Helmet style?

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drmoocow

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Hey, everyone.

I'm just getting into cycling, and I have a question regarding helmet styles.

I'm a big guy - 6'1, around 290. I'm thinking a cruiser is probably more my style, based on both size and preference. I've been eying shorty helmets, but I have a few concerns. Presumably since they're certified they'll offer similar protection to full-height styles, but are they unbearable for wind? Should I expect to increase my protein intake in the form of bugs? Should I look for one with vents, or are they open enough to not get unbearably hot?

I imagine over the next few weeks I'm going to have a ton of questions - I'm completely new to this. Hopefully I won't pester the crap out of everyone. :rolleyes:

Thanks!
 
I own both a full faced helmet and a half-helmet. Both are DOT certified, but a half helmet won't protect the lower portion of your face should it impact anything. I know there crash statistics floating around that show a higher percentage of facial impacts occur in the jaw area of the face. But then again, getting on a bike in general is inherently risky and it's ultimately your decision.

Now that we're past that disclaimer, ensure you get GOOD riding glasses. Something that will wrap around your eyes to block wind. Next, get earplugs. On colder rides you may want a bandana of one of those neoprene lower face masks to keep warm. Or do what I do - throw on a full faced helmet in anything but hot weather. As for bugs, I haven't had a huge problem. The wind isn't unbearable at all (it feels pretty good, and is one of the pros of wearing a shorty), but rain can feel like tiny little needles stabbing your face.

So, wearing a half helmet requires a bit more work. But it sure does feel nice, and some peeps feel claustrophobic in the full face.
 
Hey drmoocow I was in your same position, At first I got a shorty helmet and rode that last season, granted it was on a CH250 but still. Now that I got a CB400 the shorty just wouldn't cut it... I love the wind in my face as to me that's the pleasure of driving a motorcycle, but at 60km'h and above all you can hear is the wind racing past your earholes. You have to turn your head to hear your bike clearly which takes your eyes off the road ahead of you. I am always listening for noises from the bike so that was a big problem. What I ended up ordering was a Rockhard American Classic helmet. 3/4 open face. Still got the wind in my face, but with a little more protection from impact plus can hear the bike like I want to. Also they are extremely low profile so you don't get that god-awful bobble head look. If you search on Youtube there's a bigger dude trying one on to show you how it fits, so you can get an idea of what it might look like on you.

Hope that helps.
 
drmoocow said:
I'm just getting into cycling, and I have a question regarding helmet styles.
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Does anyone else refer to riding a motorcycle as 'cycling'? For some reason that phrasing makes me think of a bicycle.
 
bombshelter13 said:
Does anyone else refer to riding a motorcycle as 'cycling'? For some reason that phrasing makes me think of a bicycle.
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Shhh, just get out there and drive your bike!

I've only ever had full faced helmets on my cruisers, I find them more comfortable for riding. If I need some wind I can open the visor and/or flip down the sunshield, since I wear glasses.

Watch out riding behind some trucks they like to drop chunks of stuff off the back at you. Those pig trucks are especially problematic.
 
cycling = bicycle
riding = motorcycle

also, personally, i'd never ride with an openface lid. cant afford being hit in the face with a rock.
 
I agree with above poster. I wouldn't ride with anything but a full face helmet regardless if it doesn't look cool or what not. Safety and bug-less face comes first :) Though i did have an incident where a fly managed to sneak in and it was buzzing around my ear driving me nuts. I couldn't get rid of it till I pulled over and removed my helmet :angry4:
 
Simple answer: Get one of each.

Riding around town can be very nice in an open face helmet, however on the highway can become unbearable if you're not used to it. You will also dehydrate faster so bring lots of water anytime you travel.

Secondly, not all open face helmets are created equal. spm probably had the best recommendation. Those retro style helmets are also pretty "hip" right now. So good combination of being safer and looking cool. (If that's your thing.)

If you're going to buy one, I would strongly recommend getting a windshield. Will avert some of those bugs/rocks/cigarette butts. But not all of em....expect to get hit in the face more than once.

