The helmet is not mandatory for cycling, which is a good thing, except for children under 12; we can only see this measure as positive. However, the practice of mountain biking typically requires wearing one, as is the case for the vast majority of practitioners.
Helmets are not mandatory for skiing or snowboarding; yet, the vast majority of practitioners wear one today. Helmets have even become a stylish accessory, with brands emphasizing functionality and design. Helmets also appear in ski touring, a practice that continues to grow. Always useful for downhill skiing.
Full-face helmets are not very common in mountain biking, except for more extreme practices like downhill or enduro; there too, given the risks, it is preferable to wear one. Some models are modular, like mine (see photo) here. My chin guard is removable. My chinstrap is removable.
However, this safety element is also a sign that causes increased concern – perhaps because it evokes motorcycles – when encountering hikers, as mountain areas are shared spaces.
Enduro, however, in essence, is very close to what ski touring is. We traverse the terrain, we climb using our leg strength – electric mountain bikes (eMTBs) obviously widen the exploration possibilities – and enthusiasts, including myself, then descend the singletracks.
What are called singletracks are the narrow paths where you “slide” like in skiing, and their coordinates are shared (or not) on applications like Strava, good addresses like VTOPO, or websites like VTT Tracks.
This spirit of sporty touring, sometimes challenging but not always, is very similar to what happens in the mountains; it involves a wide range of generations. Many enthusiasts of sliding sports (windsurfing, kitesurfing) or outdoor activities find common ground here, to the extent that brands like Norrøna, ION, Patagonia, DAINESE, JULBO (non-exhaustive list) are starting to cater to them. Not to mention brands like scottsports or Groupe Rossignol, present in both skiing and cycling.
We’ve always talked about this parallel between ski culture and mountain biking, notably here and there.
