Here in the most bike unfriendly country we have to wear helmets, any suggestions on an appropriate C&V helmet rather than a fancy new one?

I found a nice Bell touring helmet for $1, rather classic



Like this one....but without the paperwork

Genuine vintage helmets are for display, not for wearing. They weren't very protective, or ventilated, and after a decade or three I wouldn't trust them to be even as protective as they used to be.

There are modern helmets that look pretty quiet, almost traditional. For example, Giro Aspect looks rather like a chunky hairnet to me. I could also see getting a black Giro Air Attack and using colored vinyl or tape graphics to create the hairnet look. If your preferred vintage is more the 1980s, there are other options too.

Buy a hat and get a helmet printed on it. That's probably what I would do. I have a tough time with helmets, I know I know, I hear it from my wife. I actually like just cycling flip caps so I can see in front of me vs. a regular ball cap.

Besides the fact that they were all pretty horrible, any vintage helmet based on styrofoam would be useless by now. The Giro Reverb looks quite a bit like a cross between the old Brancale and MSR helmets, but probably works better than either. Might be a bit toasty in the ozzy sun.

I recently had the same dilemma, and decided to suck it up and get a basic black modern Giro helmet. It kind of looks like a Kucharik hairnet if you squint...

I'll hop on the bandwagon and agree that you either buy a new helmet, or just wear a cap.

A C&V helmet will not offer any more protection than a cap, and looks fugly to boot.
Or if not fugly, just Napolean Dynamitish (even though I don't think he wore one)

Vintage?
sure thing

cycling helmets circa 1978

cycling helmets circa 1985

The modern aero helmets (Giro Air Attack) and urban helmets (Nutcase, Bern) look rather like many of the vintage helmets shown.

For some reason, in the late '80's my wife and I thought matching helmets were a good idea. And for some other reason, unknown at the moment, we still have them.

I wouldn't consider using them now.

Brad

I snagged one of those old white Bell helmets. I was going to take it to a vintage ride up in Portland. Unfortunately, the ride to get there is pretty stressful, so I put that idea on the backburner for now. Maybe if I do something big like an Eroica event.

If only I could find my battered old Skid Lid.

The Skid lid looked something like this, but without the visor.



Also, shoelaces to replace those plastic tabs holding the straps on.

When purchasing a used helmet, keep this in mind.....



It's a obscure fact that..a.. meal worms can digest Styrofoam.

iirc, your country requires a special seal of approval for a "valid" helment. Wearing a C&V helment will still land you a big fat fine. That assumes of course how hard up your local pd is for cash.

I rode my first TOSRV in 1977 wearing a Skid Lid like the one above -- yellow, I believe. My college dorm roommate had one of the original Bell 'mushrooms', and another guy in the dorm had a BSR somethingorother.

I forget what year but when the Bell cycling helmet first came to market, I purchased one. It was a white plastic shell, NO VENTS, red reflective stripes, Styrofoam lined with taped on sponge strips. Wore it once and never again. Hairnets were still the one bike shops sold! The heck with safety, they were light and breathed rather well. I toured wearing a safety 'yellow' Clement cycling cap- lol. Only when I first got into the mtn. bike (late 1980's) did get serious about wearing a cycling helmet.

(edit: the old Bell as depicted on the left)

In my dealing with helmets for various applications tells me most mandates also require a current safety standard rating on the helmet. I can't just jump on a motorcycle in Michigan, for example, and toss an old WWI German helmet on to comply with the law, it has to be marked as DOT approved. According to Wiki, you require something that adheres to AS/NZS 2063.

Whether or not you expect to get checked on that, I dunno, but worth keeping in mind. As a personal matter, I wear a current (albeit cheap) helmet, not out of compulsion or worry about safety, but because it is much more comfortable than a ball cap or my hair flopping everywhere on a long ride on a hot day.

The Oregon Mandatory Helmet Law only applies to children under 16. Adults are encouraged to wear helmets, but they aren't required.

So wearing a vintage helmet for an adult would be perfectly legal.

It would be interesting to see the applicability of the laws to vintage helmets. They did pass the safety standards of the time when manufactured. Just the standards have changed.

Would they be grandfathered, somewhat like seatbelts, or lack of seatbelts in one's car?

The old hardshell Bell helmets are sturdy. They may well do well with some of the newer tests, but may not have been tested.

The BSR helmet might have been the MSR (Mountain Science Research, IIRC), which was a mountaineering helmet.
It's in the lower right of this page from the 1976 Bikecology catalog...



I had one of those earl Bell helmets.. heavy and hot! The next generation, the V-1 Pro was still heavy, but at least there was some ventilation.
Things have definitely improved since then!

Steve in Peoria

I would advise finding a helmet that looks good with C&V bikes, but is built to modern standards. I started a thread on this waaaaay back but I don't recall what the results were, and helmets have changed anyway.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I will say that most of the helmets that are made to look like they're just hats look totally ridiculous. They have to scale the hat up too much and you end up looking like a cartoon character. I saw two guys out once in helmets with covers that looked like driving or pub caps, and it was totally comical.

edit: LOL! Here they are! They actually looked even worse in person, if that's possible! Another version.

Illinois has a real problem with C&V laws. One can sport only a Speedo and sandals and ride a motorcycle. You don't even need eyewear, long as the motorcycle is equipped with a windscreen. Oh, but modern hoverboards are becoming a 'hot' issue for lawmakers!

Hahahah! The models even look uncomfortable in those.

It's actually interesting to read up on some of this (or, at least, I find it interesting).

Back when I first bought a motorcycle, I did some research. One online retailer had a dirt cheap closeout on some nice European helmets. They were SNELL/BSI certified. Only problem? They weren't DOT stamped, so they were technically not street legal here. It didn't matter that the SNELL and BSI standards are far more stringent and independently certified than the DOT, which is essentially a manufacturer's self-certification to a lackadaisically low bar that any cut rate Chinese manufacturer could say they passed. If they didn't have the DOT sticker they were technically as illegal as riding helmetless.

Now, once again whether an officer is going to be checking for that sticker is rather questionable, but if they are actually stopping people for no helmets, an oddball one may also draw attention.

I doubt it would raise any red flags. In Vintage Motorcycle circles, there is a very popular Puddin' Bowl helmet made by a respected helmet maker that states it does not meet current saftey standards. Folks were them, get pulled over, go through inspection traps etc. and the helmets are never questioned. It's not that they're not noticed, they look very vintage, it's just not something that's checked.

In the event of a crash, your insurance company would have an opinion on the subject for sure.

I have an Air Attack and and Air Attack Shield, like them both. I also stumbled across one of those Giro Livestrong carbon fiber-shell helmets on a clearance table. It's fine. However, in planning for the Dairyland Dare, to ride an 80's bike, I figured I needed an 80's helmet to go with the kit. Yep, major phugly, and I'm not sure it protects anything. I'd much prefer wearing my Bartali cap, but the event will not allow it.

It's nothing but a styrofoam bowl with a hair net over it. But it at least will match my tube socks.

Some lovely looking vintage helmets here, thanks everyone for your input! Apparently European and American standards are higher than Australia's and helmets sold here have to be re-engineered to offer less protection... I'll take on board all your collective advice and try and find a suitable new helmet that's understated to fit with the 1970s aesthetic. Thanks again.

It's getting out of hand here with fines esp in NSW which will have a trickle down effect in Victoria.