Obtaining a helmet?

[Crankarm]

I'll pop down to Halfords tomorrow, have a little look at some of the helmets and get a size and feel for them.

Here's my helmet .

A Giro Indicator, fully adjustable with inner cradle also adjustable and peak which I bought from Halfords last year or maybe the year before for £22.99 reduced from £26.99. It's been good - fit and ventillation. Enough adjustment to allow me to wear a fleece hat during winter and for it to still fit fine. It is also EN1078 compliant.

I bought it cos I liked the blue colour.

I also have a bright yellow helmet which was bought from Decathlon in France which is pretty good, cheap (£18 IIRC in 2002/2003) and EN1078 compliant. But I prefer the blue one .

 

[ACS]

+1 Air Force 3.

Went to my LBS said I needed a lid for the road and me fitted me with a blue Air Force 3 and I got change out of £25. Now 2 years old and will be replacing it with another one about May time.

 

[summerdays]

couldn't have said it better myself Summerdays!

I was merely confirming what you had said was true.

 

[the hood]

I got a Giro stylus from halfords for £20.
Had an accident last week and it split,

Would rather split a helmet than my skull.
Halfords still have them in stock.
I am after another one soon

 

[ufkacbln]

I'll pop down to Halfords tomorrow, have a little look at some of the helmets and get a size and feel for them, then order one online from EvansCycles or something. Not really sure what i'm looking for other than Specialized, with plenty of ventilation holes, so fiddling around with a few might be just what I need.

HJ, I do agree with what you're saying, but i'd rather spend £20 and protect myself from minor injuries than not to wear one at all. I do understand what you say though, each to their own!

Savage, not often I wear a beanie, but I haven't rode any distances in winter so i'll have to wait til next year to see. Size wise, will it matter if I buy say the largest size and strap it it's tightest, or buy the smallest and have it it's loosest? Surely it's the same?

Ty all.

I will state this carefully ...
Cycle in a Buff, not cycle in the Buff

Buffs are thin material tubes that have lots of variations in wear, including a helmet liner for warmth in the winter, but also (for those of us with receded hairlines) prevents cycle helmet style sunburn marks

 

[MrMonster]

Summer, thanks! I'll probably be looking for a medium i'd imagine, my heads not too big, but like you said i'll need room for maybe a beanie through the colder days.

Rob, least you wear one! Whether it's Lidl or a £100 one, a helmet is better than nothing, right?

Crank, I like the blue too! Lol. I might have to look into that!

Satan, i'm glad you haven't needed it to save you in 2 years! My local bike shop, unfortunately is Halfords!

Hood, i've been hearng quite alot about the Giro helmets, so glad i've got proof that one had actually helped someone! Unlucky though, I hope it wasn't too bad.

Cuno, why did you explain a Buff? Not being rude, just re-read the quote and not sure where a buff came into it! So it's like a hat, that lines your helmet?

 

[summerdays]

A "buff" (brand name and also generic term too) is a very thin versatile tube of t-shirt like material that can be put under the helmet - trying to fit anything more than that under a helmet is very difficult without having to go up a size. And I think the other bit was Cunobelin using a play on words - that had me going back to check what I'd typed.

 

[HJ]

Rob, least you wear one! Whether it's Lidl or a £100 one, a helmet is better than nothing, right?

In terms of the level of protection there is no real difference between one from Lidl or a £100 one, but if you had read the information given by Cunobelin you would realise this is because the test standards have been steadily water down over the years. Helmets are not about safety they are about fashion, which is why helmets are advertised on colour and the number of vents. No helmets is sold as being safer, simply because it would have to be thicker and heavier, and this is not what the market wants.

I got a Giro stylus from halfords for £20.
Had an accident last week and it split,

Would rather split a helmet than my skull.
Halfords still have them in stock.
I am after another one soon

You are making a false assumption that the helmet is stronger than your skull. There is no credible evidence that cycle helmets provide any protection against serious head injury.

There is a very big pachyderm in the room when people discuss helmets, and everyone seems to want to ignore it, that is the level of risk. Ask your self, do I need to wear a helmet to walk down the road? The level of risk is equivalent, the data collected on head injury shows that per mile travelled the risk of head injury is greater as a pedestrian than as a cyclist.

Just trying to give a reality check, cycle helmets are a white elephant in terms of road safety.

