Helmet Skeptic seeks Ventilated Helmet

jejv

Have 14YO with roadie tendencies who wants to go training before school. School requires helmet. We have Bell Faction things, which are OK for short distances or low speeds or low temperatures, but have little ventilation compared to roadie helmets.

Any suggestions for a well-ventilated helmet that's designed for protection rather than fashion ?

bails87

All helmets have to pass the same standards, so will all be designed for protection. Essentially, as they get more expensive they get lighter and better ventilated.

deptfordmarmoset

I've never noticed my head getting any hotter with a helmet than without. With a helmet you get slightly less ventilation but less direct sunlight on the bonce. (I simply picked up a cheapish and lightish road bike helmet from Decathlon.)

There are lots of debates about whether they're going to save lives, and the jury is out - or I'm not going to get involved other than to say that as long as the helmet doesn't make you feel invincible and take more risks, it's not going to do any harm and might even save a lot of pain and abrasions.

jejv

bails87 wrote:

All helmets have to pass the same standards, so will all be designed for protection.

Really ? I thought that Snell B-95 was a bit more severe than EN1078.

A rounded shape would be nice. So it slides rather than catching.

D-ring straps would just be too much to ask for in this century.

irideredthebike

I don't know that it needs to be a smoothish shape to slide rather than grip. I suspect most styrofoam helmets are designed to deform on impact - to absorb that impact - rather than keep their shape. So I can't see that an irregular shaped helmet - one with vents for example - is going to grip.

I like my Lazer D2 helmet because the adjustment mechanism ensures a nice snug fit.

ride_whenever

Look for a snell rated one as mentioned above, a watermelon rind one would pass the EN standard...

antfly

I notice the difference in venting between helmets very much and the giro atmos is well vented.

jejv

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

I've never noticed my head getting any hotter with a helmet than without. With a helmet you get slightly less ventilation but less direct sunlight on the bonce. (I simply picked up a cheapish and lightish road bike helmet from Decathlon.)

I think that's partly a personal thing, and partly depends on the helmet. The things we have have holes in the shell, but no front-to-back air channels. They cook /my/ head in the summer, over any distance.

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

There are lots of debates about whether they're going to save lives, and the jury is out - or I'm not going to get involved other than to say that as long as the helmet doesn't make you feel invincible and take more risks, it's not going to do any harm and might even save a lot of pain and abrasions.

Well, I think the "might even" bit is complicated too. Roadie helmets seem all to have lots of pointy bits at the back, for cosmetic reasons. I don't think it would be good to land on that bit, if it ends up twisting your head.

alfablue

jejv wrote:

bails87 wrote:

All helmets have to pass the same standards, so will all be designed for protection.

Really ? I thought that Snell B-95 was a bit more severe than EN1078.

A rounded shape would be nice. So it slides rather than catching.

D-ring straps would just be too much to ask for in this century.

The Snell test, amongst other improvements on EN1078, requires them to survive approximately twice the impact force. The tests are also carried out on random shop samples rather than manufacturer supplied items.

The only helmets readily available in the UK that pass Snell are Specialized (even though they are only stickered EN1708, an email from Specialized UK confirmed that they pass Snell and are stickered as such in the US market).

So the most stringently tested would seem to be Specialized, also, cheaper ones with fewer vents and greater weight are likely to be better than the lightest most ventilated models.

http://www.cyclehelmets.org/papers/c2023.pdf

jejv

ride_whenever wrote:

Look for a snell rated one as mentioned above, a watermelon rind one would pass the EN standard...

Right. Thankyou.

Does anyone sell Snell certified helmets in Europe ?

I think the boxes for our Bell helmets said Snell, but no sticker in the helmet. So not snell. Specialized helmets I looked at today say snell, bit no sticker, and lots of disfunctional pointy bits.

alfablue

Specialized (as per my post above yours)

HamishD

Giro Ionos. Expensive, but worth every penny.

rjsterry

alfablue wrote:

jejv wrote:

bails87 wrote:

All helmets have to pass the same standards, so will all be designed for protection.

Really ? I thought that Snell B-95 was a bit more severe than EN1078.

