Last week I went for a ride- probably about the longest I've ridden this year. I'm both out of shape and out of practice. On the way home I was going up a hill, a hill I've ridden up dozens of times. For whatever reason I waited too long to shift and I ran out of ass on the way up the hill and started to stall out. Somehow, my foot got caught in the clip and I went down on my rear and back- I consciously tried holding up the bars so that my levers or anything didn't get biffed up. As I hit the ground, my head hit the ground. The helmet made contact with the asphalt and made a really loud "crack" sound.

Immediately I went into that whole feeling my head, doing a quick self-check to see if I'm OK, see if the helmet was broken or cracked, see if if felt 'scrambled' or anything... I should note I didn't hit my head hard. I've had my bell rung a few times, nothing like that. More like someone smacking you upside the head- with a helmet on- but that CRACK sound was unsettling. (BTW-the big damage was the corner of my saddle got scuffed up.)

That night I made the decision to get a new hat. I have 2 helmets- one is pretty old- it's "Trek" branded, not "Bontrager." The other one was a Bontrager from around 2013 or so, but the visor's been broken off for a long time- so I've opted to use the Trek. It's been time for a new hat for a while.

I picked up a Bern helmet- It was on closeout, then a 20% discount and had a pretty significant dividend- Plus free shipping.


New Hat by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

New Hat by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

New Hat by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

Nice! Glad you are OK. Funny enough I am looking for an XL helmet for my son as we speak. Not much out there. Thanks for reminding me to checkout Bern.

Hey, why you say Bontrager like-a you don’t like Bontrager, huh? 🤔😁😉 I got this one last month, in a thrift store, but still obviously new, with tags. 😎

I ended up being glad I had it on yesterday, but not like I expected. There’s a butterfly grove near Goleta, CA, with trails going through some woods. A fallen tree was blocking my path pretty good, so I started clearing branches. Somehow, in the middle of it, I smacked my head good, on a low but very solid branch. 🙄
It rung my bell a bit, but I immediately appreciated the heck out of my Bontrager helmet. 👍😉

Sorry about your saddle. I badly scuffed/tore my Turbo trying to protect the rest of my bike as I tipped over while stuggling to unclip last week. Folks tell me it's time for a new helmet but now I need a new saddle.

I’m glad I’m not the only graceful one.


It’s actually funny, as I was falling- I was thinking “don’t scuff the brake levers!!!” Not “tuck” or anything safety related.

Yes- thank you!

Just the corner of the saddle got a little chewed up- kinda sucks as it’s a brown Avocet Touring II that *was* in good shape.

I hate it when people “run out of *ass*”. It just kills the day!

I like the Bontrager stuff- But I don’t know when Trek started branding their accessories with the Bontrager name instead of Trek.

Helmets are always a pain until you’re glad that you had one on.

That’s a mighty spiffy hat you’ve got there.

I’m very aware of what the important object is in this discussion!

Tell me about it!

"I Got A New Hat!!!"

You Go, Boy!
You protected the bike and walked away.
You deserve a new hat.

I'm glad you weren't hurt. Were there any witnesses?

And there it is, the REAL issue. Embarassment is far worse than physical pain. 🙄😉

That's a nice looking helmet. In the market for a new one myself. I like the color scheme.

New thread for "Show me your damaged helmets!" OR "Before and after helmet replacement"

BTW I drink the Specialized helmet cool aid.

What's the deal with that? I have a friend who says she swears by them.

This one with the LED is kinda neat and a good price: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/ce...ext=60819-0934

I don't like a lot of the color schemes but they aren't all bad.

I did that a couple months ago, getting on the bus, of all things. On my way into work, running late and icky weather and a bus came at the right time. Going from the rack on the front of the bus to the door, the helmet made me just tall enough, I clocked myself on the bottom of the outside rear view mirror on that side. Didn't really ring my bell, more embarrassing than anything else.

I've done the smack a tree with your helmet thing, too, but while I was riding my mountain bike. Thought I could clear a low hanging branch, but over the years your body gets really used to knowing where itself is, and because of that it's really hard to compensate for an extra couple of inches of foam!

I'll be dad Bern. Nice hat.

I tried to skirt that...

Yes.

A nice young lady was jogging down the hill and asked if I was OK.

NO KIDDING!!!

I was a drill sergeant for 2 years. I hit the brim of that stupid hat on EVERYTHING. Getting in and out of the car, doorways, doors, walls... you name it... And the thing is you have to be authoritative- and it's hard to maintain that if you do some doofy thing like smack your head into a private's locker door while you're yelling at him about how his socks are rolled.

+1 on everything mentioned above. Can relate and had a heckuva bell ringer a few years back. Add scuff to a Brooks, cracked helmet...

Meanwhile, I'm admiring your bike. What is the extension / device on the left brake lever?

Looks like a mirror I haven't seen before. Nice, the way it attaches!

It's the Selle Italia Eyelink. The outrageously expensive Selle Italia Eyelink.

Here's a great thread about mirrors and the Eyelink plays a big part: Mirrors...


My take has really changed- as I'm not using it on "vintage" brake levers. Out of the 2 "modern" brake levers that I have, it works best on the IRD levers better than the TRP RRL levers. It's not perfect, but it's very nice.

I'll have to get a picture of the cockpit with the mirror on there!

crank_addict UKFan4Sure
I finally got around to getting a picture of the bars with that mirror on there.

M1000Cockpit by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr