Full-Face Bicycle Helmets with Chinbars
Summary: Some bike helmets offer limited protection for the face. Most lack the fully-padded chinbar that makes
motorcycle helmets more protective by far. Downhill mountain bike racing helmets have the best protection in vented
styles.
Our inquires about bike helmets with full facial protection come from two sources: parents of boys and riders who have
smushed something. Dentists sometimes ask why all riders do not wear something with face protection.
Helmets for kids
In 2016 we found a Bell Sports Black Shield Child Helmet for sale at ToysRUs for $36 plus
shipping. It had a foam lined face guard and is dual-certified to the CPSC bike helmet standard and the ASTM F1492 skate
helmet standard.
If you can still find them, there have been full face helmets produced in the past by Razor and PTI's Mongoose brand,
retailing for about $25.
In 2008 we found a Bell X-Games Full Throttle at Wal-Mart for $40. It meets the CPSC standard for bike helmets, but
nothing more stringent. The chinbar does not have energy management padding. It has a strong and reliable D-ring buckle.
We don't know what sizes it may be available in. It could be considered a BMX helmet.
Also in 2008 we found the Mace Hornet, a full face helmet for kids ages 6 to 10 (two sizes fit 51-57cm heads) with a
fiberglass shell and a chinbar padded inside with thick foam. It is being discontinued on some websites.
In 2019 we found a number of full face helmets for youth that meet only the European standard, so they are available in
Europe but not in the US. You can find them listed on our
Helmets for the Current Season
page.
BMX
Kids also use BMX full face helmets for their "Bicycle Motor Cross" events. They are usually made with a hard
fiberglass shell and minimal vents. Most of them do not have crushable foam in the chinbar. Adults generally find them
too heavy and hot for bicycle use, leaving the rider with a wet head even in winter. But the kids ignore the sweat and
use them for short BMX events in the heat of summer, so they are not out of the question for some riders in some
circumstances.
For the adult
For adult riders, there are many more choices. The helmets are known as downhill mountain bike
racing helmets. We don't know how much protection you get from a chinbar that lacks crushable foam, but at least these
are bicycle helmets, with ventilation. You can find them in
our latest helmet article for this
season.
Motorcycle helmets are another possibility, but like the BMX helmet they are heavy and too hot for bike riders. They do
have fully padded chinbars, and will meet one of the motorcycle helmet standards like DOT or Snell, far surpassing the
impact protection and coverage of bike helmets.
Not recommended
We can't recommend
lacrosse helmets like these,
even though some have chinbars and facial protection in the form of facemasks. They are not certified for bicycle level
impacts.
We also do not recommend hockey helmets for bicycle use, despite the face protection some of them have. Hockey helmets
are not designed for bicycle-type impacts and do not meet the impact protection requirements of bike helmet standards.
The same applies to football helmets or helmets for most other sports. Unlike a bicycle helmet, many of them are
multi-impact helmets, but they are not designed for a single hard hit on pavement.