Winter Cycling - Winter helmet - bell metro

Do you have a specific winter helmet or do you just jam the hat/earwarmer underneath your summer helmet? Now that helmets have so many vents I'm starting to think about having a specifically winter helmet. Anybody using the Bell Metro winter kit? If so do you need extra hat/earwarmer besides?

That's a good idea. To get extra space, I pulled the padding out of an older helmet. I use a variety of things under the helmet. This year I am going to see if I can squeeze a skull cap and a balalcava
under there.

My old helmet is a pain to adjust. However the new Bell helmets have a little dial that you can turn to tighten and loosen the helmet to your head. It seems like a pretty nice feature.

My helmet can be expanded by adjusting the inside band (much like a hard hat or welders helmet) so I can fit warm gear on my head.

Currently I wear a "tight" balacave and head band. I find I need the head band as my ears get colder so need extra coverage. I have a bulky loose balacave I can wear around my neck but so far havn't needed it.

Right now I have a cool-max liner (an old shirt cut to size), to block sun and light rain. I'm thinking a fleece polar tech liner would work better for winter. Just use double sided tape.

But ya know...a smart Brit or European rider would simply bock those holes up with some sort of plastic. Any suggestions?

I have the winter kit for the Bell Metro, it hasn't been cold enough here for me to use it, but when I tried it on it seemed very warm. I do not think I will need anything else for my head, unless it gets really cold.

If you want a warm helmet buy a ski helmet. Most have ear holes so you can hear traffic,more warmth then a bike helmet and it offers more protection. At-least I think it does. You can fit winter head/face wear under it. This is what I use when it get brutally cold.

Do you have a specific winter helmet or do you just jam the hat/earwarmer underneath your summer helmet? Now that helmets have so many vents I'm starting to think about having a specifically winter helmet. Anybody using the Bell Metro winter kit? If so do you need extra hat/earwarmer besides?

Most everyone who rides on here will tell you that they use just a standard helmet. Most Balaclava's designed for cycling are very thin and take very little room. A fleece ear band is also thin and goes under a standard helmet.

As mentioned, you need a helmet that you can adjust from the inside. My Giro has plastic straps, similar to a zip tie, that you can make larger or smaller. Unless you have a HUGE head, you should be able to accomodate anything you need under a standard helmet.

Keep in mind that a helmet has some insulating properties, with it being built with a type of foam. I have never had any trouble with keeping my head warm.

Right now I have a cool-max liner (an old shirt cut to size), to block sun and light rain. I'm thinking a fleece polar tech liner would work better for winter. Just use double sided tape.

Follow-on: I took out the home-made cool-max liner and put a fleece swatch in the helmet instead. Also made a very simple helmet cover with a simple elastic around the edge...from a worn out pair of water-resistant pertex rain pants. Looks like the Performance Bike shop liner only there's some 3-M scotchlite strips for better side visibility.

Both came out well but there's no provision for cold ears. I plan on adding something like this: http://members.aol.com/helmufs/#how

You know you can buy helmet covers...

I was also thinking the helmet cover route since my head gets ichy and hot when I wear a skull-type hat underneath. It has to VERY, VERY cold before I can stand a hat underneath and/or the ear/headband thing I own. However, it would probably be pretty easy to make a helmet cover. Model it after a shower cap.

I've been using the Bell Metro winter kit and I'm finding it warm and comfortable. Thanks everyone!