Helmets -- Have you ever bought one online?

[kajero]

I desperately need to replace my helmet. I can't find anything locally that I like. I've looked at Performance Bicycle and found a couple in my price range that I like. I also looked on Amazon. I wonder about the quality because the helmet prices on the site are so inexpensive. I'm afraid I will spend a ton on shipping if I buy a helmet on line and have to return it.

Any advice?

[emily_in_nc]

Yes, I have purchased helmets online (from ebay) before, but only a brand/size I knew I could wear based on past experience. I would be very careful about a brand you haven't used before. On Ebay I was able to find a couple of Giro Havocs from a previous year (but still brand new in box) at an incredible price and bought two of them. Still wearing the second one but plan to replace it soon as it's quite long in the tooth now.

[ny biker]

Same as Emily, I have bought helmets online when I already knew what I wanted.

What brand is the helmet you're wearing now?

[rebeccaC]

I prefer trying on before buying to see how it fits and how adjustable it is for my head. Isn’t there a REI in the twin cities? If so and if you haven’t already looked there you might want to. For online shopping Competitive Cyclist will send a prepaid return label for $6.99. Colorado Cyclist does the same. With REI you can order on line and return it to a store for free. They also have free shipping on items over $50, good if you know it fits and don't need to return it.

Personally I like my brain enough to get a helmet with a mips protection system too. Even though it’s a small advantage a mips helmet can help in protecting the brain in some falls. A mips helmet can be bought for around 100 now, Giro and others.

[kajero]

Thank you for all the replies.

I am ashamed to say my helmet is 5 years old; I know it should have been replaced long ago. I looked on line and it is no longer made.

I do plan to buy a MIP helmet. I forgot about REI. Thanks for the reminder.

Edit 07/04/2017 13:19
I just looked! REI has a helmet I like and they are open today until 18:00. I called and it's in stock so I am going for a ride today after all. I have to ride my commuter bike which takes me forever to get anywhere, but I want to go grocery shopping, too. If it doesn't fit I may have to bite the bullet and order online and pay return shipping. I wanted to pay around $100 or less. I don't race and don't ride very fast -- not that it makes any difference if you fall. I want my head protected. If it does fit I will give them my old helmet to throw away! (I don't understand why people buy used helmets. What if someone has crashed in it?) End of Edit

[/B]Another fun story from me. This time about a helmet. It’s rather long so grab a cup of whatever and settle down to read. (My stories always seem so long, but I talk the same way.)

I was on a return ride from Fort Snelling Cemetery where my Dad and SO are buried. My bicycle started making this awful clicking noise every time the pedals rotated. I stopped at Minnehaha Falls, turned my bicycle upside down and took off the chain thinking that would was the problem. While I was putting the chain back on a guy rode past me, turned around, and put his bike up against the bench. I asked him if he was stopping to help me as he approached with his little clear bag of tools. I was so happy when he said, “yes.” He looked at my bike quite thoroughly and discovered a little cable that had turned around which caused the clicking noise. He fixed it and we started visiting.

I was supposed to be at my sister's in an hour, but I thought screw that. The conversation was so interesting I couldn’t leave. A BIG of the discussion was about helmets. I told him I really needed to replace mine. I took it off and he examined it. He said yes I did, it looked ancient, and there was a crack in it! He told me I was wearing it all wrong, too. He put it on my head and adjusted it. It took him several times – maybe around 10 minutes. While he did that he explained how import it was to have the straps in the correct position and what to look for when I adjusted them in the future. I swear when he was done the helmet was the most comfortable it had ever been. He told me how important to have the helmet fit correctly. The week before he was riding under the bridge on I-94 and saw a girl fall. Her helmet flew off head. She died on impact.

We talked about so many things.

He said that bicycle shops need to adjust helmets to people who purchase them but most bike shops don’t know how to fit them correctly. I sure agreed with that statement!

Although he didn’t ride professionally he rode a professional bicycle. Whenever he rode on anything except pavement, he took apart the back wheel and the derailleur (is that the right word?) and removed all the sand and debris He rides a minimum of 1700 miles each season. I asked if he was retired so he could ride every day. He smiled and said when you ride around 20-27 miles mph it doesn’t take long. I told him my mph average and he said it was just important I was riding.

He told exactly what tools I should be carrying when I ride. Oops, I don't carry half of them!

I told him about my serious crash and he said most people would give up riding at that point but he was glad I didn’t. I explained bicycle riding is about the only exercise I truly enjoy. (I should be out there today, but for some reason I have been really tired lately)

I wish I would have had him show me more of his bicycle. I learned it was incredible how much I learned from him and all he did was stop to help me.

I did contribute one nice thing to the conversation. He likes to ride the Luce Line trail except part of the area was under water and he wouldn’t ride through it. I told him an alternate route and he was impressed.

Things like this conversation happening, but not necessarily a bicycle problem, cause my rides to go for longer than they should. But don’t you think that they are well worth the added time???

[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.