woodway

My preference is for a Mountain Bike style helmet for two reasons:

1. Well, I Mountain Bike! These style helmets typically cover more of the back of the head then a roadie style helmet for additional protection. Nice to have the same helmet for my weekday and weekend activities.

2. Mountain Bike helmets have a visor. Comes in very handy when it's raining...

Otherwise, if the helmet has the appropriate ratings, it's a matter of personal preference what style you wear.

neil

Summary - it's fundamentally a difference of fashion. I think skateboarding/bmx/extreme sports helmets make you look like a dork. Many people here seem to feel the opposite. Wear what you like, or none at all if that's your preference. I'm sure there's well ventilated versions available in any style if you look hard enough.

Many helmets come with mesh on the vents to prevent the bug problem that was previously mentioned.

khutch

The helmets.org (at least two links to it posted above) does have a section on helmets for large heads. I don't know if it helps in this situation or not but give it a look if you have not already.

I recently came off a hiatus from bike riding that lasted at least 10 years and I actually decided to wear a helmet at some point in that lost decade even though I had no particular reason to think that I would resume bike riding for sure! The decision was taken when I read an article, somewhere, telling how the head of an adult human was far enough above the ground to sustain a fatal injury just by toppling over -- if the head in question happened to hit a hard object in just the right place. That was enough to convince me that helmets were necessary for cycling if I ever resumed the pursuit.

So, having crashed and ruined my Uvex Touring helmet I also elected to purchase a Bell Citi as a replacement. The Touring model and the Citi both have the shape that helmets. org recommends, the Citi was rated as one of the four best in Consumer Reports testing. I'm not sure if that last bit means much, it is just that having had one concussion I am looking for any edge I can get!

There is only so much a helmet can do. It offers no protection whatsoever for parts of the body it does not cover as my broke ribs will attest! You are not surrounded by two tons of metal with crumple zones and air bags. However even all that does not save every motorist who crashes. And yet a helmet does offer you significant protection from many common cycling mishaps. I am certainly very grateful for the protection my Uvex gave me even though it did not prevent a concussion in this case. I am sure I would be worse, or dead, without it. Other than that there is no reason I can think of to wear a helmet. That is reason enough though.

Ken

MadCapsule

The first helmet I bought was a Pro-Tec dirt/skate type helmet. The Ryan Guettler design with the zombies on it, to be precise. The small vents on it didn't do much for me and I got way too hot while wearing it.

Now I wear a Uvex Urban. I like the way it looks and it has more and bigger vents. I really dig the fact that it's rounded in the back. It's a nice blend of form and function.

johndeere

I have a big head but the Bell Faction fits it well. What I really want is one of these, https://www.gathsports.com/productsingle.php?id=2, not a bike helmet but a retractable visor!

Brimstone

I think most newer bike specific helmets are no good. If they have a shell at all it is as thin as a plastic clamshell package. The rest is just a big styrofoam coffee cup. Designed to be replaced frequently. Very clever marketing. The asymetric shape makes me think the thing is either gonna get ripped right off my head, or make me wring my neck, if I ever hit and roll. They is more hole than cushion. People do understand that the world is not flat and you are likely as not gonna hit a rock/branch/whatever that will penetrate right through all those ventilation holes, don't they?

Rode with a Protec (old style, covers the ears) for many years. Thick plastic, closed cell foam. I started catching crap for the looks of it in the 90's. Well, we have this expression in my former line of work:

"If it looks stupid, but it works, it's not stupid."

Now I wear a helmet sold for kayaking. It has the same shell as the company's motorcycle helmet. It is a round, solid helmet made with a 50/50 mix of kevlar and carbon fiber. It is slightly (only) heavier than the coffee cups I see most people wearing. The shell is thin enough that I can stick my Take-A-Look glasses mirror right to it. It has a very slight brim. Not enough to catch on the gound or on an underwater branch or dig into the mud or snow, but enough to protect my face a bit. Because it is smooth and round I believe it will roll with me, and objects impacting it will tend to be deflected. The helmet does not cover the ears, but there is a "dip" and the temple and occiput to protect the thin sphenoid bone and crucial underlying middle meningial artery. The liner is much thinner than the coffee cup variety so it fits closer to my head. It sits out from my head at about exactly the distance my ears protrude. It looks carbon-fiber cool, chicks dig it, dudes stop me all the time and ask me about it.

The helmet came with a full liner of special closed cell foam (Ensolite) which was supposed to offer the same impact protection as a motorcycle helmet, and float. I replaced that liner with the foam pads that are currently used in military helmets. It is a "progressive" foam that is soft to the touch but hardens rapidly according to the velocity of impact. Designed to absorb explosive forces and prevent TBI. It is extremely comfortable as it comforms to your head (unlike a coffee cup). These are squares that velcro to the inside and are repositionable for a custom fit (and so you can fit the headband of your military headset inside your helmet). The pads are covered in a soft, absorbent fabric. For a while this stuff was in short supply but now you can buy it on the civilian market. In Iraq I learned that air will flow around the squares, and a solid helmet will keep the sun off. Of course if it's 120 deg outside and you're riding down the hwy at 50 mph, the air flowing around your head feels like it is coming out of a blowdryer. But probably you won't encounter those conditions, the air circulation is great while riding.

