pipes

I know all have to meet certain standards and some look diffrent !BUT are any brand or type considered built better or saffer or any considered built bad? Even thou they all have the same standards .I always wear a helmet and if there is better made ones not for llooks iam old fat fart who could careless what it looks like thou I did buy a new one for the coming year in a brighter color I been wearing black got a orange one with a light on it from Bell . So what is the forums opinion on better or best forget about what they look like .

10 Wheels

White shows up best from a distance.
I get all my helmets from Goodwill.

pipes

I guess I should a been more clear.The color is not my concern thou it is important I am more concerned of the quality of construction for protection . Personaly I would never buy a used helmet because there is NO way to know if its been in a crash or not forsure and my understanding once one has done its duty 1 time it is pose to be retired and a new one bought ! I had a crash with a car in July wacked my head on the side of the the car that hit and run me and the helmet looked ok but I got a new one the next day . And i also think the best helmet is the one you will wear

Hickeydog

New, quality helmets (aka, not wally world bought) are very similar- crash protection wise. The more expensive you go, you get more vents and a more customizable fit. Generally, anything over about $70 is just getting you the "bling" factor.

10 Wheels

I have been wearing helmets for 44 years.
Helmets need to fit, as your bike needs to fit, so that you can ride 11,000 miles.

wrobertdavis

I buy on sale. Anything over $29 is bling to me. I've never found any difference in fit between a $29 and a $200 helmet. I do find a difference between manufacturers. A Bell universal fits my head the best. I bought a pretty decent one for $36.

Bob

genec

But getting directly to the OP's question... yes, as long as they have the CPSC sticker, they all conform to the same standards.

10 Wheels

The Second Time you put on your New Helmet it is now a Used Helmet.
How do you know a New Helemt is Not Defective if you can't tell by Looking?

pipes

I buy everything for my bikes from one local LBS Al Petri and Sons Lincoln Park Michigan .They been there since 1946 I think and every bike since i was 5 yrs old has come from them .They treat me very good never have charged me for simple stuff I pay stright retail but i get a lot for it like a bike with NO PROBLEMS . MY Bell helmet i just bought cost me about $60.00 same style I had but has a place for
a light on the back and its not hot to wear .

But if there is a better helmet i would sure want to know about it .

10 Wheels

Bike riding is fun when you have a Good Bike Shop like yours.

pipes

I agree to a point but I personaly feel better knowing it was new in the box when I bought it !And buying it from my LBS I gotta figure it has not been in a crash YET.

Am I wrong are you not supose to replace a helmet once it has been in a crash with a new one ? Thats what I been told anyway its sounds good to me as my wife says not much up there so u need to protect what you have

Hickeydog

If you crash, you are to destroy the crashed helmet and get a new one.

wrobertdavis

Well sometimes you can tell by looking.

I T-boned two of these on my bike last summer at night:



It did this to the helmet:

I-Like-To-Bike

In regards to head protection, anything spent over what Walmart charges for their helmets is just getting the "bling" factor. The cheapest helmets on the US market meet the exact same standard of the "not wally world bought" helmet. Presumably the provenance of a helmet somehow adds to its protection properties due to passing some undocumented testing standard known only to Hickeydog.

pipes

The guys at the local LBS did say to buy a little better vented one or they can be hot .I will say the Bell I have is very cool in hot weather .

10 Wheels

Nice Pics

AlmostTrick

This is something I have been wondering about myself. I've never liked how cycling helmets often seem to sit only on the very top of your head, and unless you have an old one they almost all seem to have pointy corners that can catch on stuff while sliding on the ground or hitting stuff, possibly twisting your neck around in a bad way. It seems to me that a smooth round lid that actually came down over your ears at least a little, would offer more protection. One of my helmets is an older model (it survived all these years because I never used to wear it) and it is much more round shaped than most of the newer ones.

I was looking at these "multisport" helmets just this morning.

https://www.rei.com/outlet/product/775972

https://www.rei.com/outlet/product/775973

What says the BF helmet experts? (this means you closetbiker!)

ilike3bikes

Are we saying that the CPSC standards can't be improved upon? I have heard pretty much the same thing, that inexpensive helmets are just as safe as more expensive ones. I bought a 29.95 Giro about 3 years ago. About 2 years ago, I scraped a pedal, landed on my shoulder and my head. My head works about the way it always did, my shoulder is still stiff.

Brian Ratliff

Helmets with taped on shells (or no shells) are substantially less protective than modern helmets with "in-molded" shells. The former will shatter on impact and leave your head exposed after the initial contact. The latter will retain most of its protective capability even if the foam is cracked. Foam never makes an adequate structural material - it should only be used for impact absorption with the shell provided structural integrity to the helmet.

Other than that, go with the "amount of material" standard. If a helmet has more material, it is more effective. Not all helmets are created equal; they are merely designed to meet minimum standards.

pacificaslim

This is true for most helmets. But there are helmets that are multi-crash certified, such as Protec's SXP multi-impact. These are mainly used in sports where if you aren't falling, you simply aren't trying hard enough: (bmx, mountain biking, skating, snowboarding, etc.). I'm not sure if any of these foam constructions have been used in the typical dorky looking road cycling helmet.

Blue Roads

I've wondered if there is any appreciable difference in safety between a regular bike helmet and the Nutcase helmets such as below. I doubt the Nutcase helmets are any safer because they would probably push that. They look well-built, but with less ventilation. Nutcase markets them for "cycle and skate" use. They have the required CPSC safety rating, as well as the CE EN 1078 Multi Sport Standard Safety rating.





I doubt any Lance-wanna-be roadie would be caught dead in one, but for the rest of us, I think some of the designs are kind of cool. I've seen a couple of people riding with them around here. At $40, they're also a good price.

10 Wheels

I have one that I ride in cold temps. Rode full face motorcycle helmets for 28 years.
The nutcase is a better helmet then the common type used by most of us.

I-Like-To-Bike

Sure the CPSC standards could be changed; they could be changed to require a product that the manufacturers won't be able to sell because of weight, discomfort, style, cost, etc. But consumers paying more money for a helmet at an LBS for a false sense of security, or for stylin' purposes doesn't change the standard to which that helmet was built. And right now, with a possible few exceptions, all the helmets on the US market, no matter what they cost, are built to meet the CPSC standard, not to exceed it.

Brian Ratliff

If I am a roadie that doesn't want to ride with a skateboard helmet, do I want to be like Lance Armstrong? Is it a bad thing if I do aspire to compete in my races with the same determination that Armstrong did in his races?

Blue Roads

Sounds like it's too hot for summer. Is that so?