Cyclist0108

My 20 year old is recovering from extensive jaw surgery. His surgeon is concerned about him re-breaking his jaws in a bike accident. His bike is his only transport at college (PDX), and also he enjoys recreational riding (SJC/KWVI).

Would a full-face helmet like this Bell offer significant protection?



We have an older version of this one for a younger kid (for mountain biking/bmx), but the helmet is too small. The nice thing is the jaw-guard detaches for when you don't need it. But the concern is that since my older kid would be using it under road conditions, it wouldn't offer any significant benefit in a crash, or worse, might give a false sense of security.

There is also the issue of not wanting to look like a dork, but I think he is over that.

Iride01 

Might also weigh the restricted vision and hearing of that helmet. Will that make it more unsafe for the ride conditions that will be encountered? I depend on hearing and peripheral vision to alert me to traffic hazards. Particularly fast moving cars that come from behind.

SouthFLpix

My opinion is that the most likely thing you will injure in a bicycle crash is your hands, followed by your collarbone. The chances of injuring your jaw in a cycling accident seems rare; however, if the full face helmet gives you peace of mind, then go for it (or have your son go for it).

Cyclist0108

I also think it will squeeze the jaw bones too much (just tried the smaller one on myself). The jaw guard in this case is one size fits all.

FBinNY 

A helmet is one option. Reasonable caution is another.

Bike crashes involving injury to head or face are relatively rare, and fairly avoidable. I'd forego special protection and just ride smart.

Of course, keep in mind this advice comes from someone who doesn't wear a helmet in the first place. But seriously, what are the odds, and how do they compare to simply tripping over a step?

Homebrew01

I have never hurt my hands in my many race related crashes. Usually shoulders, knees, hips , elbows get the worst of it.
I don't stick my hands out.... "tuck & roll".

rydabent

The full face helmet would seem to be a good solution for the time being until he is healed.

Dave Mayer

Riding with a full-face helmet on the road I would think to be less safe than riding with a regular helmet.

First off- I always ride helmeted. I won't bore with the accounts of the number of times I would have ended up in a wheelchair - drooling without my brain bucket.

But the #1 safety device on a bike is your hearing and peripheral vision - you need to be able to see behind you. A full-face helmet impedes both.

Riding with a hoodie: same problem. As an aside: our local hoodie-riders are the most dangerous class of cyclists, as they weave through pedestrians on busy sidewalks on brakeless BMX bikes rushing between drug deals.

I also agree with the argument for a full-face helmet could cause a false sense of security.

fietsbob

well like so many other things in the bike biz a $250 helmet is a lot different than a $60 one,

but the expensive one could recover some money in resale..


Full face Motorcycle helmets wont have ventilation holes but they are rigid. .. fiberglass shells..





..

tyrion

Yes, but the reduction in vision and hearing might be a worse trade off. Remember downhill bike racers don't need to look behind them, and neither do motorcyclists (because they have 2 mirrors). I wouldn't wear that helmet on a bike in traffic - on a lonely dirt road, sure, but not in traffic.

Eyedrop

I think the full face helmet is probably overkill, and will simply discourage riding due to excessive sweat, lack of visibility, discomfort, etc... It would be different if it was for a MTB and he was hitting the trails. But on the road? It just doesn't make sense.

REDMASTA

Maybe just use uber/lyft until it becomes safe to ride.

Cyclist0108

Well, it squeezes on the jaw where he has to have a wire to keep it spread, so it got vetoed on that alone. My assumption that it could do no harm wasn't accurate. Anyway, thanks for the feedback.

fietsbob

Or the Bus trimet

General Geoff

Full face helmets are specifically designed to not impede peripheral vision. And I don't know about you, but I can hear more easily in a full face helmet because it reduces wind buffeting around my ears.

rollagain

I was going to say the same about peripheral vision. I've done many thousands of miles in full-face motorcycle helmets, and they DO NOT impede peripheral vision.

