Posts
13
Joined
7/18/2017
Location
VT
US
Edited Date/Time
7/21/2017 1:10pm
This is my first post so take it with a grain of salt, but I seriously believe 6D helmets (or at least their design) should be required in professional racing. After recently smacking off a tree racing a Jday, literally bending my handguard to the point where it is up against the clutch mount (cycra probends), breaking my collarbone, and (not doctor checked) almost tearing my LCL and MCL, my head is completely fine. Sure I got a loud crack and my ears were ringing, but I forked over the $500 for a 6D helmet 3 years ago after getting a massive concussion on a DH bike, and can assure you my brain is fine after bouncing off the tree. Having seen James stewarts final crash over and over again, and really missing seeing him at the races, I strongly believe that had he been wearing a 6D helmet, he would still be racing. Just look at how hard some of the 6D riders have smacked their heads off the ground and raced next moto (zach bell for example) I just don't see why we're still allowing full foam helmets to "protect" the pros when basically a concussion proof helmet exists.
Concussion proof helmet?
This should be interesting.
The Shop
Mandating a specific brand of safety equipment likely exposes the AMA to significant liability.
Second, I'm not sure Zach Bell is the model example for helmet safety.
I must say the fit is not the most comfortable, and they're heavy as hell and much bigger than any other helmet. But I still stand by their tech after eating shit on a downhill bike in my old mx helmet (suomy) and getting ko'd, horrible concussion, and a laceration in my eyebrow that needed 11 stitches in 3 layers. I will never buy anything other than a 6D (until other companies adopt their system), and I am terrified while skiing in my smith helmet despite it having "mips", it still feels like just a shell around my head rather than an actual "helmet" that prevents concussions.
That said, I don't think 6d's are concussion proof. But they are going in the right direction.
Now that that's out of the way.... Welcome! Glad to hear you weren't worse off after your crash. I can't really speak for the 6D's other than it being the most uncomfortable helmet I've ever tried on before, but I do hear a lot of good about them.
I'm interested to see how this thread goes though.
I was just starting a discussing on here as my first topic, I'd say it worked pretty well. But I cringe everytime I see JS7 smack his head in a corner after dungey took him out, because (I know... personal experience doesn't count for anything) I've done the exact same thing at higher speeds and worse angles of impact and come out with 0 head injuries. Maybe its just luck, or maybe my circumstances were just right that my head didn't slam too hard. But I seriously feel like If I had any "layered foam" helmet I would've been concussed.
Pit Row
And since you have an obvious concussion, I'll let it slide this time.
My son had a slow speed crash in a 180 corner at Perris and was severely concussed in a brand new 6D (slow speed rotational crashes are what they are designed to protect from) in this case the outcome was not good. I'm glad you had a better experience, this has been discussed at length on this site with input from the founders if you would like to do a search.
I personally think 6D is still learning a lot and has an excellent management team that is taking helmet technology to the next level after a long stagnant period of no new innovations and I for one appreciate that. We are still both wearing 6D's and will continue to in the foreseeable future.
It's like a neck brace vs. no neck brace debate. You feel it helps, cool, wear it. Don't expect everyone else to like and use it.
In vets I'd like age group classes - bike open. (How I wish I wasn't over 50!)
Safety gear on a bike should be personal preference. No one else is involved.
Personally, I wear expensive helmets, a neck brace, CTi knee braces, and sometimes Leatt elbow guards.
On the street I often wear my race leathers.
(You can just see the chin bar on my full face MX helmet on my vintage Z50 avatar pic!)
Other adults should wear what they want.
In Nanna's Australia, the fine for no pushbike helmet is around what you could receive for assaulting a policeman. Just slightly less than someone recently received for killing a cyclist. Madness.
In Australia everything is either illegal or compulsory. I'm completely "over it"!
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