difference between dirt helmet and street helmet?

[mjfan12]

whats the difference between them? do they offer the same level of protection? are the constructed the same?

I know of the obvious differences like dirt has a bill visor, open design (more ventilation?) dirt riders go slower so no need for aerodynamics.

street need to be round and smooth for less wind buffeting, closed for more protection from the elements, etc.


why do sumo guys wear dirt lids on asphalt? arent they going almost the same speeds as streetbikes?


sorry, I dont know a lot about dirt riding or the gear.

[bodydropcbr6]

i personally think that they offer the same level of protection to 3/4 of your head . where i see a diffrence for asphault use is higher speed impacts and the dirt helmet wanting to push back in the face area because of the open design.

as far as the speeds on a dirt bike i can easily top 55mph on a 250 but for the most part yes things are a little slower but you have to think of the terain you have to ride through and fall into and the hights you might jump

[bdrushto]

My best guess would be that a SM would top out at somewhere around 90 or so, obviously depending on gearing and the track, and that even if the riders do get topped out, they aren't going those speeds very long and therefore the drag of a visor, etc. doesn't effect them very much.

As far as protection, I don't think the MX lids are lacking anything. And trust me, I've tested a few. If you look, they both have similar eyeports, the only thing is the chin bar sticks out a bit further on dirt lids. There's been some discussion on that topic, as the chin bars for a period of time most manufacturers seemed to be getting longer and more jutted, which it was theorized could catch on something as the rider is crashing. I remember the first helmet Fox (a Pilot IIRC) was horrible, it didn't even offer good protection from roost. Arai deals with this with a very smooth and close up chin bar design, go take a gander at one.

Most manufacterers have drawn the chin bar back to reasonable proportions again, and, going one step further, Arai came out with a hybrid a couple years ago that is basically a street helmet with a visor. It's pretty slick.

[ducinnc]

I wear a full face on my sumoto, just personal preference, one big difference is of course in the face shield, in the dirt or in the woods you would not be going fast enough (at times) to keep the shield from fogging on a full faced and in general a dirt bike helmet is much lighter and a little more forgiving on your neck as you are bounced around in the dirt/woods.