Originally Posted by
Harorld
I'm currently awaiting the arrival of my new mini Velo and neglected to purchase a helmet. I know absolutely nothing about helmets and was wondering if you guys could help with some recommendations it'd be greatly appreciated.
I live in Brooklyn and will primarily be riding in urban environments. I have somewhere in the $150 range to spend on a helmet but if spending a little extra will bump me up into a nicer/safer helmet range I'm all for it...
Snell and helmet manufacturers recommend replacing a helmet every 5 years due to degradation of materials in the helmet. You might want to do it every 3-4, if you do a lot of riding and / or the helmet gets abuse.
http://www.smf.org/helmetfaq#aWhyReplace
Unless you the money is burning a hole in your pocket spend $30-$50, that way you will be less reluctant to replace when needed.
Regardless of the naysayers, where a helmet when you ride. It will most likely not save you from a truck hitting you are 50 MPH but it may make a big difference to your noggin in a 10-15 MPH fall which is more than likely to occur.
It is risk reward. Wearing a helmet while walking might save your head during a trip or fall but it is very unlikely that will happen and is a bit impractical. But there are people with motor coordination disabilities that wear one because there is a good chance they will fall.
I wear a helmet while riding and barely know it is there, so it is no big deal. And I don't wear it because I think I will need it. If I did I would not ride. I wear it just in case I will need it. The same reason, I wear a seat belt when I ride in a car.