Expanded polystyrene is expanded polystyrene. They are all probably molded at the same facility. Specialized, Bell, Giro, they are brands. The individual companies do not have 100 factories of their own manufacturing all the 100 different products that have their name on them.

Ford, GM, Nissan, Toyota, etc. don't manufacture their own car parts. I do. I manufacture the foam energy absorbers, the seat cushions, the door panels, the headliners for all the major auto manufacturers along with foam panels for Boeing, John Deere, foam underlayment for athletic fields and wood flooring. Foam sheet base for paver patios for Lowes, Home Depot, Menerds.

Point is, the manufacturing is 2nd tier manufacturing at a foam molder for all of the brand companies molded with the same materials in the molding press equipment.

Look at the graph on the linked page and look at the protection rating column. They all have the same rating from the $200 helmet to I think it is $91 Bell helmet. So, best money can buy is just buying a name.

One can Do many thing to prevent accidents.

Ride with The Widest tire that will fit on the bike.

I crashed with 700 X 23's ending in brain damage and surgery to Stop the Bleeding. Front tire hit an old crack in the road.

Use Bright Strobe Lights Front and Rear Day and Night.

Safe Happy Miles to You.

You must be hella busy. Amazed you find time to post here. ;)

New ad slogan: Fat Bikes Don't Crash!

I got the only concussion that I've ever had in my life, wearing that helmet. But, to be fair, it probably would have happened wearing any standard (non-MIPS) helmet. ;)

To keep it simple: all US sold helmets meet CPSC. Some incorporate the MIPS technology introduced first by POS in Sweden. There is research that suggests that some crashes can cause brain injury for the quick rotation of the helmet skidding on the road, a scenario the CPSC (and former SNELL) testing did not look at. All the MIPS helmets meet CPSC also.

Second: Good fit is critical. Don't buy until yhou find a helmet that fits.

So, if you want safety, find a good fitting MIPS helmet. I like visors also (all the time but especially for commuting) because they shade my eyes from a low sun (morning commute going east, afternoon coming home), keep at least some rain off my glasses and provide a very good place to mount a mirror. I wear a POC Trabec, a MTB helmet with visor.

Ben

The best helmet is the one you wear and fits well.....Whether helmets actually work is a whole book by itself....

The worst bicycle accident I've ever had was WITH a helmet many years ago.....Didn't do crap.The side of my head hit the curb and my ear was the size of a softball for weeks.Split my upper lip open like a bunny rabbit and knocked out 3 teeth.Had scrapes and bruises all up and down one side.....

Thankfully my helmet was not scratched or broken.....or worn again.....:)

The absolute best? Of course, that would be the Super Helmet Seven. Nothing even comes close.

http://vaiden.net/super_helmet_seven.jpg

I got hit nearly head-on by a car at over 25 mph, and didn't even get a concussion (although the rest of my body was pretty messed up) even though I went almost head-first into the windshield.....my shoulder hit first, which is probably what prevented me from breaking my neck and killing me.

My helmet wasn't even fully cracked through if I remember right.

Best bike helmet money can buy. Made my decisions!
 

Based on this recommendation and the good rating here: Bike Helmet - Expert Grade I've made my decision on which bike helmet to buy.

Thank you all for your input!

How fast is a helmet? (Referencing Bike Helmet - Expert Grade) it'd be nice if this was anything more than an advertisement for some of his favorites. How did he test them?

Comfort---Varies by head shape
Appearance---Totally subjective and not at all important in this context
Protection---Until we know how he tested them this is an empty indicator of absolutely nothing.
Speed---did he put them on the floor and yell "Go!" and first one to the end of the hall won?
Value----Again, useless since we have no idea what "value" means in this context. How much did "Appearance" and "Speed" figure in, and how much did "Protection." Would a fast, cheap, good-looking helmet be a better value than a fast, ugly expensive helmet which offered much better protection?
Expert’s Grade Overall----Basically, whatever the author decided he liked better.

In an accident those accessories would cause the helmet to be knocked in a way causing more harm to the head. Helmet is better to be smooth and rounded. You can always attach the lights and horns to other parts of your body or to the bike.

And yet the helmet discussion thread is a million pages long with people who are convinced that this stuff never happens.

Are these the same that say you're safer without a helmet?

When they're not calling "cagers" the scum of the earth. ;)

I'm just curious, not starting a fight. Did you:

1. never crash

2. crash a few times but never hit your head

3. hit your head, but with no ill effects, or

4. develop acrobatic techniques to ensure that you never strike your head in any type of crash or fall?

Helmets have saved my brain (such as it is) on motorcycles a few times, not yet on bikes. My wife did a face plant off her bike recently, and her helmet saved her face - kind of important to many women.

If all they did was save your scalp from road rash, they'd still be worth wearing. :thumb:

Personally I don't use a helmet, don't even own one.
There was a time I road a motor cycle with out one at much higher speeds than any bicycle could ever hope to achieve.
In my younger days when I had hair a bandanna as about it, it kept my long red locks from getting tangled.
When I was a kid I pulled off some pretty risky (Do Not Try this At Home) crap to and earned some big lumps.

OP, thought about some of the light weight full face ones? Better for protecting the front part of the face.

Very easy test on whether you need a helmet.

1. Put one on, make sure it fits. Run head first into a wall.

2. Take it off. Run head first into a wall.

Compare results, then decide. A helmet may not be for you, but again, it might.

These tests don't imitate real life any better or any worse than wrecking your bike.

Funny how people view safety gear. People who swear by some certain level of protection act as if everyone who uses less is an idiot, and everyone who uses less thinks that the ones who use more are anal and overly frightened. Thing is ...

No one really takes safety seriously. Cyclists would be wearing padded leather with clavicle support struts, with some kind of accelerometer/magnet clip (I used to ride flat pedals and I survived a lot of wrecks by knowing how to dive and roll.)

But really safety-conscious people would never ride a bicycle in the first place. Those that do protect themselves with spandex and a styrofoam cap and think they are safer? Maybe ... to such a small degree it is really about personal comfort than logical analysis.

After all, No one except racers drive cars wearing helmets and HANS devices, and no mass-produced car has an onboard fire extinguisher or a fuel cell---and no one wants to pay for them, regardless of how many lives might be saved or horrible injuries avoided. Some people still complain about seat belts.

I see both sides. When I ride off-road I wear a helmet ... and a month ago when I forgot mine, I deliberately avoided some tougher trails because I knew I didn't have my styrofoam cap. The next time I rode I remembered my helmet, and I tackled those tough trails and cleared two-thirds---and crashed on the rest. Never hit my head but definitely went at it harder because of was protected by basically a thick disposable coffee cup.

I'd say each needs to decide what s/he is comfortable with and accept that it is not a completely rational decision, and just do what suits and let others do the same.

Well, it depends on how you feel you should be protected from a face plant.

Of the 4 cyclists recently hit by a car in NC, the most seriously injured had facial and head trauma that is very serious, indeed.
There is absolutely no way of knowing if their helmets mitigated their injuries, but a full face helmet, while skidding face first, seems to make sense.

I see more and more downhill racers getting full face helmets, and I believe it's because the likelihood of face plants is higher, given the venue.

I rode a motorcycle for years with an open face helmet, and really only switched to full face due to wind noise, etc.

Then I had an accident, in which the pivoting "frontal" part of my helmet hit the ground, and flew across the road. I only broke a collarbone.

After that, I went full-face, one-piece. Just felt better.

Perhaps, but on the other hand, sitting on the couch carries risks as well.

I saw a brand new helmet in kickstarter call lumos. It looks so cool!