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This question has ocurred to me every time I've looked in the mirror since Sunday morning ☹️
Sunday I was riding down a local-to-me trail (Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire) when my front wheel decided it didn't have any grip. This was inconvenient as I was on a steep downhill section and doing 20mph or so...
I landed on my right hand side. My right shoulder, right forearm, right shin and my face took the brunt of the impact and reduced my speed to zero in fairly short order.
When I tried to get up I had dizziness and blood running down my face. I sat very still for 5-10 minutes and tried to stop the blood flowing from my face. Once I could stand I walked/wheeled/rode my bike home.
Two days later my shoulder is still painful but seems to function normally. None of the bones have strange lumps and most pain seems to be coming from the muscles. My shin and forearm abrasions are healing nicely but my face still bloody hurts!
I have cuts and scrapes with large, thick scabs; on the end of my nose, my top lip and my chin. Everytime I smile, wash or open my mouth the scabs crack and blood flows 😢 I dare not shave!!
I now need a new helmet - the 'current' helmet has suffered one or two bumps prior to Sunday and this last event has all but destroyed the peak.
I'm wondering why 'most' of us don't wear a Full-face helmet and wondering why I wouldn't buy one now? 🙄
PS: the bike's fine - Thanks for asking 🤣
only real reasons are its easier for me to hear my riding mates and drink from a water bottle....
I'd be perfectly happy to wear my Leatt FF all the time if everyone else did, i guess... in fact i used to wear it 100% when i first started getting serious...
Because they're not pleasant to climb in.
Firstly, sorry to hear about your crash but fortunately sounds like you've done nothing major.
I wear an open face because a full face is far to warm to be doing any proper pedalling in, simple as that really.
Ow, hope you're feeling better soon!
I've wondered the same thing on occasion and for me the answer is the amount of risk balanced against the cons (heat, weight, vision and feeling like an idiot 😆).
The chances of me landing on my face are not that high, so I take the risk of not using face protection. If the chance goes up depending on my riding that day, I'll add knee or face protection.
Same reason I don't wear a helmet when strolling down the street, even though there's a chance I'll walk into a lamppost or something and break my face.
Mostly the weight and heat of wearing a FF for general riding and the fact I've not fully face planted in about 20 years so I don't see it as a risk worth putting up with the drawbacks for (granted that equation would change if I did face plant in future). I did consider getting something like a MET Parachute at one point but it seems a faff unless you're mostly just going straight up and down (e.g. at a bike park without an eMTB) rather than XCing.
Simple process of risk scoring. I've been riding 30 years and never had a face injury. My style of riding is pretty much the same therefore I score the likelihood of the risk materialising as being low and I don't need to take further mitigation. Sounds a bit corporate but, in life, we don't mitigate every single risk, only those that score high.
I should also say that I bought my first pair of knee pads last year and that was only because I needed them for an event I was riding in. I've not worn them again since.
There is no right or wrong to these things, just judgement. I hope you heal up soon.
I wear a FF for DH/bike park stuff where I won't be pedalling up hill much. My new FF is really light and has lots more air flow then my older one but I still wouldn't want to pedal very far in it.
I knocked my self out face planting off a drop a few years a go, still can't remember about 20 minutes after I crashed. Still generally wear an open face lid for general riding though.
Hope you feel better soon OP.
Why would I want to wear a full face helmet? I am mainly XC type rider and would never be “on a steep downhill section and doing 20mph”.
In fact I have got a FF helmet which I wear on my annual trip to the Alps.
On the other hand I am always surprised at the number of people no wearing knee pads - in my experience the most likely time to come off and hurt a knee is at high speed on an easy trail the week before a ski holiday.
As others have said, they're hideous to pedal in. (Troy Lee Stage here - much better vented than my previous FF, but still not something I want to wear on any climb longer than about 2 mins.)
Outside of a race, I also dislike the isolation and tunnel vision that a FF gives. I end up riding harder and faster with less awareness of my surroundings - not so clever on multi-user trails, plus its quite intimidating for the other users you may come across.
