Awesome helmet designs from Denmark
#1
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Awesome helmet designs from Denmark
So, one of my students is now on a year-long study abroad trip in Copenhagen, Denmark. She knows how much I love bicycle commuting and bicycles in general, so she sent me a beautiful brochure that she got at the Foreign Ministry office. The whole brochure is wonderful, but one reference in particular pointed me to this company and its urban-friendly, Copenhagen chic helmets:
https://www.yakkay.com/SmartOne.aspx#10
I'm too dorky in other ways on my commute to pull this off, but I bet it would be great on shorter, plainclothes commutes in the city.
https://www.yakkay.com/SmartOne.aspx#10
I'm too dorky in other ways on my commute to pull this off, but I bet it would be great on shorter, plainclothes commutes in the city.
#2
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Gotta love the Danes! If the auto/bicycle/pedestrian balance is going to become the world wide norm they'll be the model. Along w/the rest of the Scandanavian countries. Of course in the States all the cool commuters would wear these helmet covers backwards.
#5
Banned
Different fabrics than the ones Jockeys wear over their helmets.. same idea.
Some years ago I saw a [web] picture of a Bike helmet styled like a black Beret..
any more sightings of that one?
Some years ago I saw a [web] picture of a Bike helmet styled like a black Beret..
any more sightings of that one?
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I wonder how bulky it is? I mean, it's still a helmet with foam right?
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"The helmet fully meets the European CE standard (EN1078)."
Are those standards higher than whatever is required in the United States, lower, or just something different?
Are those standards higher than whatever is required in the United States, lower, or just something different?
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Tried one of them on in a local shop, and they have a really poor fit to the head. I find that they're shaped a bit irregularly, and are pretty shallow inside.
#10
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from:
https://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2009...nd-helmet.html
https://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2009...nd-helmet.html
I'd like to explain the helmet hat concept away by saying that, as the creators of the NYC condom, "fuseproject" figured they'd continue their success by sticking with the theme of things you unfurl over your head. However, I think the more likely explanation is that somebody who knows nothing about cycling thought they could make the helmet "cool." This is typical non-cycling hubris, and the result (a helmet hat) is predictably idiotic. A non-cyclist who thinks he or she can somehow solve the "problem" of helmets not being cool enough is like the person who knows nothing about plumbing, insists he can fix your faucet for you, and winds up flooding your bathroom. The truth is that helmets are the one aspect of cyling in which you actually should just copy the racers. A GI-style skater helmet or a modular helmet/hat nightmare looks no better than a typical racing-style helmet, which you can buy for like $30 or $40, which will be lightweight and well-ventilated, and which will accommodate a wool hat underneath (or, yes, a non-decorative helmet cover above if you prefer) when it gets cold:
It's also typical of the non-cyclist to focus on the helmet as a symbol of cycling safety. Indeed, the helmet has become a symbol of safe cycling just as the condom has become a symbol of safe sex. However, there's a big difference between the two. If you use a condom properly it will be highly effective, but if you use a helmet properly it won't make a difference if you're still doing everything else wrong. Riding without a helmet will not make you crash, but riding with a bunch of stuff dangling off your handlebars might. If the City of New York and "fuseproject" really cared, they'd have designed a really "cool" and convenient basket instead of a helmet:
Instead, they just bull****ified the helmet, which is about as meaningful as their safe sex campaign would have been if they'd used brightly-colored *****s instead of condoms. Really, they might as well have just promoted retro-chic 1980s hairstyles that also have potentially head-protecting qualities, such as the classic high top fade:
It's also typical of the non-cyclist to focus on the helmet as a symbol of cycling safety. Indeed, the helmet has become a symbol of safe cycling just as the condom has become a symbol of safe sex. However, there's a big difference between the two. If you use a condom properly it will be highly effective, but if you use a helmet properly it won't make a difference if you're still doing everything else wrong. Riding without a helmet will not make you crash, but riding with a bunch of stuff dangling off your handlebars might. If the City of New York and "fuseproject" really cared, they'd have designed a really "cool" and convenient basket instead of a helmet:
Instead, they just bull****ified the helmet, which is about as meaningful as their safe sex campaign would have been if they'd used brightly-colored *****s instead of condoms. Really, they might as well have just promoted retro-chic 1980s hairstyles that also have potentially head-protecting qualities, such as the classic high top fade:
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#13
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#14
Vain, But Lacking Talent
Citation? Link?
This sort of thing has been the thorn in the side of motorcycle helmet arguments for many years now. When you say lower, what do you (or what does Snell) mean?
There were fundamental differences (Snell has made some recent changes and ECE for motorcycle helmets has probably evolved since I last read about it as well) between the two in the motorcycle world. Snell was a "harder" test meaning it would apply larger forces, but only to one spot, directly on top, twice in a row. ECE was a much more comprehensive test modeled after data provided by actual accident reports and included things like oblique forces and torsional forces as a result of helmets grabbing onto surfaces and jerking your head/neck around.
Again, this is just a brief summary of the state of the two motorcycle specific tests that I read up on a few years ago, but in general, I tend to not trust Snell, especially if they're trying to sell me on the ECE being a lower standard.
Oh, and personally I'd stick to the racer style helmets. Light, ventilated and perform the job as intended. I'm already on a bike, so everyone assumes I'm on a suspended license or can't afford a car anyway. Am I really worried about whether or not they think my helmet is cool enough?
