Let's talk helmets

[TheX]

Helmets are too important to be cheap about it.

[AntonioGG]

2 hours ago, Teamsloan said:

My general rule is this…if you think your helmet took an impact that saved you from either a debilitating head injury or death, then it is done. I don’t care what the helmet looks like. If your thought after the crash is “damn, I’d probably have a brain injury if it wasn’t for this piece of foam!” Then it probably has sacrificed itself for you in ways that might not be visible.

…or you could gamble and count on the same piece of foam to sacrifice itself again just as effectively the next time you go down.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

100% This.  On my helmet vs car, the dent is remarkably small, but there's no doubt it saved my life.  There is a tiny crack on the outer layer (it's a MIPS) foam, and a dent you can see on the shell, but it's hard to figure out what is going on under the shell.  I may take it apart just for fun.

 

[AntonioGG]

I put some white caulk so the cracks could be seen otherwise they would not be visible in the pictures.

 

[TheX]

The damage to this one is more obvious. 15 broken bones, but no head injury.

[skinned elbows]

My dents/crash are/was not as significant as the previous shown and I don't see any visual signs of foam damage...the main brunt hit is right on the stronger high edge so that probably helped?
Although my head is very slightly sore in that spot my pinky finger took the most damage when got jammed on tree I hit...I went flying forward and bounced my head off trunk to the ground but my bike was parked perfect ha...and glad I don't got a pencil neck...got up and rode about another 3m

Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

[natas1321]

Helmets are too important to be cheap about it.

I fully agree, way I see it is do you want to go cheap on something protecting your brain. Not me and I usually replace my helmets every two to three years just to put my mind at ease.

Sent from my moto g(7) supra using Tapatalk

[AustinBike]

11 hours ago, natas1321 said:

I fully agree, way I see it is do you want to go cheap on something protecting your brain. Not me and I usually replace my helmets every two to three years just to put my mind at ease.

Sent from my moto g(7) supra using Tapatalk
 

I agree with this, but there is a secret algorithm to arrive at the optimal price. Basically all helmets offer the same protection in a macro sense because they have to meet DOT requirements, so that is one baseline. Then, MIPS (or its equivalents) add another level, but this is more of a binary yes or no I believe because I have not seen a definitive "this MIPS is better than that MIPS" argument.

Most of the cost variance is not going towards safety per se. Most of the variance is in style, features and brand name. More vents, camera mounts, fancy designs, etc.

In my opinion you'd be better off to buy a new $65 helmet every year rather than buy a $200 helmet and use it for 3 years.

I see helmets like cars. When I drove an infiniti I paid $50K for the car, but I drove it for 11 years, so a little under $5K a year. When I bought my Nissan to replace it, I spent ~$28K but I assumed the after 5 or so years I could go out and get a new one if I wanted. Once you break a car down into per-year expenses, it becomes a very liberating experience because the world is literally your oyster at that point in terms of buying a new one whenever you want. Love that new car smell? Get a new Honda Civic every spring, you can probably pull that off in the long run, you just need to know where the numbers are at.

I don't crash a lot (last week notwithstanding) and so for me the helmet is more likely to be replaced because I lose confidence in the foam. That is a tougher judgement call, so I could go cheap if I wanted and replace more often. "Not going cheap" and dropping big coin on a helmet doesn't really help much because I am not really getting any added value for the extra money I am spending.

[TheX]

Paying cash for the right car/truck is very liberating. Not having payments is the true secret to car happiness.

[AntonioGG]

11 hours ago, AustinBike said:

 

In my opinion you'd be better off to buy a new $65 helmet every year rather than buy a $200 helmet and use it for 3 years.

 

I used to think this, but I recently saw some testing of old helmets.  They tested helmets left in garages, in cars, used a lot (miles in the sun), etc.  They did not see a big difference.  https://helmets.org/up1505a.htm

For me:  #1 is fit.  I'll spend whatever for something that fits.  #2 is weight.  For 12 and 24 hour racing, a little weight makes a big difference.  Then I look at other features, like specialized having an inner web that can help it survive multiple impacts, or ANGI, or even the weave of the straps (ever had one that snags your whiskers)? 

I'm super happy with my S-Works Prevail which as soon as I saw is now rated for 63cm I picked up.  Now I'm back to having a lightweight comfortable helmet that can fit a winter beanie under it without me getting a headache from it being too tight.

Edited October 4, 2020 by AntonioGG
gith-->tight (wine kicked in)

[Teamsloan]

I have the Spesh Propero I for the road, and the Tactic III for mtb rides. The Propero does give me a bit of pressure on the forehead if I snug down the retention system too much with my Halo Headband. Otherwise the vents allow every little wiff of air to be felt and amplified. My Tactic vents very well, but doesn't have quite the same "there's an air conditioner on my head" feeling. The Tactic fit though is dialed perfectly for me. It has no pressure points and yet fits so snugly that I could probably ride without the chinstrap buckled and be fine. It does feel like it sits lower on my head, but I think it just has that much more coverage which is nice piece of mind while navigating Ausin's chunk.

[TAF]

I bought the entire stock of size XL POC helmets when Division One went under. Helmets for life!

