Helmets for Head Shapes
 

I am due for a new helmet, current Bell Lumen is over four years old. I tried a Giro Aeon and Atmos II today but it seems they were tight front to back but loose side to side. I assume my head is more oblong vs. round. does anyone have an idea of what brands might be more suited to my egg shaped noggin?

thanks,
Roger

I had that problem with a Giro,, not as bad as you describe but a little. I tried a different style of Giro, problem solved, bought it, crashed it bad, moved on.
My next Helmet was a Bontrager, It fit my fat head completely different, but much better. Not loose on the sides or ends, not too tight on the sides or end to end..
If I crash it I will replace it with the exact same one... Bontrager Rally..

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=466202

I ride Single track, I ride Hard,,, I am unaware of this helmet being up on my head. It Fits me that good,,
Then again heads are like feet, except they don't smell as bad...

Helmets, shoes, gloves, shorts, shirts,,I do not buy Internet as fit is too Important to me, so I buy local, always..

seems Bell tended to be rounder, Giro more oval , consolidations happen .. Bell sports group owns them both, now..

I just recently bought a Specialized Align at a cost of $40+. I've got an oblong head as well and it fits me surprisingly well.

I bet if you went to a bike shop and tried on a few different brands of helmets, you'd find your answer.

I thought that, as well, and happily wore Bells -- starting with the original Biker -- for 30 years on my round head. However, my current helmet, which fits me beautifully, is a Giro Xen, which does indeed seem more spherical than other Giros. There is no substitute for an in-person fitting, just as with shoe buying.

I haven't ever been too picky about helmets... so I can just about grab any helmet other than a kid's helmet and it fits...
Umm... well, I did snag a kid's helmet which I installed new pads in to use as my boating helmet.

Most of the modern helmets have several components.

• Shell (either paper thin, disposable, or hard for moderate abuse)
• Hard Foam Layer. This is what absorbs the impact.
• Primary straps/chin strap, which go though or around the foam part. This is what primarily keeps the helmet on the noggin during a crash.
• Soft Foam pads, that can potentially be custom sized.
• All the webbing

My interpretation is that the soft foam and webbing does help with the comfort of the helmet, but it provides minimal safety benefit. In many cases, the webbing seems to only be held in place with velcro.

So, it would seem there would be a lot of leeway for adjustments.

For those with a round head, somewhere I have the old Skid Lid that was 100% round (with pads to shape for the head).

Giro still has a more oval shape than most brands.

Fit should be the deciding factor, I feel. That, and whether you want a visor or not. I replaced a serviceable cheap Schwinn-branded helmet with a Giro Atmos (I) a year and a half ago, because it fit me best. I ended up missing the luxury of the visor on the cheaper helmet though, and began thinking I'd spring for sports wraparound prescription glasses.
Lack of visor didn't stop me from wearing the new one, thank goodness, because I suffered a freak accident and ended up hitting the pavement squarely down (not flying, a rotational smackdown!) onto my forehead. I cracked the front of my helmet and had a mild concussion and cloudy head for a couple of days. But because the fit was right, and the Giro I had has a very easy adjustment, it did not slip and saved my eggs (well some of 'em). YMMV.

Got around to the LBS and tried on a Specialized Propel 2, perfect fit, a good 50 grams less than the Bell, high visibility yellow and a 10% discount for being a member of the local bike club. Problem solved.

Roger

Here's what one reviewer said about the Mixino model of Catlike:

The largest change on the new helmet is the new fit system. It consists of several different changes to the older system. They have created the helmet so it can work for all types of head shapes: round, elliptical, oval, and oblong. To do this Catlike has created Ergonomic Wings. This offers lateral adjustment optimized by specific padding that is supplied in three different thickness in order to customize your comfort and reach maximum stability. For a round head, the setting uses no pads, for oval use the 2mm pad, for ellipses use the 4mm pad and finally for an oblong head the 6mm pad is to be used. These pads as well as the others in the helmet use Outlast technology. It was originally developed by NASA and uses phase change material that absorbs, stores, and releases heat for optimal thermal comfort. The Mixino has a pad on the top and one across the forehead.

full review: Catlike Mixino Helmet | Your Mileage May Vary Reviews

The big question is the price point you are willing to shell out for this kind of thing.