Commuter e bike helmets

[dingdangdawg]

I've got 4" fat tire, class 3 e-bike, just started commuting to work.

Much to my surprise there are no decent full face bicycle road helmets.

I was equally surprised to see that full face helmets aren't rated higher than the available half lids. I guess the rating are for concussion. There's no 'Virginia Tech how much of your face did you leave on the pavement?' rating.

I've tried a number of full face helmets including Smith, Bell, IXS and Lazer. Couldn't get a good fit.

The ones I found that did fit: Kali Invader, GIRO switchblade, and Troy Lee Stage.

Most of my commute is on streets, no separate bike path. The 4" tires handle crappy pavement well.

I could not care less what other people say or think about a full face helmet. I do find it strange when I read people arguing that drivers see bicyclists with protective gear as 'aggressive' or in need of less courtesy? I don't get it.

The one negative I see about a full face helmet is that when I arrive at work I need to transform, and helmet hair doesn't work with my professional job.

Anyone commuting by e-bike have thoughts about full face vs typical bike helmets?

I feel like neither the research nor the culture around e-bikes has caught up to the reality of mingling with vehicles on a whimpy moped.

Most of my travel is between 10 and 20 mph.

PS please don't tell me about the Dutch & their bicycle infrastructure: it's apples to oranges, American culture is car oriented and me first.

 

[m@Robertson]

A full face Bell Super 3 R literally saved my face and particularly my eyeball socket from being rounded off when I was t-boned by a car a few years ago. I only had a small scratch on my head from where the helmet destroyed itself around my head and I got a little cut from the interior shards of it. The impact was severe, and was followed by a series of scrapes along the pavement before my body came to a stop. An ambulance ride followed.

Look at the pic on the top right, below. If the chin guard hadn't been there, a lot more than just my eyeglass lens would have been scraped along the road. Bottom right pic is the same hat about a week before I destroyed it. I had added the chin guard aftermarket, hence the mismatched colors.

Worth mentioning is this crash let me experience in real time the benefit of MIPS. See the horizontal scraping along the top? I landed on my head and slid for a ways before I lost velocity and my body arc'd over forward and started bouncing along. My helmet maintained that same attitude for a bit and I felt my head moving while the helmet stayed at the same angle grinding along the pavement with most of my body weight pressing down as it went along.

An old motorcyclists' adage comes to mind: Its not a question of when you go full-face, but whether you will do it before or after your first crash.

After that wreck in 2017, I immediately bought another Bell Super3R, which also has the advantage of a lot of vents for use riding in a hot climate. A few years later I decided to upgrade the MIPS, which is the gen1 yellow plastic membrane in the Super3R. I bought a Super Downhill which uses an improved ball-and-socket system that really is quite a big improvement, but being a downhill helmet meant to protect against violent smashing thru rock gardens, its a bit bulky. So I ended up buying a Super Air and it is as lightweight as the Super3R, with comparable hot-weather ventilation, but also the improved ball/socket interior construction, albeit thinner to keep the weight and size down.

Worth noting: A proper 'full face' bike helmet is not full-face. The lower guard is called a chin guard and it hangs much lower than a motorcycle helmet's similar extension. This allows you to drink from a straw, for starters. You still get the facial protection but your face is actually visible.

EDIT: I am almost exclusively a street rider on a cargo bike. Given the above experience I also don't GAF about what someone with lesser or luckier experience (or none) thinks. I'm 100% mtb downhill helmets with chin guards, and fine with it.

 

[HumanPerson]

I've seen people fly off the back of motorcycles through the years that did the same headstand on pavement with no helmet,
needless to say those times were ugly and fatal.

 

[m@Robertson]

Yeah I was extremely lucky. And it was a low speed impact, too. Probably 15 mph. 20 tops. A t-bone that hit me just right so my body was not hit by the car, only the bike. Which released me to go for a short, high (and short) flight.

 

[dingdangdawg]

eyeglasses
helmet damage

Glad you bought the right gear and lived to tell the tale!

 

[Snoop]

Yeah I was extremely lucky. And it was a low speed impact, too. Probably 15 mph. 20 tops. A t-bone that hit me just right so my body was not hit by the car, only the bike. Which released me to go for a short, high (and short) flight.

Holy crap, that must have been terrifying. Glad you‘re alright!

 

[Snoop]

I feel like the most likely situations to get me into a car accident are

• Being doored: I try to avoid biking by parked cars whenever possible. There is a section on my village’s Main Street where I come upon this a lot, and I will either go around the block to avoid it, or “take the lane,” riding a good 4-6 feet wide of the doors until I’ve passed the cars.
• Getting into a T-Bone dynamic at an intersection. Worst is when I’m on a main road without a stop sign, and I am approaching a car at a perpendicular stop sign coming off a feeder street. I just try to slow down, make myself as visible as hell, and try to confirm eye contact before passing.
• Being hit from behind by a distracted (or undistracted) driver. Besides being visible with bright clothing and illumination, not much I can do there but pray.

