Helmet question

[KateNTx]

Ok, I'm planning to buy a helmet soon, to use when I'm in town...out on my dirt road, very few people go over 25mph, and there are lots of people riding horses/walking etc, so I don't really worry about it (also, we have HUGE grassy shoulders to go off onto and evade), but with the student population returning to A&M, I don't feel comfortable without one for road riding in town, so I want to find one that does not make me A) cook my brain (temps with HI are averaging 110+ for the last 3 months) and B) look moronic (sorry, I HATE the look of most helmets) I like the nice matte black half helmet I have for riding my husband's Harley, so I really am into a minimalist look...the aerodynamic racing helmets IMHO look really dumb on me, riding upright at low speeds. If I ever get into serious road biking/racing, I'd get one, but for what I do now it just feels pretentious.
So, if anyone has suggestions that would work, I'm in favor. Also, NO PINK...nothing against pink, I just don't wear enough of it to want to have a head that looks like it was dipped in Pepto-Bismol. My Bike is considered Plum colored, but it's more of a reddish maroon IMHO, so something that didn't clash with that would be optimal.

[OakLeaf]

I think you have to make a choice between a well-vented "racier" helmet and a poorly vented "commuter" style. No helmet is going to vent without having some holes in it.

Visit bike shops. Try some on and find out what fits - people's heads are shaped differently, and some brands fit some people better than others. You'll be able to find something you like.



Also, be aware that you can get plenty hurt at 25 mph. The time my helmet saved my life I was going 21 before I crashed. Unlike motorcycles, it seems like the weight distribution of rider and bicycle has a tendency to throw the rider violently on your head. You don't have to be going super fast to benefit from a helmet.

[tulip]

As someone who experienced traumatic brain injury from a crash on an empty country road with grassy shoulders, I highly recommend that you wear your helmet whenever you are on your bike. You only have one head.

Get one that fits. They all meet minimum safety standards. Fit is key to effectiveness.

[PamNY]

Does anyone actually like the look of any helmet?

I wouldn't think too much about style of riding -- I took a pretty bad fall going about 5 mph when a toddler ran in front of me. Didn't hit my head, but I could have, and it wouldn't have mattered that I was upright on the bike.

I don't think there's any way to stay cool without vents.

[indysteel]

I hate to lecture.....but I'd worry more about your health and safety and less about how "moronic" you look. I'd ditto the suggestion that you go to a bike shop and try on some helmets. Fit and comfort is key. Having ordered a helmet off the internet once only to have it not fit, I'd recommend buying one from a brick and mortar shop rather than online.

[KateNTx]

Edit for clarity- I don't go 25...maybe 8-10mph, it's the other traffic on the road that gets up to that speed.

[shootingstar]

I've fallen ...going real slow..on black ice --with no cars around me. 1 of the trips was on....a bike path. Very quiet on a Sunday morning.

It happened to me twice. Yes my helmeted head did touch the cold pavement.

So important to realize that people sometimes fall which has nothing to do with cars/other moving objects hitting them, etc.

I'm willing to bet you that the number of members here in these forums, who wear predominantly pink helmets, is a small number. But then who cares? As long as you're visible to cars and dogwalkers.

Why wear black when no one will see you at night? Including the pedestrians with their dogs?

Hope you get over feelings of being self-conscious in a helmet. Most newbies feel that way. Onlookers don't give a damn what you look like. Just ride safely.

Remember, real beauty when you become fit and healthy long term...happens off the bike when people have time to look at you walking around, etc. Not on the bike.

[Nick]

I love my Fox Striker helmet. Nothing pink, girly, or moronic about it: http://www.bikeradar.com/news/articl...st-look-28422/

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Fox Head, Inc and receive no compensation for saying I like this helmet

[withm]

Ok, here's a test to see if you need a helmet.

Stand in your driveway next to your bike. You can hold it or not. Doesn't matter.

Fall over.

Maybe you hit your head on something, maybe you don't.

