Helmet: Brain Freeze
 

My winter beanie is too big to fit in my helmet (already at the max size for my big head). I haven't tried a skullcap yet and maybe that's the best option. I tried a Buff which is this thin microfiber tube you can wear in a bunch of different ways... I usually do something like this
http://www.backpacker.com/media/orig...ff_445x260.jpg

This fits find in the helmet and is ok, especially for my cheeks, but my head gets pretty cold in freezing temperatures. What solutions are you using in this cold weather along with your heavily vented helmet?

Sheldon Brown taped over the vents in his helmet in the winter. See if that works for you.

Also consider taping a bird of prey to the top of it :p
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/scb_eagle.jpeg
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/eagle.html

Granted that in my area anything below 35 degrees Fahrenheit is considered extremely cold, I think a waterproof helmet cover could work for you. You'd still need to do something about your face and ears, but I find that my helmet cover is like wearing a space heater on my head. I bought it for rainy commutes, but I found that rain or shine, I arrive at work with my head dripping with sweat in even the coldest of days. I gave up using it for rain, and now I use it for warmth on very cold days.

Please, no tape - the helmet is already not in fashion as it is. I also love your shawl.

Just get a larger winter helmet, Bern berkley w/ winter knit, POC lid.

I sweat from my head, a lot and in all weather. I can't wear anything that completely blocks ventilation and seals in the sweat.

I have a winter-weight cycling skullcap, and a choice of balaclavas to wear in winter.

My Giro Ionos helmet (not the one in the avatar) came with a cold-weather insert. You remove the pads and put the insert in their place.

I can usually find the right balance of insulation and ventilation.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...EG85Buv0DdfIaQ
+
http://www.campmor.com/wcsstore/Camp...loth/47126.jpg

I used to get terrible headaches riding in the cold. this is what works for me:

1. tape over the vents
2. wrap a Sugoi cover over the taped helmet
3. put on a balaclava
4. put a thin hat over that
5. wrap a scarf around my neck
6. put on helmet

by the end of my hour-long commute, the balaclava is pretty soaked, but that sure beats a chronic headache.

I bought a Bern Brentwood helmet last fall, with the winter lining. The helmet straps keep the lining snug over my ears, so they're always warm. The helmet has open vents (I think there's supposed to be an inside cover I don't have?) but they're too small (and the helmet is too warm) to cause any problems. My face gets chilly sometimes below 20 degrees, but it's infrequent and doesn't cause me enough trouble to buy anything else.

When I bought mine I got the summer version, thinking it would be easy to find a winter insert for cheap. It turned out to be almost impossible to find a shop (online or retail) that carried them, in the end I was lucky to find one without paying $40.

thin wool cap and thin wool neck gaitor or pile balaclava. If the helmet is too tight to wear a cap that can compress to 1mm thick I'd think it was too tight to begin with.

i actually prefer the buff (in many senses, but here I'm talking about the pic the OP posted). here are the reasons why. 1) it can be adjusted in many fashions, 2) it is light weight enough to actually breathe a little opposed to just trapping in heat.

yeah, yeah...i live in houston. but, on my 200k perm Friday, it was in the mid 20's for the first half of it. i too experienced freezer brain after controls, but 5 minutes of pain and i was as comfortable as can be. i also think the freezer brain can be attributed to my profuse sweating and the dampness of the buff. I believe I would experience this with any damp product that could fit under my helmet.

you may be less than 20 deg F, but i can testify to the buff's efficacy into the mid 20's for long rides.

Tape the vents for a partial solution, but I find it is a crappy compromise.
I now have a Bern that I really like. The vents are smaller - it is more of a "multisport" type helmet with a sort of "street style" that makes it somewhat cool looking. :)
I've gone kinda nuts with reflective tape on that helmet, with all of its open space and all. I probably look like a space station module on final approach in someone's headlights.

I wear an OR balaclava which gives me primary coverage over the top of my head to hold most of the heat in, and I wear a polar headband if I need more on my ears. I've had some rides down to about 12F with this setup and I've been toasty, perhaps a touch TOO warm.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=187124

Since the helmet's not in fashion, what's the tape gonna hurt? I've got gaffer's tape covering up the holes in my helmet, and it makes for quite a bit of difference.

Under Armour Coldgear Hood.
http://www.essentialapparel.com/unde...utm_medium=cpc

thin enough to not affect the helmet. This and earmuffs pretty much good to 0 degrees for me.

Hey, go ahead and tape it up if you want... I'm no fashionista, but it seems to me there are degrees of fashion.

