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Face Protection


trapezeartist
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Gabriele Marcelli's crash in Toulouse looked horrendous (belly flop from 10-12 feet up onto concrete, if you didn't see it). It was a relief to see him joining the podium, even if he looked very tender and had a big dressing on his face. Is it time to consider helmets wit face protection in trials? I can't really see any downside.

Edited by trapezeartist
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23 minutes ago, arthritic said:

Protection should be left to the rider, not legislated. As long as the regs. make this clear for insurance/claims purposes.

I can partly agree with that point of view, but sometimes people need a nudge. Trials riders didn’t wear a helmet at all until it was legislated. Perhaps the first step would be a top-level rider (Marcella himself maybe) working with a helmet manufacturer to develop something suitable for trials.

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If they are 10-12 feet up like marcelli was there should be some form of matting on the ground rather than a nice piece of concrete to crunch into.
It wouldn't be too hard to get some foam and place a cover on it so it looked visually appealing for the crowd.
With the size of the obstacles now in indoor comps they are lucky that they haven't injured anyone worse than Bou the other year.

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I've been using my nice old enduro helmet for trials stuff for quite a while now; visibility, heat, and weight aren't issues I've experienced (if anything I'm guilty of watching the front wheel too much, lol).  Some people like to resist any change, though, and others will only make a change when the majority of people start doing it.

As for me, my face is ugly enough already so I'm going to continue trying to protect it :)

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17 hours ago, trapezeartist said:

I can't really see any downside.

Are you riding now with a full face helmet  ? if not why not, if there so safe  !. Just maybe there not so safe  for  trials due to you might get face guard caught on a branch not the best for the neck  ? couple of cuts is better than a broken neck.  There is no restriction on wearing a full face/guard  helmet now for trials in the ACU rules only rule is no chin straps  If people have  concern for there safety its up to them to  take precautions themselves or should they be asking themselves is COMPETITIVE  trials  the sport for me .

Edited by on it
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59 minutes ago, on it said:

Are you riding now with a full face helmet  ? if not why not, if there so safe  !. Just maybe there not so safe  for  trials due to you might get face guard caught on a branch not the best for the neck  ? couple of cuts is better than a broken neck.  There is no restriction on wearing a full face/guard  helmet now for trials in the ACU rules only rule is no chin straps  If people have  concern for there safety its up to them to  take precautions themselves or should they be asking themselves is COMPETITIVE  trials  the sport for me .

Enduro riders are 10x more lightly to catch a mouthguard on a branch than a trials rides and they never have a problem. No manufacturer has taken a full face trials helmet seriously, apart from arai, and even then i dont think ive ever seen one outside of japan. I dont know how resistant they would be to a crack against a rock but i cant see them being worse than nothing. I think i read somewhere that the FIM were bringing a rule under 16s had to wear additional chin protection but i dont think it ever materialised.

Its a bit like all new safety features. Back protectors in trials, the halo in F1. Theres big objections beforehand, then when it arrives people dont care that much for the supposed problems. 

Edited by faussy
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58 minutes ago, on it said:

Are you riding now with a full face helmet  ? if not why not, if there so safe  !. Just maybe there not so safe  for  trials due to you might get face guard caught on a branch not the best for the neck  ? couple of cuts is better than a broken neck.  There is no restriction on wearing a full face/guard  helmet now for trials in the ACU rules only rule is no chin straps  If people have  concern for there safety its up to them to  take precautions themselves or should they be asking themselves is COMPETITIVE  trials  the sport for me .

No, I'm not riding with a full-face helmet at the moment. Although it was something grumbling away at the back of my mind, it only came to the forefront after seeing Marcelli's crash (and hearing the noises he made immediately afterwards!). As there are currently open-face helmets that are supposedly designed specifically for trials, I think maybe it would require a combination of the features that make a "trials helmet" with the face protection of a motocross or enduro helmet. It's interesting though that turbofurball wears an enduro helmet for trials without a problem. The proof of the pudding .......

Getting a face guard caught on a branch? Like you could get the opening of an open-face helmet caught on a branch?

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34 minutes ago, trapezeartist said:

No, I'm not riding with a full-face helmet at the moment. Although it was something grumbling away at the back of my mind, it only came to the forefront after seeing Marcelli's crash (and hearing the noises he made immediately afterwards!). As there are currently open-face helmets that are supposedly designed specifically for trials, I think maybe it would require a combination of the features that make a "trials helmet" with the face protection of a motocross or enduro helmet. It's interesting though that turbofurball wears an enduro helmet for trials without a problem. The proof of the pudding .......

Getting a face guard caught on a branch? Like you could get the opening of an open-face helmet caught on a branch/

what next should we wear goggles just in case a lanyard kill switch flicks off and hits you in the eye  were dose it all end  ? as i said theres NOTHING  stopping anyone riding in enduro or mx helmets at trials but very few do why is that ? any top riders wear them  in trials ? riders use and wear what works for them 

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3 hours ago, trapezeartist said:

 As there are currently open-face helmets that are supposedly designed specifically for trials, I think maybe it would require a combination of the features that make a "trials helmet" with the face protection of a motocross or enduro helmet.

Check out the arai penta pro, this was specifically added for trials. Bou and cabestany rode in the pentas  for years before the rock guard addition. kuroyama is probably the highest level arai wearer yet doesnt wear this version, despite a few japanese lower level riders wearing them. Downhill mtb helmets have a much lower mouthguard since they arent specifically added for roost which require mx guards to be higher. Theres much greater fov in a downhill helmet 

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2 hours ago, faussy said:

Check out the arai penta pro, this was specifically added for trials. Bou and cabestany rode in the pentas  for years before the rock guard addition. kuroyama is probably the highest level arai wearer yet doesnt wear this version, despite a few japanese lower level riders wearing them. Downhill mtb helmets have a much lower mouthguard since they arent specifically added for roost which require mx guards to be higher. Theres much greater fov in a downhill helmet 

I've just looked at the Arai Penta Pro. Its an interesting alternative to the MX style helmet I was thinking of, and it would almost certainly provide adequate protection for the low speed impacts that are most likely in trials. Provided it can't shatter and make injuries worse in a heavier impact, I can't see any reason not to. Except fashion and cost.

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4 hours ago, on it said:

what next should we wear goggles just in case a lanyard kill switch flicks off and hits you in the eye  were dose it all end  ? as i said theres NOTHING  stopping anyone riding in enduro or mx helmets at trials but very few do why is that ? any top riders wear them  in trials ? riders use and wear what works for them 

You're getting very indignant about this. You're right, any trials rider could wear a MX helmet with face protection if they want. I'm not advocating such a thing being made mandatory. I was just querying why no-one does wear one, why no manufacturer produces such a thing specifically from trials (I've only just learnt about the Arai), and whether anything would change in the light of Gabriele Marcelli's crash. Given that the risks of injury in X-Trial are considerably higher than for us wobblers on the easy route, I think it could be the top riders who might take the lead.

BTW, why are you so vigorously opposed?

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