I chose to have a wee lie down as well yesterday, and not dissimilar crash to yours, although going a bit slower I think. Right hand side thigh, forearm, elbow, and shoulder took to brunt of it, everything still moves, nothing grinds (that didn't already) and I don't need painkillers to move, few bruises and scrapes; so pretty 'normal' crash. Didn't hit my face, Head didn't even touch the ground. So like others have said; it's a combo of years of weighing up the pro's and con's (yes, I know) comfort, and assessment of familiar routes and the hazards. I don't mind wearing FF and will happily if I think the riding warrants it, but's never going to be my go-to for day to day riding
Becuase I don't own a convertible one, is the answer! I hate the feeling of FF helmets. I have a Leatt one that is fine to descend in, but I hate wearing it on the flat or going up...it's so hot and claustrophobic and I never ride uplift so I just never wear it basically. I wanna get one with a detachable jaw, before my own jaw detaches ideally. Maybe a little pressie to myself this summer.
I do have one for the rare occasion that warrants it, but in general they make me feel claustrophobic and I become aware of my breathing, which then makes me feel like I'm not getting enough breath.
All of the above, plus riding in busy areas, FF helmets tend to lead to more dehumanising of cyclists that normal helmets so another reason is it often means a nicer day out.
For balance, 4 weeks ago I fell heavily on my shoulder. I sat up and poked things to see if it would make me scream. It didn't so nothing broken. I am still doing exercises for rotator cuff injury but it's mostly just achy rather than painful.
I wasn't wearing a helmet at all. In fact, I was just walking down the road!
For general riding & enduro racing I wear an open face otherwise I'd boil on the climbs & pedaly bits. I run hot anyway so I accept the risk verses comfort trade off.
I had one of the original giro switchblades 20 plus years ago, typically I didn't have the chin piece attached the day I went OTB and used the ground to poke my left eye tooth through my top lip. I still have the scar 😁
I agree with what everyone else has said - it’s mainly comfort and cooling. But having said all that, I’ve found that a convertible Leatt helmet really does not feel very claustrophobic, in the way that ‘normal’ FF helmets do. Also, it breathes pretty much the same whether FF or open face. However, I admit that it does not breathe quite as well as my favourite open face helmets.
Second point, I recently bought new FF for uplift days. That helmet has a Fidlock catch and is much, much less claustrophobic than my old helmet with the motorcycle style catch.
My favourite YouTuber is Dale Stone, and I’ve noticed that he wears an IXS Trigger 100% of the time. And he climbs a heck of a lot, and in very high temperatures too.
I think that if I’d used by face as a brake, as painfully as the OP did, I might resort to riding in an airy, lighter FF all of the time.
Cos of
I do have an excellent, very well vented fullface, a TLD Stage, but it's still not close to an openface and some days even a well vented open face is unpleasant enough by itself. And I totally stand by "the sweatier and more distracted you are the more likely you are to crash" but also "I always end up taking my fullface off and carrying it at some point and you can still fall off then." Open face is a minimum really but sometimes that's all you're going to hack.
Fox Dropframe covers 90% of my riding. I'm pretty certain I wouldn't have a plate in my jaw if I was wearing this rather than the Fox Flux I had at the time.
For the rest, I have a Proframe FF for gnarly (and a Bell Super DH convertible for pedally then gnarly) and a Fox Speedframe for gentler/gravel rides.
Definitely wouldn't want to pedal much in a FF though
I don't care if I look a bit of a tit tbh
Thanks everyone 👍
I know you’re all right, I don’t really need one but my brain keeps telling me that it would have saved a lot of pain last Sunday 🤣
I shall probably buy a Fox Dropframe as it looks like a good quality open-face helmet - I know that 99.9% of the time that’s enough
Prior to Sundays accident I had totally underestimated the hill I was riding and I’d have described Sundays route as an XC bimble - I’ve ridden it dozens of times and never had a problem. I think the dry weather has reduced the grip. The ground was as hard as hell 🤨
Same reason as why I don't wear a helmet at all a lot of the time. Like all " safety" gear they are they do deal with the unusual which doesn't often happen. You weigh up the chances and make a decision. I only wear one on a motor cycle if its really cold and nasty.
