Helmet Recommendations
 

I'm currently awaiting the arrival of my new mini Velo and neglected to purchase a helmet. I know absolutely nothing about helmets and was wondering if you guys could help with some recommendations it'd be greatly appreciated.

I live in Brooklyn and will primarily be riding in urban environments. I have somewhere in the $150 range to spend on a helmet but if spending a little extra will bump me up into a nicer/safer helmet range I'm all for it...

I think there are any number of good helmets in your price range. I'm not sure how much "safer" a more expensive helmet is. For more money you get maybe a little lighter.

I've had many Giro helmets, broken three and believe in helmets saving heads. They are no guarantee against injury but they help. I'm using a Giro Saros and an older Giro Monza (discontinued) both mid-range skid lids. They fit and are quite comfortable. Giro has given me GREAT customer service when I need replacement pads and they have a crash replacement program I have used.

But you will want to go to a shop and try some on. You may find something that fits your head better from another manufacturer.

Thanks. Who are some of the better known helmet manufacturers?

Also, I see a bunch of helmets in the $50ish range and a bunch in the $150ish range... What accounts for the price difference?

Great information here: http://www.bhsi.org/helmet11.htm

$150 sounds extravagant to me.
Currently using a several-years old Bell Metro.

All helmets should meet the same specification in terms of level of protection they give. More expensive ones may be a bit lighter/better ventilated etc, but in any case, $150 seems a bit extravagant. If you choose to wear a helmet, make sure it fits your head correctly. The only way to ensure this is to go to a LBS and try several on.

I'd also recommend a pair of gloves- I just wear some old leather ones for everyday riding. If you fall off your bike, you'll instinctively put out an arm or leg to break your fall, and for this reason I consider them to be more useful than a helmet (for road riding anyway, off road the situation is different.) Aside from giving a bit of hand protection in a fall, they should also help keep the wind off and make the handlebar grips a bit more comfortable.

It will be hard to find a hemet that fits better with more comfort than the Bell Citi.

http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Citi-Bike.../dp/B000BOC8I2

I own the yellow version often forgetting I have it on when I leave the bike !

Read this. then keep your money in your pocket. Helmets are a waste of time.

Warning! Anti-Helmet thread hijacking attempt in progress!

Well it should be the OP's choice (unless the law says otherwise) so I'd recommend gathering information about helmets, accident rates etc and making an informed decision.

Check Performance Bike, Nashbar, etc. for sales. Excellent helmets can be had for ~$50 and even less. All pass the same safety certification testing. More money mainly buys more cachet. Try different brands and different models within brands to find one that fits comfortably.

So would I. The evidence suggests that helmets make little if any difference to cyclists' safety, and it would be a good idea for everyone to inform themselves of the data.

All helmets need to meet ANSI test standards.
Prices range from $25 to $300 . . . more money buys you more vents, less weight and gaudy graphics.
Look for proper fit and color that pleases you . . . but do protect those braincells!!!

And I quite agree with you. This is why I suggested that a pair of gloves is more useful for safety as they're more likely to offer protection in an accident, and serve other purposes as well.

Bern helmets offer one with a Carbon fiber shell .. they are $175, I think.

Do offer a winter kit , ear muffs etc..


Though I do think it's a capitalist solution to leaving the infrastructure dangerous,
Motor car centric , privatized transportation..
and just selling a commodity to make you feel better ,
so you don't demand a safe city.. overthrow the whole system
and rebuild it as a safer.. walk/ bike friendly City .. and nation.

Certainly helps with visibility as well. I like the Bell Muni for city riding as well, it also has integrated lights and mounts for an additional read light, headlight and a place for a mirror.
http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Bicycle-H...6905913&sr=1-1

Hey Harold. Your best bet is to go the the LBS and try on a few helmets. Find one that is comfortable and light enough. Higher price typically means lighter.

People drive like ******** in NYC. Hell, I just got my arm clipped by a car today. I didn't fall, and I'm not hurt (just sore), but **** happens, and it's better to be safe than sorry.

IGNORE the "helmets cramp my style" thread. It's much cooler to be safe.

I also second the "get a pair of gloves" sentiment. They make longer rides easier, and will definitely save some skin if you take a spill.

I used to say that wearing a helmet is a matter of individual choice. This I said even after having a lifetime of tumbles and spills. However, I changed my mind on July 3rd of this year. I was coming down Divisidero Hill, headed towards Market street in San Francisco. Suddenly, my front wheel hit a wide crack in the road and my wheel turned into the crack, because my handlebars were loose. Then went flying over the handlebars, as my bike followed my lead while sliding. I slid just short of the next intersection where a speeding car slammed on the brakes and stopped just about an inch short of my head.

That was the first time out of all of my accidents and tumbles, that I actually came within a literal inch of my life.

I used to wear my helmet about 70% of the time. I've since changed my mine.

It's helmets for me 100% of the time now!!!


-Slim :)

Never spend more than $50 for a helmet! ...It's best to buy a Schwinn helmet from Walmart ($20 - $30)

chasm54:

You are entitled to choose to wear a helmet or not.
With over 300,000 miles of bicycling since early 1970s have always worn a helmet . . . yes even wore the old leather hairnet style!
Wearing a helmet has NOT killed me or caused injuries; I believe/know it saved me from serious harm/concussion in a few spills I've had at higher speeds (38 mph) descents. Several hits by car/truck at +/- 45 mph from behind.
At age 78+ I still ride 100+ miles a week.
You don't want to wear a helmet? Hope your are an organ donor . . . I am!
Pedal on!
Rudy/zonatandem

As said above, any helmet that has the appropriate standard label will protect you just the same. Which one to get depends on your needs. If you're going to be riding for an hour or two at a time, you probably will be fine with an inexpensive helmet. If you're thinking 4 hours or more on a hot summer day, I think it's worth spending money on the more expensive helmet that's lighter and has more vents.

