Do I need a full face motorcycle helmet?

[Mr.Dangergous]

I built an e-bike that looks like a Harley Davison and I also added paddles that can be used as the ones on a normal bike incase I run out of battery juice and get stranded.

This bad boy goes around 35-40 miles an hour on full throttle, I always wanted a helmet just for my head (half helmet, German style) but now I keep reading about all those crashes and all and now considering a full face motorcycle helmet, is it stupid? and I also hear vision is impaired by full face helmet making it harder to see the environment around you.

I use bike lanes and rarely sidewalks (low speed) because I cant keep up with cars in car lanes on some higher speed limit roads. I generally go at a steady speed of 15-20mph through rough roads or to save juice for further distances and sometimes on clear roads I go ham.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[6zfshdb]

IMO, if the bike walks & talks like a motorcycle, get a motorcycle helmet.

 

[billmeek]

I also hear vision is impaired by full face helmet making it harder to see the environment around you.

You'll hear this a lot from the motorcycle crowd that hates helmet laws. Your head swivels easily so there's no real limitation on vision with a full-face helmet. Go to a motorcycle dealer and try on a few helmets to see for yourself. The biggest downside of a helmet is heat.

As for wearing a full-face helmet on an eBike, it's your head/face it protects. They have no skin in the game. Don't let anyone else dissuade you from protecting it.

 

[scrambler]

Get one that can do both like the Bell Super AIR MIPS

Super Air R Spherical

The Super Air R MIPS's advanced design and safety features can help enhance performance and fun during your ride. Shop Bell Helmets and find the right Cycling gear and more for all of your riding needs.

www.bellhelmets.com

Then you can use it with or without the Chin bar depending on the risk level of your riding

 

[chunk]

I've been wearing full face helmets on motorcycles for so many years i don't want to count them. If you've ever seen a face plant with anything less than a full coverage helmet, it will make a believer out of you. My e bike rides are so sedate, i just wear a traditional biking lid, but if i were to do some serious MB, you bet I get fully suited up, including a full coverage helmet.

 

[Gionnirocket]

If your avitar is an accurate portrait... Then hell yes!

 

[TNC]

If your avitar is an accurate portrait... Then hell yes!

Ouch!...LOL!

OP, in another thread you stated you're from New York. In New York you're probably violating a law or two based on some comments in your post...LOL! Now I'm mainly joking with you, because I wouldn't dare try to guess what NY is doing on ebike regs...LOL!

On helmets you use the term "needed". That offers a lot of opinion. I use nothing but a full coverage helmet for emtb, dirt motor riding, and street motorcycle riding. I think the motorcycle application is pretty logical. You're going fast, and some of it is in traffic. Full coverage is needed "IMO".

I've always used full coverage MTB designed helmets for actual MTB'ing. Why, because it's not much different than riding a dirt motor on trails. On descents you can achieve the same speed as a dirt motor in many cases, and the terrain is often as gnarly. It's not a dirt motor helmet, but is a full coverage, breathable helmet called a Specialized Deviant.

Now, for road cycling which I almost never do anymore, I used a good quality, "normal", bicycle helmet like from Giro, Specialize, and such...half style helmets most are familiar with. Honestly, because one has more chance of being hit by a car on a pavement bike...pedal-only or ebike...it's not very good logic, but it's what many people do. I just almost refuse to ride on pavement with traffic anymore...period.

On your question about impaired vision by the rider, unless one is using some stupidly designed helmet, all the decent full coverage helmets I've seen allow a full view of traffic and your surroundings. This just isn't a real consideration or problem in my book. Not sure about your reference to a "German style" helmet. I know some of these I see some wannabe Hell's Angels types wearing actually meet minimum safety ratings, but that open flare at the bottom of the helmet seems not so effective to me in certain types of accidents.

And I won't comment about riding on sidewalks.

 

[tomjasz]

Full face MTB helmet. I used one dirtboating. But high speed bikes with anything less than Magura or equal hydraulic brakes, is, well, dumber than snot!

 

[theemartymac]

If you plan to ride at top speed a lot on trails, rural roads, or bike paths where that speed it permitted, I would at least consider a downhill style MTB Helmet with chin bar. Some are convertible as suggested already, and some others are pretty sleek and light weight, while still providing MIPS or equivalent protections. I have a few bicycle helmets, but for my work commute I now use a Specialized Ambush with crash sensor. No chin guard, but good side protection and vents very well. If you are primarily pedaling, I would suggest heat management/ventilation is very important, and 30mph is not fast enough to get the proper/best performance out of motorcycle helmet ventilation.

If you ride it up to 40mph in city traffic much more like a scooter, then certainly a lightweight motorcycle helmet is a good call. Among several motorcycle helmets I have, I use a Nolan NX70 2x and it is convertible (not just modular) and quite lightweight compared to many moto helmets. Even in full kit configuration, I cannot see the helmet in my peripheral vision. But I also wear a 'salad bowl' helmet in the hottest weather around town, so I am not a full-face missionary. On highway road trips, I either fit the Nolan for full face/visor protection, or wear one of my other full face modulars.

Your head - your call.

 

[tomjasz]

In addition to Alpinestars, Dainese is also a well known brand.

Which do you have? Not a lot of reviews from good testing procedures. Sharp UK for proper and rigorous testing/rating.
anyone has a similar rating system for MTB helmets? I wore downhill ski helmets in my dirt boat.

