The Quantum MIPS? Not as much as some, but I think MIPS is probably desirable in a helmet.

For pure looks I like the Giro style, like this Cinder? MIPS - Helmets - Men's - Cycling

I wear a cheap Schwinn though

Screw what other people think. If you like a visor, have a visor. FYI that helmet I just linked has a visor, it's just not shown in the picture, but you can see the two holes that one side of the visor clip into.

It does look airy but definitely mushroom-style. If that's a consideration.

Do you actually have one of those? Does it feel more ventilated?

Yes, I just recently got it to replace another one just like it that I dented (i.e. probably damaged) in a MTB fall, see post #35 .

It feels quite ventilated.

A few years back I saw a TdF team wearing cool-looking helmets with all holes like that, made me think it was a pod for spawning alien eggs or something. I looked it up and discovered it was a Catlike Whisper. Since there's no way I would pay over $100 for a helmet, I was pretty stoked to find a knockoff on fleabay.

good for you. we should all keep reminding ea other

Well guess what, I'm a dude that thinks all those MAMILs out there (Middle Aged Men In Lycra) look like idiots, and that's not stopping them.

If you buy a bunch of expensive kit, and then show up for a ride and find out it's wrong, then maybe you are an idiot. BUT, don't buy anything, wear what's comfortable, show up for a ride, tell people you're figuring stuff out, and maybe you'll LOOK like an idiot, but at least it won't have cost you anything. But more likely people will not be jerks and cut you some slack, probably give you some recommendations.

Another perspective:
One possibility: you show up in comfortable whatever and are slow: they'll think 'makes sense he's slow, he's just getting started'
Another possibility: you show up in comfortable whatever and are fast: they'll think you're slow at first, but then be impressed.
Another possibility: you show up in immaculate kit and are fast: they'll think nothing. Or that you're 'one of them' already
Another possibility: you show up in immaculate kit and are slow: they'll think you're a poser
Another possibility: you show up in expensive, but somehow 'wrong' kit, and are slow: they'll think you're a poser with no sense of style

Hey, I'm glad to snatch one away from the 'dark side'! And if you end up getting lycra because that functions better for your riding, more power to you. Just don't do what 'they' tell you just because they said so.

In that vein, here's an article you might also enjoy: https://www.rivbike.com/pages/the-shoes-ruse

I like my cycling specific clothing, but they show their advantages best when I take a long ride, longer than ten miles. I'm specifically talking about jerseys and shorts or tights.

That's a good article about shoes, and it could be useful for many people, but cycling specific shoes are a life saver for me. I get severe foot pain when I don't ride with them, for various weird reasons. I use SPD cleats, and my favorite shoes (among my many SPD shoes) are built for mountain bike racing. They are super stiff. The soles are slightly curved, so when I stand in them, I can rock on them, which prevents fatigue. I've hiked in the woods wearing them, and their traction is good except when the cleat occasionally touches a rock, but even that isn't so bad.

My cycling hats are my most comfortable hats of all. I realize I'm breaking "the rules" when wearing one off the bike, but I don't care. I wear hats when I'm outside, as I'm going bald.

More power to you as well!

That is an alien concept to this helmet wearer. If they exist, they are no more or less insane than the non-helmet wearers.

because on your 3speeds bike you are 2slow, you don't need a helmet

I have this helmet. Good price and very good venting.

riding a shared paved trail last week I saw a Dad w his son who was learning to ride. they reminded me of me & my kids. Dad had him suited up with gloves, knee pads & helmet. anyway, from a distance, I spotted them but then heard a thud. I looked up just after he had fallen & hit his forehead on the ground. he was on his hands & knees lifting his head. it was loud enough for me to hear from a closing distance. as I rode by I said "wow that was a good one! good thing you had you had a helmet on!" & tapped my own helmet as I passed with a smile. Dad smiled but the boy looked a little embarrassed. he'll do fine. regarding speed, I don't think he was even rolling when he fell

I've rag-dolled over the bars twice, once when hitting sand on an outside corner at 25 mph and down into a 5' ditch full of large fallen branches (I got a mild concussion on that one, and then rode 25 miles to the finish), and once at 15 mph onto a sharply turning cement bike path at night (I bruised 3 upper ribs on that one), and both times my helmet hit the ground instead of my scalp, and at a minimum spared me a gushing head wound that would likely have ended either ride.

I still do certain gravel/mtb rides helmet-less, as long as there are no cars and minimal trees/rocks.

Right. Context.

Cornering at 15-25mph is dangerous and helmets are a really good idea in those situations.

Tooling around at gentle speeds is less dangerous, and helmets provide less added value.

I agree. Context or the conditions and way you are riding dictates whether a helmet is prudent or not. I would have not problem going helmetless if I am just cruising down the beach at 8 mph. I always wear my helmet when riding my road bike at 20+ mph or my mountain bike since I fall down a lot.

I took a quarter-mile test ride yesterday to fix the flat I just fixed, without helmet. It felt so good it made me angry that I'm so strict with myself with wearing a helmet.

I've started wearing tank tops instead of t-shirts for riding in the heat, the comfort gain is comparable.

After my first tank top ride, I went to salvation army and picked up 4 more tanks to use for the rest of the summer! (two of them were brand new, still with walmart tags on)

Last week when I packed my bike and gear into the car to ride home on Monday, I didn't get the helmet. I'd walked inside with it on after a little ride on Sunday, and put it on the counter, instead of securely looped over the handlebars like usual. Riding home Monday was... interesting. Lots more comfortable, for sure, but more vulnerable. Found myself taking corners much more upright, braking way earlier, and limiting my speed on downhills more than usual. Tuesday morning for the return ride in, I wore the helmet, of course. My wife works in the brain injury field, and has seen her share of former bicyclists who need help with day-to-day living.

But it didn't happen that way. What are the chances?

Like the few inches of a helmet? Not hitting the head is a reflex developped from a young age. I've witnessed many falls, mostly in bad weather conditions, but never seen someone landing on the skull.

Last year I saw a guy taking a very sharp corner with slightly negative cant on quite slippery cobblestones at about 20mph, he was really in a hurry in a part of town where everybody rides calmly. He fell hard but didn't hit his head. He was on an upright bike, and that makes probably a bigger difference than the speed.