cradduck

I am just wondering how many of you out there commute in the non-roadie, "old school hockey", extreme sports type helmets. I have seen a growing number of people wearing these around town and I was just wondering how they stacked up against the roadie helmets? What have your experiences been?

I have to say the look is more appealing to someone [like me] with an odd shaped melon than the conventional roadie type helmet.

JeremyZ

I wore a hockey helmet as a kid. Bike helmets weren't really out, and my grandpa insisted. They're probably more protective around the sides than a bike helmet, but would probably not take the harder impacts as well, as they don't have the same cushion zone & thickness.

tjspiel

There are snowboard helmets which are also certified for use on bikes. I can't remember off hand who makes them. The downside would probably be the lack of vents so they'd be hotter than a typical bike helmet.

Noobtastic

I love the bowl style helmets, like skating helmets and equestrian helmets, protec makes many of those. Before I got a Giro, I wanted one of these helmets so I could ride without feeling geeky but the bike shop advised me to get a regular bike helmet because the humidity here would have sweat pouring onto my shoulders while riding. It'll probably be very different in your climate.
I now know that bike helmets have a lot of R&D put into them, and when you find a good one you'll be so comfortable that you can forget it's on your head. Protec is a very good company for bowl style helmets though, they're very affordable yet stylish and great protection for your noggin.

schmittie120

Bern makes some, also many skate style helmets hold up better to multiple impacts. The downside as was pointed out is the lack of ventilation. I use a skate style helmet when I ride my bike at night (in the city) and I almost always come back with a sweat soaked head.

retsms

Take a look at nutcase.com. We have 5 family members wearing them and we all love them. Very comfortable and many different paints schemes/types available. Don

Moozh

Bern, nutcase, giro, etc, etc.. Havent' seen any for heads larger than 63cm tho, pity, I prefer that style but cant find one that quite fits the noggin (lots o' hair).

Greyryder

I wear a park/skate style helmet on MTB trails. The ventilation is pretty minimal. It's rare that I actually feel any air moving through the vents, but I've got an awful lot of hair going on. I doubt I'd feel anything through the vents on typical road style helmets, either.

I believe that Pryme's 8 helmet will go that big, in the largest size. The 8 V2 does not, however.

Here's the Dan's Comp page for it. They still the biggest ones in stock.

khutch

I don't know if they answer your question or not but there is a lot of information on helmets.org. You can even read the story of my recent (on the day before Easter) crash there, or as much of it as I know. In spite of the helmet I got a concussion and total amnesia of the event. I shudder to think what would have happened without the helmet.

Ken

Loose Chain

Roadie helmets have become so alien and stupid looking that I can only imagine that anything would be preferable including nothing to looking like a Lance wannabe on the way to work.

dwilbur3

I agree that roadie helmets are pretty alien looking. I like the look of my ski helmet better, but it's just way too hot for use on a bike (even in winter). I'll have to stick with my dorky looking roadie helmet for now.

tjspiel

Beauty is in the eye the beholder. I really like my Bell Sweep:

(not me in the picture)

and can't imagine why anyone would want to wear a helmet that looks like half of a bowling ball.

bhop

I used to wear my skate helmet, but the lack of vents, as previously mentioned, made it torture in the summer, but I also don't like the modern, pointy, roadie style helmets, so I got a pro-tech cyphon with big vents. https://pro-tec.net/bike/cyphon.html

AdamDZ

I like the looks of skate and BMX helmets too, but yeah: the lack of ventilation is a deal-killer in warm and hot weather. I wear one in Winter though. I wear an MTB helmet normally.

A.

CACycling

I recently picked up a new commuting helmet (old one was from 1997). I bought a Giro Indicator on sale at Performance for $25. Light, well ventilated, visor and doesn't scream "ROADIE".

cyclokitty 

I love my Pryme 8 helmet. My head sweats like crazy son any helmet I wear is awash with sweat after every ride. But I also have a small
head and the kids helmets are too... covered in pony decals. The Pryme 8 fits my head just right and I can put my favourite Roman Dirge stickers on it myself.

