Road Cycling - Research Junky Helmet Question

i wear a helmet 100% of the time. I am a research junky, and when i started commuting to work, i just had to find out everything i could about the law, and bicycle safety. After my research, it is safe to say that i would have to be a frikn idiot to not wear a helmet. so here is the question does anyone know if certain kinds or brands of helmets provide better protection than others? right now i have the normal, trek helmet that was like 30 or 40 bucks. just got a new road bike, and would like to get a new helmet that matches the new bike. so when i make this purchase, what should i look for? ( the only helmet i have found that matches my 2004 giant tcr 2 is a Gyro helmet that costs like $190.00!!!! what in the world would make a helmet so expensive????!!!!) with the rediculously expensive helmets, when you fall and brake the helmet do they replace it for free??? Anyone with decent helmet knowledge please reply... Sharing your knowledge on this one is liable to save a life!!!!

mike

I know of no helmet that's "safer" than any other. They all have to pass certain standards, period. I've never heard of one bragging about reaching a higher standard.

For example, motorcycle helmets are all required to meet DOT safety standards, but many also apply for the SNELL standard. So, in that case, there are two quantitative levels. And yes, I would only buy dot+snell.

So, buy the helmet whose features and appearance please you best and know they're all pretty much the same safety level.

With that said, if you ride in particularly dangerous areas, you could get the Giro Switchblade... mtb helmet with a chin guard or just get a solid full-face DH helmet.

To answer another way, all helmets are required to meet minimum proscribed safety standards. Logically, some helmets are going to exceed those standards more than others. They are all generally made of the same foam with a thin cosmetic plastic outer layer. The more expensive helmets are not necessarily safer, but they generally have better venting and more fashionable styling, and as such you pay more. To achieve lighter weight and more venting, however, more material must be removed as compared with a solid foam shell. So it is logical to expect some of the more expensive helmets to actually be less safe, having less material to absorb impact. But again, they all satisfy minimum standards.

Oh, I should clarify, tho it might be obvious, a helmet that fits you is much safer than a helmet that does not fit you. Go to your LBS and try on every helmet in your price range... even if you don't like the appearance, just so you get a feel for 'em.

I believe Consumer Reports did their own helmet tests a couple years ago on a sample of helmets from cheap to expensive. They tested the helmets to see which ones provided the best protection. As I recall, the lower priced helmets did better than the high priced ones.

I suspect the reason is that the cheap helmets have more material and fewer vents than the expensive ones.

There is currently an online article on helmets at the consumerreports.org website but you have to be a subscriber to access it. Sadly, I am not a subscriber.

I would guess that foam grade actually varies with price. Vents and design add to the price but my feeling coming from an engineering background is that helmets with more vents have better foam in order to meet the same safety standard. If you assume that the better foam cost more (seems logical) why use better foam if you don't need to, not great economic sense. I am guessing all actually come very close to being the same and all slightly better then the standard as you must make sure that even the low end of the curve still bet the standard. If you love research call up each helmet company and see if they will send you the test results for comformance to safety standards and look through them to see which one seems best.

Another functional difference from helmet to helmet is the strap system. The least expensive helmets have strap systems that are hard to adjust and don't hold their adjustment very well. Manufacturers initially put their most innovative retention systems on their most expensive helmets, but the trickle down effect to their lower priced offerings seems to come in just a year or so.

I've been told that the fancy helmets with larger air vents actually use a higher density, more expensive foam, but I don't know how to confirm that. The hard shell cover is more than just cosmetic. It's purpose is to hold the broken foam pieces together as you go sliding across the street on your noggin.

The hard shell cover is more than just cosmetic. It's purpose is to hold the broken foam pieces together as you go sliding across the street on your noggin.


that gives me a headache just thinking about it!

Not to steal the thread.. but, do helmets have an expiration date? ie- Is a 10year old helmet still OK to be wearing? Or does the foam degenerate to a point where it's no longer safe....

cheers-
Jim

that gives me a headache just thinking about it!

Not to steal the thread.. but, do helmets have an expiration date? ie- Is a 10year old helmet still OK to be wearing? Or does the foam degenerate to a point where it's no longer safe....

cheers-
Jim

The helmet people say so. My wife and I have a pair of five year old ones that we plan to replace next year. This topic came up a while back on another forum. I gave the opinion that a foaming is a chemical process, like concrete cureing, and consequently never completely stops so the foam continues to harden over time. Another poster said that I was all wet and that helmets are an injection molding process but I'm not convinced that he's right. Years ago I had the opportunity to visit the Bell plant in Rantoul, Illinois where helmets are made, but I didn't get to see the actual process.

foam grades = basically the same on cheaper and more expensive helmet.

more expensive helmets have more complex vents and channels for ventilation. designing and carving these out of the foam and plastic require more complex machinery and more time spent in production.

more expensive helmets also have more elaborate padding options and bracing systems in back to ensure a better fit.

a proper fitting helmet is important, but assuming you get a firm fit with a $20 helmet, would a $200 helmet protect your head any better? no.

would a $200 helmet keep you cooler? yes.

would a $200 helmet look better? yes.

would a $200 helmet pay for lance's endorsement contract? yes.

Everyone agrees that helmets have a life span....the trick is too many things effect the life span and no one agrees on what that time is.

We all know if your helmet takes a blow (that could be having it dropped) it needs replacing. I know a guy who’s kid tossed it to him and he missed it and it hit the ground. He didn’t think anything of it but later found a crack.

What it comes down to how you treat it. Exposure to sun will break it down, but no one has ever said how much it too much. Leaving your helmet in the hot car also shorten it life. I still keep my old helmets and if someone doesn’t have one or forgets theirs, I figure an old one is better than no helmet.

I think the helmet industry uses a 2-5 year life as gauge.

Cheers

Also to answer your other question, Yes, Trek has a crash return policy for the forst year. Giro doesn't seem to have it; at least not on the lower end ones.

On a similar note, recently Bicycle mag also said the same thing...you pay more for the additional vents, the time that went into conceiving the structural design and the looks. And I agree, as pointed out earlier, some of your products have to have a higher margin to pay for the celebrity endorsements!

Here's a link where the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute talks about some of the 2004 helmets.
http://www.bhsi.org/helmet04.htm