Full face for xc?

rockmonkeysc

Over the last couple days I guess I have probably seen 20ish xc riders in full face helmets only riding red and blue trails. Seems completely ott to me and has got to be uncomfortable, especially on climbs. Most of those wearing ff helmets were bloody slow as well, with ques of riders behind them.
Does anyone have a good reason for riding easy trails in a downhill helmet? I don't get it.

supersonic

People judge their risk and take action. So their skill might warrant it.

njee20

Their perceived level of risk, and the mitigation factors they employ? Perhaps the fact they're not as good as you goes some way to explain it...

Your problem how exactly?

TheNorthernTrain

I have and will continue to do it. A) I don't fancy missing teeth or big scars across my face don't get sick pay so if i do, fuck something up bad enough I can't afford to take time off.

On nice easy uphills I will take it off. Simple yet effective.

The Northern Monkey

Depends on the individual, if some one wants to then fair enough!

We did a 40+km xc ride around the Church Stretton as a training ride from the CCC2CC and a lad from a sponsor turned up with a full face. Needless to say, he had a maaaahooooosive crash and was probably better off because he wore the helmet (imagine: upside down, over a fence and cartwheeling into a field).

A full face definitely gives me more confidence, thats for sure... so I wonder if he'd still have crashed if he was wearing a normal helmet hmmmmmm.

TBH, any helmet is better than none I suppose!

I do like the Urge Archie Enduro helmet, but I sweat so much I think my head would boil and explode!

97th choice

I know a few people who do it, usually older riders newish to the sport. I would consider one if the overheating problem could be sorted as we do downhill runs in conjunction with trails and climbs.

The Northern Monkey

97th choice wrote:

I know a few people who do it, usually older riders newish to the sport. I would consider one if the overheating problem could be sorted as we do downhill runs in conjunction with trails and climbs.

I carry mine on the trail pack and wear the pi$$ pot if I'm doing a combination of trails and DH!

Kiliscott

ive been watching videos of different trails centres and the amounts of crash videos i come across is a lot, and they dont look fun to be in. Ive been wearing my piss pot of late but next time i will take the FF and the PP, just strap either helmet to my backpack whatever terrain/trail i come across.

Kiliscott

wee wee pot LOL

rockmonkeysc

It looks so uncomfortable that even if I lacked confidence I would rather take the risk.
There were also the Met Parachutes but that's a whole different thing, stupid and pointless.

ScareyJ

I wear FF because I want to protect all my head, Peanuts don't offer any protection for your face, chin, or sideburns.

My 661 is lite and is not to hot.

BigAl

supersonic wrote:

People judge their risk and take action. So their skill might warrant it.

I suspect that's true for some

Others may be afflicted by 'all the gear, no idea' syndrome and derive 'pleasure' from spending money on a FF and think they look the part

For others, it may just be fitting in with the trail centre vibe (I don't visit them so don't know). I've only been to one (Aston Hill) and I felt rather out of place amongst all the big rigs there (with my Anthem). Never been back or visited any other centres

rockmonkeysc

This weekend was the first time in around four years that I have been to a trail centre. I normally ride on the Quantock and Exmoor where there are bridleways which are more technical than most red graded trails but you never see anyone wearing a full face lid.
My dislike of trail centres has been strengthend by riding Bike Park Wales this weekend. The ques of lappierres and Fives at the start of every trail, seeing people ride incredibly slowly then loudly telling everyone how they drifted and whipped their way down trails. Mostly I just like nice quiet, natural trail with no route markers or difficulty gradings. Its more satisfying finding fun features rather than having huge berms and groomed jumps everywhere.

BigAl

RockmonkeySC wrote:

This weekend was the first time in around four years that I have been to a trail centre. I normally ride on the Quantock and Exmoor where there are bridleways which are more technical than most red graded trails but you never see anyone wearing a full face lid.
My dislike of trail centres has been strengthend by riding Bike Park Wales this weekend. The ques of lappierres and Fives at the start of every trail, seeing people ride incredibly slowly then loudly telling everyone how they drifted and whipped their way down trails. Mostly I just like nice quiet, natural trail with no route markers or difficulty gradings. Its more satisfying finding fun features rather than having huge berms and groomed jumps everywhere.

Couldn't agree more!

A big part of the reason I ride is to get out there, into the countryside and away from it all.

Queuing on a mountain bike - that's not for me, I can find a queue at Tesco.

