"Duh" helmet question

[doc47]

OK, inform Dr. Clueless here: Why do dirt bike helmets have a beak?

[SageRider]

So there is a place for your pet marmot to ride.....

[Boxtop]

Just guessing here:

 

1. To shade your eyes from the sun.

2. You can bow your head while leaving your hands on the bars, and the visor will take out roost that is targeting your face.

 

[NonComp]

I think for the same reason that baseball hats have peaks.

[upflying]

When you say beak, do you mean the sun visor or the face guard on a full face helmet?

 

 

Now that I think about it, that mouth guard thingy sort of looks like a sports protector for that part of the male anatomy.

[realshelby]

Simply put: to have something that will take the beating of rocks, mud, and assorted other material coming off the rear tire of the rider in front of you instead of your face! Also handy to lower as the odd tree branch comes along at eye level when woods riding. Not unhandy to keep sun and rain out of eyes, very unhandy when riding at speed and one decides to look straight up at the sky....and the wind gets under it!

[bmw_rider]

They come in handy to deflect the flying dirt from the guy in front of you.

[TandemGeek]

Everyone's pretty well covered the landscape, so to speak.

 

A MX helmet is designed to maximize ventilation and air flow while still protecting the rider's head and face from debris... which is why MX helmets also don't have face shields.

 

The long visor helps to deflect debris at any angle -- as does the extended chin guard -- and can provide momentary full shielding of the face when needed just by tilting the head forward: think Gladiator helmet moreso than crash helmet when it comes to the visor and chin guard and it will make more sense.

 

Remember MX is a very physically demanding sport and the speeds don't always provide a stream of cool air flowing through the helmet. So, what you see is a balance between keeping as much of the helmet's frontal area open to airflow when facing directly forward, but nearly 100% face protection when the helmet is pointed down at a slight angle.

[doc47]

Sorry for being vague. I wasn't referring to the visor but to the extended chin guard.

[TandemGeek]

Sorry for being vague. I wasn't referring to the visor but to the extended chin guard.

 

As inferred to above, it does the same thing that a chin bar does on a full face street helmet but is optimized for off-road, MX riding...

 

It sticks out where it can deflect debris, help to protect the face from impact but is put far enough away from the face to help air flow through the helmet.