I've been in the situation where you're trying to decide whether it's worth it or not based on a crash and as others have said they've never had it happen to them. It's really about weighing up the chances of it happening over the unpleasant sensation of wearing a big FFer. I have a posh fox proframe which is extremely lightweight but I still couldn't face riding in it all the time for normal riding. I also had to justify for months and months to my parents who thought I should wear a FFer at all times from then on.
It's bound to happen in a place you never expected it and never thought it was possible, for me it was something I'd ridden probably a hundred times before and that day a sapling twisted my bars while I was going some clap. Broken jaw in three places, three front teeth smashed out, bruised ribs, a scar on my chin that will be there forever more and a nice titanium plate in said jawbone, it's also affected the root of the tooth directly above the break and at some point in the future that tooth will crumble into a million pieces and it'll be off to the dental hospital again.
I have a convertible for protection when I need it and ventilation when I need that.
It does seem almost inevitable that one day I'll crash and hurt my face while the chin bar is strapped to my backpack.
There is also an increased risk of rotational brain injury and neck injury. One spinal surgeon who had seen a lot of neck injuries in full face helmet wearers said that if you are wearing one you should always wear a neck brace as well.
Like all cycle helmets it is a trade off. Reduced risk of facial injury. Increased risk of spinal injury
Insufficient real data to quantify either risk
All you can do is weigh it up for you.
I wear a Bell Super DH (I think that’s what it’s called) a lot of the time and take the chin bar off for long climbs.
Last summer I went OTB in Switzerland having clipped a tree with my bars and I stopped using my face. I had a slight bruise on my nose from my glasses but I think that would have been a lot worse without the FF on.
For pedally XC stuff I leave the face at home but for any decent descents I usually have it and clip it on.
I’ve only landed n my head once, and that was when I was about 14 on a Raleigh Grifter. I bust a tooth and that’s it.
Since then I’ve never landed on my head in 35+ yrs riding.
Im curious to start going to Revolution BP which is about 20 mins from my house. What keeps putting me off is having to buy a full face and knee pads, neither of which I have ever needed so far in 40+ yrs of riding a bike.
What worries me more than head or knee injury is back injury, but you don’t see that many people wearing back protection
My background is also ski racing where there has been at least 1 death attributed to the neck getting snapped by chin protection
To the OP, I’d just like to say that I’m very happy with my Leatt Enduro 2. It’s easy to take the chin bar off if I don’t need it. And the helmet breathes well with the chin guard on. It definitely feels more airy and less claustrophobic than a motorcycle style FF. I’d very happily buy another if I crashed it.
Edit: just for completeness, I have to take the helmet off to fit or remove the chin bar. And the chin bar is a bit awkward to store. So I tend to either ride with it or without it, rather than remove it mid ride.
The simple answer is they're uncomfortably hot at mountain bike speeds.
On the motorbike at (the national) SPEED (limit) there's a bloody gale blowing up under the chin keeping things cool on all but the hottest days. At a 10mph average it's sweltering. So you wouldn't wear it except on the techiest sections, and end up falling off and bouncing on your head trying to track stand through a gate or something similar.
For uplifts where the risk is higher and the downsides lower they make sense.
There's also a large chunk of risk compensation. If I wear body armor I ride stuff I'm more 50/50 about, and crash a lot more. If I'd not been wearing body armor and a full face I wouldn't have broken my arm.
Outside of a race, I also dislike the isolation and tunnel vision that a FF gives. I end up riding harder and faster with less awareness of my surroundings - not so clever on multi-user trails, plus its quite intimidating for the other users you may come across.
Yes, FF is for designated bike only play areas in my book for this reason. Be nice say hi and all that.
When there's a risk of hikers, horses or bikes coming the other way then armouring up to (mentally enable you to) go faster gives off "bought an SUV because they are safer" vibes.
I don't go 20mph downhill unless it's on the road or in a straight line where the front wheel can't wash out!
Used to crash loads when I was younger and stupid enough to push the limits and try stuff, but never landed on my (lovely) face. (Always seemed to be hips and shoulders that got hurt.. how do you protect those!?)