TheNorthernTrain

RockmonkeySC wrote:

This weekend was the first time in around four years that I have been to a trail centre. I normally ride on the Quantock and Exmoor where there are bridleways which are more technical than most red graded trails but you never see anyone wearing a full face lid.
My dislike of trail centres has been strengthend by riding Bike Park Wales this weekend. The ques of lappierres and Fives at the start of every trail, seeing people ride incredibly slowly then loudly telling everyone how they drifted and whipped their way down trails. Mostly I just like nice quiet, natural trail with no route markers or difficulty gradings. Its more satisfying finding fun features rather than having huge berms and groomed jumps everywhere.

They might be more technical but it generally means you're going slower so more time to react. There are times I wish I had a full face with me when I'm not at a trail centre, some descents in the peaks have me wishing I had it on.

I find most trail centres are built and designed with "flow" in mind, I find a trail centre generally makes you go faster, which means you're gonna hit, jumps, drops etc with more speed than you might otherwise do so when something goes wrong, it goes wrong in a big way.

Maybe it's just me, maybe I'm just talking bollocks but that's my experience anyway.

BigAl

Apologies for my ignorance re trail centres, but...

... Would RockmonkeySC's comment that most natural bridle way is more technical than a TC red, be the general consensus?

Having said what I did above, I have been considering a centre (not Aston Hill) as I think it may work well for a day out with my lads (12 year olds). I'd like the flow of a centre as on natural routeds they're constantly stopping to ask which way

cooldad

Yes, no possibly, sometimes, probably not.
Apples and oranges and blue whales.

BigAl

cooldad wrote:

Yes, no possibly, sometimes, probably not.
Apples and oranges and blue whales.

Ok, fair enough, point taken; depends on the centre, depends where you ride.

I'll stick to the natural trails around me and give me kids a map

cooldad

I prefer natural stuff as well. Trail centres are fun now and again but I like to get away from crowds.

BigAl

cooldad wrote:

I prefer natural stuff as well. Trail centres are fun now and again but I like to get away from crowds.

Indeed.

Just out of curiosity, and because you are also down south, which centres have you used? I'm not really aware of any close to me, other than AH (which ain't for me), though I have been away from the sport a few years.

The Northern Monkey

I havent done much "natural" riding (the natural tern used when riding bridleways annoys me, if its waymarked then it is a maintained route), but my gereral consensus is tjat you have to ride a fucking long way to see anything that points down and gets the heart racing.
Of the 230miles we did for the ccc2cc, there was probably 1 "natural" trail I'd go back to and 2 trail centres I'd definately go back to.

Trail centres are a quick fix of everything good (doesnt apply to all of course). Tough climbs rewarded by great descents which are as challenging as you make them. You can do 15km and have more fun than on a 40km "natural" loop.

I like off piste stuff though. ie trails built by locals in woods.. unfortunately not always legal, but bloody good fun. There is a lot of that round here, Rowan Sorrel having built quite a few, and theyre being built and maintained by local lads. Some of the stuff you won't find at any trail centre or on a "natural" route.

Hob Nob

RockmonkeySC wrote:

My dislike of trail centres has been strengthend by riding Bike Park Wales this weekend. The ques of lappierres and Fives at the start of every trail, seeing people ride incredibly slowly then loudly telling everyone how they drifted and whipped their way down trails. Mostly I just like nice quiet, natural trail with no route markers or difficulty gradings. Its more satisfying finding fun features rather than having huge berms and groomed jumps everywhere.

You're so awesome! Can I have your autograph?

Has it maybe occurred to you that others maybe like fast, groomed trails with rollers, doubles & lots of choices in a relatively concentrated area?

BPW must be properly rubbish, I mean the uplift is only booked solid for the next 2 months.

rockmonkeysc

BigAl wrote:

... Would RockmonkeySC's comment that most natural bridle way is more technical than a TC red, be the general consensus?

Only in certain ares such as Quantocks and Exmoor. They are more technical because they are gnarly with no natural flow.
I have seen trail centre regulars soil themselves riding down Smiths Coombe on the Quantocks, that would be a black graded bridleway which ends with the best single track I have ever ridden.

croptonboy

BigAl wrote:

cooldad wrote:

I prefer natural stuff as well. Trail centres are fun now and again but I like to get away from crowds.

Indeed.

Just out of curiosity, and because you are also down south, which centres have you used? I'm not really aware of any close to me, other than AH (which ain't for me), though I have been away from the sport a few years.

Most likely it would be Swinley, which is the closest to cooldad. It's on my list to do, but again, I prefer the natural stuff as well, and there's plenty of decent riding only minutes from where I live

pilch

I like a bit of both, trail centres for the "quick fix" and flow, natural stuff for the technical satisfaction and often epic surroundings, after all you know everything in a trail centre is ridable - its been built for that purpose, cant say the same for the natural stuff.