 

[dingdangdawg]

@Snoop: Word.

 

[Smaug]

It sounds like the OP is talking about full face motorcycle helmets. I used to wear them when I was a motorcyclist. Saved me a few times.

BUT… They’ll be HOT on an eBike. Their ventilation is only adequate in the summer when the rider is going 40+ mph and not doing ANY work. A buzz haircut helps a lot too. Anything else is going to be a sweaty mess.

 

[dingdangdawg]

Thanks for your response - and - no, if you look you'll see I mentioned MTB helmets with a chin bar. "The ones I found that did fit: Kali Invader, GIRO Switchblade, and Troy Lee Stage."

Cannot do a buzz cut. I already look weird enough.

 

[m@Robertson]

It sounds like the OP is talking about full face motorcycle helmets. I used to wear them when I was a motorcyclist. Saved me a few times.

BUT… They’ll be HOT on an eBike. Their ventilation is only adequate in the summer when the rider is going 40+ mph and not doing ANY work. A buzz haircut helps a lot too. Anything else is going to be a sweaty mess.

Just to reiterate this point for anyone else coming along: Motorcylce helmets - or snowboarding helmets or similar - tend to be terrible bicycle helmets specifically for the reason @Smaug is talking about: Ventilation. The effort you expend even on an ebike where the going can be easier turns anything without ventilation into a melon-cooker. I made the mistake of using an 'urban' helmet for a year or so (to gain some added occipital protection) and when I graduated up to the Super 3 with vents it was like a freaking miracle just for the vents.

For the people who say the vents are bad in the winter... I throw on some painter's tape to cover the vents, and wear a beanie or balaclava (or both) underneath. Cold air problem solved. In the spring the tape comes off residue free.

(edit: This pic was taken one year after the crash so thats not the same helmet as in the earlier pics)

 

[Smaug]

Dirt bike helmets may be an option too: they have much better ventilation than road motorcycle helmets and a sturdy chin bar and visor. A lot like the helmet M@ posted above.

 

[m@Robertson]

I feel like the most likely situations to get me into a car accident are

• Being doored: I try to avoid biking by parked cars whenever possible. There is a section on my village’s Main Street where I come upon this a lot, and I will either go around the block to avoid it, or “take the lane,” riding a good 4-6 feet wide of the doors until I’ve passed the cars.
• Getting into a T-Bone dynamic at an intersection. Worst is when I’m on a main road without a stop sign, and I am approaching a car at a perpendicular stop sign coming off a feeder street. I just try to slow down, make myself as visible as hell, and try to confirm eye contact before passing.
• Being hit from behind by a distracted (or undistracted) driver. Besides being visible with bright clothing and illumination, not much I can do there but pray.

Mine was a "classic SMIDSY" which I had never heard of until it happened to me. Motorcyclists know all about them, and they are most likely our biggest threat as cyclists. The driver was completely freaked out because she had no idea I was there despite my being in a wide bike lane with three front lights on and going only about 15 mph in a 40 zone on a wide open street.

best illustration of the issue:

Excellent description of how to defend against it:

 

[dingdangdawg]

Dirt bike helmets may be an option too: they have much better ventilation than road motorcycle helmets and a sturdy chin bar and visor. A lot like the helmet M@ posted above.

Yes, if you look through my original post I named about 6 of the best models.

Unfortunately they're the only option.

 

[dingdangdawg]

Thank you so for your input, the photos and the videos, very helpful in solidifying my choice to get a helmet with a chinbar

I bought a Kali Invader 2.0 as that was the best fit.

 

[ElHegpah]

Ride like you are invisible, and the cars are actively trying to kill you.

Baseball cap and a rearview mirror. No headphones.

 

[dingdangdawg]

Faith is a lot like a baseball cap on a bicycle: trust in something invisible instead of using common sense.

 

[ElHegpah]

A helmet in Florida is simply not feasible.

Not getting hit is a lot better than being somewhat prepared for it.

Actually, my baseball cap is exceptionally visible.

 

[m@Robertson]

A helmet in Florida is simply not feasible.

Why would you think such a thing? BTW I've been riding in FL in July. So its not the heat.

 

[ElHegpah]

It's not the heat, its the humidity.

Almost 20 years, over 30,000 miles. Not gonna happen.

Most places I go, I need to be somewhat functional when I get there, not a sweaty, aggravated mess.

Long hair does not help.

On a really bad day, on the way home, I can pour cold water on my hat, put it on my head, and be doing 20mph in seconds, and it is GLORIOUS.

You just need to stay alert, and don't be an idiot. Like the fools with headphones, or staring at their phones. Darwin will eventually fix that, but it takes a lot of time.

Do I recommend it for others, HELL NO. Some people skydive, some people do rock climbing. I have even heard it whispered, in dark alleys, that there are actually people who, and while I do not look down on these folks, I certainly do not recommend this practice, though of course would not allow it in my home, but these people, they actually put ketchup on a bratwurst. Keep that under your hat, we don't want to disturb the womenfolk.