kenshireen

Yesterday I was on a 55 mile ride...nothing too strenuous.
With about 10 mile to go my neck got very fatigued.
I actually removed my helmet and rode with it in my hand.
and it didn't feel as bad.

I have a standard $60 helmet...nothing fancy.

Does the weight of a helmet have any impact on your body
particularly the neck.

Thanks
Ken

mcours2006

The difference between a $60 helmet and a $300 helmet might be a mere 50 g. But the difference between between no helmet and a $60 helmet could be as much as 300 g. So, yeah, no helmet makes a big difference. OTOH, a lighter helmet might not.

RPK79

I can't even tell I have a helmet on TBH.

Dan333SP

Neck fatigue probably has a lot more to do with your position on the bike than the weight of the helmet. I'd think the improvement after removing it was more of a placebo effect.

If you've recently lowered your bars, your neck just may not be used to the new angle required to look straight ahead. Mine used to ache when I started riding and progressively lowered my position, but over time it's adapted and now there are other body parts that start hurting long before my neck.

10 Wheels

nope

cave12man

^this

69chevy

Your head weighs around 5kg.


Your neck carried it your whole life.


I doubt 300g would be straining your neck over a ride.

mpath

Removing your helmet, or other piece of gear - eg. arms warmers - would seem like a relief after riding 55 miles. I'd say more like the riding position, as most often I forget I even have a helmet or sunglasses on.

woodcraft

I went from a basic helmet at 345g

to a light one at 192g.

I think the 153g saved makes a substantial difference to the neck

over hours & days, especially with a low riding position.

Drew Eckhardt 

It depends on how the weight is distributed.

While I can ride 22 hours - ~3 for stops comfortably with just a 250g (Louis Garneau Course) helmet, 2-3 hours adding a 170g (including 18650) Fenix HL60R head lamp makes my neck too uncomfortable to continue with the extra.

fietsbob

See Shermer's Neck syndrome Shermer's Neck: Cycling's Most Bizarre Injury | ACTIVE But that was 3000 miles not 55.

thin_concrete

This.

PepeM

There could also be a visibility effect. Having to raise your head less to see forward might bring some relief.

RPK79

Interesting article, but I felt they were a bit lazy in not showing any pictures and instead saying:

Dancing Skeleton

I bought a Bontrager Velocis helmet, which weighs over 100g less that my previous helmet. The difference in the comfort of my neck & upper back is noticeable, especially on long rides.

prathmann

Yes, but most of the time your head is directly over your neck so there's little strain on the neck muscles. There's far more strain when you are bent over forwards in a typical road cycling position so it's not unusual to experience some neck soreness on longer rides. And while the 300g of a typical helmet is a small percentage of the total head mass it is positioned out past the top of your head and therefore exerts more torque on the neck.

jimincalif

Last year I started feeling like I had Shermer's, it was like my neck did not want to hold my head up. And this was after 50-60 mile rides. I started doing the "yes no maybe" exercises in this article and got almost instant relief.

https://healdove.com/injuries/how-to...-a-stiff-neck#

If my neck or shoulders ever start bothering me I can do a set of these while waiting at a stoplight, and this pretty much takes care of it.

ltxi

Don't cinch it down too tight?

Carbonfiberboy 

Change your riding position slightly:
https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...discovery.html

FullGas

my Giro Pneumo weighs ~300g, my Aeon ~220g...can't tell any difference.

regardless of time in the saddle, never notice that I even have a helmet on.

GeneO 

Same here, I have even rode off without one and didn't notice for a couple of miles.
I doubt even a fairly heavy helmet could produce fatigue. Probably due to posture or fitting.

BarryVee

Can a lighter helmet help? For me yes. So can the few ibuprofen pills carried in a patch kit.

I <3 Robots

It's possible...but there is a good chance that even with a lighter helmet...you neck will still be tired at that point in your ride. The human head it pretty heavy on its own.

With that said I have a Specialized Prevail and I can tell the weight difference when going from my mountain helmets to that. Whether that contributes to my neck getting tired faster...I'm not sure.

berner

I have to agree that position on the bike, flat back, relaxed as much as possible adds to comfort. A good position on a drop bar setup is also dependent on decent core strength.

In addition, in my area of southern New England, it is warm enough that snow and ice does not interfere too much with riding but I don't do many long rides. This results in a loss of physical fitness so that as weather warms up and longer rides begin again, I get some neck discomfort. I either raise the bars a cm and or do some neck strengthening exercises for a week or so and the discomfort goes away. As a card carrying old guy I'm very aware of overall loss of strength and flexibility and work diligently to maintain as much physical ability as is possible. For you younger folks, the sooner you get to work on overall fitness, strength and flexibility, the better off you will be in later years.