If at any point you find yourself walking towards the "smallest legal helmet" booth at any bike show, do us all a favour and sign your organ donour card. Please sign your kidney over to me, I enjoy a beer or two now and then so will probably need one at some point in time.

As to any sport bike guy who says "I'd never wear an open face helmet"...no ****. If my face was the number two body part closest to the front of the vehicle, I probably wouldn't recommend wearing an open face helmet either.
 
Hey, thanks everyone for the thoughts. I must say I hadn't taken rocks and the like into consideration - yeah, a stone to the face doesn't sound all that appealing, I must say.

@bombshelter - told you I was new. hahaha

So with a full-face, does it cut wind noise down enough that you don't need earplugs?
 
I've ridden with both open face and full face , street , highway , dirt, snow, winter , summer.
I've have put both into "real" use and action.

I know someone who died in their driveway cause no helmet was "needed".
My sister wiped out a moped on a motorcycle closed training course with a cool half helmet, (hate to say but,...i told her not to buy one), busted her three front teeth and her knee...at 10 kph....lots of surgery and crutches for 6 months fixed that.

Never ever will you see me in a open face helmet..... not on my lawn, driveway, road, street, highway, snow, dirt ...dirt bike, streetbike, cruiser, ssbike, or sled....crap even when i fly small planes i think i should be wearing a full face.
I almost always wear ear plugs too ...with full face...even through town.

Style is never thought of when I wear a helmet........just my thoughts;)
 
drmoocow said:
Hey, thanks everyone for the thoughts. I must say I hadn't taken rocks and the like into consideration - yeah, a stone to the face doesn't sound all that appealing, I must say.

@bombshelter - told you I was new. hahaha

So with a full-face, does it cut wind noise down enough that you don't need earplugs?
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I haven't had a full-face that didn't benefit from earplugs on the highway. I have a Scorpion Apollo now. Some people have said that certain helmets are quieter than others.
 
drmoocow said:
,,,

So with a full-face, does it cut wind noise down enough that you don't need earplugs?
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Depends on the helmet. Most cheap ones are not only made from inferior materials (like thermoplastic) but they also have poor padding and venting which contributes to wind noise. My Joe Rocket RKT101 (made by HJC) is way noisier than my Shark RSX or RSR2
Nevertheless, even some high end helmets can be noisy. A lot of riders wear plugs at all times, especially on the highway.

And yes, full face is the way to go if you intend to do some serious riding.
 
If your worried about wind noise, why not just wear some earphones with some tunes going?
 
You can also look at full face flip up helmets. They are a nice compromise as well. I know HJC and BELL make them.
 
drmoocow said:
Is this legal? Bearing in mind that all my experience is in cars, aren't earphones banned because you would have issues hearing sirens and the like?
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I have never had issues with ear phones, the ones that go into the ear, and you can hear sirens just fine with them. The people that tell you you cannot hear outside noises with them in are either playing music so loud it will cause ear damage, or have never ridden with them. The music should be there for background noise, not for you to dance to.
In a car I think the head phones are what you are thinking are illegal, headphones are the ones that cover your ears.

When using any helmet, use ear plugs. They do not stop all noise, the lower the damage done to your ears by the constant white noise you hear when riding with any helmet, regardless of price. You may not notice the damage now, but give it 20 years, and you will. I ride with both full face and open face, depending on what bike I take, and with the full face I have bluetooth connection to my phone for both receiving calls, and listening to music, and use ear plugs with both helmets.
 
I wear earplugs along with a Scala Rider Q2 headset. The wind noise is cut down and I can hear GPS directions, my phone, or other riders on the headset fine.
I hooked them up backwards last time and my buddy was getting the directions from my GPS.
 
At speeds above 60 km/h the risk of bugs and rocks and stuff is pretty high. My helmet visor has been cracked by rocks and I've had huge bugs explode all over it. Each time I think "I could never wear a half helmet".

Below 60 the wind isn't so bad. But I'm terribly worried about my face. You could break your jaw just falling off your bike at 0 km/h. A full-face helmet is very easy to get used to as well.
 
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