Penny S. wrote:
> Ken thoughtfully penned:
>
>>Lynn and James <
[email protected]> wrote in
news:BAF7C124.361% [email protected]:
>>
>>>What is the best , reliable, helmet for an adult beginner mountain bike rider?
>>
>>Buy one that fits well. Other features are much less important.
>>
>>Full face helmets offer better protection, but the standard style is fine for beginners as long as
>>they're not crazy. In the USA, all helmets for sale in stores must meet the same saftey standards;
>>I hope Canada is similar.
>
>
> and go to a bike shop where they will fit it for you. Full face is totally overkill unless you are
> a downhiller.
Yeah, mostly. Unless you also ride bmx occasionally, in which case the full face option
comes in handy. I've got a Giro Switchblade myself. I had two really nasty crashes, one a
face plant at the BMX track, and one a head-on collision on the trail with a rider who came
around a blind corner, head down and crankin' away. Never even saw me. The front of his
helmet went right through that Switchblade - went between the helmet itself and the
jawguard. I got my chimes rung twice in two weeks and it scared me. Even though the full
face helmet did not protect me from a head-on collision, the face plant hurt way worse, and
a full face helmet would most definitely have been useful. I landed nose and mouth first,
and when I sat up, I was about 90% positive that the snap I'd heard was my front teeth
breaking off. My face was numb, so I had to put a hand up there and feel to be sure. The
teeth were okay, but the visor was toast. Still sometimes when I'm dropping off to sleep
I'll remember that sound and it'll jerk me awake. So that's when I got my Switchblade. It
got me through a time when I could easily have developed a full-blown phobia if I hadn't
MADE myself get out there and ride. Every curve made me flinch. The jaw guard made me feel
just a little safer. But last summer it got really hot, and my kid started riding a lot, so
I gave her my other helmet. I finally took the jaw guard off for a road ride on my 'bent,
and wound up just leaving it off. I guess I'm over my scare.
Kathleen