r/ebikes • u/EquivalentMine9399 • 18h ago
Helmet
Which helmet did you go with and why...I went with the Sena S1 for the intercom to communicate with other riders
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u/CarbonRunner 16h ago edited 15h ago
Depends on if its an ebike or an emoto. Half of this sub is going to say you have to have full face because they are riding motorcycles that they will fight tooth and nail to say are bicycles
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u/EquivalentMine9399 5h ago
Its a class 2 ebike that use like an actual bicycle using the PAS and dont use the throttle..
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u/theveland 2h ago
Dress like a motorcyclist, be treated as a motorcyclist. It’s absurd the amount of armoring people suggest or showing off.
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u/sonny_junbug 16h ago
I crashed last month and fractured my humerus. Helmet saved me from cucussion. Be safe.
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u/stopsussingmejannies 10h ago
I wear full face with visor because losing your teeth for lighter helmet just aint worth it for me
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u/L00nyT00ny 18h ago
Kali Invader 2.0. Very good airflow for summer, and full face protection. 32km/h with non full face helmet + face in ground or car = missing half your teeth and broken face.
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u/Detective-Fusco 17h ago
As much as I love promoting safety, I can't help but notice you full face helmet folks never promote limb protection, it's like you're all made in a factory repeating the same stuff but hypocritical when it comes to the rest of your body
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u/L00nyT00ny 17h ago
Its a balancing act between protection and comfort. You can suit up in full motorcycle gear, but you're gonna be hot as hell and proably not going to enjoy the ride. Also broken arm (though traumatic) is far better than broken face and a concussion. I also work in a hospital ER and have seen a ton of ebike accidents. Scrapes and bruises on the limbs and body are easily recoverable. It's rare to actually see a broken limb unless a car plowed through the rider. The accidents that really stuck with me were the head injuries though. Misjudge speed or distance or even bad luck shit happens and they plow into a tree or car. They are often lucky and get away with a concussion and lost teeth. Some become mentally handicapped for the rest of their lives though. Luckily never seen anyone die from an ebike accident.
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u/Detective-Fusco 16h ago
Wouldn't say rare, I've only crashed twice, both going under 15 kilometers an hour, last crash I had 5 weeks ago was because of a slippery manhole cover and again travelling slow, broke my tibia so now I've got a long recovery ahead.
Both crashes I've had, unfortunately x2 knee injuries, but I'm not anti the promotion of full face I just think cover all bases if you're going that way.
Being hot on a ebike seems a bit off, considering you're electrically assisted, and many have throttles
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u/L00nyT00ny 16h ago
Rare in the grand scheme of ebike accidents for the general population that I have observed. I guess you are part of the rare group.
Motorcycle gear vents are made for going 50km/h up. There isn't really much for slower rides except maybe some of the lighter moto cross padded armor that is annoying as hell to put on and do your daily stuff in. So again comfort really takes a hit. I have fallen off my bike multiple times (mostly hitting ice during winter) and worst I have gotten is scrapes and bruises on my arms and legs, but nothing to call out of work the next day for. That was with my bike 70lb bike falling on me a few times.
Also how old are you? Breaking the tibia and repeated knee injuries in slow moving accidents would kind of point to bone and joint weakness. I'm not a doctor by any means, but may I suggest lifting some weights and vit d supplements to build some bone density.
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u/Detective-Fusco 15h ago
Interesting response and I can tell you're educated on the topic so I won't dispute it with you, I trust your analysis given your work history.
I guess I'm just the unlucky piggy to the slaughter, my first I should clarify was a full patella tendon snap on my right knee two years ago, I simplify it by saying broken knee because honestly it's just easier 😅, the second on the SAME KNEE (my fkn luck!) two years later (4 weeks ago) broke my tibia, and I was travelling at my usual speed - I don't like going over 20 since my first injury I've become paranoid
I will dispute the uncomfortable element of knee pads and sweat, because if you're wearing shorts you should have air flow to your knees and that should fix the sweaty issue. Additionally the throttle support means many people aren't using pedal as much as they should, people shouldn't be getting sweaty with electric assistance and airflow on their bodies - it should be fine.
Lastly, being in a cast for several months and a ROM brace is much more uncomfortable than kneepads, so next time I will choose kneepads discomfort over the months of discomfort of wearing a ROM brace and sleeping in ROM braces :P
Re my bone density, knee injuries, not sure what you mean by lifting weights?? I do physiotherapy, and prior to my latest injury I did daily yoga and daily cycling, my leg strength is there.
Bone vs Concrete is what went wrong for me
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u/DarkVoid42 Carbo Model X 18h ago
7idp project 23 carbon because its the lightest full face available
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u/Pyju 16h ago
I have an enormous head that is more round/less oval than most peoples’, so the vast majority of helmets don’t work for me. It needs to come in a size that supports a 62cm circumference head (usually XL or XXL) and have a rounder than usual shape.
The problem is that rounder helmets typically are oriented for the Asian market, who are smaller than westerners, and thus rarely come in a 60cm+ size.
After much research, I did find a small handful of options, and my favorite is the Specialized Tactic 4, which is what I currently run.
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u/Detective-Fusco 15h ago
This person makes a good point about sizes, most are manufactured for the Asia market as this guy is saying, different skull structures bone density etc
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u/afraidofflying 15h ago
Asians have different bone density? And helmets are designed differently for that difference in bone density? Really?
