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-   -   light weight helmet with good facial protection? (https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycling-discussion/676120-light-weight-helmet-good-facial-protection.html)

errantaaron 08-29-10 10:51 PM

light weight helmet with good facial protection?
 
I had a nearly deadly wreck two weeks ago and mostly joined to get insight on helmets with facial protection.

i dont like the downhill mountain bike helmets i've seen, they look hot and heavy for a to b riding, not to mention pricy.

are there any cheap, light helmets (could be a single hit foam disposable) but must have good face protection.

i wanted to go with a lacrosse or hockey helmet for the cage/facemask (that is the type face damage i need to avoid, dust/light et al aren't a factor at all)
problem is, those aren't spec for bike impact

any recommendations would be appreciated

thanks!

chasm54 08-30-10 03:19 AM

There's no such thing. The downhill helmets are the nearest thing, if they're too heavy for you, that's that, as far as I know.

There's a bunch of threads in the Advocacy and Safety forum here about whether helmets offer worthwhile protection. Lots of links there to research etc....

Zan 08-31-10 08:46 AM

DOT rated helmets are heavier than CSPC rated helmets. CSPC helmets are bike-rated helmets. DOT rated helmets you can wear when riding a motorcycle (i think?). Downhill helmets are the only helmets for cycling that really offer face protection. I do XC riding and am thinking of picking up a Rockgardn Pearl for the days I want to try the trickier stuff.

Bob Ross 08-31-10 10:05 AM


Originally Posted by errantaaron (Post 11378072)
I had a nearly deadly wreck two weeks ago and mostly joined to get insight on helmets with facial protection.

i dont like the downhill mountain bike helmets i've seen, they look hot and heavy for a to b riding, not to mention pricy.

"Pricey"?!?!? You had a "nearly deadly wreck two weeks ago" and you're concerned about price?!?! How much is your life worth?



Originally Posted by errantaaron (Post 11378072)
are there any cheap, light helmets (could be a single hit foam disposable) but must have good face protection.

Note: all bike helmets are One & Done ("single hit disposable"). Even if it doesn't look like there's any external damage, if you take a fall and hit your head while wearing a cycling helmet, that helmet's efficacy is no longer reliable. Replace it immediately. You already got your money's worth out of the helmet; it did its job. Now get a new helmet and hope it doesn't have to do its job any time soon.


Originally Posted by errantaaron (Post 11378072)
i wanted to go with a lacrosse or hockey helmet for the cage/facemask (that is the type face damage i need to avoid, dust/light et al aren't a factor at all)
problem is, those aren't spec for bike impact

You are absolutely correct: the cage-type facemasks on lacrosse or football or hockey goalie helmets are not designed for the type of impact one could sustain in a bike accident. Nor are the helmets themselves.

The only choice you have are the full coverage downhill helmets, like chasm54 and Zan mentioned.

Fizzaly 08-31-10 10:47 AM

All helmets are a one wreck use weither be a bicycles or DOT ive found you get what you pay for with helmets, when i did more XC riding i wore a fox carbon helmet those things are really light but they are expensive, so basically if your looking for a light F/F helmet your gonna pay more than you probably want to but, like the guy above said how much is your life worth to ya

over1 08-31-10 05:05 PM

Reminds me of "Cheap, light, strong. Pick two." One of the mountain bike pioneers said that, and still stands.
Aaron, you're asking for conflicting requests everybody on the planet has desired since the first bit of technology was invented, especially of cycling-related-anything.
As long as we're dreaming, we might as well add a few more desireable features, like: fully adjustable, completely universal, immediately compliant, always rustproof, expressly recycleable, guaranteed non-toxic, pefectly childproof, double reversible, infinitely unsinkable, readily retractable, blindingly reflective, portably compact, impact durable, etc.

Fizzaly 09-01-10 08:03 AM


Originally Posted by over1 (Post 11389689)
Reminds me of "Cheap, light, strong. Pick two." One of the mountain bike pioneers said that, and still stands.
Aaron, you're asking for conflicting requests everybody on the planet has desired since the first bit of technology was invented, especially of cycling-related-anything.
As long as we're dreaming, we might as well add a few more desireable features, like: fully adjustable, completely universal, immediately compliant, always rustproof, expressly recycleable, guaranteed non-toxic, pefectly childproof, double reversible, infinitely unsinkable, readily retractable, blindingly reflective, portably compact, impact durable, etc.

+1

pacificaslim 09-01-10 08:11 AM


Originally Posted by Fizzaly (Post 11387368)
All helmets are a one wreck use weither be a bicycles or DOT

Sorry, this is not true. Protec, for one, makes helmets with what they call SXP foam that are designed for multiple impacts. They are marketed for skateboarding and BMX. Bern also has multi-impact helmets but they have to call them "hardhats" because they didn't get them certified.

The lightest bicycle helmet with face protection that the OP is likely to find is going to be something like the Pro-tec shovelhead. Giro used to make a helmet with a removable chin bar that was more lightweight than typical bmx style helmets but they stopped making that particular model. They go for a lot when they turn up on ebay.

None of these helmets are going to have enough venting or be light enough to be practical for riding bicycles for non-race/trick situations. I.e. in bmx or downhill, you put the helmet on/off enough that you can stand it but for constant road cycling, you'll be very uncomfortable.


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