I dont wear a full face, not because i'm double hard just because its just too hot and I find them restrictive and claustrophobic, I wear a road hat when racing (although having ridden some of this year's NPS courses and seeing my mate nearly smash his brains out I will be changing that next year) I do wear a more protective hat when trail riding.

cooldad

Croptonboy wrote:

BigAl wrote:

cooldad wrote:

I prefer natural stuff as well. Trail centres are fun now and again but I like to get away from crowds.

Indeed.

Just out of curiosity, and because you are also down south, which centres have you used? I'm not really aware of any close to me, other than AH (which ain't for me), though I have been away from the sport a few years.

Most likely it would be Swinley, which is the closest to cooldad. It's on my list to do, but again, I prefer the natural stuff as well, and there's plenty of decent riding only minutes from where I live

Yep, closest is Swinley, about a 30 second ride up the road. I’m not a big fan of the new trail centre stuff though and it gets quite busy, so I tend to ride the old trails and stuff over on Crowthorne and the MOD land. Plus Caesars Camp and Tunnel Hill.

BigAl

Hob Nob wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

My dislike of trail centres has been strengthend by riding Bike Park Wales this weekend. The ques of lappierres and Fives at the start of every trail, seeing people ride incredibly slowly then loudly telling everyone how they drifted and whipped their way down trails. Mostly I just like nice quiet, natural trail with no route markers or difficulty gradings. Its more satisfying finding fun features rather than having huge berms and groomed jumps everywhere.

You're so awesome! Can I have your autograph?

Has it maybe occurred to you that others maybe like fast, groomed trails with rollers, doubles & lots of choices in a relatively concentrated area?

BPW must be properly rubbish, I mean the uplift is only booked solid for the next 2 months.

..er, I think he just said he doesn't like them. Note the use of 'my' and 'I'.

I happen to agree with him but appreciate that others enjoy the centres. Each to their own, there's room for all.

lawman

RockmonkeySC wrote:

This weekend was the first time in around four years that I have been to a trail centre. I normally ride on the Quantock and Exmoor where there are bridleways which are more technical than most red graded trails but you never see anyone wearing a full face lid.
My dislike of trail centres has been strengthend by riding Bike Park Wales this weekend. The ques of lappierres and Fives at the start of every trail, seeing people ride incredibly slowly then loudly telling everyone how they drifted and whipped their way down trails. Mostly I just like nice quiet, natural trail with no route markers or difficulty gradings. Its more satisfying finding fun features rather than having huge berms and groomed jumps everywhere.

That's a very sweeping statement! All centres are not the same, the "big" ones do tend to be overly used, Cannock llandegla etc but there are plenty of others that see hardly any traffic and are not easy by any stretch. On one of the CCC2CC warm up rides we rode part of east ridge forest, well me and bails87 rode pretty much all of it and we couldn't believe how technical it was for a trail centre. Seriously gnarly trails, but hugely good fun. Likewise parts of the ClimachX trail are very technical, the last descent is brutal, rocky, fast and very, very technical in places. On the CCC2CC route we did numerous centres and saw hardly anyone, granted they were on weekdays, but still they were good fun and Penmachno has to be one of the best centres in the country and it is often very quiet round there. I love natural riding, some of my favourite routes are in the Peak District and some of the stuff on the CCC2CC was excellent, some of the bridleways were damn gnarly! But sweeping statements like this really annoy as they simply aren't true, there's plenty of very very good technical riding at centres and very little queuing as well. Centres offer abit of variety and I think they can be great places to have fun on a bike, whether they're technical or not and that as far as I'm concerned is what mtb is about!

lochussie

I feel sorry for you if the sight of some Oranges and Lapierres can spoil your enjoyment. As for others exaggerating their riding, just have a laugh about it with your mates, all part of the fun. Don't see the issue with Met Parachutes, I used to use one now and then and it saved my face on more than one occasion.

Don't see why people feel the need to come on here and criticise/laugh at other peoples' riding choices in front of a bunch of internet strangers.

.blitz

I wear one now and then. Cannock is no gnar fest but there are places where my face is just cm away from the trees and even a mistake on some of the rocky steps can have serious consequences.

If you're an ace and never make a mistake I can imagine you'd never need one but I like my face the way it is and for me it's more important to be able to ride again the next day

BloggingFit

Can argue it both ways for Full Face. Personally I find it a little OTT seeing guys scooting around on Epics and Superflys with Full Face but equally you can potentially smash your teeth in falling off from stand still if you land on your face. Maybe it's a confidence thing. Maybe they got sold by marketing. Maybe a combination of both. Does it matter?