Face Masks

n5gooner
n5gooner Posts: 21
edited September 2008 in Commuting chat
Sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldn't really find any referance to it!!!

I'm commuting about 230 miles each week, From Leatherhead in Surrey to Soho. On some days the amount of pollution is fairly high, its not very nice being stuck behind a bus.

I've started to consider getting a mask to try and filter out the fumes, but does it restrict you breathing. I travel at a fairly quick pace and have got my 23 mile trips ride time down to an hour, so I need to be able to breathe deeply. I don't want to spend £30 odd on a mask and find I can't use it!

Any comments people???

Comments

  • boybiker
    boybiker Posts: 531
    Youv'e answered your own question really, you won't be able to breathe and from what I am told they don't work either.
    The gear changing, helmet wearing fule.
    FCN :- -1
    Given up waiting for Fast as Fupp to start stalking me
  • n5gooner
    n5gooner Posts: 21
    boybiker wrote:
    Youv'e answered your own question really, you won't be able to breathe and from what I am told they don't work either.


    thats the thing, having never used one, and not knowing anyone who does, its hard to tell if they are any good....
  • Dunston_checks_in
    Dunston_checks_in Posts: 78
    I tried one when I first started cycling in Bristol traffic and have one word of advice - don't!. They make you look like a rapist and feel like your suffocating. Filter past slow traffic on the outside instead rather than sitting in their fumes..
    The user previously known as Sea_Green_Incorruptible.

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  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    Can you explain why they don't work? Sealing around the nose, or perceived issues with the adsorbant material itself?

    (Setting aside the asphyxiation issue)

    BTW - 23mph average in a city? Are you hanging on to the bus?
  • SmellTheGlove
    SmellTheGlove Posts: 697
    These masks cannot work with any efficiency mostly for two reasons: first, the inevitable gaps around your chin, nose, cheeks etc which themselves are needed to allow you to exhale. Even the shape of the best-designed masks will only be an approximate fit for the majority of human faces. The resistance that the fabric presents to the passage of air is vastly greater than that of the gaps, hence most of the inhaled air will bypass the fabric.
    Second, depending on the "fumes" we're trying to filter out, the fabric will have greater or lesser resistance. When it comes to gases e.g. carbon monoxide, you can forget about trying to filter using a plain non-woven fabric.
    You could try an experiment; put on a mask, go into the kitchen while the dinner's on and see if you can sense what's cooking. If you can't then see a doctor immediately.

    (Excuse the long-windedness, I once worked for an industrial respirator manufacturer.)
    "Consider the grebe..."
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    That Dr ALice Roberts did a thing on pollution and cycling in Bristol in her last series - all wired up to a sensor etc and the conclusion - cycling is no worse than being a ped and besides our bodies are actually very good at filtering this stuff. There's no reason to wear a mask. I tried it years ago and couldn't breathe. Fine if you are travelling at 5mph but for most of us a mask will just be an added hindrance. Plus they get manky very very quickly.
  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    SmellTheGlove wrote:
    These masks cannot work with any efficiency mostly for two reasons: first, the inevitable gaps around your chin, nose, cheeks etc which themselves are needed to allow you to exhale. Even the shape of the best-designed masks will only be an approximate fit for the majority of human faces. The resistance that the fabric presents to the passage of air is vastly greater than that of the gaps, hence most of the inhaled air will bypass the fabric.
    Second, depending on the "fumes" we're trying to filter out, the fabric will have greater or lesser resistance. When it comes to gases e.g. carbon monoxide, you can forget about trying to filter using a plain non-woven fabric.
    You could try an experiment; put on a mask, go into the kitchen while the dinner's on and see if you can sense what's cooking. If you can't then see a doctor immediately.

    (Excuse the long-windedness, I once worked for an industrial respirator manufacturer.)

    Interesting.

    I know a bit about fume cupboards, and over cooking a bit of grated coconut makes for a pretty effective adsorbant against pretty much anything. Less so for CO, as I recall, but most filters did claim to catch even this.