As to the helmet impeding hearing, that's never been a problem either, which you might expect from a more or less unventilated shell. Some are better than others in the wind-noise department, though; my latest (a Bell Revolver) made LOTS of wind noise--until I turned my head about 45 degrees, then, perfect silence. Go figure. None of that should be a concern with a bicycle helmet, though.

shrtdstncrdr

If the reason for the surgery wasn't bike related in the first place, I'd thank him for his advice and move on. If it was, then don't ride until the jaw is healed.

On helmets, they do block some hearing but sight is generally pretty good. I wore helmets for twenty years and rode without for over a decade before that. I might start looking at helmets myself.

exmechanic89

I'd stop riding until it healed, as inconvenient as that may be. I rode with a fractured right hand for a while against my Dr's wishes, but I dont think I'd do the same after jaw surgery.

CliffordK

Part of the design of most bicycle helmets is to reduce the acceleration applied to various parts of the head. I'd look at the MTB helmets carefully. If they're designed like road helmets, then in a collision, the impacted part of the helmet crumbles. The foam reduces the acceleration to the head, but there still is a significant impact felt.

Something like a motorcycle helmet, or perhaps even a football helmet, catcher's helmet, or hockey helmet would be designed to take an impact, but not necessarily put pressure on the jaw as part of the impact.

Non cycling helmets would likely be hot, although other sports helmets like football helmets may be tolerable.

Fortunately this is also the winter.

I can't say how other sports helmets would work vs a cycling helmet. Much of a bicycle's impact is reducing the acceleration of one's own body, so perhaps it would be good for running into stuff, or perhaps slow urban traffic.

If I was you, I'd go to a big general sporting goods store, and look at helmets in all sections of the store.

Gresp15C

I'm wondering if any helmet will work, if it's secured by a chin strap.

CliffordK

Good point.

There are chin straps, and under mandible straps. I'm not quite sure why one would choose one or the other, but for example, I think football helmets actually tend to use the chin straps, while bicycle helmets use a strap under the mandible.

It might be an interesting question whether there would be any helmets what would be secure enough without a strap. For example, a tightly fitting over the ear helmet may hold securely enough that a chin strap may not be 100% required as the bike helmets are generally designed for a single impact.

Although tight over the ears may still impinge on the mandible.

Anyway, it might be better than nothing.

Perhaps it is best just to instruct the kid not to hit his noggin.

02Giant 

Just ride the damn bike.

satrain18

Here's a guy, who is a self-proclaimed bike safety advocate, who always wears a full downhill kit in traffic. Not only does it weigh a ton, the helmet also impairs his hearing and vision. Not to mention that it makes him look very shady because he doesn't want to be identified in public. He even stalked called 911 on a pedestrian and tried to have him arrested threw a cookie at him because he scared him with his air horn.

kellyon

Rudy Project helmets are quite good. Giro is also one of the popular triathlon helmet makers specifically because it offers a wide range of products with various features and in numerous types. They offer best budget helmets.

LanghamP

I have this Bell helmet; you can pick them up on sale occasionally on Amazon for about $140, which is pricey for sure.

It doesn't block hearing at all, the helmet is rather "holey" and light. Now it does block a bit of vision from above because it has a visor but there's no difference for me from side to side from my regular helmet. I'm not a glass wearer.

The whole helmet sort of "floats" on your head, which is a strange experience. I think the idea is that when you crash the rotational forces are a bit less.

The chin bar has no EPS liner like the way a full-on motorcycle helmet has, so the protection if you get a hit to the front is halfway between a motorcycle helmet and an open faced helmet.

One thing I really like about this helmet is how far the back extends downward. It's a lot of protection compared to most other bike helmets.

The conversion process takes like six seconds or less, from full face to open face.

I wear this helmet if I'm looking for trouble since it offers incomparably better protection than my other helmets, and I wonder if I should wear it much more often that I do. Interestingly, the visor can be moved quite a bit up so it doesn't block even slammed stems.