Giacomo 1 

I don't really like helmets much and have never found or worn one I really liked. I'm guessing I'm not alone in this crowd. But I think I might have found a good one for us C&V'ers.

It's a Carrera "foldable" helmet. It's a brand new design and a real departure from the more normal cycling helmets. It's actually based on the old leather hairnet pistards of the old days, but brought up to modern safety standards and materials.

My review - to start, it isn't truly foldable, more like collapsible. It compresses to about 80% of it's normal size to fit in a bag easily, or it comes with a nylon strap and hook to clip onto your belt. Great for blue jean riders or hipster types. It is fairly light, although there are lighter modern style ones out there. The ventilation should be great with little restriction. It is comfortable and should be quite easy on the head for long rides, but I have worn more comfortable ones. Seems to sit more on the head, instead of around it, if that makes sense. Certainly not bad though, and the detachable, washable cushioning inside is quite plush. The headband is easily adjusted by a Velcro system. The harness is sturdy, well made and comfortable. Looks to be very well made, and it should offer nice head protection. It comes in a wide variety of colors, in gloss, matte and multi-colored. Plenty of room for decals!

It is a bit costly at about $94 plus shipping and they only seem to be available in Great Britain. It is brand new design, so I'm guessing I paid for the R&D.

Would I recommend this to a friend? - Yes!

Here are some very poor, quick pics, (and yes, I need a haircut!)but you get the idea -





"Folded" with strap -




Hanging off my belt with supplied strap and clip -



The interior -

devinfan

Thanks for sharing, I actually really like it! I'm thinking this would look pretty cool in black.

Giacomo 1 

Glad to share.

Black is tough to find in Lg., that was my first choice to...

gomango

I think I prefer white.

I won't wear a black helmet. They always feel too warm, whether they really are or not.

Cool helmet though.

Sure beats my Bell Volt and Sweep R for looks.

As long as it's comfortable and light, it's a winner.

CroMo Mike 

I like the fact that, unlike most modern helmets, is does not have the "Woody-the-Woodpecker" vent part on the back. A semi-vintage look. Folding or collapsing isn't much of a factor for me, however, since mine is usually on my head.

Chombi

I think I'll like it much better if it was all black....
Best of all, it's not priced like those very expensive Cascos....

RobbieTunes

I like it. I think I saw it reviewed in a bike magazine, and they said it was really nice.
Another company also has one, with a sort of elastic mesh head cover, with pieces of helmet attached.
Smith, I think.

I like the white, a nice blank slate for whatever art you want on there.

Giacomo 1 

Glad you guys like it.

Gomango - yeah, I agree it does look better than many of the modern helmets out there and I think it fits the C&V crowd pretty well.

CroMo Mike - the collapsible part wasn't to important to me either, it just came that way so. The clip is nice though for the belt, but it won't work on lycra! More for casual riders, or hipsters I think.

Chombi - yeah, definitely is cheaper than a lot of helmets out there. As I said, I originally wanted black, but could just not find one in large, but there is white in all of my jerseys, so the white will be fine to. (yeah, I like to color coordinate if possible) It does come in a lot of colors.

RobbieTunes - It does have plenty of room for some artistic license for sure. I have the decals all picked out for mine!

cs1

Am I the only one who's seeing Giacomo's upside down?

gomango

Nope.

pastorbobnlnh 

We need the link and another pic. My first impression is that I like everything except the sides. I wish there was another "gap" in there.

Carrera Foldable

Bikedued

This one has a vintage "post hairnet" mid 80's style shape? It's a little spendy though, at $240. I like it, but wouldn't spend that much myself. Giro Air Attack.,,,,BD


https://www.rei.com/media/bb/f6290c8d...0f34dfc2fc.jpg

Giacomo 1 

Hmm that's odd,I see the pics ok.

Anyway, you get the idea, but pastorbobs link is good to, and it gives you an idea of all the colors offered.

rootboy 

Weird. Earlier, at home, I saw the pic right side up. Now Im out and about, they're upside down.

Anyway, cool looking helmet. I see they have orange too, . Which might be good for visibility. But i like the graphite/black one.

cobrabyte

It looks like something from an 80-'s sci-fi movie. Not that that's a bad thing. It looks clunky, too. That is a bad thing.

Pics look right to me, btw.

_dylan

These are way more expensive and way too pricey for my tastes, but if I'm putting something weird on my head, it'd be one of these:

In-Stock - See what's ready now ? Coyle Treepieces

But I've never found a helmet I actually liked.

crank_addict

The Coyle could grow on me.......

icepick_trotsky 

Insert rimshot.

fender1

Like something from Spaceballs.

pastorbobnlnh 

Looking at the wooden helmets made me wonder:

Maybe we should re-purpose old inner tubes and tires into hairnet like helmets. If we are really clever we could add airbag like protection into such a helmet. The inner tubes would remain compressed until impact, at which time they would fill instantaneously.

Hasn't someone produced a motorcycle suit which does this?

gaucho777 

+1, that was my first impression too. While there appears to be adequate venting on the top, not enough on the sides.

I also prefer white over black. I overheat quickly, and don't like riding with a black helmet--whether or not the effects are real or perceived.

(Pics look good on my computer.)

ThermionicScott 

It seems like pictures taken on mobile devices have "orientation" data baked in, and not all browsers or photo apps use it. I'm sure they had a good reason for it in the beginning, but now, you never know whether a picture you took on your phone will appear right-side-up on Facebook or Photobucket or BikeForums. For a while, rhm's avatar appeared sideways when viewing BikeForums on my phone.

As far as modern helmets go, I actually kind of like the POC "Trabec" model, since it seems to incorporate some new thought, and avoids a lot of the flashy sculpting that you generally see. Not sure if my noggin is worth $230 though.

linnefaulk

Why does that make me imagine it folding when you crash?

randomguyy

Nice. Reminds me of the Giro Aspect I recently picked up at REI.

Example: Giro Aspect Bike Helmet - Without Walls

rootboy 

I certainly hope that doesn't stand for PIECE -O-CRAP.