Cycling helmet with a mouth guard

MacraPat

Just as I was getting into the swing of cycle-commuting I've had a painful setback. I came off the bike this day last week in Dublin, landing on my face, snapping on my front two teeth in half and tearing my top lip. A week on any flesh wounds have healed remarkably well and the dental work is on going.

Wishing to learn from my chat with the tarmac I've started looking into more closed faced helmets than the one I was wearing at the time.

Does anyone wear a more closed face helmet commuting??
Any suggestions on models??

CardinalJ

I've seen people doing it and thought it looked like overkill. That said, when you think about it, it really isn't.

Look at CRC/Wiggle etc for full face mtb helmets. You can also get full face helmets that look close enough to 'normal' bike helmets, but I don't know if I'd trust them in a full crash. They don't look as sturdy.

Lumen

Sorry to read of your crash.

Full face helmets decrease the chances of serious injury in a bicycle accident, but increase the chance of such an accident happening in traffic. They're also heavy and sweaty.

Motorcyclists benefit from them because they have rear view mirrors and crash at higher speeds.

Better to understand how to avoid accidents in the first place.

Squidgy Black

You could always wear a hurling helmet.

jimmycrackcorm

I've a scar on my elbow, that seems to be permanent now, from an accident so I've been thinking since then that mountain biking gear is more protective for that scenario.

So with our combined experiences then we have to conclude that we need cycling gear like this:

ThOnda

I was using Casco Viper on MTB, and it has detachable chin guard. It is a tiny bit more heavy than standard helmet, but definitely lighter than fullface donwhill one.
Having a couple of falls in skate parks, I do understand the chin guard quite well. On the other hand, having now a road bike, I have standard helmet without protection and only hoping for the best.

Cookie_Monster

gum shield do the job?

Canis Lupus

That sounds bloody, painful and expensive and I hope you can get back to confident cycling quickly. However, the fact is your kind of accident is pretty rare. Commuting is generally safe. Whilst I understand why you're looking into a full face helmet I don't think it's necessary. Fingers crossed that's the first and last time your face gets intimate with tarmac.

pot p

Met helmets have 1 called the parachute, not as hard core as a full face downhill helmet but has a guard that protects the chin and teeth. Like the 1 in the picture

pot p

Met helmets have 1 called the parachute, not as hard core as a full face downhill helmet but has a guard that protects the chin and teeth.

smacl

@MacraPat, sorry for your troubles, sounds sore and expensive.

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

gum shield do the job?

I used to wear one for heavy sparring. Not particularly comfortable and induces a gag reflex in a lot of people. I wouldn't fancy using one cycling. I'd be looking for ways to minimise the risk of a further accident, rather than laying on specific protection on the assumption that in the unlikely event of another accident you'd sustain a similar injury..

darjeeling

I did that once - turning a corner and trying to change gear using downtube shifters, I ended up hitting the tarmac face-first and broke my front teeth. However, 20 years later I've yet to repeat the trick, so there is hope!

Hope you have a speedy and not too painful / costly recovery.

youtheman

I could be wrong, but I reckon the primary goal of the face shield is to stop something hitting you in the face as you cycle along. If you fall off you bike, and you end up doing a 'face plant' then the face shield will only work if your chin strap restrains your head in the helmet. The padded faceshield might prevent the worst of the road rash, but I believe it's unrealistic to assume that the face shield will give you major protection to your face.