shed

So looking to buy new helmet. I currently have a Bell that completely covers - no air holes, and I get pretty sweaty. Mostly rides in the 15-40 mile range. I'm not an age where I'm doing anything break neck.

With the ones with air holes, do bald people get burned through it. Do I just suck it up and sun screen myself up on top? Or is there a solution for air circulation that works without me having to do that.

August West

I still have some hair but it is now at a #1 clipper guard COVID-19 special length (⅛") so it is next to nothing. But I've worn Headsweats under my helmet for years to keep the sweat out of my eyes but they also work great to stop sunburn and I wear a normal Giro helmet with lots of vents. It has been sunny here for weeks on end but the only sunburn I got on the top of my head was from weeding the yard without a hat. There are several different brands out there to choose from.

Carbonfiberboy 

I have some hair on the top of my head, but not much. It's pretty thin. When I wear a normal road helmet, I'd get 3 sunburn stripes on my head. Sunscreen is obviously not the solution. BUT! Get a Halo skull cap: https://store.haloheadband.com/Halo-Skull-Cap-p/sc.htm
and wear any good road helmet. The skull cap is not hot, quite the contrary. Might be cooler. Actually, buy 2 or 3 of them so you don't have to wash your only one after every ride. I've done mountain passes at 105° in one of these. It's fine. For a helmet, I use the Specialized Echelon II, which now has MIPS. About $100, but it's your head.

Iride01 

I wear a sweatVac under mine. It controls the sweat so it doesn't run into my eyes, actually seems to keep my head cooler while moving as well as keeps me from having a weird looking spotted tan on top my head.https://sweatvac.com/collections/ven...ap-black-black

Doug64

I am mostly bald and I shave my head. A year ago I started using a Headsweats skull cap under my helmet. It protects the head, and is reasonably cool. Last year I went through 5 weeks of topical chemotherapy on most of my scalp. I also had some cancerous spots on my neck,ear, and cheek removed surgically. It took care of the problem, and I'm not letting that happen again. I rode for over 50 years without taking any precuations against sun exposure on my head. I don't sunburn easily and was lax about using sunscreen on the rest of my body. Most of the damage was caused during the last 10 years. During that period I bicycle toured a total of 2 years, plus all my recreational and training riding. It was a lot of exposure, and sunscreen did not work on the top of my head, because it was in my eyes as soon as I started sweating.

Find something that works for you, and use it to protect your head, and use sunscreen on the any other exposed skin!!

The Headsweats are pretty comfortable under my helmet.

canklecat

POC. Some of my follicly challenged friends wear the Octal or Ventral and like 'em. Very comfy pads, easily replaceable and POC carries spares.

I have long hair, thick, no balding, runs in the family. I got a POC Omne Air Spin last summer. It was their cheapest vented helmet, a bit less mushroom-head looking than the Octal and Ventral. The shell is basically the same profile, but the Omne has a totally different vent design that just looks ... less ... dorky? Really looks more like a commuter helmet with excellent vents instead of a bowling ball design. It's easily the coolest, best vented helmet I've worn. The overhanging support seems to serve as an aggressive air scoop, feeling cooler when I ride faster, or when the wind is really blowing. I didn't intend to wear it for road bike rides -- the overhanging brow is visible in my upper peripheral vision -- but it's so comfortable I wear it on some road bike rides.

Other POC owners have mentioned the overhanging brow thing. It doesn't block the view, but if you spend a lot of time in the drops or on the aero bars, head down, looking up "through the eyebrows", POC may not be for you. POC seems to err on the side of caution and their helmets fit lower on the skull, cover more of the rear of the skull in particular, with thicker EPS foam than most helmets. You'd think these are a lot less aero but so far I haven't heard of any pro teams refusing to use them, and they're very popular in my area among hardcore roadies and casual cyclists, despite having no local outlet -- they're all mail ordered.

Anyway, I like the Omne Air Spin well enough I might add a Ventral or Octal, although I'd probably get a medium. My skull measures 59cm, right between medium and large for POC. I got the Omne Air Spin in large and it's just slightly large for me on my bare head. However it's perfect when I wear a bandanna in summer or thin knit cap in winter. I can snug up the rear dial to tighten the harness, but it still feels slightly large on my bare noggin. That may also contribute to the slightly overhanging brow thing.

My other vented helmets are Bells, including a Formula MIPS. Good helmet, but not as well ventilated as the POC. The helmets aren't radically different in appearance. But the usual narrow diagonal vents common to most generic helmets don't seem to "breathe" as well as POC's nearly cavernous vents. And the MIPS harness is busier and more cluttered than POC's SPIN system, which may obstruct air flow somewhat.

David Bierbaum

Just this weekend, I got this condition. When I put on the sunscreen, I didn't think to put it on the top of my head before going out on a long ride, and now it looks like an airplane used the top of my head as a runway...

Trsnrtr

Headsweats here, too. Also save the helmet insides some from salt erosion.

camjr

I'm a head shaver, and wear a "doo-rag" under my Giro helmet.

BobbyG

I've been very bald for 10 years. At 6500 feet altitude (and higher) in Colorado Springs I have always burned on my neck and arms if I don't cover them while biking more than 75 minutes, and even quicker the higher I ride. But not my head. I've always had helmets with medium ventilation...and have possibly seen some tanning where the holes are. However I started to become worried about cancer like others, so I bought one of those quick-drying, wicking skull caps last summer and it does seem to keep my head a little cooler.

