DAMN Riders - No rules, Just ride!

FortNine has dropped a new video on Snell helmets. A lot of the stuff I knew but dropped a bombshell on me at the end about the M2020R standard stickers.

He might have to start worrying about being suicided.

Very interesting. It looks like Snell is infected with the "not invented here" syndrome.

FortNine makes some pretty good informational videos.

Im a fan. His videos are great.

Would most dirtbikers be better off with a downhill mtb helmet?

Bucho wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 27, 2021 12:41 pm

Would most dirtbikers be better off with a downhill mtb helmet?

I definitely think so. DOT helmets are designed for survivability in higher speed road crash impacts. The lining doesn't even begin to crush to absorb impact at the speeds of most off road incidents - thus is does almost nothing to prevent brain injury.

MTB downhill helmets are designed for the speeds most common in off road dirt bike riding. I have personally crushed and fractured the lining on 2 MTB helmets in OTB type MTB crashes.

I got a brain bleed (that was very slow and nearly fatal due to the baby-aspirin-a-day routine I was on) in a very slow speed crash riding with Phil in a rocky area of Greenridge (when it was open to us).

FWIW, I ride trials w/ my DH MTB helmet. Its fairly old now and I'd like to get a new one now that we are doing lift-assisted DH mtb-ing again. Sidetrack: I have an odd skinny head. Its hard enough to find moto helmets to try on - its flat out impossible to find DH MTB helmets. I'm probably going to have to go the route of order the top 4 I like and return 3 kind of deal.

FWIW2, The really high end DH MTB helmets are often motorcycle-rated now. Those guys are going faster than I ever will so it makes sense. The ones a 'notch below' pro-level craziness are the ones I'd like to find for trials. Softer shell, more ventilated, lighter.

The Fly helmets I'm using for motocycles are ECE/DOT and not Snell. I didn't specifically try to find ones w/o Snell but I did make sure they had ECE as it seems to be a superior standard. The new Formula Carbon I picked up last year on sale is very light, has the Rheon stuff (MIPS-equivalent) and variable density EPS. Its just not well ventilated enough for slow speed work.

For rough comparison:
My motorcycle Fly Formula Carbon is 1290g. A dozen vents??
A Bell 'Super DH MIPS' is 870g. 25 vent holes. Their beefiest DH helmet (but still below other brands in 'beefy' & certifications).
A Bell 'Super Air R MIPS' is 675g. 30 vent holes! That is the one step down in protection for hardcore mtb enduro / lightweight DH.

Now, w/ a lighter helmet expect to replace it more often due to impact or breakage. There are reports of many of the top brands cracking (esp the chin guard) in nasty accidents. The foam, being softer, will only take 1 good hit too. It crushed and saved your noggin (whereas a moto helmet wouldn't have deformed and instead beat up your skull.)

I too have crushed/cracked a mtb helmet (not a DH one though) in a OTB mtb incident. Had ~5min of memory loss and one blown pupil. Knowing what we now know, would have called an ambulance right there on the spot. Instead I rode out of the woods (~5mi) w/ my friends help w/o binocular vision. Helmet shell held together and absorbed a ton of force crushing and cracking the crap out of the EPS. I sent it back to Bell(?) w/ a description of the accident and they will replace it at 1/2 cost or something. I thought that was a clever way to get damaged helmets back for analysis.

FWIW3, I think the most recent/relevant DH mtb helmet standard is ASTM F1952. Its higher than CSPC which is especially critical in the aforementioned chin bar tests. The Bell 'Super DH' I mentioned is ASTM certified(Edit: its actually not). The 'Super Air R' is not.

Can you point us to any info on "DH MTB helmets are often motorcycle-rated"?

I didn't even know there was such a thing as "motorcycle rated"

Just found this! https://www.pinkbike.com/news/dh-helmet ... safer.html

BigBird wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 27, 2021 6:10 pm

I didn't even know there was such a thing as "motorcycle rated"

Yeah, Snell M2020/DOT/ECE/etc for on-road motorcycles and not just ASTM DH bicycle rated. Your article hits most of the points but its over a decade old. Helmets (both moto and mtb) have come a LONG way w/ MIPS-like technology and multi-layer EPS.

You have to remember I'm OLD & STUPID So I still don't understand what you're saying when you stay "DH MTB helmets are often motorcycle-rated"? Can you give me a link to the rating and/or an example of a motorcycle rated DH MTB helmet?