I do try to wear a FF helmet if I'm pushing my envelope in terms of having wheels off the ground, but open face is the default for 95% of my rides. Same reasons as others have stated.
I fell off a couple of years ago (actually, I realised afterwards that I'd fainted on the bike) and landed on my chin, cue peeing blood and a lot of naval gazing about why I ride and do I need a full face. I bought a Bell Super 3R with detachable chinguard and kept it in the box until a week before the 3 month returns period was up, and returned it having never felt the need to wear it. But the crash continued to haunt me so I bought it again but wear it maybe 25% of the time and sometimes even then don't wear the chinguard.
As above, comes down to risk appetite but I *should* wear it more. I've come off before wearing an open face lid and goggle - the goggle saved me from a lot of skin loss on my face and I don't always wear a goggle.
I crashed around 20 years ago. landed on my face. Tore off my top lip, 36 stitches inside my mouth and had to have all my teeth reset and a new bite ground in (i now have tiny teeth).
I still only wear a full face on uplift days as pedalling in one is just miserable.
Mainly they’re too hot for me. Also it’s probably ingrained in my mind that I’ll look lame in a full face helmet (I know, stupid reason), especially since I’ve just started riding an ebike as well.
but honestly I see know real reason why people shouldn’t wear a lightweight ‘enduro’ full face helmet all the time. Maybe next time I’ll get over my personal bias and look into getting one, maybe I’ll be less hot now I’m 10+kg lighter 🤷🏼
Top tip - cover the scrapes, cuts and scabs with lots of Vaseline for your face. It’ll keep the germs out and stop the scabs from going hard and cracking while they heal.
What worries me more than head or knee injury is back injury, but you don’t see that many people wearing back protection
How many people do you see with Evoc packs on? They often have back protection in, mine does and for longer rides I’m often wearing it.
I’ve got lightweight armour too which I wear on the eeb and for any uplift.
Im curious to start going to Revolution BP which is about 20 mins from my house. What keeps putting me off is having to buy a full face and knee pads, neither of which I have ever needed so far in 40+ yrs of riding a bike.
What worries me more than head or knee injury is back injury, but you don’t see that many people wearing back protection
you defo will see alot of armour at revs! i 100% would not ride revs wthout fullface and knee pads or even an upper body suit. ( i know you cant but even if you could!)
at dyfi the other week i recon at least 80% of teh regular riders had upper body/back/knee armour on.
I should also say that I bought my first pair of knee pads last year and that was only because I needed them for an event I was riding in. I've not worn them again since.
I really shouldn't have posted that the other day. Managed to hit tarmac earlier turning into my street after taking the dog for a short ride along the river. Gravel rash everywhere, big flap of skin hanging of my finger and, of course, mashed up right knee. I reckon I'll be off to minor injuries tomorrow and now wondering where those once worn kneepads are......
Oh Frank! Sorry to hear of your crash 😐
Take good care of the injuries: anti-septics and clean bandages etc...
You'll be back to 'normal' again soon, fingers crossed for a quick recovery.
My nose, top lip and chin have pretty much healed up already. Just some dry, hard bits of skin and scab left now.
My only remaining issue is the stiffness and soreness in my right shoulder - although it is getting better it's just slower than I want it to be 😆
bought a Bell Super 3R with detachable chinguard
I meant to add, for those saying they're too hot - this one really isn't. When I do actually put the chinguard on it stays on for the climbs and lack of faff. Don't even notice its there until I go to take a drink from my bottle. Every... frigging... time...
How many people do you see with Evoc packs on?
None?
I meant to add, for those saying they're too hot - this one really isn't.
It's what my ex uses for uplift/enduro days, she hates wearing it as it's far far hotter and sweatier than her big helmet (POC Tectal i think?). But they won't let her in without a chin bar.
TBH, shouldn't all these full face jobbies really need a neck brace/HANS thing to work properly/safely?
Yes imo you should wear a neck brsce with a ff helmet. Thats the opinion of a spinal surgeon who had seen multiple neck breaks in ff helmet wearers.
Anecdote is not evidence however but its something to base decisions on in the absence of proper evidence.
Some of you need to stop crashing so much and / or do some martial arts and learn to breakfall🤣