 

[tomjasz]

Brand name has no bearing on ratings. See Sharp UK. Here’s a Dainese. BTW realizing you a super searcher I asked if you found any real testing and reviews. You do that well. I’m one that likes to reveal whether I’m making a statement/opinion or have actual testing and/or experience. n00bs can be easily confused. Making declarations without any thing more than a search, well I think it’s a disservice . But you are the king of Great posted links. Many times your posts reveal undiscovered cool eBike stuff. Thank you!

p

 

[street peddler]

The one time my motorcycle slid out from under me was on a gravel road at about 5 mph. My full face helmet saved the side of my face and chin from a bad case gravel rash. I had always thought that in a low speed wipeout, I'd know how to tumble to protect myself. So wrong. And so grateful to have been wearing a full face. The Bell and Dianese both make sense to me, and if my first ebike ever arrives, I'll seriously consider investing in a full face.

 

[Alicia Margaret]

I built an e-bike that looks like a Harley Davison and I also added paddles that can be used as the ones on a normal bike incase I run out of battery juice and get stranded.

This bad boy goes around 35-40 miles an hour on full throttle, I always wanted a helmet just for my head (half helmet, German style) but now I keep reading about all those crashes and all and now considering a full face motorcycle helmet, is it stupid? and I also hear vision is impaired by full face helmet making it harder to see the environment around you.

I use bike lanes and rarely sidewalks (low speed) because I cant keep up with cars in car lanes on some higher speed limit roads. I generally go at a steady speed of 15-20mph through rough roads or to save juice for further distances and sometimes on clear roads I go ham.

Thanks for your feedback!

How you describe your ebike is better for yourself to use a motorbike helmet

 

[Gmanx]

the question I would have is why not full face? With ebikes you are able to sustain higher speeds for longer, might as well be protected at a higher level as well.

 

[PDoz]

the question I would have is why not full face? With ebikes you are able to sustain higher speeds for longer, might as well be protected at a higher level as well.

A helmet can depersonalise or even dehumanise the wearer, and depending on the culture of other road users a full face motorbike lid may pose extra risk Especially during split second emergency situations

Mr Dangerous is already using a vehicle that most cyclists and many ebike riders feel does not belong in cycle lanes. We think the same when behind the wheel of a car.

I can imagine the average car driver would resent a motorbike using a bike lane.

Even motorbike riders will view the OP with scorn

I vote for a full lycra clown suit but a full face enduro mtb helmet wrapped in tin foil

 

[Gmanx]

Maybe, I also vote for better infrastructure so those like him can accept the risks and ride on paths designed for them and those speeds. I still say ebikes going that fast are always better because it’s taking automobiles off the road.

i do think some folks take advantage of the lax laws here in the USA and we have a large population that is essentially riding emopeds/scooters. Which is fine, but they should have their own lanes. People act like there is a shortage of funding or ability to design lanes for multiple vectors of travel. We have interstate, toll, expressways, etc for automobiles, why not for mobility?

 

[steve mercier]

NO YOU ABSOLUTELY DO NOT NEED ONE



















...until you crash (- .

 

[RunForTheHills]

Maybe, I also vote for better infrastructure so those like him can accept the risks and ride on paths designed for them and those speeds. I still say ebikes going that fast are always better because it’s taking automobiles off the road.

i do think some folks take advantage of the lax laws here in the USA and we have a large population that is essentially riding emopeds/scooters. Which is fine, but they should have their own lanes. People act like there is a shortage of funding or ability to design lanes for multiple vectors of travel. We have interstate, toll, expressways, etc for automobiles, why not for mobility?

The average American drives 16 miles each way to work. That would be about an hour each way on a class 1 ebike. Totally doable and faster with a class 3 if you avoid the MUPs. With traffic, I bet that is 30-45 minutes by car. I would like to see more MUPs and bike infrastructure, but I don't think that we need dedicated lanes for fast ebikes and I don't think that would get Americans to give up their cars even if we built them.

 

[Handlebars]

The average American drives 16 miles each way to work. That would be about an hour each way on a class 1 ebike. Totally doable and faster with a class 3 if you avoid the MUPs. With traffic, I bet that is 30-45 minutes by car. I would like to see more MUPs and bike infrastructure, but I don't think that we need dedicated lanes for fast ebikes and I don't think that would get Americans to give up their cars even if we built them.

Yep, the Masters Of Urban Planning really suck. For example, on a busy major street they had a lane change sign that directed traffic to the wrong lane, and it stayed that wayfor months during construction. When a news agency publicly shamed them and reported the stupidity, what did the MUPs do? They changed the lanes to agree with the sign.

For bike lanes (BL) they put the BL next to the busy sidewalks on the right and vehicle parking on the left side of the BL. So you get passengers opening doors (most often passengers are less aware than the drivers) you have shoppers crossing over to their cars, and you have trucks and vans parking between the traffic and the bike lane fully obstructing view of vehicles turning right and hiding the oncoming cyclists from the turning vehicles.

And it's illegal to ride ebikes in the bike lane so some car drivers get do quite angry when an ebike is ahead of them in"their" lane as it's been reduced from 2 lane. Angry drivers trying to scare you off the road as they hurl imprecations telling you to get off the road and into the bike lane, while the pass threateningly and dangerously.


I want a breathable lightweight full face visor helmet at the lowest price I can find.

 

[Gmanx]

i agree, just look at the price differently. How much is your brain worth? My helmet is $300 and it is worth it. Super light