Helmets -- Have you ever bought one online?

[rebeccaC]

hoping the REI one works out!!!
you meet some amazing people on your rides....i still remember the Professor......and yes it is worth the extra time!!!

[kajero]

I rode my bicycle out to REI (25 mile round trip because as usual I missed some important turns). I bought the helmet. I love it! It is so light I hardly know it is on. I still need to adjust it only a teeny bit more and it will be perfect. It was in my price range, too. I need to write down some where when I bought it so there will be no question when I need to replace it.

[kajero]

Very good tip . . . thank you.
I was going to buy the floor model but for some reason it looked used to me. I examined it all over. It was kind of dirty on the top and the pads looked a little used. I asked the salesman when helmets were returned if they were put back on the floor. He said if they looked new and unused they were. (REI has a one year return policy) I then asked him how would you know if someone fell in the helmet but it didn't show a crack? Then I asked him to get me a brand new one from stock. He did and everyone is happy, well at least I am knowing I didn't buy a used helmet.

[kajero]

Okay, I bought the new helmet and I love it.
I know I should the throw the old one away, but for some reason I just can't do it. Do you hang onto your old helmets?

[ny biker]

No. The packrat force is strong in me, but with helmets I throw the old one away after finding a new one that I am sure I like.

But -- I have two helmets. Generally one is for daytime rides and the other is designated for my regular post-work evening rides, so it has small front and rear lights attached to it. But having two means I always have a backup in case one becomes unusable. If I only had one, I would probably keep the old one as a backup as long as it was not damaged.

What helmet did you buy? I would like to get a MIPs helmet. But when I got my current daytime helmet, it was hard to find something that (a) fit my head, (b) had lots of big vents for hot weather and (c) had a visor to help keep the sun off my face. Most of the helmets with giant vents do not come with visors. So I expect to have to do a lot of searching in order to find a MIPS helmet that meets all my criteria.

(Now that I write this, I realize the night ride helmet does not need a visor, so it should be easier and faster to replace. I just need to scrape up the cash, which is another story altogether...)

[Crankin]

I always have 2 helmets, too, although for a different reason: I am a huge head sweater. I ruin helmets quicker than anyone I know. DH buys extra pieces of the padding, which deteriorate from sweat for some of the ones I've had and extends the life. But, the one I got about 6 months after I got my Silque is trashed, and the helmet is about 3 years old. I can only wear Bell helmets, so DH found one and ordered it while we were flying home yesterday. It has MIPS and lots of vents. My other helmet is holding up well, and is a bit older, but gets worn less. It also has relpaceable pads.
I looked at the 3 other women who came on my trip. They all had longer hair than me. When they stopped riding, they just took their helmets off and their hair was perfect. Dry and not looking like they had just come out of a rainstorm. Not only is my head and hair soaked through, I am always soaked right through my jersey and have loads of salt matted around my face.

[emily_in_nc]

I always have 2 helmets, too, although for a different reason: I am a huge head sweater. I ruin helmets quicker than anyone I know. DH buys extra pieces of the padding, which deteriorate from sweat for some of the ones I've had and extends the life. But, the one I got about 6 months after I got my Silque is trashed, and the helmet is about 3 years old. I can only wear Bell helmets, so DH found one and ordered it while we were flying home yesterday. It has MIPS and lots of vents. My other helmet is holding up well, and is a bit older, but gets worn less. It also has relpaceable pads.
I looked at the 3 other women who came on my trip. They all had longer hair than me. When they stopped riding, they just took their helmets off and their hair was perfect. Dry and not looking like they had just come out of a rainstorm. Not only is my head and hair soaked through, I am always soaked right through my jersey and have loads of salt matted around my face.

Yes, this confirms that we were separated at birth! Ditto, ditto, ditto. I always hated club rides where we'd convene at a restaurant at the half-way point or end of a ride as I dare not take off my helmet for the horrific helmet hair I'd have. When it's longer, like now, I can literally twist and wring out my ponytail. I get the salt deposits really bad on my helmet straps and sides of face as well. Not a pretty look!

This is truly the downside about living in a hot and humid climate, as we did in both Belize and Mexico. I loved getting up in the morning and not even thinking about what I would wear; it was shorts and a tank top or light t-shirt pretty much every day -- easy-peasy. I loved never being cold. But what I didn't love was the drippy face/scalp/hair I'd get on even the shortest walk or bike ride, while DH stayed cool as a cucumber, relatively speaking. Not fair at all!