Commuting - Rainman's new helmet

Well, my Giro Pneumo finally came in! Hot off the presses, manufactured in August! Giro must have made it just for me! It is kind of a pearl white with a little blue in the back. This is the helmet the advertisements say you can see through, and you can because it has so may vents. Ventilates wonderfully! On my other helmet the ridges in the foam shell pretty much all come down flat against my head so the only ventilation is where there are vents. On the Pneumo, only a few of the ridges actuall extend all the way down so there are big channels where air can just flow right through. You can feel the air moving through. Of course, I wanted it back in July when I asked the LBS to order it. It was hot and humid, and I craved more ventilation. Naturally, the Pneumo arrived on the second day of nice cool weather. That is the story of my life. A day late and a dollar short. Oh, well, there will be plenty more hot days here before fall arrives for good.
Regards,
Raymond

Quanta Costa??

And does it look cool or geeky?

and when is someone going to do a helmet poll (or has hat been done already?)

Stew

Originally posted by stewartp
Quanta Costa??

And does it look cool or geeky?

and when is someone going to do a helmet poll (or has hat been done already?)

Stew

Well, Stew, my man, it was a wee step up from the Bell Vita Pro I got on sale for US$15 about a year ago. The Pneumo retails for US$160, and my LBS buddy knocked a whopping US$10 off. It was a big bite, but I figured
1. If I am going to spend any amount of money, I might as well spend enough to get what I really want, which in this case was ultimate ventilation.
AND
2. My noggin is priceless.

Personally, I think the only helmet that looks cooler is the Briko Twinner which is the same price and probaby equal in ventilation. The only reason I didn't get a Twinner is that they are so distinctive looking, serious cyclists would immediately recogize one and sneer at the poseur wearing it. As if they don't already sneer at me when they even admit they see me. :D
USPS wears the Pneumo so you can see them on the guys if you are watching the Vuelta a Espana right now.

There was a "Do you always wear a helmet?" poll a month or so ago.
Cheers,
Raymond

I remember a test Consumer Reports did on bike helmets about 2 years ago. The tested Bell, Giro, Specialized, Trek, etc. The results were fairly surprising. the cheaper Bell helmets actually protected better than the expensive ones! In fact, the Giro helmets all rated very poorly, actually lower than most of the specialized helmets! Apparently, the chin clasps on nearly all Giros, as well as most of the helmets costing over $100 would break in a moderate crash, allowing the helmets to fall off! Several were rated "not acceptable".
Also, the more vents a helmet has, the less protection from rocks, hood-ornaments, tree branches, etc. that you are likely to encounter while you roll uncontrollably down a ditch.
I stick with a decent but not expensive Bell, with only a few vents. I also always wear a cycling cap under the helmet, to protect my scalp from the sun.

NOW you tell me!

I found this:
Get a head start
Which?, journal of The Consumers' Association, pp 28 - 31, October 1998.
Performance tests of cycle helmets, all produced to meet international standards. 14 of the 24 helmets failed the test criteria for shock absorption, and two of the remainder failed tests related to retention and strap strength. Only two of the 24 helmets met the more demanding Snell standard, and one of those caused some impairment of a cyclist's vision. [j980]

at this page:
http://www.lesberries.co.uk/cycling/cy_helm1.htm

unfortunately it doesn't have the which report, but it does have links to helmet safety studies in th years after Australia made helmet wearing compulsory.

Stew

Originally posted by D*Alex
I remember a test Consumer Reports did on bike helmets about 2 years ago. The tested Bell, Giro, Specialized, Trek, etc. The results were fairly surprising. the cheaper Bell helmets actually protected better than the expensive ones!

I am well protected! Hurray! This is the only reason why I bought that ugly very cheap Bell helmet of course.:D