Hochdorf

Hello riders,
I'm a student. I ride diffrent type of bikes.
In the campus, I ride an old classic road bikes. They are very fast.
As I don't want to ruin my hair style which I prepare with wax, I avoid ride there with a helmet. There is a 400-500m part of road there, which is very dangerous- in both sides of the road cars parking. In every seconds a fool driver can get out and begin his drive without checking the side mirrors -and hit me bad. When I do this part of road, which is daily in order to reach the campus center- I'm super alert- I'm really looking for the next accident, I feel like I have luck a severe accident havn't happeened yet.
But if I ride with helmet I can't style my hair.. And I still want to feel young.
So I googled and got to this: Hövding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjygqMULVmw

Can this helmet protect against every type of bike accident- Also accidents with cars, the ones where the head is due to hit the car's engine covers of side doors?

ItsJustMe

Looks like it wouldn't do much to protect your face, it's just to prevent skull fracture. It's probably also compliant enough to reduce concussion.

The one time that I had significant damage though it was from kissing pavement - my face went into the pavement. I don't think this would help you avoid facial stitches, broken nose and teeth and orbitals, etc.

bikemig 

You might want to try a more helmet friendly hair style.

BobbyG

Why take a chance? Your education may be all for nothing if you suffer a bad enough head injury. If you are worried, wear a helmet. 25 years ago I bought my girlfriend a helmet. When we split up she stopped wearing it. Soon after she hit a pothole and fell off her bike. While she didn't hit her head, but the bike fell on it and held her head to the pavement as she slid down a hill scraping the skin off the side of her head. Had she been wearing the helmet her injuries would have been small or even none. If you are worried about attracting a mate, a closed head injury will make it that much more difficult.

El Cid

Instead of styling your hair with wax, just use contact cement.

Hochdorf

Try watch the video "slow mo", repeatedly repressing the play-pause button. Watch the shape of the air-helmet after it's been fully activated- the front of it is pretty thick.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwfeatures/976_549/images/live/p0/21/m0/p021m0ff.jpg

https://www.fitsational.com/wp-conten...%B6vding1.jpeg

After it's been swell- it's just like a normal helmet, and even bigger and wider.
Also I noticed that the helmet comes into action ,I mean swell, as soon as the biker hit the lamp, means, as soon as the helmet's sensors recognized a harsh movement. That's really raises up the chances the helmet may protect in accident with cars.

Anyway you guys surprise me- I was looking for a bike forum- I found this site which seems really big, maybe biggest biking forum- and no thread about this swelling helmet, and no one to wear it or tried it and tell his experience?

EDIT: in these case the melmet don't open immediatly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7lQaw-VTfY

mr_bill

Here.

-mr. bill

Darth Lefty 

Shave your head

Hochdorf

Thank you, the guy checked all the comfort area, with one crashed there with that airbag helmet and reported, however I saw a video of ver2.0 of that, take a look at 0:20:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz7QsKwF88g

Imagine that instead of a car ,it was a bus or a European style truck that hitting the cyclist. You can see clearly that in this case the hovding will not protect, as it won't upon only after the cyclist already hit the bus's front window/truck's grill, do you agree?

howsteepisit

There is no type of device that can protect you in all accidents. Get a more realistic view of the world before you graduate is my advice from three degrees, 45 years of cycling and 60 years of life.

mr_bill

Rather than the CGI at 0:20, the more telling view is at 0:50.

You are right - you'd be better off with wearing a helmet than wearing a Hövding if you get hit by a bus/truck.

You already have found reasons not to wear a helmet.
If you are also looking for reasons not to wear a Hövding you've found some.

But you'd be no *WORSE* off getting hit by a bus/truck while wearing a Hövding than you would be getting hit by a bus/truck while not wearing a helmet.

So there's that.

-mr. bill

Rollfast

Does nothing for torso impacts, which are going to be a just as much as a factor, if not more.

If you study car-MOTORCYCLE accidents, you are more likely to be in a SIDE impact accident. Whether a T-bone or getting turned into...your head is going to be the LAST part involved in an accident most of the time.

I'm in no way against helmets. I will always point out that the best way to survive an accident is to work to avoid them. It's a necessity to have a working head in the first place. But accidents are accidents due to MISTAKES. Learn how not to make a mistake on top of another one.

