Urge Down-O-Matic anyway.

mrmonkfinger

I use:

a nice light vented lid with my superfly ray bans for road & xc riding
a motocross lid & goggles for days at DH tracks

97th choice

I have a giro hex for most rides.
A cratoni c maniac for slightly more adventurous stuff, although I'm not sure if it actually has any benefits over an xc helmet.

A proper dh helmet for the very rare occasion that do proper steep stuff

sofaboy73

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I tried one of them on. Seriously pointless helmet (like the Met Parachute etc) it would never stay in place if you land on your face, your going to get your nose or jaw broken by the chin bar. I doubt it would be any cooler than my Urge Down-O-Matic anyway.

If your refering to the specialized deviant, i would have to say i disagree, i use it as my 'down hill' helement and have a couple of big off's wearing it (including a serious crash in the alps) and it's save my face each time. They are a lot more robust than something like the met parachute (which i agree are a complete waste of time) and they are disigned to be multiple crash usage helmets.

theyre not the lightest, but airflow is very good and haveless padding than full on DH FF so don't get as sweaty.