But I need vent holes, even in the winter.

DrIsotope

Get a helmet with as many vents as anyone's latent trypophobia will allow, and pick up a variety of skullcaps while you're at it. I wear basic Headsweats most days, I have lined ones for the winter (some with ear flaps,) some with sweat gutters, and some with fancy cooling fabrics (Mission Enduracool) that are my absolute go-to during the summers here.

Or ride at night.

freeranger

If it's real sunny out, and I'm riding the road bike (as opposed to being in the woods on the mtn bike), I might use my Halo skull cap, with a tail--keeps the sun off of my neck, covers the ears also--use it for cutting the grass also (that's not me btw).

bikemig 

cycling caps work fine under a helmet.

sch

I have used the Halo variant skull caps for about 10 yrs year around. They are excellent for controlling sweat in the summer
and keep my scalp warm down to 20° (though I no longer ride much below 40°F anymore). Before the Halo I would routinely
get 'tiger stripes' on my scalp from sun through the vents.

One nice aspect of purpose designed caps such as Halo is that in high summer, at rest stops I can take the cap off, toss it
out in the sun on the concrete and it will dry significantly in 10-20 minutes. Previously when I used cotton sweat bands I
would actually have to call a ride stop every 20 miles or so to wring out the sweat band. This never happens with the Halo
and I never have sweat dripping off my eyebrows into the glasses like before the Halo.

Terex

This. And the brim is very handy for blocking sun, especially in the evenings.

cybirr 

Tiger stripes are not appealing on my 7 3/4 dome. I've bought several of these, one per ride, laundry at the end of the week.

Giro Skull Cap

shed

OK, ty folks, clearly cap is the way to go. Might try a couple of your recs and see which one I like best.

fastcarbon

I have been using a cycling skull cap for several years now. I still have quite a bit of hair but was still getting the precancerous lesions that the Dermatologist burns off with liquid Nitrogen every 6 months. My Dermatologist insists on the head covering and the misnamed "arm coolers" which are just lightweight arm warmers. I use both on hot summer days. The skull cap is thin an not noticed but I can't say the same for the arm coolers.

Classtime 

some caps don't fit well under some helmets. If you can try the combination, that would be smart.

Iride01 

I agree about the misnaming. And did this just happen recently? I've always known them as Sun Sleeves, which makes more sense as to what the actual purpose is. Protect from the Sun.

I use them for most every ride. As long as I'm going 16 mph plus, they are great. When I'm less than 10 or 12 mph for a long climb, they can be hot. But they can be pulled down easily and then back up when you are at speed again.

Some of the better ones do seem to cool or allow you to cool better than others.

Jumpski

I've been using headsweats classic for several years now, and couldn't be happier. It keeps the perspiration out of my eyes and covers my shaved head. Cycling helmets are a personal choice. I am on my second Specialized Echelon II. I replaced the first one after minor crash. Take care.

Deal4Fuji

I too do-the-doo

These simple doo-rags with a terry cloth forehead from Wal-Mart do a good job and are thin enough not to make much difference in fit. In hot weather they get damp from sweat and that in turn cools you. I'm glad I buy in bulk, I haven't been able to find more of this type with the terry cloth band but I have 4 of this same design. Traditionalist buddy opts for the cycle cap. I don't have enough room for that.

thehammerdog

i wear lycra type head thingy under helmet.
keeps things cool and warm both but not hot.
love it.
but then i sport a sweet mullet.

Garfield Cat

Two things: the sweat and the helmet.

Helmets need to be ventilated for obvious reasons. Even when riding at a moderate pace, the sweat is there although cold temps and some head winds may dissipate it before sweat gets into the forehead and the eyes.

The sweat on warm days like this summer is an issue. Solutions like using cloth that covers the entire top of the head does what? One observation is the material: both type of material and its volume.

Fast wicking material means it needs to be air dryed duing a ride Cloth material blends may do some absorption.

Now the volume: a complete skull cap is a lot of volume compared to some other solution. The sun protection may be there but at a cost. Do you really need to cover the entire head with a skull cap? Only certain portions of the head are exposed and certain portions of the head will lead to sweat pouring down the forehead into the eyes.

One solution is to use a standard paper towel. Here's an example by Kimberly Clark: https://www.vivatowels.com/en-us/viv...h-paper-towels

How do I use this? I just tear off the size I need to cover up the top and front end of the helmet. Any residual material, I fold over to add additional coverage where it counts, the forehead region of the helmet. Results? Highly absorbent material at where it counts, low volume of material inside the helmet, after the ride the cloth will dry out and is reusable for another ride or for wiping off my carbon rims.

On extremely high and humid days, I either "double up" on the material or carry an extra towel and replace at the half way mark of the ride.

canklecat

BTW, regarding sweat and helmets, some helmets have sweat drip channels that divert it away from your face. Some Bell and POC helmets have this feature. It works.

Sort of.

The sweat channels divert sweat toward the little troughs in the front of the helmet where it collects and drips in front of the face. Depending on my speed and wind, the sweat drops blow back into my face. So when I'm riding on a clear, sunny, cloudless day I'll think "Hmm... where did that gigantic raindrop come from? Oh, it's my own sweat."

That's still better than my helmets without that feature. The sweat just pours down my face unless I wear a bandana.

So I still usually wear a bandanna. It dissipates sweat better. On really hot days I'll just wear it as a headband, leaving the top of my scalp exposed. It helps.