After years of cycling and buying gear, I pretty much have a sense of what brands fit, and in what sizes.

MIPS works by allowing the shell to move a minuscule amount before the brain takes a hit, to dissipate some energy. I'm simply not convinced that it is any more worthwhile than the bit my helmet is going to move on top of my hair, which is moving on top of my scalp which is not fixed in place, before my head really takes the impact. My helmet, while not loose on my head, can move a considerable amount on its own, just from the movement of the skin on the skull and a light bit of slippage due to hair.

And no, I can't predict when or how I'll crash, but considering I have never crashed in a manner that I hit my head, whereas I can take a couple decent hits in a game in hockey, I'd expect if this type of system truly provided value I'd have seen it become more commonplace there or in other sports involving frequent impacts.

I'm not saying it doesn't work, just that I have never seen independent proof that it holds any benefit, and even a search here seemingly puts most people in the "if it may work, and it is only a bit more, why not?" category.

This is true. Cheapest can be hit or miss with one size fits most. Better helmets come in 2, or even 3 sizes and with better retention systems. I never actually hated any helmet but if you can get a good fit with a lighter helmet, iyou almost forget it is there.

No guarantees though. My wife much prefers her cheap $30 Bell to a somewhat more expensive Limar (at least retail) I bought her last season.

The price has already come down since buyers are requesting it. Giro/Bell have basically introduced across their full model lines, including and perhaps most importantly the kids helmets.

However, the improved availability doesn't really make a statement about the efficacy.

I've had a cheap Bell before. it fit well, but the straps were a pain to adjust correctly. I have a KASK for road biking now and it fits really well. I have a big head, so I always have to get the large. The KASK does not look gigantic on my head.

For mountain biking I have a Specialized Tatic II. That is a great fitting helmet. They are not the most expensive helmets out there, but the fit and finish is outstanding.

I'm afraid that I'd bend over to tie my shoe and the thing would activate.

Be careful with online purchases, especially when buying from E-Bay or overseas sources. There are many fake helmets out there.

It is hard to say how bad a fake is, but I'd go with a certified Bell branded helmet over a no-name fake any day.

Reputable sources (Nashbar, Ribble, etc) should be fine, but you won't be able to try the helmet on first.

One of the features I like in my helmets are taillights. I presume they'll be changing a bit over the next few years. My current helmet has little disposable button battery lights.

I'm not convinced there are light specific tests, and would worry a bit about aftermarket lights that might be designed more like small bullets than soft foam protection.

Ever think that maybe buying the better helmet only gets you a more comfortable fitting product and just might be the low safety standard rather than the department store helmet?

Expanded polystyrene foam (aka "Styrofoam") is expanded polystyrene foam. I manufacture foams. There wouldn't be a performance difference in the material itself because it's all polystyrene foam. The more expensive ones for more venting actually have less foam, thus less energy absorbtion than the cheap helmets with less venting thus more foam.

Nashbar, Performance, Amazon, Competitive Cyclist, Sierra Trading Post. For sure. Be wary of cheap, knockoff crap. But I have generally been pretty satisfied with my online bike apparel and accessory shopping experience.

If you're claiming that low-priced helmets exceed safety standards I find that claim highly dubious. I'm a polymer chemist so I'm well aware of how EPS works, but more EPS doesn't necessarily mean safer since the helmet has to break on impact to work.

Totally agree with that, the bigger breathing holes on the fancy helmets would allow a wider split in a crash and they also make the helmet thinner

I'm not qualified to jump into the debate about "safety".

When it comes to comfort, my observation of the low-end helmet I bought at Wal-mart once when I left mine behind and needed a helmet at 6 am on a Sunday morning was that the straps and the interior framework weren't as comfortable as those on my more expensive, bike-shop helmets, but were certainly acceptable - and a couple of minutes of creative padding would easily fix those issues (although I never did that).

Are you sure about that? Doesn't sound as the way helmets are designed to provide protection from injury. I thought that a cracked or broken helmet after impact is evidence of helmet failure to protect as designed.

I'd doubt that. Helmets are one time use items, they are designed to absorb the force of the impact. Cracking is just one way they do that, and should be of no concern unless they crack with such little force that they allow the head outside of them before the impact is over.

deformation and fracturing of the helmet is how it absorbs the force of impact that would normally be imparted to the rider's head.

Merging into the helmet thread.

MIPS has much more of a place in cycling than in ice. Helmets slide rather nicely on ice and never catch, snapping the head around. Fresh sharp gravel chip seal will be the total opposite!

I have had many concussions (NFL-style loose brain syndrome) and often from crashes where mny head did not hit hard. Last crash I hit good and hard, No concussion. Difference? My chin strap was loose. I almost lost my opposite ear from the straps and had cuts around my eye from my eyeglasses, but got up thinking completely clearly. Got quizzed by the cyclist who watched the crash and who knew concussion protocol and passed nicely. Read about MIPS two weeks later and thought "they're on to something!" Got a MIPS as soon as I could get my hands on one the fit in a visible color.

Ben

I didn't vote in the poll because an honest answer would be skew the intent. I didn't always wear a helmet. Helmets worth wearing before 1975 didn't exist. I raced wearing the leather hairnet in '76. The standard joke was that we wore them so we could have an open casket funeral. Bought my Bell in '77 and have always worn a good helmet since.

Ben

Welcome to page 100 of this rendition of the helmet thread. Glad y'all could join us!

Accident happened.
Sometimes helmet could save your life.

Sure, sliding on ice is one thing.

What about a slap shot or a shoulder to the head? Lots of non-movement happening there.

Apart from one bike accident when I was 14yrs.-old(1981). Every bike accident after that(1997, 2003, 2010. 2013, 2014), I have had a helmet and very thankful I did.

He's not sure about that. As I stated, I work in research and development for a plastics foam molding manufacturer. The individual foam beads are filled with tiny cells with pockets of air. Upon impact, the cell walls inside the foam beads compress and the compression of the foam is what absorbs the energy. The individual beads are steam molded together to form the helmet structure. If your molded foam helmet actually cracks upon impact, it is either a very hard impact, or your helmet has a manufacturing defect in the molding process in the event of a lesser impact.

Does it matter though that it cracked, as long as the foam was still being crushed? In other words, did the foam that broke up absorb less impact than it would have if it hadn't have cracked?