Helmet weares only

Footie

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 16, 2007
549
10
Cornwall. PL27
Well, after all the recent posts about helmets and their good and bad points I've been doing some thinking. I must admit that the idea of something protecting my brains (even if it's only limited) does make sense. So after a long session of solitude and reflection I've decided to buy a helmet.

So a question to all you helmet wears out there, two simple questions:

What helmet do you wear?
And what are its good and bad points?

Lets see how enthusiastic the helmet wears are - time for you to have your say ;)

None helmet wears need not reply :p :D
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Cyclezee

Guest
I have a Met BadBoy 2 and my wife has a Bell Image 3. Both were bought from a car boot sale, mine cost £5 boxed as new, my wife's also as new cost £2.50.
My son's helmet came from the same source and had never been worn, I don't know what he paid for it, but it is a hidoeus shade of purple.

J:) hn
 

Mussels

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 17, 2008
3,207
8
Crowborough
Any helmet will be designed to give optimal impact protection at a certain speed, there are a couple of schools of though here.
If a helmet is designed to keep you alive in a 100mph* impact then it needs pretty firm foam, the problem is in a 50mph impact the helmet isn't as good as it could be and is more likely to leave you with brain damage. A helmet designed for 50 mph impacts will save you from permanent head injury at 50mph but an impact at 100mph will leave you dead.
Which would you prefer more likely to live or more likely to live a normal life? This is why some like the American Snell standards and other prefer ACU standards, there are other differences like puncture resistance (i.e. spears to the head) but nothing really relevant here.
So buying a helmet suitable for the Manx GP may net be the best thing for using on a scooter. Unfortunately this information is difficult to find and compare but may help you understand the limits of a cycle helmet.
I imagine most cyclists bang their head at low speed, normally on the road when they fall off and as a result cycle helmets are optimised for a speed of around 6mph. It follows that in a major road accident they won't offer anywhere near the protection that many people seem to think.
The other problem with helmets is keeping them on, most people don't do up the chinstrap properly and in a proper accident they will fall straight off. It is suprising how much the head bends and I've seen video where a well attached full face helmet is forced off someone's head easily.
I also believe the "What is your head worth" statement to be rubbish when someone asks how much to spend, price is no indicator of quality or good design. Unfortunately it's very difficult to get the right information to make an informed choice. :(
Personally I have an Aldi helmet that I will take off if it gets uncomfortable.

Edit: Specific to cycle helmets, the more venting it has then the worse protection as the remaining foam is stiffer and applied more pressure to areas of the head.

* speeds plucked out of thin air for demonstration purposes.
 

JohnofCambridge

Pedelecer
Aug 21, 2007
113
0
Stapleford, Cambridge
Thanks for your insight Mussels. All interesting stuff.

I have two helmets - a cheap Tesco reasonably normal affair bought at £9 ish but i have seen cheaper recently in the sale. I use this spring summer and autumn

I also have an old fashioned (15 years plus) Centurion helmet with very few holes. Much warmer for winter wear. I can even block up the front holes with selotape if it is really cold.

I have been advised not to wear the normal one in high summer sun conditions as it can still allow burning of my bald head!!!!!!!

John
 

torrent99

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 14, 2008
395
36
Highgate, London
Thanks for your insight Mussels. All interesting stuff.

I have two helmets - a cheap Tesco reasonably normal affair bought at £9 ish but i have seen cheaper recently in the sale. I use this spring summer and autumn

I also have an old fashioned (15 years plus) Centurion helmet with very few holes. Much warmer for winter wear. I can even block up the front holes with selotape if it is really cold.

I have been advised not to wear the normal one in high summer sun conditions as it can still allow burning of my bald head!!!!!!!

John
Further on from Mussel's comments, I think the most important thing to say is "THE ONE THAT FITS BEST"! Pretty much all other considerations pale into insignificance compared to this.
(Hence don't buy a helmet mail order unless you've tried it on elsewhere)
 

Mussels

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 17, 2008
3,207
8
Crowborough
I have been advised not to wear the normal one in high summer sun conditions as it can still allow burning of my bald head!!!!!!!

John
I'd consider that an important fuction of a cycle helmet but it's not fashionable, it would be the only reason I buy an expensive helmet.
 

Sector

Pedelecer
Mar 5, 2007
102
0
Leicestershire Le8
Headband and peak

A vital feature for me is a headband that can be adjusted quickly, usually by a small wheel set into the band at the back.