This sort of thing has been the thorn in the side of motorcycle helmet arguments for many years now. When you say lower, what do you (or what does Snell) mean?
There were fundamental differences (Snell has made some recent changes and ECE for motorcycle helmets has probably evolved since I last read about it as well) between the two in the motorcycle world. Snell was a "harder" test meaning it would apply larger forces, but only to one spot, directly on top, twice in a row. ECE was a much more comprehensive test modeled after data provided by actual accident reports and included things like oblique forces and torsional forces as a result of helmets grabbing onto surfaces and jerking your head/neck around.
Again, this is just a brief summary of the state of the two motorcycle specific tests that I read up on a few years ago, but in general, I tend to not trust Snell, especially if they're trying to sell me on the ECE being a lower standard.
Oh, and personally I'd stick to the racer style helmets. Light, ventilated and perform the job as intended. I'm already on a bike, so everyone assumes I'm on a suspended license or can't afford a car anyway. Am I really worried about whether or not they think my helmet is cool enough?
#15
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Sorry, I was misremembering an old Cycling magazine article which compared Snell ratings to EN ratings, not EN to CSPC. No idea where they got their numbers, but given how it shows how superior Snell helmets are, I'd guess they got the data from Snell.
I imagine that the EN and CPSC ratings are comparable, but I've been unable to find any quantitative data on impact absorption at the CPSC site, so I don't know. Having seen a picture of a model wearing the ballcap styled Yakkay helmet, I do know that it looks like a huge hat, likely very sweaty and definitely very ridiculous.
I imagine that the EN and CPSC ratings are comparable, but I've been unable to find any quantitative data on impact absorption at the CPSC site, so I don't know. Having seen a picture of a model wearing the ballcap styled Yakkay helmet, I do know that it looks like a huge hat, likely very sweaty and definitely very ridiculous.
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Allegedly the US standards; ASTM and CPSC are quite similar to the EC EN1078 standard. They again are quite similar to the Snell Bxx standards, but aren't tested as thoroughly as the Snell standard. Since Snell's commercial certification program is expensive, few modern bicycle helmets seems to have it now.
Here is an comparison of the different standards:
https://www.helmets.org/stdcomp.htm
I find it very difficult to see any obvious advantage to any of the standards.
My own take is that the US/EU standards are good enough, and I wouldn't pay extra for a certification that didn't offer any clear advantage over the present standards.
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Here is an comparison of the different standards:
https://www.helmets.org/stdcomp.htm
I find it very difficult to see any obvious advantage to any of the standards.
My own take is that the US/EU standards are good enough, and I wouldn't pay extra for a certification that didn't offer any clear advantage over the present standards.
--
Regards
#17
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYhrm...layer_embedded
Actually I think their other video is much better as far as seeing how bulky (or not) it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9m_JGNNzgw
#18
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Allegedly the US standards; ASTM and CPSC are quite similar to the EC EN1078 standard...
I find it very difficult to see any obvious advantage to any of the standards.
My own take is that the US/EU standards are good enough, and I wouldn't pay extra for a certification that didn't offer any clear advantage over the present standards.
I find it very difficult to see any obvious advantage to any of the standards.
My own take is that the US/EU standards are good enough, and I wouldn't pay extra for a certification that didn't offer any clear advantage over the present standards.
#19
Vain, But Lacking Talent
Thanks for all the links and weighing in on testing standards. I spent a good bit of time delving into the motorcycle side, but never got around to looking at the bicycle side. I think the important thing to check is the somebody, somewhere certified it to actually protect your noggin.
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Maybe for the fashionistas among us... I really don't mind a regular bicycle helmet. Plus, I'm sure those designs limit the airflow somehow regardless of fabric used. They may be good for cold weather though. But I'd still take a wicking skullcap or balaclava over those since they cover my ears.
The "paris black oilskin" looks best out of all of them.
The "paris black oilskin" looks best out of all of them.
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Faking the EN1078 or failing to comply with the EN1078 standard while claiming to do so, may be a criminal matter, can require forced recalls and seizing of stocks by the police etc. So in a sense the EC standards can be enforced in a much tougher way.
The alternative to failing the Snell Bxx test is to comply with another standard, the alternative to failing to comply with the EN1078 standard is that you can no longer sell it in the EC since that would be illegal.
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Last edited by interested; 01-28-11 at 11:31 AM. Reason: point about failing the EN1078 standard
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Thanks for sharing a link to these.
Here is a bike shop in Canada that has an online catalog. Scroll down to the last forth or so of the catalog and they have more fabric choices for each style of helmet. These look cool, but they are pretty expensive. I have a helmet I could probably make into one of these for winter riding if I wanted to I guess.
Here is a bike shop in Canada that has an online catalog. Scroll down to the last forth or so of the catalog and they have more fabric choices for each style of helmet. These look cool, but they are pretty expensive. I have a helmet I could probably make into one of these for winter riding if I wanted to I guess.
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Try wearing one of those helmets when it's 98 F degrees with high humidity and tell me how much you like it! I'll take my vented plastic shell any day.
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At least when you wear a helmet, you look like you're wearing a helmet. When you wear one of these, you look like you're wearing an ugly, oversized hat.