Originally Posted by JoeyBike

Since you came here to learn, allow me to toss in my 2 sense.

1. Decide for yourself. Sounds like you are on your way. Everyone's situation is a little bit different.

2. Realize there is a spectrum of danger. Downhill freeride mountain biking being a 10 (most dangerous) and riding a tadpole trike at the beach is probably the least dangerous (1). Most here would agree that 10 requires a very substantial helmet and 1 probably not. It's that 2-9 range that we "discuss" here.

3. Realize that bicycle helmet manufacturers have their hands tied by WEIGHT and VENTILATION. If weight and cooling were not issues then recreational bike helmets would be more substantial. I don't think many casual riders here who are zealous proponents of helmet use are wearing downhill freeride or motorcycle helmets. So even those of us spouting helmet safety dogma aren't really wearing the best helmets available. A bit hypocritical if you really look at it.

4. There is really no good way to study or prove that lightweight bike helmets are very effective. Certainly a light tap on the head will be more comfortable with a piece of styrene between your scalp and the concrete, but that's about all we can agree on here. So you gotta realize that most of the posters here on the Helmet Thread are simply full of $h!7.