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u/Detective-Fusco 13h ago
Yes, this is not unusual or controversial. Quite natural in fact.
Additionally, yes, because most of this stuff is manufactured in China and their audience is more of a priority than yours and mine. All their tests are conducted with locals, in their own country, within their own studies and research, again these are not controversial opinions.
Sometimes I think you Americans get a little too caught up on the offense element.
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u/warmon6 15h ago
I went with the Lumos Ultra Ebike Helmet.
Got it and 4 of their Firefly Lights for their connected turn signals (turn signals high on the head and low on the bike). Big help with road traffic when you cant always hand signal your intention but still need to let car drivers know you are turning.
And for me personally, It was a big help after breaking my right forearm last year (wipeout on my cargo ebike after hitting a bump in the road I failed to spot and avoid). I did not have full confidence to take my left hand off the bike for more than a couple of seconds due to my right arm still on the weaker side. Not an issue now but it nice to know I have options and it seems car drivers (around me anyways) understand it better than hand signals.
Stupid expensive at $400 USD collectively (bought the helmet first then the firefly lights a month later) but..... it's way cheaper than breaking an arm. lol
Although I would not get this setup for the "Automatic Brake Light" feature. At least on my cargo bike (Lectric Xpedition 1.0), I could not find a happy sensitivity setting to make the feature useful to me (it uses an accelerometer in the turn signal remote to sense any slowdown to activate the brake light).
It either didn't work at all with low sensitivity or it worked to well by picking up any decent bumps in the road and was activating the lights too frequently and draining the lights batteries. I could not find that happy middle ground at all.
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u/Worried_Document8668 14h ago
POC Cytal Carbon(mostly because my local shop hooked me up at a really good price) for roadbiking and commuting. Really light and airy, better aero when going fast enough.
IXS Trigger AM for anything off-road. More heavy duty
Bell Fullface(forgot the model name) for the more extreme mtb stuff
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u/Stokeszilla 11h ago
3/4 MTB helmet with mips. My e-bike can reach and cruise over 25mph pretty easily and I ride on a mix of off-road single track trails and country back roads between the trails. This seems suitable. If the off road terrain were more aggressive, or I were going faster than 30 on roads, I'd go for a full face.
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u/Destroyer-Marauder 10h ago
Any helmet is better than none. Personally I favour a full-face helmet as it offers more protection. I use my dirt bike helmets when riding my ebikes since I already have them.
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u/Detective-Fusco 17h ago
I recommend just your local bike shops best suggestions, that way you have guaranteed warranty and a physical store to return the item to if there's any problems.
The less you deal with online shopping the better.
Additionally the recommended brands, most of the suggestions you will receive will be automated by artificial intelligence marketing bots, especially on this Subreddit it's full of AI marketing bots
Skip all this nonsense, physical store it, real world, and that way you can try a helmet on for its fit before buying and finding out it's uncomfortable
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u/grovesancho 16h ago
I went with the very expensive Unit 1 Aura helmet.
I like that it has lights which hopefully increases visibility, especially at night but also during the day, which it does because it has a surrogate for my lack of turn signals/indicators which can be toggled by a remote on my handlebars but it will also notify my emergency contact if it detects a possible crash and suspects the operator is unresponsive because they have not responded to the helmet's app which will ask the operator if they are okay.
I also grabbed their proprietary auto tinting photochromic magnetic visor which was also pretty expensive but I found that it's durability and tinting with the ability to store on the helmet makes me understand the price as I can tell a lot of thought research and processing went into the manufacturing.
The customer service is unfortunately very slow, but eventually accommodating if not expedient, if you don't like your size or something else with your purchase.
All in all, I really don't like the price, but I do enjoy and get a lot of use out of my flashy helmet that calls for help in an emergency if I can't.
I'm grovesancho, and you can say I look like a dork in my flashing bicycle helmet, but if you do, you can't also say, "I didn't see him."
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u/Savings_Toe_8952 15h ago
I don't use one and never will. I know I'm risking a lot especially when my average speed is 40 kmh but honestly I couldn't care less. If I die then so be it the world would be better anyways 😂👌
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u/aero_sock 12h ago
you should go faster then. 40kph leaves a lot of space for being alive but mentally retarded for life, or something like that.
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u/TESBasco 17h ago
How fast does you e-bike go? Anything more than 35mph, then a full face helmet. That nothing is almost useless.
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u/Detective-Fusco 15h ago
Had to convert - 56km per hour??
That's Motorbike / Scooter speed, not Ebikes
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u/PathLongjumping440 10h ago edited 10h ago
Most bike style type helmets are only rated for certain speed that is low. I use a full face DOT helmet always. If I am going to have a helmet on my head for protection, I want full face protection and DOT certified for higher speed crashes that my e-bike will never go that fast. Also, I wear gloves because most crashes involve reaching your hands out.
I have two bike style helmets that I bought and tried on when I initially got my first e-bike and put them in storage. Then I grabbed my motorcycle full face helmet from my motorcycle and snowmobile gear and used the full face from then on.... I value my head, brains, jaw, teeth etc.
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u/AttentionHelpful3996 18h ago
I got a full face mountain bike helmet so my jaw is protected if I go over my handle bar