[TheX]

18 minutes ago, TAF said:

I bought the entire stock of size XL POC helmets when Division One went under. Helmets for life!

I've heard great things about their helmets. I haven't had the chance to actually see if they fit.

[TAF]

4 minutes ago, TheX said:

I've heard great things about their helmets. I haven't had the chance to actually see if they fit.

They've taken some solid knocks, so I'm okay on that front. My issue is usually the fit - same with shoes - so once I find something I like, I usually buy a few more. D1 was a real score!

[Cafeend]

That auction was awesome , wife was mad as hell but I enjoyed it 

[TAF]

4 hours ago, Cafeend said:

That auction was awesome , wife was mad as hell but I enjoyed it 

Heh - my home office 'chair' is the one-off Brooks saddle barstool that the rich kid had made. Picked it up for a steal and had the wife go collect it - she was not impressed at the time!

[Cafeend]

Whatever happened to him?  I bought a few things but I have his Ventana . I have been told he had a Burley type thing made to tow behind that bike and had it painted to match .

If that is true it kills me to know there is a matching trailer sitting in dust somewhere around here 

 

[xl_cheese]

I now look for coverage of the helmet.  Most MTB style helmets are wrapping around the head more.  Generally, more expensive helmets give more coverage.  

A great helmet to consider is the Bell Super Air R helmet.  It has a removable chin bar.  When riding with the chin bar you can barely tell it's there.  

LARGE sun visors seem to be another fad that is becoming popular.  My current helmet, Smith Forefront, has a nice normal size visor with 3 positions.  I don't like anything extra in my field of view so I normally have it tilted up a notch or two.  If I find myself riding into the sun I can tilt the visor down.  For night riding, visors tend to get into the way of the light beam.  

Smith helmets claim their design is more safe than the typical styrofoam.  It looks like a bunch of straw pieces stuck together.  I can't say that I have seen real data to back up their claim.  It doesn't breathe as well in the summer.  And you can't scratch that itch on your head through a vent hole.  I deal with those because my Smith rep gave me a free helmet..

Before the Smith helmet I had a Troy Lee A2 helmet.  It was also a freebie from a rep.  But I ditched it after using it twice because it somehow channeled ALL of my sweat directly into my eyes.  I never anticipated a helmet could increase the amount sweat in your eyes, but this one did.  Otherwise it was a really comfortable helmet.  

I currently have another Smith Forefront helmet on order for January delivery simply because I want to channel my inner Marco Cippollini...

[notyal]

18 minutes ago, xl_cheese said:

And you can't scratch that itch on your head through a vent hole.

This is like if a frame doesn't have a water bottle mount. If I got it free or cheap, I'd deal with it. But if I were comparing two similarly priced models, it would be the deal breaker. 

[AustinBike]

I looked at those and my biggest consideration was airflow in deciding. Not 00% sure that the protection is significantly better. Being too hot in the summer could lead to its own set of crash-inducing problems, so it’s all related. 

[AustinBike]

Annnnnd the search continues.

The Smith Venture helmet showed up and one of the visor pegs was already broken/missing. Put it on and it was not comfortable. Rode around the block and the visor blocked my vision. Packaged it up and it's headed back to Amazon. 

Going back to look at the recommendations again. 

Edited October 9, 2020 by AustinBike

[AustinBike]

On 9/29/2020 at 7:38 AM, Barry said:

The one thing I prioritized last time I went helmet shopping was a clip-on light mount. I'm absolutely done with straps. I ended up going with the Bell Sixer. It's super comfortable, but works best if you also wear a skull cap or sweat band. And the clip-on GoPro style mount is perfect. 

Barry, quick question on the Sixer: How are the two pressure points on the back of the helmet that are located on the plastic adjustment pieces? I was feeling these two on the Smith digging into the back of my head:

{the part just above the label with the "stripes"}

 

[Barry]

1 minute ago, AustinBike said:

Barry, quick question on the Sixer: How are the two pressure points on the back of the helmet that are located on the plastic adjustment pieces? I was feeling these two on the Smith digging into the back of my head:

I feel like the Sixer applies pressure very evenly though-out the headband. I don't notice any particular point of it more than another. And those back parts are well padded. The back parts also have a lot of in-out and up-down adjust-ability. (review site photo below)  

 

 

But as I mentioned before, I don't particularly like the feel of the headband without using a skull cap (when cold) or a Halo head-band when warm. If feels to me like you have to over-tighten it to keep it from moving. But with a head band or cap, it feels just right. Jessica also has the Sixer, but she doesn't have issue with it and doesn't wear a head-band.

Another odd thing is that the helmet strap is only adjustable on one side. That's the only helmet I've ever had like that, but it doesn't seem to hinder the overall adjust-ability.  

[AustinBike]

Looks like it does not have those annoying things that the Smith had. Heavily leaning this way for round two. This or the Giro that Layton recommended.

[ATXZJ]

did you call peddler and see if they have the Giros in stock? Seems like it'd be a lot easier than amazon

[throet]

I love my Bell Sixer. Not sure what the pricing is on Amazon but Colorado Cyclist has a pretty good variety at 25% off. Seems when I bought mine from them I was able to register an account and get a coupon as well, but that was a couple of years ago.