Fox Proframe – Enough for DH/Bike Parks?

Hi guys,

When washing the liner of my DH helmet (Fox Rampage) I’ve found a sizeable crack in the protective foam. I have a couple of Wales bike park trips booked and I’m wondering if my Fox Proframe helmet is protective enough? I know it’s ‘DH certified’ but I can’t shake the feeling it’s just a bit too light for proper DH riding. Should I just suck it up and buy a new full DH lid?

In theory the Proframe offers adequate protection and it’s not like any helmet renders you immune to injury but… my Proframe does feel very lightweight and airy, nothing like as reassuring as say a motorcycle helmet to wear. If it’s going to play on your mind I say stump up the cash for a new DH helmet and be happy 😃

What runs are you hitting and what’s the concern, the proframe will take a good hit from all accounts, i’ve been up BPW with my D4 on uplifts, and dropframe on bike pass days, it’s all about risk, and that for me comes down to the trails and how much you’re pushing on the day, which at BPW tends to be quite a bit.

The reality is that the difference between your rampage and proframe in terms of taking a hit will be a small percentage, the probability of having a hit that is above the proframe limit will be pretty small, but not zero of course.

What runs are you hitting and what’s the concern, the proframe will take a good hit from all accounts, i’ve been up BPW with my D4 on uplifts, and dropframe on bike pass days, it’s all about risk, and that for me comes down to the trails and how much you’re pushing on the day, which at BPW tends to be quite a bit.

The reality is that the difference between your rampage and proframe in terms of taking a hit will be a small percentage, the probability of having a hit that is above the proframe limit will be pretty small, but not zero of course.

Ahh sorry I meant Bike Parks in Wales, not BPW 😂 I’m off to Revs and Dyfi so they are on the more gnar side! I think I’ll just stump up for a new DH lid, even if it’s just for the piece of mind when hitting the bigger stuff…

Was going to say that most people at BPW these days are using Proframe, TLD Stage etc. I’d still want a proper FF for ‘bigger’ stuff than that.

Has it been crashed in? It shouldn’t be cracked unless it’s taken a very decent knock (or other deformation like being squashed)

I’m totally happy in my TLD Stage, but then I’m happier than most people in an openface. And I’m not a jumper so that takes away that potential for gigantic falling-from-sky ****ups, I might well feel different if I was hitting the biggest gaps at some of these places.

Both the Rampage and the Proframe pass the same certifications, including the ASTM F1952 DH standard. Those certifications are pass/no pass, so there is no way to know if one is safer than the other without seeing the actual test reports.

Looking beefier (the Rampage) is no guarantee of greater safety. A look at the Virginia Tech helmet ratings (they actually rate the helmet’s performance) shows that some of the safer helmets are light, airy road models.

A good resource about the DH certification:
https://helmets.org/f1952standard.htm

I’d trust a Proframe RS (when available) but there are too many reports of chin guards snapping on the older version for me. Ended up with a TLD Stage instead. However, I still have a proper DH helmet for use on uplift days – just feels like the right tool for the job

Virginia Tech don’t appear to test full face helmets.

No I would say it’s not enough, and so do most on the internet. I would get a DH helmet for DH.

@doomanic I mentioned Virginia Tech as an example of how sometimes flimsy looking helmets fare better than heavier looking ones, was not comparing with full face helmets