I'm headed to Ely NV for the weekend for the first time, and while doing some research I've found a few videos of people trail riding on greens and blues. . . all with Full Face Helmets. Is this a thing everywhere, or is ELY just super sick gnar, despite looking like incredibly mellow trails in the videos???
Are you seeing a lot more full face helmets on easy trails???
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wear what makes you feel safe is how i see it.
Most of the riding in my neck of the woods is down-country oriented and while riders really appreciate the half shells for the climbs with the great light full-face offerings I fully expect to see more and more as time goes on.
Most of the riding in my neck of the woods is down-country oriented and while riders really appreciate the half shells for the climbs with the great light full-face offerings I fully expect to see more and more as time goes on.
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I snapped my two front teeth, split my chin open, fractured both joints of my jaw and broke my wrist in a bike crash when I was 12 or 13!
My oldest fractured his eye socket in a bike crash when he was 7!
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I have questions about the stage. Whycome they make a D4 if the stage is protection enough? Wouldn't every WC DH racer who wears a D4 want to be able to breathe better and have a lighter helmet? What gives?
I'm old enough to remember the original giro switchblades failing and cutting people's faces up more, so I'm a bit wary of the lighter offerings or convertables.
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I’m certain these forums prove your surgeon wrong.
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Can't agree more. On slower technical trails you usually have time to react when you know you're about to eat dirt. Can tuck and roll, ditch the bike and protect your vitals etc. Riding Fast and loose including some flow tracks you often go from hero to being on your face before you even know what happened.
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Every Ride. Im new to this but there is definitely a bias against protective gear in mtb. I ride an ebike now but started with ibis Ripley last July 4th.. Got fit got strong lost 20 lbs. blew up my back when my fitness and skill outgrew my back issues. Had two surgeries before.
Anyway I dont try to go fast on the ups so much. Once in a while. But im all about the downs , and going fast through any kind of terrain can really hurt. I wore pads and full face on analog bike.
On the E I wear knees , elbows ,back chest shoulder thing from Leatt. Heavy duty shoes with ankle protection. And full face every ride. TLD stage. Super light and no diff than my half shell. I have one , On my first ride my mentor turned around on a fire road to tell me to be careful.
washed out and got stitches in chin and eyebrow along with a sprained wrist. Ordere five different ff the next day. Picked the stage. Fit the best and also the lightest.
Anyway I dont try to go fast on the ups so much. Once in a while. But im all about the downs , and going fast through any kind of terrain can really hurt. I wore pads and full face on analog bike.
On the E I wear knees , elbows ,back chest shoulder thing from Leatt. Heavy duty shoes with ankle protection. And full face every ride. TLD stage. Super light and no diff than my half shell. I have one , On my first ride my mentor turned around on a fire road to tell me to be careful.
washed out and got stitches in chin and eyebrow along with a sprained wrist. Ordere five different ff the next day. Picked the stage. Fit the best and also the lightest.
I have 3 helmets, all full face. Most of my riding buddies have been switching over as well. If you're putzing around or on pavement where the riding is more predictable, half shell is fine imo, but I expect most to be wearing fullface in the coming years. For me MTB is fun because I like to push close to my personal limit which means its a matter of when the next crash will be.
- Kali invader for XC, close to no downside I can find over standard half shell, similar weight and cooling for the most part.
- TLD stage for 90% of my riding which is enduro
- TLD D4 for lift access days.
When I see a FF rider in an "easy" trail system I think of only 2 things. a) He is hitting something I don't know about and I need to follow him or b) This dude took an unexpected digger early in his career (talking 3 months ago) and learned his lessons well.
In bike parks and hard shuttle runs for sure FF. But pedal rides in hot weather forced me to wear half shells 99% of the time. Riding the same trails for years made me complacent even though the hits get built up bigger after every rain and probably 2-3x as large as their original size. I'm like a frog getting slowly boiled in my half shell.
In bike parks and hard shuttle runs for sure FF. But pedal rides in hot weather forced me to wear half shells 99% of the time. Riding the same trails for years made me complacent even though the hits get built up bigger after every rain and probably 2-3x as large as their original size. I'm like a frog getting slowly boiled in my half shell.
