SAFETY: Why do Road cyclists avoid Full face helmets like the plague?

[Dajoker188]

I am not debating whether or not Helmets are good idea in general, but why they avoid/ ridicule those who wear full face helmets when they ride. I have done a fair bit of down hill mountain biking in the past and it is widely accepted that riding down hill without a full face helmet is quick way to lose your life, teeth and looks due to the increased risk of having a crash in comparison to road biking. However on a road biking the likelyhood to having a more serious crash is vastly increased due most of us travel just marginally slower than most cars.

I don't personally wear a full face helmet on my road bike but after a friend of mine face planted (not his fault), it got me thinking. He was wearing his usual "half head" specialized helmet that most of us wear but it did absolutely nothing to save his teeth, chin etc from the impact. After a long stay in hospital following surgery, He wishes now that he had been wearing a full face helmet.

If full face helmets are good enough for motorcycle riders then why not us?

1. What would be your reason for not wearing one?
2. Are full face helmet for road bikers something the various cycle companies should be tying to push and make a little more fashionable / suitable for us?

 

[summerdays]

They would reduce my ability to see, hear and communicate with other road users.

 

[snorri]

However on a road biking the likelyhood to having a more serious crash is vastly increased due most of us travel just marginally slower than most cars.

I don't know where you cycle but I travel at considerably less than one third of the speed of "most" cars.

 

[Dajoker188]

People will argue that full face helmets impede your field of view, are hot and heavy. But most have yet to test some of the modern day full face helmets which i have used. The don't impede your field of view much at all and are very breathable and only marginally heavier than your typical road helmet. But i agree that verbal communication isn't too great ina full face helmet but who would you be talking whilst at the same time riding?

 

[Dajoker188]

I don't know where you cycle but I travel at considerably less than one third of the speed of "most" cars.

If the driver is abiding to the £30mph speed limit present in most areas of the UK then most roadies will not be far off that speed..

 

[snorri]

If the driver is abiding to the £30mph speed limit present in most areas of the UK then most roadies will not be far off that speed..

You are leading a sheltered life if most of your cycling is within 30mph zones

 

[summerdays]

It's not just verbal communication - your face helps to turn you into a person, rather than bike and a smile can help in many a situation.

 

[smokeysmoo]

What would be your reason for not wearing one?

As they are completely unnecessary unless you're riding a downhill bike off the side of a mountain!

and they make you look like a total nobber!

 

[Dajoker188]

A typical bike helmet isn't too dissimilar to your average builders helmet albeit being lighter and aero dynamic but a building helmet is designed to protect them mainly them from falling debris.

 

[Dajoker188]

hehehe smokey i thought the same thing too but after seeing my mates face i started to doubt my self a little. I had to ask Myself If the opinion of others and being fashion concious is really worth it after your face has been destroyed? And since in most accidents ivolving bike, the cyclist is usually launched forward, what protection do our usually helmets provide when it is most likely your chin and face that will make contact with the ground?

 

[Dajoker188]

As they are completely unnecessary unless you're riding a downhill bike off the side of a mountain!

and they make you look like a total nobber!

And to be fair most people think we are freaks and "nobbers" anyway for just riding on the road

 

[smokeysmoo]

After 40 years I figure I'm at least 50% of the way through my cycling life, and I've never experienced a severe 'face plant' as you've described, nor do I even know anyone who has.

Not doubting it happens, just questioning the likely hood of it doing.

So with that in mind I'll continue to live life on the edge in this regard I think.

 

[snorri]

And to be fair most people think we are freaks and "nobbers" anyway for just riding on the road

No, it's the ones wearing full face helmets in 30mph zones who come in for the ridicule.

 

[Kies]

I get your logic, about full face helmets, but i don't see the need for it on my road bike.
The number of accidents, where a full face helmet v normal helmet was beneficial is not the type of data that is readily available, so i don't see manufacturers pushing this type of safety wear

 

[Dajoker188]

I get your logic, about full face helmets, but i don't see the need for it on my road bike.
The number of accidents, where a full face helmet v normal helmet was beneficial is not the type of data that is readily available, so i don't see manufacturers pushing this type of safety wear

The data isn't available but i can definitely say that had my friend been wearing a full face helmet then he wouldn't have sustained such injuries to his face. Even without the data, i am sure most would agree that wearing that a full face helmet provides more protection than a typical bike helmet. If that wasn't the case then motorcycle drivers and even Formula 1 drivers would wearing wearing similar helmets to us as opposed to the full face helmet.