Since you said you know nothing about helmets, I would suggest going to the store and getting help with finding one that is a good fit and learning how to adjust it properly. It's amazing how people wear them: crooked to one side, to the back of the head, loose straps, open straps, I've even seen one worn backwards! :twitchy:
If you don't wear it properly, there's no point wearing it at all.

+1 on the gloves. I like the padded cycling gloves, my favourite are the Specialized ones.

Enjoy your mini Velo. Make sure to post some pics when it arrives! :)

*Bicyclist thrown over handlebars into a slowing bus at bus-stop was instantly killed upon impact, due to severe head injury! He was wearing $200 riding gloves with no helmet*

- Slim :)

win!!!

So let's just say that you're in the library reading about bicycle helmets and their effectiveness in the prevention of fatal and serious head injuries in accidents. You then leave the library, mount your bike, and proceed to ride down a bike lane in a big city, at a busy intersection. You signal a right-hand turn, just when a parked car's door swings open and throws your helmetless self into the rear bumper of the car turning right just ahead of you. Your head hits the left outside corner of the bumper.

You lay there motionless...with your head bleeding profusely. Though it contains all the latest data concerning the statistical uselessness of helmets. Sometimes, it doesn't help to play the odds. This is no game! You should not be gambling! It most certainly is not a gambling game!

- Slim :)

http://www.thebellstore.com/Other/be...cle/Furio.html

$52 for a bell furio. plenty of vents and it only weighs 260gms

+1 As said above, all helmets must meet a DOT Safety Specification, basically meaning that a walmart helmet should give you just as much impact protection as a $200 helmet. The main difference is usually weight and ventilation. However, some helmets are actually larger and cover more of your head, and in my opinion would be safer for things such as side impacts. However, I would just suggest a decent $50 helmet. Honestly, I feel that getting an appropriately sized helmet would make a bigger difference than a more expensive one. Just go to your LBS and they will help you. Also, definitely GET GLOVES. This was from me not wearing glove and having a wreck out on a single track in the woods, and believe me, dirt is much more forgiving than concrete. Concrete will just peel the skin right off your palm!

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6152/...5e609fac_m.jpg

Helmets are not designed to prevent severe head injuries.

This is fairly typical stuff from those who are advocates for helmets. Essentially, it amounts to this- you don't care what the evidence says, you are going to base your behaviour on your perception that you may be at risk, and your belief that a helmet will reduce that risk.

The trouble with this is that it overstates both the risks involved in cycling and the protection that a helmet affords. In the UK, where I live, the figures collected by the Department of Transport show that cyclists are no more likely to sustain severe injuries than pedestrians per mile travelled. That doesn't mean that walking is dangerous, it isn't: what it means is that both cycling and walking are very safe. Nobody that I know of accuses anyone of being stupid, or hopes they are an organ donor, because they don't don a helmet while crossing the street.

There is one cycling death here per two million miles cycled. Figures for the US are comparable. And those deaths include the incompetent kids, the drunks, those who ride at night without lights, those who don't know any better than to be on the inside of large vehicles at intersections. My own chances are much better than that, I have roughly a lottery-winners chance of being killed on my bike. Non-competitive cycling is remarkably safe.

However, it is true that the chance is greater than zero, and if I am killed or brain-damaged while riding, overwhelmingly the likeliest cause will be a collision with a motor vehicle. This is where overstating the protective effects of helmets comes in. Helmets are not specced to provide meaningful protection in such accidents, the forces involved simply overwhelm them. Helmets are tested to protect against a straightforward fall onto your head from seven feet at zero speed. Seriously, that is the standard they have to meet, you can look it up. Even their manufacturers will tell you that they are not made to protect against the sort of accident that is most likely to scramble your brains.

So, I am very unlikely to be involved in a seriously dangerous collision, and if I am, it is very unlikely that a helmet will help. And this conclusion is borne out by the data, which shows that increasing use of helmets has NOT correlated with a reduction in the already small numbers of serious injuries to cyclists.

Wear a helmet by all means, if you want to. It may protect you from superficial injuries in low-speed crashes. But please don't imagine that it will save your life or your senses, that is very very unlikely.

This is good advice that the OP should take note of.

You guys are playing the gambling game. I no longer care about what is or what is NOT too likely. I'm telling you that for well over twenty years of street and trail cycling, I've had more than my share of accidents. None of my accidents, ever presented serious detriment to my health. However, just a few months ago, I saw first hand how critically significant helmets really are. If a speeding car that slammed on brakes had actually hit me, without my helmet being on, then most indubitably, I'd not be here to push the keys on my keyboard, or communicate with stubborn people over the INTERNET.

- Slim :)

Buy the kind of helmet that has been shown to prevent concussion...... .........then also wear it while you're riding in a car since you'rer more likely to suffer concussion from that activity.

Everytime you ride in a car at 55 mph or even walk down a sidewalk without your helmet you're takign a gamble, which I'm not willing to do. My helmet is on everyday -- heck, even while watching Sunday football at the pub I won't take a risk.

Sorry -- impossible to resist hijack. ;)