In the winter I wear a Pryme ski helmet that came with a warm liner and ear covers. Super warm.

The skate/BMX helmets are heavier than the road helmets but the hearty, sturdiness of the Prymes mean I don't get nagged so much by the killjoys in my life (I'm looking at you, Mom).

mickey85

I wear a standard Bell bike helmet when riding my road bikes.

That said, I can't abide by the idea of wearing a helmet on my English 3. It just seems like wearing a bomb suit while driving a car. There's safety, and there's style. With an English 3 speed or roadster, I can't see going fast enough to actually need a helmet.

Then again, I've never actually fallen where I've needed a helmet and, God willing, I'll never find myself in that situation. I did fall when hitting a crack in the pavement when I couldn't get my foot out of the clip fast enough. Cracked a bone in my ankle and still (two years later) get aches and pains in it when walking for too long.

stephen9666

I recently went through this, having come back to cycling after a few years off. When I was in college a few years ago I never wore a helmet. After motorcycling with a helmet, I felt weird riding a bike without one.

Anyway, I read here and on helmets.org. They have some info from a 2006 Consumer Reports review. Click for helmet review.

Two of their "Best Buys" were the Bell Citi and Bell Slant. I bought a Citi and I've been really happy with it. I only paid $41 after shipping. It might be right up your alley, as it is a more rounded profile.

Bell Citi

alr

I have a bern berkeley helmet that I use to ski in. I have yet to use it while cycling mainly because I will feel too worried to leave it dangling from my bicycle while it is parked, like I do with my junky old bell alien helmet. The bern helmets are really light though and do have some ventilation. I will probably give it a whirl at some point.

Moozh

Thanks for the assist 'Greyryder', but it seems again that XL (24.78" or 62.9cm) isnt quite large enough. I currently have 5 failed online purchases taking up space about the house that were close but not quite enough. With my motorbike helmet I wear a 2XL Shoei, that extra inch or two makes all the difference. The quest continues

JonathanGennick 

During spring fly season, I get a lot of bugs through my vents. They get in, they get trapped, they buzz around and sometimes they bite. Vents are not always a good thing.

xtrajack

Which is why I roll with a vintage Bell Tourlite.

echotraveler

i know this is a pretty dificult subject because there are many anti-helmet vs helmet advocates. heres my experience on this.

My wife told me i HAD to use a helmet because she needed a father for out daughter, i wasn't very pleased, but i started looking for a skateboard helmet/ xtreme sport closed helmet. Looking geeky was out of the question! whent to a couple of shops and only found child sizes! so i went to the lbs, were i stoped caring and bought the less geeky helmet i could find....still geeky..

a couple of months later i was riding, spaced out, and BAM! i ram into the sidewalk broke my elbow. The whiplash from the fall broke a big shunk of helmet....

after that day i dont care how it looks...looking geeky is way better than scaring my face!

Loose Chain

These look normal, custom colors or solids or paint it yourself:

https://www.nutcasehelmets.com/Pages/index.aspx

I also have an old Bell from the 80s, looks normal compared to the crap they sell now.

maxine

Actually, I think it's the "slow falls" for which a helmet, by design, really hits the sweet spot of protection -- keeping you from suffering any head injury at all, or one that is far less severe than you would have suffered without it. If you're bombing down a mountain at 50 mph and go butt-over-elbows over the handlebars, or even if you're just minding your business, commuting along, and the kid going 95 mph in his souped-up WRX takes you out with a direct hit from behind . . . yeah, the helmet isn't going to do bupkus in those situations to keep you alive.

And as for style . . . *all* helmets, for *all* applications, look dorky, *all* the time. ; Trust me; for every cyclist/skateboarder/snowboarder who's thinking, "Daaaaaayum, I am as cool as the other side of the pillow!" there are 5 onlookers thinking "Jeeeezus, what a doofus!"

But seriously, not serious! (Just kidding.) I've never been a helmet proselytizer ('tho I wear one rather religiously myself.) And, yeah, ya just gotta pull off a certain look if you're rollling on an English 3!