That allows me to quickly put a skull cap under the helmet when its cold.

It allows the headband to be easily tightened when the wind rocks the helmet.

And best of all, I always carry a waterproof with a hood. The normal problem with a hood on a bike is that the wind inflates it, threatens to blow it off, and if you turn your head to look sideways you often end up just looking at the inside of the hood. By clamping a helmet over the hood all these problems go away, and the increase in comfort in rain snow and sleet has to be experienced to be believed.

Oh, and don't forget a peak to knock small branches out of the way before they scratch your goggles, glasses or eyes. (I use UVEX Astromax safety overglasses over my glasses. They are cheap, they protect my expensive varifocals, and they stop my eyes watering when I'm riding into a cold wind.
 
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Cyclezee

Guest
Sector,

You make a good point about helmets giving protection from small branches. I do a lot of riding along canal towpaths where there is not much room to take avoiding action from such obstructions. These are often at head level and not always easy to see until it is too late. I'm sure I would have had several scratches and bruises on my head if I had not been wearing a helmet.

J:) hn
 

carigada

Pedelecer
Jul 7, 2008
49
0
UK
I usually wear Bell helmets because they fit my large head better than any other brand. I have several examples I can recount of when I concider that wearing a helmet saved my life or saved me from serious injury over the last 20 years of cycling, without cycling carelessly in any way.

My most recent example, last year I was cycling with my helmet on (slowly and carefully, negotiating a tricky dip) through Sherwood Forest as I do frequently when I suddenly saw stars and heard a huge bang simultaneously. Due to the low sun, I hadn't seen a broken tree branch hanging down which hit me very hard in the front of my helmet which nearly knocked me off my bike. I felt nauseous and dizzy for a few minutes. Had this happened wthout a helmet on I wouldn't have walked away without injury had I not been protected. The crushed polystyrene had taken the blow rather than my cranium. No male gonads from the trolls about riding unsafely due to wearing a helmet. I just didnt see it. Sh*t happens.


If we were to follow similar advice to that of the Pedalec trolls, we wouldn't wear cycle helmets because in some way that makes us take more risks. Likewise, we woudn't wear safety belts whilst driving our cars because it would make us less safe as drivers. We wouldn't take out household insurance because the burglars would be more likely to steal something from us. We wouldn't wear safety glasses at work because it would make us more likely to be careless and collect flying debris in our eyes. We probably wouldn't even run a virus scanner or firewall on our computers because it would make us more likely to look at unsafe websites.

Gubfr jvgubhg n oenva pna'g vawher vg nal shegure!
 

chess

Pedelecer
May 27, 2008
36
0
I use a helmet that has a wheel adjuster for size, tried this before purchase, and a visor for sun and rain. I find the visor very useful. I stapled a small led light to one side of the visor and thus have some extra light up high facing rearwards.
chess
 
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Cyclezee

Guest
Carigada,

You make some interesting points. Sh*t clearly never happens to the "Trolls", they just leave it in their wake for others to skid on:eek:

J:) hn
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
Carigada,

You make some interesting points. Sh*t clearly never happens to the "Trolls", they just leave it in their wake for others to skid on:eek:

J:) hn
"interesting" isn't the word I'd use for such maligning of the pedelecs forum, no-one ever giving the silly advice imputed to them.
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
I have several examples I can recount of when I concider that wearing a helmet saved my life or saved me from serious injury over the last 20 years of cycling, without cycling carelessly in any way.
Thank you for proving my thesis Carrigada. :)
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Phil the drill

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 14, 2008
395
6
TR9
Carigada

I think that in all fairness, the 'Trolls' are not actually telling anyone NOT to wear a helmet. They are simply exercising their right not to if they choose. It's the right not to be dictated to 'for their own sake' that they are defending.
As far as I am aware there's not a troll on the forum would deny you the right to wear a helmet if you so choose.

Phil
 

Brian-Lopes

Pedelecer
Oct 2, 2008
32
0
****looking in a dissapproving manner***** But it says helmet wearers only on the thread title, you shouldn't be here.....Ha ha. It's like the big red button that says, "do not press" you just couldn't help yourself could you?:p
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
****looking in a dissapproving manner***** But it says helmet wearers only on the thread title, you shouldn't be here.....Ha ha. It's like the big red button that says, "do not press" you just couldn't help yourself could you?:p
But if the subject is changed, the title becomes invalid.

Carrigada's off subject message was for non-wearers. :p
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