Originally Posted by
cyccommute
First chefisaac isn't talking about a 'full face helmet'...not unless he was going to wear it backwards. I'm pretty sure that anyone who rides in winter learns quickly to change tires, slow down, increase their visibility and wear appropriate clothing. But all those things aren't any kind of guarantee against falling on some random patch of ice. Tires, even studded ones, aren't infallible. Slowing down won't keep you from falling over on ice patches if you hit them wrong. And increasing your visibility won't protect your head nor will wearing a balaclava. Think of a helmet as the last line of defense after you've done all the other things.
Proper riding skills: good thing. Bike in good working order: good thing. But neither will keep you from crashing. I have excellent riding skills (very long term mountain biker) and my bikes are always in top mechanical form but I still crash...on occasion. It happens. Most of the time when you least expect it. My most recent crash occurred on a flat smooth bit of single track that can be ridden at nearly 20 mph. I didn't see a rock, clipped it with my pedal and found myself flying through the air before I augerred into the ground on my knee, my shoulder and then my head. It followed the same pattern as every other crash I've experienced...no warning and then you hit the ground. Sure, I could have not been riding there and I could have slowed down but then I could have driven my car that day too. I won't say that the helmet saved my life but it didn't hurt anything to wear it and I'd rather have rocks embedded in it then in my skull.
And let's face it, most people's riding skills leave a lot to be desired...give them a piece of gum and they will probably fall over. The mechanical soundness of most bikes is also less then stellar.
Agreed. Please see post number 10.
Let me approach from a differant angle:
All too often I hear well intentioned people (police, doctors, etc) say, "wear your helmet." When a cyclist is struck by a motor vehicle, I often read, "cycllist was (or was not) wearing a helmet." I often see kids, with there helmets on their heads so far back as to be useless, and once I saw a kid that had it on backwards (saw a police officer with one on backwards as well).
It seems that bicycle safety is nothing more than, slap a helmet on your head and off you go. Bicycle safety, is much more than that. Proper riding skills and a sound bicycle are far more important than a helmet. Protective gear (i.e. helmet and gloves), is your last line of defence.
The OP stated that we wanted "more protection in winter", "piece of mind". What was offered by myself, and others, is not merely just to wear a "better" helmet but to look at other options to increase safety. If a helmet is better, or offers more protection, then wear it year-round. Of course, one has to balance comfort and tempreature control with head protection. If comfort didn't matter, then wear a motorcycle helmet....but yer gonna sweat. :-)
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chefisaac,
it is unlikely that a skateboard helmet would be your best choice. Like a hockey helmet, they are intended for multiple low speed impacts and unlikely that they offer good air flow.
I think that you might want to stick with a bicycle helmet and you can use a number of techniques to help keep you warm:
1) wear a balaclava, and have a full face one and just a touque (ones that are thin enough for under the helmet)
2) something over the helmet to block wind
You can mix and match the 3 things above to help regulate warmth.
In February, I wear the full faced balaclava, the touque and a rain cover.
As spring approaches I usually remove the full face balaclava.
Further into spring the rain cover comes off.
Then evenetually the touque.
Then when fall approaches into winter, the system reverses.