A rounded shape would be nice. So it slides rather than catching.

D-ring straps would just be too much to ask for in this century.

The Snell test, amongst other improvements on EN1078, requires them to survive approximately twice the impact force. The tests are also carried out on random shop samples rather than manufacturer supplied items.

The only helmets readily available in the UK that pass Snell are Specialized (even though they are only stickered EN1708, an email from Specialized UK confirmed that they pass Snell and are stickered as such in the US market).

So the most stringently tested would seem to be Specialized, also, cheaper ones with fewer vents and greater weight are likely to be better than the lightest most ventilated models.

http://www.cyclehelmets.org/papers/c2023.pdf

+1 for Specialized. I've got a Propero, which is very well ventilated, but the cheaper models are still pretty breezy.

CiB

If the boy wants to go training before school, why does the school have any say on helmet wearing? Hopefully the youth will go home & shower before going on to school. Or am I missing that part of it?

_Brun_

Presumably the training is associated with the school.

jejv

alfablue wrote:

http://www.cyclehelmets.org/papers/c2023.pdf

Heh. Yes. I had that open already. Along with the Snell standards pdfs...

The outcome of that was that I said "look, the weather's getting cooler, try the helmets we're got for a couple of days, and if it's still too hot, we'll go and see the nice people at Haywards".

He tried it, said it was still too hot, and we went to Haywards. Looked at Prospero, Echelon & Tactic. I buggered off for a bit, & he went for the Echelon. I'd have gone for the Prospero, I think, for ventilation. I'm not sure if he was alarmed by the idea of having a £70 lid at school, or he just liked blue. Anyway ventilation is way better than the skateboard things we had. Told him if he wants colour coordinated lycra he'd better be able to burn off mopeds.

<rant>
"Apart from racing cyclists, either on or off road, I almost never see a cycle helmet worn properly"

Much of that is the M Mouse design of cycle helmet fixings. Hence the D-ring references. The D-ring bit as such is wrong - the last motorbike lids I've had were all sliding bar, but the point is there's a workable system that's self adjusting every time it's used.

I kindof think that snell is actually a bit off the mark - attempting to protect against high energy direct impacts is never going to work, but producing a helmet that slides, and doesn't twist the skull while the brain stays still might help.

I'd like something that looks like a full-face motorbike helmet, with no sharp corners anywhere, gently recessed vents, and comes a long way down the back of the head, so it doesn't move too much in an impact. I'd have thought that roadies would find such a thing more aero. The full-face thing is also about what happens in a face-plant. Faces don't slide well on rough tarmac, so they can cause rotational brain injuries.

I'd also like a thicker, harder shell for two reasons - it protects the expanded polystyrene from everyday knocks better, and I'm concerned that in an impact with rough tarmac, a thin shell would be punctured, and grip the tarmac, instead of sliding.
</rant>

TommyEss

alfablue wrote:

jejv wrote:

bails87 wrote:

All helmets have to pass the same standards, so will all be designed for protection.

Really ? I thought that Snell B-95 was a bit more severe than EN1078.

A rounded shape would be nice. So it slides rather than catching.

D-ring straps would just be too much to ask for in this century.

The Snell test, amongst other improvements on EN1078, requires them to survive approximately twice the impact force. The tests are also carried out on random shop samples rather than manufacturer supplied items.

The only helmets readily available in the UK that pass Snell are Specialized (even though they are only stickered EN1708, an email from Specialized UK confirmed that they pass Snell and are stickered as such in the US market).

So the most stringently tested would seem to be Specialized, also, cheaper ones with fewer vents and greater weight are likely to be better than the lightest most ventilated models.

http://www.cyclehelmets.org/papers/c2023.pdf

I'm pretty sure my Bell Sweep R was Snell rated - that's why I got it.

As for catching or not - any air vent could, theoretically, catch on something as your tumbling and add rotational forces to your head and/or neck. The best for reducing this are the new Casco ones like Chris Hoy et al wore in the Olympics - but they're well over £200 each!





Actually - down to £188 here

fnegroni

Rode in without a helmet today: best ventilation ever!