lowlux

so what do you wear??

I don't wear anything, but was looking at some of the helmets at wal mart... what do you recommend?

fietsbob

Bell Or Giro, at the bike shop.

loty

Doesn't matter as far as safety is concerned. ALL helmets made for the U.S. must meet the US Consumer Product Safety Commission standard, so look for a CPSC sticker. So just get one that looks good on you

RonH

Lazer or Uvex

Makeitso

I recommend you get one ASAP and wear it. I wasn't much of a helmet advocate until a few years ago when I crashed and the helmet likely saved my brain. I was real close to home too. I don't even go on a test drive any more without the helmet on. I current have a Bell I paid $40 for.

Zizka

FWIW, most Specialized helmets meet the stricter Snell standards. A full list can be found here https://www.smf.org/certlist/std_B-90...90C_B-95C.html

cyclist2000

I have a Giro. I like a well vented one for hot summer rides, I put on a cycling hat under the helmet for cooler weather.

DX-MAN

Even if you get one at Wal-Mart, make sure you get the in-molded style, not the 'two-piece'; you can tell the difference by hooking a finger into the vents on top. The two-piece will feel like you can pull the shell right off the styrofoam... which you can do with those. In-molded helmets will feel like the two parts are joined, one unit... which they are.

In-molded helmets at Wally can be had for less than $30; my kids have them, one is like 3 years old, and still serviceable.

lowlux

My head is 22" or 23" round? how do i choose a helmet?

someone has a Giro E2 for $10 but its large? will this fit my head or would it be to LARGE?

deep_sky

I've never not had the ability to try helmets on at a store, so go to an LBS, wal-mart, etc and try one on until you find one that fits comfortably.

I wear a Rudy Project Actyum. Comfy and breezy, but not remotely cheap retail.

Joemess

1. Go to store

2. Open box (or pick up display)

3. Stick on head

4. Look in mirror....



5. Be wary of buying a used helmet.


Seriously, you have to try it on. I have a big noggin and I tried many on before i found a Giro that I liked.

Scarecrow7

I got my Bell CPSC certified helmet at Wal-Mart and it seems to be two piece like you described above. Did I make a bad purchase? Why do you suggest to avoid the two piece helmets?

yokotas13

30.00 for a helmet?
How much is your life worth? more than 30.00 i hope

Big_e

I like Limar helmets. I have a Limar 550.
Ernest

CCrew

As long as they meet standards there's no real safety to be had by spending $100 versus $10. All you get for the additional money is less weight and/or more venting. There are actually those that will say that a larger vented helmet (ie: $$$) actually offers less protection since the material needs to be stiffer/harder to meet spec.

Any helmet is better than no helmet IMHO. I've had two wrecks that would have had my head like a crushed watermelon without a helmet.

yokotas13

wronggggggggggg
every looked at retention systems? look at a 100.00 vs 30.00 helmet. tell me which one will stay on your head better in an impact. ill keep my 120.00 helmet. thanks

CCrew

Probably the $30 helmet. Most of them have straps fully through the helmet with token adjusters at best where the $$ helmets try for dainty prissy roadie style. And most of the cheaper helmets are round bowls, where the $$ helmets get all pointy in the back. Those points are proven to be a catch point.

I wear nice helmets, don't get me wrong, but trying to tell people that they have to have a $100 + helmet is sheer elitism at work.

But just $120?? That's half the cost of my Giro Ionos. Your head must not be worth much.

BlazingPedals

Hee hee.. This is certainly a different kind of helmet war!

I really like my Bell Alchera helmet. It's by far the best-ventilated helmet I've ever owned. And I got it for $50 on sale. That, BTW is the most I've ever payed for a helmet; I always get close-out or year-old models. I think you can get one for $40 now. My head may be worth a lot more, but happily it's not necessary to spend all that much to protect it. For those of you who want to pay more, go for it! They have to sell at least a few of the fancy new ones before they mark them down for me!

dcrowell

I have my bike shop helmet (a Bell of some kind) that I normally wear. I drove to Michigan with my bike, and forgot my helmet. There were no bike shops in town (Niles MI- no bike shops? WTF?), so I went to WalMart. I found an inexpensive helmet (a different Bell model) that fit. The adjustable straps aren't quite as nice, but it makes a nice backup helmet.