The setup cost me about $160. That's expensive but I use the same helmet for climbing, kayaking, biking and skiing. I won't have to replace it anytime soon, even if I crash (unless I "lose" it). Any crash hard enough to compromise the shell will scramble my brain with coup/countercoup anyway. Hell sometimes I just put it on, watch TV and think about how cool I am. The comfort and safety are well worth the price; the style was gravy. I have added an occipital strap for additional stability. My open earphones velcro to the inside. I am planning to replace some straps with coated stainless cable so I can lock it better, and add integral lighting.

Oh yeah, it's available up to "XXL" size (26" diameter). Frankly if you have a head bigger than this you shouldn't be biking anyway as you will have stability issues. Weebles wobble. But they will also make a custom helmets if you need one. Helmets are available in several colors and styles, including a plain round and military helmet style.

https://carbonfiberhelmets.com/kyakhelmets.php#

https://www.oregonaero.com/ballistic-helmet-upgrades

Oh yeah, if you insist on wearing one of those styrofoam mushrooms you can upgrade the liner foam:
https://www.oregonaero.com/p9091-2001.html#bicycle

irclean

I like the look of that one.

I also read that review and I plan to buy the Citi for my next helmet. Unfortunately, up in Canadian LBSs I've only seen them for around $65. Since it's light I might be able to get it shipped to me more cheaply from an American supplier.

BarracksSi

My uncle told me to get a helmet when I said I was getting back into biking when I was in college. His story was that he stumbled while getting off of his bike and fell, hitting his helmeted head on the edge of the curb. He emphasized that you just can't plan for an accident that could hurt you.

Some helmets have bug screens over the front vents. I usually see kiddie helmets with them, but a few brands use them for adult sizes, too (Uvex, for one; my dad has one). They're hard to find, though, depending on what distributors a shop uses.

Who cares about dorkiness, either? You're on a bike.

echotraveler

are you sure about crashing and reusing it? of what i understand if you crash your helmet should be replaced. i have a good friend whos helmet is expensive, when he crashed it he went to the lbs and got a warranty replacement.

I do have to agree with you about coffe foam...i personally use a 40.00 specialized helment (coffee foam style)...i dont plan on crashing so i hope my 40.00 bux last for a long time...

BarracksSi

One thing about the "coffee cup foam" comments --

If you think regular bike helmets are that easy to break, try it. They're not. I stomped on an old taped-shell helmet of mine to see what would happen, and even that thing took a beating before it cracked apart. Much harder to break than a beer cooler, never mind a coffee cup.

Now I regret not taking any pics. Maybe I should buy a $10 *-Mart helmet just to break it apart for posterity.

echotraveler

i dont agree with brimstone completly, but its true that helmes today have less plastic shell and more foam. They have been tested and approved so im pretty confident my coffee cup will save my nuggin

tjspiel

I think all the plastic does on a bike helmet is to keep small impacts from branches or whatever from chipping away at the foam and to provide a stable base for fancy graphics. I'm not sure if it plays any real role in protecting your head. I could be wrong.

Brimstone

My understanding is that there are basically two types of helmets using stiff ("structural") foam liners: "In-molded" and "Two-peice". Two-peice has a hard, stiff exterior with hard foam glued to it. This is the older style like the 2nd generation Pro-Tec (the 1st gen used conventional closed cell foam like a camping mattress). The newer In-molded style bonds the foam to the shell, and is can be made somewhat thinner and lighter. In some cases the In-molded has as structural mesh moled in the middle of the foam to help the foam stay together during impact. This is probably the "bug screen" BarracksSI is refering to.

You are correct Tjspiel in that in the In-molded type the structural foam provides all of the impact resistance, not the thin shell. In the Two-peice, both the foam and the shell disperse the force. Structural foam can be quite impact resistant; in fact it is used in all kinds of things today like aircraft parts, exterior architectural features, and even highway overpasses. Here's the thing. The foam has to be hard enough to withstand impact, but soft enough to "give" or break up before transferring that impact to your noggin. In order to do that the foam breaks apart and/or deforms during the impact. One medium impact will reduce the potential of the helmet to disperse forces in the future. Sometimes you can see this as a depressed area in the foam, or a fracture. Sometimes "microfracturing" happens inside the foam where it's invisible. This is why ALL manufacturers of these helmets recommend replacing them after and accident, or sending them back for professional inspection. Of course manufacturers like the idea of a "disposable" helmet.

By contrast the soft foam in my helmet deforms, then rebounds. In fact it deforms every time I wear it and conforms to the sahpe of my skull. The exterior shell is very, very hard; it can be because the interior foam does such a good job absorbing impact.

There's nothing really wrong with hard-foam helmets. You're smart to wear a modern helmet. They're light, strong enough and cheap. My objections are that they are big, don't stop the penetration of objects well, and are one-time use. Most bike-specific ones are assymetrical and may be knocked loose or twist the neck during impact. For me it's worth the money for a hardshell/soft foam multiuse lid.

BarracksSi

Nope. These bug screens are only on the front-facing vents in the forward half of the helmet.

echotraveler

brimstone post a pic of your helmet... sounds like the tempurpedic matress from TV. lol