cruzinator

I wanted to get a little more warmth with my Bell and Giro bike helmets and I came up with a reasonable and inexpensive way to extend the comfort zone for the well-vented helmets. Just get some shelf-liner material, the thick cushioned type that is black, and cut out a pattern for the inside of your helmet. The pattern is basically a round shape with a couple pie-shaped wedges cut out of it for the straps and to conform to your head. It allows ventilation and doesn't give me brain/skull-freeze that I get with a skull cap. You may need to loosen the rear/chin straps a bit, but it does the job pretty well for 30s and 40s temperatures. Do be careful about making a template or cutting the liner material directly inside the helmet to avoid cutting your helmet straps! You may want to tape them down if you do that.

I think that by keeping my head warm I have improved keeping my hands and feet a bit warmer (the toughest to keep warm). Just thought I would pass this idea along since it's so easy to do and is relatively inconspicuous if you prefer not to have a helmet cozy or cover.

Jurgen

What do you do about ears?

cruzinator

At these temperatures I go bare on the ears (or help my hair drape over them a tad). It's sometimes cold the first few minutes, but they warm up pretty quickly as the engine warms up--enough to get by. I rode over 40 miles in 31-41 F temps on New Year's Day and I never noticed any issues. I like that it still gives ventilation too, just less of it. FYI, I do have a beard so that probably helps my situation overall.

rogerstg

Good idea. But if you use tape to cover the vents you can pull some off as you ride if it gets too warm.