I'm thinking about using my skateboard helmet for general purpose bike riding (everything except training/racing). The helmet I have is protec ace, which claims to be CPSC certified for biking and skateboarding. Is anyone familiar with the safety standards of helmets, and what the certifications actually mean? I know there are skateboard helmets out there that look cool, but don't actually protect you. I want to make sure I have something that's actually been tested to save lives.

I think there is a resurgence in hardshell bike helmets.

I don't think I've ever crashed my bike and hit my head while riding the bike, so the one-time-use helmet doesn't really make a big difference to me. A helmet is more likely to wear out from use than impact.

Whereas I believe a skateboard or snowboard helmet is designed to take multiple impacts. I have a ProTec boating helmet that is identical to a ProTec (kid's) bike helmet.

Good ventilation, of course, is nice during the summer.

Your helmet is dual-certified:Skate Helmets with CPSC and ASTM Certification

Both for biking and skateboarding.(I would think rollerskating and rollerblading, too. But they don't mention it.)

CPSC is just OK. It's a standard from the 1990s, and once codified into law, Congress now won't let CPSC change it without presenting evidence that the cost to manufacturers of changing the standard will be less than the fiscal cost of head injuries prevented. This isn't even really possible to do, so basically the CPSC standard will never be upgraded.

We now know a lot more about how brain injuries happen than we did 20 years ago. The MIPS standard is much more up to date with the research, but since the largest market for helmets does not require it, MIPS rated helmets remain rare and expensive.