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Buddy and I were talking about this thread after riding a couple of the gnarlier trails we have here earlier today…lo and behold, I hit a soft spot in a jump landing (on the blue connector trail no less) and went face-first into the dirt hard enough to break the frames on my sunglasses. Wouldn’t have minded having a full-face on for that one - the mark my face left in the dirt was pretty damn close to a rock.
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Do it!
There are even lighter-weight FF helmets too, that are not DH rated if you're worried about being too heavy/hot. Like the Bell Super Air R.
So, I'll also say one other thing. I will say that to an extent, its "what you get used to". Kind of like with wearing knee pads, or elbow pads, or even gloves. At first, its noticeable, but after a while, you don't notice it, and then it feels weird when you don't wear it. (although admittedly, I grew up dirt biking, so the full face was never weird to me either way).
Compared to back before enduro took off, definitely. Unless you were willing to spend stupid money on a carbon full face all you could really get then was DH full face helmets that were basically just motorbike lids without a visor. Impossible to breathe in, hot, sweaty, heavy. Just super uncomfortable to wear.
I have a Fox Proframe and it's so light and well ventilated that I can comfortably wear it all day at my local flow trails. My only issue is I have to wear goggles with it or it feels too loose, and goggles get scratched/steam up.
I've worn it at trail centres before to do reds/blacks. In those cases I take it off and strap it to my backpack for the fire road climbs. I guess there's a small risk I could somehow end up nailing my head on a smooth fire road climb, but I can't see it.
FWIW the worst crashes I've ever had have been on the easiest trails imagineable - like farm tracks and stuff - just not paying attention and in the blink of an eye I'm over the bars and landing on my head. Was quite lucky I didn't sustain any facial injuries with this one (OTB at 30mph). Still I can't see myself ever wearing a full face for XC/downcountry stuff, but to each their own. I stopped caring about what other people wear when I was a child.
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I have a Fox Proframe and it's so light and well ventilated that I can comfortably wear it all day at my local flow trails. My only issue is I have to wear goggles with it or it feels too loose, and goggles get scratched/steam up.
I've worn it at trail centres before to do reds/blacks. In those cases I take it off and strap it to my backpack for the fire road climbs. I guess there's a small risk I could somehow end up nailing my head on a smooth fire road climb, but I can't see it.
FWIW the worst crashes I've ever had have been on the easiest trails imagineable - like farm tracks and stuff - just not paying attention and in the blink of an eye I'm over the bars and landing on my head. Was quite lucky I didn't sustain any facial injuries with this one (OTB at 30mph). Still I can't see myself ever wearing a full face for XC/downcountry stuff, but to each their own. I stopped caring about what other people wear when I was a child.
that isn't going to happen. I will shave your hairy faceRather than shelling out $$$ for a FF helmet, I just grew a beard to protect my face.
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I disagree. I race vintage dirt bikes and I have 25+ ranging from 1969 to 1984 plus a modern bike. I have ridden my '74 Penton (KTM) 250, 76 Husky 250, 1982 Husky 430 and 1999 YZ250 on the same trail and timed it while playing back the helmet cam video. The time difference is a handful of seconds over a 3 mile trail. The speeds those old bikes can generate is just fractions off a modern bike as long as it is not a modern SX track with massive jumps and huge whoops, and is not significant from a safety aspect. I think what changed in the 80s (I was racing local pro MX and AA enduro in the 80s) is not the speed of the bikes, though they absolutely got better and faster, it was the tracks and how they were built as a result of the improved suspension. That said, I went to a Bell Moto 4 full face in 1984 and never looked back.
Yep. The thing about bike crashes regardless of the speed is the majority go the same way. Just watch Friday fails. OTB, arms out, slam on one side/shoulder. It's crazy how often this plays out. My injury resume reflects this with three shoulder and four hand injuries.The EWS did a study and they found hands and shoulder to be the most common injuries. Face planting is pretty rare. I've done it three times over 25+ years of riding sustaining a hematoma over one eye, and minor cuts. That's a big reason why I'm not too worried about wearing an FF full time. Face plants are so rare.
They certainly happen but so do back impacts yet everyone has ditched their hydration pack? Busted out teeth won't leave you in a wheelchair, a broken back will. I ride in a pack with insert 100% of the time. While I've taken all sorts of heat here for saying half shells are safe, my half shell and back protection is arguably safer than someone wearing a light FF and fanny pack.
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