So you're a grown man/woman on a bicycle, trying not to look like a geek? Good luck. :)

I have a black helmet and used black electrical tape on the holes for winter. You have to look close to see the tape.

My winter helmet is a Bell Tourlite knockoff w/taped vents. I tried wearing a balaclava under it once (at ~10F), found it to be too hot.
I have ridden at -8 with it, 180's (earmuffs, that go behind the head), and a face mask like the one posted above by skijor. That is what I wear ~0F.
10 degrees Fahrenheit and above, I swap out the face mask for a neck gaitor.
Tomorrow night, they are predicting -15F, I will probably try the balaclava again.
As always, YMMV

No helmet. Just a balaclava and wool hat. inbeforesafetynannies

No, i'm just a squirrel trying to get a nut... not some mythical manwoman!

my winter commutes have been anywhere from 4 F to 40F this winter. I use a sixsixone helmet that is multisport so more coverage. I wear glasses and have cold air induced asthma so I use a multitude of beanies and face masks depending on weather, in extreme cold I go with an Adidas thin fleece beanie that goes low to cover ears and has a brim and my fleece bandanna that covers up to eyes and down to chest, it velcros around back of head. I also keep padding in helmet thin so I can wear what I want on my head, thick or thin.
When I run I have a full face and head balcava with neopreen in the nose mouth area so no dripping or freeze back, its pretty thin too and I run before I go to work so its just as cold.
Your best bet is to hit REI or someother store like it with your helmet and start trying things on.
And dont tape the vents, thats just well I dont want to put anyone down so just dont.

The nice thing about taping vents is that you can remove some while riding to provide ventilation as things warm up. I use strips of blue painters tape because it comes off or punches through easily.

I resisted the balaclava for a long time thinking it would be too hot (and it is too hot for me for temps above 20F or so). I also didnt want to ride around looking like a terrorist/bank robber. I finally bought one after freezing my face on a commute when it dropped below 25 around here. I had tried a scarf, my neck and chest were sweating, my face was freezing. I got a very thin wool balaclava and it did an amazing job wicking sweat, insulating, and regulating body heat. For me, around 25 is where I found the need to break it out. Different people will have a different threshold.

Its guaranteed to really mess up you hair beyond repair though. I got to work, re-wet my hair and couldnt make it do anything - it was going all different directions. Oh well, it was a small price to pay.

I use a hardhat, liner inside my helmet. It also has ear flaps that you
can cover your ear with,and has a strap that snaps under your neck.
Also you can put a beenie over the top of your helmet, you just to
find a bigger one that won't pop off, during the ride. This has worked
for me in the colest Ohio winters.

I bought a sealskinz windproof skullcap, works really well - just need to tape over the holes in the ear flaps as they increase wind noise 100%! Keeps my ears warm and my head warm :D

I got a few Champion C3 shirts with hoods at Target last year. These are the thin base layer, the hood fits under the helmet. I have a PI baclava, and some name tubular stretchy thing, but I have found that anything that covers my mouth and nose causes my safety glasses to fog up. So, only thin hood under the helmet and the face gets cold. Oh well, I live in Texas, so there are only a few days below freezing. The thin hood keeps my ears from freezing and falling off.

dennyd

My wife got me one of these a few years ago. I often wear it over my thin balaclava when temps are under 20F. I supposed a tightly tied scarf would work just as well, but this one is to easy to put on of take off.

I normally wear a buff too, and just fold it over a few times and wrap it around my ears, with the rest of it laying on top of my head like a bandana. When it's below freezing though, the top of my head freezes too, so I wear this instead.

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-9723227...4_2136_3053709

It has a waterproof neoprene layer on the outside, and fleece lining on the inside, so everything stays warm. Actually I can't wear it when it's above freezing or else I burn up.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but how could you possibly expect this to keep your head warm when the entire front part of your head is exposed?

No new solution to this is needed. Simply buy a balaclava in whatever weight you need - from paper thin to fairly thick. If you don't need a balaclava to keep your neck warm, just buy a simple beanie cap, again available from very thin to nice warm fleece. I usually wear a simple ear band over my nose and mouth if it's needed, but there are a bunch of readily available solutions for that too.

If you need more wind proofing for the helmet, buy a helmet cover.

I have swim caps I use for open water swimming. They're thicker and lined on the inside. I also have one that's neoprene. Works really well.

I usually wear a thin poly ear band down to around freezing:
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...d6KiWq9OxiLYp3

Then a balaclava colder than that.
A loosely wrapped cotton scarf will not do much for ya.