Now carry on and ignore the pachyderm, it is your money you are wasting

 

[biffosbats]

Re the ever-debatable point about helmets - agree they are NOT lifesavers, merely offering some protection against little knocks, BUT even if it just stops a Tom and Jerry type bump growing out of your bonce, surely that's worth it. Bought a helmet from Halfords when I first got back on 2 wheels last January - had advice from what seemed like a very knowledgeable lady in the bike section. I asked her about price difference and she said a £100 helmet offers no better protection than a £10 one, so I bought one of their £15 jobbies, which said lady assured me fit well. It was adjustable for head circumference size via a little wheel on the back, and also chin straps. Enough to be snug and not wobble about, but also by releasing the chin straps and the circumference wheel slightly, I have room for a skull cap or even a balaclava underneath in cold weather. So happily pedalled around for about a year wearing £15 worth of Halfords lid, until two guys in separate LBS's told me the lid was too small! I then started looking very closely at every helmet-attired cyclist and realised how right they were. The helmet sat on top of my head and offered virtually no protection to my forehead. So I went to Lidl last week and spent half what I paid for the Halfords helmet and it's much better. Even I can see it comes over my forehead more. Fit is good, same adjustable straps and wheel for circumference fit.

It may not save my life in the event of a serious crash, but then I have 240-odd other bones which are largely unprotected, but none containing the grey matter!

Hope you get something sorted soon!

Happy and safe cycling

Biffosbats

 

[HJ]

Humm, those Tom and Jerry moments, how often do people bump their heads when falling off? Have a look at this video, they are Dutch so they come from a cycling culture where only foreigners wear helmets, how many actually bump their heads? Also note they all get up and just carry on cycling...

 

[johnnyh]

hahaha comedy video

personally having flown the handlebars and had my helmet take the impact off of my forehead, I always wear one.

 

[ufkacbln]

A "buff" (brand name and also generic term too) is a very thin versatile tube of t-shirt like material that can be put under the helmet - trying to fit anything more than that under a helmet is very difficult without having to go up a size. And I think the other bit was Cunobelin using a play on words - that had me going back to check what I'd typed.

A Buff:

The Buff

 

[MrMonster]

Summer, thank you I think Cuno has just made his point with those pictures! Haha.

HJ, yeah I was aware of what Cuno said, don't worry

 

[Crankarm]

In terms of the level of protection there is no real difference between one from Lidl or a £100 one, but if you had read the information given by Cunobelin you would realise this is because the test standards have been steadily water down over the years. Helmets are not about safety they are about fashion, which is why helmets are advertised on colour and the number of vents. No helmets is sold as being safer, simply because it would have to be thicker and heavier, and this is not what the market wants.



You are making a false assumption that the helmet is stronger than your skull. There is no credible evidence that cycle helmets provide any protection against serious head injury.

There is a very big pachyderm in the room when people discuss helmets, and everyone seems to want to ignore it, that is the level of risk. Ask your self, do I need to wear a helmet to walk down the road? The level of risk is equivalent, the data collected on head injury shows that per mile travelled the risk of head injury is greater as a pedestrian than as a cyclist.

Just trying to give a reality check, cycle helmets are a white elephant in terms of road safety.

Now carry on and ignore the pachyderm, it is your money you are wasting

Here we go ................

You obviously don't like helmets, so why not come straight out and say so. Each to their own. Mr Monster was looking for advice on variety not a dissertation on the relative risks comparing wearing one or not. Which is generally drawn from information compiled by dry farts who aren't serious cyclists who just want to justify their jobs.

Strange that many events - sportives stipulate "No helmet, no ride".

The first thing the emergency services will ask you if you have been knocked down and are lucky to be conscious to be asked is "Have you hit your head?" If you are not wearing a helmet then ...... well it doesn't bear thinking about. A helmet might not save your life, but then again it might just, or protect you from suffering brain damage. You prepared to take the risk for £25 or tell a young lad of 17 years not to bother with a helmet?

 

[Muddyfox]

A helmet might not save your life, but then again it might just, or protect you from suffering brain damage. You prepared to take the risk for £25 or tell a young lad of 17 years not to bother with a helmet?

Very Well Said ... Sir

Why do people against wearing helmets come onto a thread and try to dissuade someone that wants to wear one ?

Simon