Clearly it doesn't matter if you are going 5mph, 10mph, 20mph or simply standing still. Hitting your head can be just as debilitating from standing still, or at 20mph. Why take that risk?

[KateNTx]

I love my Fox Striker helmet. Nothing pink, girly, or moronic about it: http://www.bikeradar.com/news/articl...st-look-28422/

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Fox Head, Inc and receive no compensation for saying I like this helmet

Now, that's pleasing! At the current conversion rate paying almost $200 for it, not so great, but if I could find something similar at a lower cost...it's got the type of minimalist look that I like. Is the air flow on it, as nice as it looks like it would be?

[Nick]

Now, that's pleasing! At the current conversion rate paying almost $200 for it, not so great, but if I could find something similar at a lower cost...it's got the type of minimalist look that I like. Is the air flow on it, as nice as it looks like it would be?

Hi Kate, I paid about $120US for it. I felt it was worth it -- I looked at a lot of helmets and reviews, and this one just fit the bill for me. It comes in a few different color options, but I love the red, black and white, hehe. It might drop in price sometime soon -- it is a recent Fox Head release, and therefore at premium prices right now. I just looked on Amazon, and the solid colors are available in the small/medium for $99. The black/charcoal is only $83, but the cool color combinations are being sold at the stated msrp.

BTW, this is a mountain bike helmet with a visor, of the type Muirenn suggests above. I am a mountain biker, so I can't provide info on how it works for the road.

Yes, it seems very well ventilated. It's ultra light and comfortable -- I forget it is on. I've been riding in hot, humid weather without noticing the helmet (which is how it should be). It's also adjustable with a comfortable inner adjustments mechanism. Fortunately, I haven't fallen on it, so I can't say how well it protects. It's predecessor is the Fox Flux, and in the reviews I read several reviewers had fallen on the Flux and felt that it had "saved them" from serious head and brain damage.

[spokewench]

Edit for clarity- I don't go 25...maybe 8-10mph, it's the other traffic on the road that gets up to that speed.

Don't really want to be a killjoy, but you can fall at 1 mile per hour or 0 miles per hour, hit your head and get seriously hurt. I've had friends slip on ice, hit their heads and get a concussion and this was on their feet, not falling off their bikes!

So, I would also have to put myself in the category, wear a bike helmet whenever on a bike.

I also second trying on helmets. They all fit differently.

[zoom-zoom]

When you suffer a serious head injury you'll wish you'd put safety above fashion. I mean, if the head injury doesn't render ya' dead, of course.

Seriously, I don't really give a rat's behind what I look like on my bike, as long as I'm reasonably safe. I'm not riding to impress anyone or act as a fashion plate. I rock the comfy spandex and dorky helmet with a degree of pride. I gave up caring what others think about what I wear once I left the ridiculousness of HS.

[Blueberry]

Wear a helmet. I'm looking at a pile of 3 cracked helmets from my DH in the last year. 2 were ER trips with concussions. He walked away from all 3. There is no doubt in my mind he wouldn't be here without them. Yes, he's a good rider. It's proof that accidents can and do happen.

Ride your bike, and don't care what anyone things about how you look. Helmets/helmet hair might not be great - but the last time I spent an hour on the elliptical and looked in the mirror it wasn't pretty either. Seriously.

[tulip]

Edit for clarity- I don't go 25...maybe 8-10mph, it's the other traffic on the road that gets up to that speed.

My crash happened when I was going about 12mph on a deserted road with no cars 1 mile from the start of the ride. I got to take a helicopter to a trauma center, I got to have intravenous morphine, MRI, and I had a $10,000 hospital bill even though I didn't even stay over night. I couldn't speak in complete sentences for six months, although I could write just fine. I still have memory problems and word recall problems, and I cannot multitask anymore, not even a little. If I hit my head again, it could be really, really bad. If I have cognitive problems as I grow older, I can only assume that it will be related to my head injury as no one in my family has any history of dementia for the last three or four generations.

Just sayin'.