And remember that internal injuries to the torso and below go hand in hand with head injuries. This makes the best way to survive an accident to watch where you are and interact to keep yourself safer.

And if you've ever seen a pileup at a bicycle touring race, you'll realize that eliminating auto traffic is no panacea either.

Rollfast

I saw a potential back and hip fracture from rear impact. Still, SIDE impact is I bigger problem.

When you get hit by a car only wits and luck are going to help, and luck is going to work before wits. Use your wits to avoid needing luck in the first place and realize that nothing is perfect. You can't be afraid of the imperfect, it is normal.

Chris516

Show a video of terrain.

Rollfast

???

Redhatter

… but at least the hairdo will be immaculate.

obed7

get a haircut, wear a helmet. Then spend your efforts avoiding getting hit. Ride as fast as you want, but ride like every vehicle out there is there for the sole purpose of taking you out.

Camilo

Tease him about his hair style all you want, but the reality is that a lot of people care about what their hair looks like and don't like helmets because of that. (for perspective, I have very short hair and it is maintenance free, but I do understand that I'm not everyone). Yea, let's have everyone in the world comply with your sense of proper grooming and aesthetics. Bah.

In my personal opinion, wearing a helmet isn't enough of a safety "essential" to have to put up with it if you genuinely don't like it. Just ride the damn bike and quit worrying about a false sense of danger in bicycling that popular culture and the cycling industry have foisted on us.

Yes, there's danger, but as someone said above, the great majority of it is mitigated by doing exactly what the OP is doing: riding carefully and vigilantly.

As for the critique that the product asked about won't protect the face. Seriously, someone brings that up as a deficiency of that product? Really? And a helmet is designed to protect the face? There may be reasons to critique the product, but facial protection is just plain silly.

It looks to me like the product will protect as well as a helmet, and if I was the OP, I'd buy one and use it. Or, I'd just go helmetless, be super vigilant in the "dangerous" areas, and go about my business.

Redhatter

I should clarify my position. No "personal protection equipment" is a substitute for being vigilant.

If a car hits you, yes your skull might be protected, but there's your neck, spine, limbs… all unprotected and equally as vital. It's a matter of risk assessment. If risks can be reduced easily, then it's worthwhile doing so in my book.

Maybe a solution is to wear the helmet short-term during the "hairy" bits of the run.

It would appear wherever you are, you have a choice. If you were riding where I was, and tried riding without a helmet, you'd be pulled over by the police and issued with a fine for not wearing one. So you'd just have to make do with your hairdo to suit being confined to a helmet for a hour or so over here — this discussion would be completely academic.

There are helmets out there that do protect the face, but not very common on the road. They tend to be worn by mountain-bike riders off-road.

Hochdorf

So it's cold, the hovding "test" is failed for me. Yes, the chance I be hit by truck or bus are slimmer, but investing about 200-300 dollars on a helmet knowing it's "less" than a regular helmet , I'd rather pass it.
And I be like:

Do you have an example for one?

You are right, only few of the students in my campus wear helmet.


Soon I'll bring you photos of the road in the campus which I consider dangerous.

Hochdorf

Cars on both sides of the road.


This road I do only one way- the downhill (straight, from the camera further, there is a downhill a little bit before where I can accelerate real good), other way i do on sidewalk. In the downhill I ride very fast, so I almost meet the car's speed. I stick to the left, to avoid more easily stupid drivers that will try to merge from parking without atention.


Not only cars park on both side that one of them can get out any minute, but cars trying to merge from side roads from left and right. Luckily, most drivers in the campus aware of the bikes and really slow down.

lostarchitect 

Unfortunately you are not going to get help with this here. People are too entrenched in their pro or anti helmet viewpoints to even consider this kind of thing. My advice is, if it's approved for use in your country and you trust the approval board's standards, go for it. Of course it can't protect you in every situation, but that applies to any helmet or other gear.

CliffordK

I would look to see whether it is BETTER than a helmet for certain crashes. For example, does it help prevent whiplash and neck injuries? Is there any actual data to support that?

Dave Cutter

Maybe a different kind of bike! The Babel Bike has one major selling point: It claims to be the safest bike in the world.

Worknomore

Does it stay inflated? If it does it could be great maybe for an epic Halloween costume.
I much prefer a regular helmet. Gives me a place to put my cycling gloves & sunglasses when I hang my helmet from my handle bars.
I think helmet hair is kind of cool.