Really, buy whatever new helmet you want. Don't buy a used one, and replace it if you crash or it starts falling apart.

jharte

[QUOTE=BlazingPedals;11444170]Hee hee.. This is certainly a different kind of helmet war!

Yeah, this one is different. Personally I think they're fun.

I wear an old Protec. No longer made. Foam only.

I've been a Eng Tech in manufacturing for most of my adult life. Testing, writing standards, documenting, and now teaching some of the data related stuff I've learned. This is what I have gleaned from my personal experience in new product development:

Higher end product many times have tighter quality controls, more money spent in research and development, sometimes better (more durable materials), and yes, sometimes the cost goes into paying for the reputation of the name.

Your less expensive products may spend less on research and development, appeal to a different market, and meet (not exceed) government quality standards and customer expectations.

In the end, each person must justify the purchase in their own way. It's easy for me to see the difference between the $120 helmet and the $40 helmet (and there ARE notable differences).

Unfortunately, Eng Techs don't make much so I ended up the the best helmet I could afford.

Sorry, this time I gave my .07.

Jerry H

AndrewP

Since cycling is safer than walking up and down stairs there isnt any real need to wear a helmet, but since comfortable helmets are available at a reasonable price I always wear one when riding. Apart from fit and ventilation, look for ease of adjustment of straps and the ability to adjust for wearing a hat in cold weather. I have a Louis Garneau and the $50 one was much more comfortable than the $30 one although they looked identical.

prathmann

[QUOTE=jharte;11444743]This part I agree with - the question is how it relates to the protective properties that are likely to be provided by the helmet.

If I have very limited $ for R&D, know that the product quality may vary from sample to sample, but still need to meet the government specified impact tests then what do I do? Make sure that I put in plenty of EPS foam thickness (it's cheap and that way it'll pass the tests), put in enough vents to satisfy a low-end consumer, and design a cheap retention system that'll be sure to meet the tests. My target customer isn't counting every gram, so I won't worry much about weight or aerodynamics. Again, my R&D budget is limited so I don't want to design a bunch of prototypes to test against the standards - I just want one design that I'm pretty sure will be good enough to pass with enough margin to make up for our lousy quality control while still being cheap to manufacture.

OTOH, let's say I'm told to design a high-end state-of-the-art model that is to meet those same government standards. Now I have lots more R&D money and a much fussier target market that does care about every gram of extra weight, wants the most possible venting, and at least the appearance of aerodynamic benefits. Any extra foam thickness is now a source of extra weight and is to be avoided. So if my first prototypes pass the safety tests with any significant margin it's an indication that I can take out some thickness or put in some more vents. My goal would be to make the lightest and most vented helmet that still just barely passes the government tests and I'll also aim for great styling and an aero appearance. Similarly the retention system would be optimized for light weight while being convenient and comfortable (properties the consumer can see in his LBS) yet still able to just barely pass the safety tests. Any substantial extra strength would be an indication that there's some unneeded weight that could be removed.

Now in the end I don't think it'll matter much, if at all. Just look at any of the more contentious helmet threads and you'll see that there's lots of debate on whether any helmet actually helps prevent serious injuries or fatalities. If it's so hard to tell if there's a benefit of some helmet vs. no helmet then it must be much harder still to say that there would be a benefit of helmet A vs. helmet B. But in general I would expect the less expensive helmets to have a greater margin of impact absorption over the government minimums than the high-end models. And AIRC, a number of years ago when Consumer's Union tested helmets they found just that trend.

SilentEdge

As far as fit goes, how are Louis Garneaus on roundness? I know Giros tend to fit round heads better and Bells fit narrow heads better.

yokotas13

Ive tried about 2 dozen helmets, and the one i ended up with fit my weird ass head best. it just happened to be 120 bucks.

regardless, the more expensive (over 75ish iirc? in my experiences in LBS) have better fitment and retention systems meant to keep it on your head and not flop around. thats what im trying to get at. If the helmet wont stay still on your head, and you take a plunge, helmet shifts, and you hit wrong, it could do more bad than good (not saying a helmet is any good...im just over cautious to begin with with helmets now that i have responsibilities)
i crash alot cause i do dumb stuff, so i like to have helmets on