    Thus, what we need is a hermetically sealed face mask with a filter the size of a house brick. That would work.
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    Oddly - i was considering some form of face mask to keep warm on the coldest of days... while a sligth hijack it does stay with the main theme of face masks :wink:

    Does anyone have any recommendations?
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
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    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
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    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • Breathless Commuter Man
    Breathless Commuter Man Posts: 82
    Possibly going to fly in the face of all other posts. I use a face mask and am really pleased with it.I started commuting 18 months ago and after a few weeks I got very light headed and had a strong petrol like taste in my mouth. I got the mask and no more problems.

    It is harder to breath in it, but its made up for by the better quality of air you get. i accept that it isn't perfect, but it definitely makes the difference between being able to commute and not.

    I agree about looking like a cross between a rapist and Jason from Friday the 13th.

    I use a techno city mask and replace the filters about once every two months.

    Hope this helps.
    FCN 8

    2009 Boardman Hybrid Pro
  • n5gooner
    n5gooner Posts: 21
    Breathless Commuter Man wrote:
    Possibly going to fly in the face of all other posts. I use a face mask and am really pleased with it.I started commuting 18 months ago and after a few weeks I got very light headed and had a strong petrol like taste in my mouth. I got the mask and no more problems.

    It is harder to breath in it, but its made up for by the better quality of air you get. i accept that it isn't perfect, but it definitely makes the difference between being able to commute and not.

    I agree about looking like a cross between a rapist and Jason from Friday the 13th.

    I use a techno city mask and replace the filters about once every two months.

    Hope this helps.

    intresting, how do you take water on board, do you need to stop to take the mask off ?
  • woodford2barbican
    woodford2barbican Posts: 1,505
    I wore one for a while - and it was not the most pleasant experience to put a soggy mask back on for the journey home....
  • SmellTheGlove
    SmellTheGlove Posts: 697
    Kieran_Burns wrote:
    Oddly - i was considering some form of face mask to keep warm on the coldest of days...
    Does anyone have any recommendations?

    I have one of these - pretty good at low temps

    http://www.blacks.co.uk/Mens-Clothing/A ... 12125.aspx

    It's a tube of fabric that can go round your neck and over your mouth - a bit pricey for what it is but versatile too. To wear it like in the picture i.e. on your scone you tie a knot in it (the tube not your scone).
    "Consider the grebe..."
  • downfader
    downfader Posts: 3,686
    One of the guys down here was trying to wind me up saying any cyclist with a face mask was going to be stopped and searched by the local rozzers :lol:

    I did consider it for a while but the cost of a decent mask was too high. I dont think the technology is quite there yet, even if now and then I can taste the c*** in the air and it burns my throat, waste of money as yet. :?
  • sc999cs
    sc999cs Posts: 596
    Kieran_Burns wrote:
    Oddly - i was considering some form of face mask to keep warm on the coldest of days... while a sligth hijack it does stay with the main theme of face masks :wink:

    Does anyone have any recommendations?

    I'd use a buff as a mask.

    Edit:

    Whoops this is what SmellTheGlove recommended although I'd suggest this retailer http://www.sportingtriangle.com/html/buffshop.html for a bigger selection.
    Steve C
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    I've seen some with a nose clip on them... can't for the life of me remember where now.
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • DonDaddyD
    DonDaddyD Posts: 12,689
    They keep my face warm and when my friends see me wearing my face mask they call me the 'Renegade' (yes all my friends are adults in their 20s) because I look cool - I presume....

    Beyond the above there are no inherent benefits to a face mask IMO.

    It may block out 'fumes' but when properly fixed to my face it also prevents sufficient oxygen getting too my lungs to cycle over any real distance.

    And for the love of everything do not sneeze into one of those things.....
    Food Chain number = 4

    A true scalp is not only overtaking someone but leaving them stopped at a set of lights. As you, who have clearly beaten the lights, pummels nothing but the open air ahead. ~ 'DondaddyD'. Player of the Unspoken Game

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