Full face Helmet?

[knonist]

The old question...
Seeing so many deaths / injuries recently, I wonder how many of them involving head injuries?

Anyone one would wear a full face cycling helmet for commuting?

 

[wafflycat]

Cycle helmets are light and made full of holes because when using a pedal cycle you generate heat. They do NOT offer the same level of protection as say, a motorcycle helmet - they are not designed to. They can offer limited protection - but it is *limited* to minor knocks. If you drop one *once* you are supposed to replace it. That should give you some indication as to how robust (or not) they are designed to be.

Cycling is a relatively safe activity in the great scheme of things. Millions manage to do it without serious harm or death being the result of cycling. Indeed there are many health benefits to be gained from cycling.

If you wish to wear a lid, by all means do so, but do not think it will save your skull if you in the highly unlikely position of going under the wheels of a bus. It is not designed to do that. It may, however, save you from being nagged by your nearest & dearest and it may offer some protection in a minor scrape.

I wear a lid, it forms a nice mount for a LED head torch which I have found to be one of the most useful things I have come across when cycling at night. In winter, it keeps my head warm. The rest of the time it sort of keeps my hair in check and in the event of a spill where I require hospitalisation, it will stop the stupid question of "why weren't you wearing a helmet?" when it's my leg and shoulder that is injured... Luckily enough, it does not overcook my head when cycling in summer.

IIRC there was a long thread on uk.rec.cycling where the figures regarding cyclist deaths/head injuries being the cause were examined. IIRC in the vast majority of cases, the fatal injuries were mostly a combination of major trauma to various parts of the body, rather than head injury.

The best thing a cyclist can do to minimise their risk of ending up hurt is to learn to cycle safely and assertively in traffic. The wearing of a lid may or may not be part of your additional cyclist's toolkit of staying safe along with wearing gloves, using lights, keeping your bike well maintained etc.

I would highly recommend to any new/returning cyclist that he or she get themselves some cycle training to the national cycle training standards as these have been specifically designed to help cyclists acquire the skills and confidence to cycle as safely as possible on today's roads, by cycling assertively (not aggressively).

Hope this helps.

 

[Landslide]

I have seen a couple of folk in London commuting in full-face helemts.

Personally, I feel that they adversely affect your hearing and peripheral vision too much, and as such I'd suggest that they offer more cons than pros.

 

[knonist]

Cycle helmets are light and made full of holes because when using a pedal cycle you generate heat. They do NOT offer the same level of protection as say, a motorcycle helmet - they are not designed to. They can offer limited protection - but it is *limited* to minor knocks. If you drop one *once* you are supposed to replace it. That should give you some indication as to how robust (or not) they are designed to be.

Thank you for your imformation, I understand that a "normal" helmet is designed for minor knocks, and currently, I do not wear one.

However, I saw some nice full face carbon helmets on sales recently, and I wonder if they would provide better protection than the normal ones? and if so, anyone here tried it?

 

[thomas]

I think they're more suited to downhill mountain biking that cycle commuting.

 

[semislickstick]

I don't think they will save you from brain injury but I've had an accident where a full face would have saved me from a black eye, scraped face and cracked molars!

 

[Jim_Noir]

Odly a guy just went past my window at work wearing a FF, looks odd!

I only wear a helmet, as wafflycat says, to keep my hair from going all over my face and if ever break a leg then will stop some fool saying "if only you had worn a helmet"

 

[scouserinlondon]

I wear a normal lid and am under no illusion that it's a full on crash helmet. But I've been wearing one since my paper round at 15 years ago, so I feel kinda naked without it.

 

[ComedyPilot]

I don't think they will save you from brain injury but I've had accidents where a full face would have saved me from a black eye, scraped face and cracked molars!

With hind sight, would the accidents have been avoided had your riding been altered in any way?

Such as slowing down or changing your position or line?

 

[semislickstick]

With hind sight, would the accidents have been avoided had your riding been altered in any way?

Such as slowing down or changing your position or line?

Of course, I'd rather have hindsight than a helmet or any safety gear!
Imagine that.

I would have paid more attention to the muddy puddle on the wood cycle track late at night and I would have remembered my friends bike has much sharper brakes and I wouldn't ride a bike with bar ends ever again.

Lesson learnt, I haven't come off again and I haven't needed a helmet.

 

[fossyant]

You'll boil your head in a full face helmet. TBH most fatalities do not involve head injuries.

 

[ufkacbln]

There is a campaign backed by "Headway" promoted by medical evidence that goes for compulsory full face helmets....

They quote a paper from the British Dental Journal (Bicycle Helmets 1 - Does
the dental profession have a role in promoting their use? Chapman HR,
Curran ALM. British Dental Journal 2004;196(9):555-560)that states..... that most modern helmets fail to protect vulnerable parts of the face and that this should be addressed by increasing facial protection.

As dentists, we are particularly interested in the face. With cur-
rent helmets there is a weaker, though noticeable, reduction in the
risk of middle third facial injuries. We should therefore be lobbying
for improvements in design as well as increased use.

The dental profession could: play an active role in promoting cycle helmet use; support calls for the compulsory wearing of cycling helmets, particularly for children; press for modification of helmet design and standards to increase protection of the face.

Personally it is down to an informed choice - not emotional blackmail or bullying bty a few zealots, but I doo look forward to the squirming now that we have compulsory full face helmets being campaigned for... will we see the pro helmet lobby campaigning against some helmets but not others?

 

[purplepolly]

I only wear a helmet, as wafflycat says, to keep my hair from going all over my face and if ever break a leg then will stop some fool saying "if only you had worn a helmet"

+ 2 (yes I'm weak willed and have been bullied into wearing one)

But a full face helmet? No, no and again no. If they were compulsory I wouldn't cycle, for safety reasons:-

firstly, they would restirct the field of vision, making accidents more likely
secondly, they would restrict hearing, making accidents more likely
thirdly, I would only be able to cycle downhill, otherwise I would collapse from heat exhaustion, in hot weather this would make death more likely

 

[marinyork]

Don't really see the point of an full face in an urban everyday environment, by the time you've gone down that avenue and cost you might as well be asking whether other experimental technologies for motorbikers would be of use (for things other than head injuries).

 

[Twanger]

and I wouldn't ride a bike with bar ends ever again.

Why? Genuinely want to know. I have bar ends, and they save me, climbing.....