Half shell helmets, for my partner and I, do bring up some issues. They typically tend to:
* Be hotter to wear while pedalling up, which may not matter much if you're riding up the road on Fromme but sure does if you're on any singletrack climbs. Riding up any terrain, no matter how mellow, without my helmet properly on my head isn't an option for me so a full face while climbing is a bit problematic for us.
* Compromise your hearing a bit. Again, not a huge deal as you can adapt to it but it's annoying.
* Be heavier than half shell helmets, which can be noticeable in terms of how your neck feels after a ride. Don't believe me? Go for a ride with your regular helmet and then the same ride with a helmet that's significantly lighter.
* Lead to eyewear issues. I don't ride without eye protection of some sort and looking like an idiot who wears glasses with a full face is a pretty awful look. Goggles would be better but for the fact that unless you're constantly taking them on and off they're all but useless anywhere other than in the bike park. This problem could be solvable with extra large sunglasses but it's very much both glasses to face and glasses to helmet fit dependent.
So why not go to a convertible full/half shell helmet?
* They're generally a pain to convert back and forth. The mechanisms are so/so at best, they take forever, some leave you no choice but to take the helmet off to convert (Sweet Protection), most other convertible helmets are such a faff to convert back and forth that it's faster and easier to take the helmet off. Remember when we used to stop at the top of a climb to flip open a seat post quick release and drop our saddles? We fixed that annoyance with dropper posts for a reason.
* Bulkiness. Every time you add a complication to a product, you're making it bulkier and heavier than it would ideally be.
* Cost. Most convertible helmets that aren't awful seem to cost about as much as a decent half shell + a decent full face. Given that, we've historically owned both and decided on which one to use based on what we're riding that day.
Given that we're starting to hit that point where our bodies are unhappy with 15+ years of abuse through mountain sports and we aren't healing as quickly as we used to, the fact that we both work in fields that require the ability to think, our incomes are creeping up, and we rather enjoy living without the kind of impairment a traumatic brain injury would entail, moving to using a full face on every ride makes sense. After checking out a few helmets and trying even more on, the Specialized Gambit is at the top of my list for a "ride all day, every day" full face. [It's isn't an inexpensive helmet but it's a whole lot cheaper than dental surgery or a TBI so it's a cheap insurance policy.](https://www.specialized.com/ca/en/gambit/p/199902?color=321000-199902) Now I've just got to find two of them.
Jan. 12, 2022, 10:59 a.m. - SomeBikeGuy
Half shell helmets, for my partner and I, do bring up some issues. They typically tend to: * Be hotter to wear while pedalling up, which may not matter much if you're riding up the road on Fromme but sure does if you're on any singletrack climbs. Riding up any terrain, no matter how mellow, without my helmet properly on my head isn't an option for me so a full face while climbing is a bit problematic for us. * Compromise your hearing a bit. Again, not a huge deal as you can adapt to it but it's annoying. * Be heavier than half shell helmets, which can be noticeable in terms of how your neck feels after a ride. Don't believe me? Go for a ride with your regular helmet and then the same ride with a helmet that's significantly lighter. * Lead to eyewear issues. I don't ride without eye protection of some sort and looking like an idiot who wears glasses with a full face is a pretty awful look. Goggles would be better but for the fact that unless you're constantly taking them on and off they're all but useless anywhere other than in the bike park. This problem could be solvable with extra large sunglasses but it's very much both glasses to face and glasses to helmet fit dependent. So why not go to a convertible full/half shell helmet? * They're generally a pain to convert back and forth. The mechanisms are so/so at best, they take forever, some leave you no choice but to take the helmet off to convert (Sweet Protection), most other convertible helmets are such a faff to convert back and forth that it's faster and easier to take the helmet off. Remember when we used to stop at the top of a climb to flip open a seat post quick release and drop our saddles? We fixed that annoyance with dropper posts for a reason. * Bulkiness. Every time you add a complication to a product, you're making it bulkier and heavier than it would ideally be. * Cost. Most convertible helmets that aren't awful seem to cost about as much as a decent half shell + a decent full face. Given that, we've historically owned both and decided on which one to use based on what we're riding that day. Given that we're starting to hit that point where our bodies are unhappy with 15+ years of abuse through mountain sports and we aren't healing as quickly as we used to, the fact that we both work in fields that require the ability to think, our incomes are creeping up, and we rather enjoy living without the kind of impairment a traumatic brain injury would entail, moving to using a full face on every ride makes sense. After checking out a few helmets and trying even more on, the Specialized Gambit is at the top of my list for a "ride all day, every day" full face. [It's isn't an inexpensive helmet but it's a whole lot cheaper than dental surgery or a TBI so it's a cheap insurance policy.](https://www.specialized.com/ca/en/gambit/p/199902?color=321000-199902) Now I've just got to find two of them.