This is a serious problem
 

Ok, well maybe just a petty annoyance, but still...

I commute to school and work, and do training rides as often as I can (3-4 per week). The training rides are either in the morning before school or in the afternoon before work.

The serious, life-altering situation I am faced with is: a sweaty helmet. After a good, hard, sweaty ride (and the subsequent shower) I have to put a helmet still soaked in sweat on my freshly shampooed cranium to ride to school or work. I cringe just thinking about it; it feels disgusting.

Do I have any options short of buying a second helmet? I doubt a cycling cap would do any good, and removing the pads isn't an option b/c the scratchy half of the velcro would then dig into my skull...

Mac

...

Yeah, helmets aren't expensive, or don't have o be rather.
I have several that I've picked up for less than $30.00

Pet peeve of mine too. Especially in the winter when I would leave the helmet outside and have to put on a wet and cold helmet later.
I would dry my old helmet with tissue to get most of the sweat out of the pads, then leave on top of the oil heater while I showered. Not good for the helmet but worked. mmmmm warm helmet.

New helmet is a Bell (sprint I think) and it has really thin pads so not so much of an issue. My old specialized would hold a lot of sweat.

Get some headsweats.

http://www.headsweats.com/productcar...eppersC280.jpg

I like the shorty the most.

http://www.headsweats.com/productcar...5&idproduct=84

+1

Many years ago, I discovered a miracle product in the linen closet, there was a box full of helmet liners, right there with the towels. Disposable, self adhesive, can be cut to fit and come in a variety of sizes to match your sweat rate, either Maxi or Light Days. The Stay-Dry lining is quantum leaps better than anything that Giro or Bell will give you with your helmet. Swap out the sweaty one after every ride.

Put all your male insecurities aside and buy your own box. Do not under any circumstances, take the last one from your wife/girl friend/significant other's stash. If she finds out what you're doing and asks for one, be a gentleman and give her some. Not sure what to get?
http://www.kotex.com/na/products/selector.asp

Do tampons work, too? :p

Well yes... but diapers are better.

can't you just get another set of velcro pads? Maybe some nice BF'er will donate a set thats not their size? Mine came with multiple sets, but I ditched the ones that were the wrong size.

or just pull yours off and pop em in the toaster

you can get bandanas a just ied them up they take in better the sweat than the head bands sometimes.

I have headsweats and a lightweight sorta headsweat type thing I got from Nashbar. i never ride without wearing one. They really take care of the sweat, and go into the wash when they get toooooooo sweaty.

Shave your head, wipe off the helmet pads, and wear a sweat cap.

Why not train with a sweat cap, and then put on a fresh cycling cap or sweat cap before you put your sweaty helmet back on?

Lots of obvious solutions to your "serious" problem. They're all good. I rarely if ever ride without something between my head and the helmet: balaclava when it's MFing cold, hood + cycling cap in moderate cold, cap more 'tweener weather, do-rag ("sweat cap") when it's hot.

Suck the juice out, and quit complaining! Pansy...

Yeah, but the eye-holes don't line up properly :D

I'd just get a 2nd helmet. They're not that expensive, imo.

Get a second set of pads. Swap dry pads after showering.

Drive to work.

A non-serious answer for a semi-serious question.

Rinse the helmet off in the shower. If it works for your hair, it'll work for your helmet.

+1 on rinsing the helmet in the shower. It'll still be wet, but it's clean water instead of sweat, and your hair will be wet anyway.

Take the pads out of the helmet to dry. I do this during the summer when thinks start getting rank. Also during the summer, I need to wash the pads once a week or they start smelling bad no matter what I do.

I used to use a do-rag made from a hankerchief under my helmet. Now I use a headsweat, (or perhaps the same thing from a different brand). Before I replaced it, I had even taken most of the pads out of my "good" helmet after they disintegrated, and relied soley on my headsweat or do-rag to soak up the sweat. The best thing is that the headsweat dries really fast, much faster than pads, and it dissipates the sweat into the air while you ride, rather than just storing it so it drips into your face towards the end of a long ride. It also keeps my head warm in the cold weather (not as much sweat and it keeps the wind off my head), while also keeping my head cool in warm weather (sweat soaks the cloth and evaporates into the air, cooling my head by evaporation).

PS: I did the "take pads out and squeeze out the sweat" route, and it helped, but all the pulling eventually made the pads come apart and disintegrate.

+2

This is something that ought to be done pretty freqently anyways, with as much sweat as you're putting into your helmet.