Mushroom Head Syndrome !

bus_ter

OK, I have a smallish, but particularly narrow head. Buying sun glasses is hard because adult sizes are always too wide. This means with helmets I get Mushroom Head Syndrome! Helmets are always too big and round and I can fit my hands up the sides easily. I can stuff them full of padding, but that doesn't stop them looking silly, or being a proper/correct fit.

I know some will say it doesn't matter, and helmets are about safety and not what you look like.. etc However all my other gear looks and fits great, and I don't want to spoil the wannabe pro rider look with my oversize dork helmet look.

I've searched through a whole load of forums and come up with a potential short list. None of these helmets are available at my LBS or even larger chain stores, so unfortunately I can't try them on :-(

Can anyone offer any help? Ideally I want to know which of these is the narrowest / lowest profile helmet.

Lazer Genesis
Bell Sweep Road
Kask Vertigo/k50
Cratoni Bullet

Monty Dog

Not on your list: Limar Ultralight - lowest profile helmet, certainly a lot smaller than the Lazer Genesis which I also have. The Lazer has a great retention system as the whole headband tightens rather than just the little bit at the back.

bus_ter

Monty Dog wrote:

Not on your list: Limar Ultralight - lowest profile helmet, certainly a lot smaller than the Lazer Genesis which I also have. The Lazer has a great retention system as the whole headband tightens rather than just the little bit at the back.

Thanks, that's quite useful. The genesis was on the top of my list as I've seen so many recomendations for it being an 'anti-mushroom' helmet.

Would you be so kind as to measure the diameter across each helmet, sort of ear to ear for the inside (to get an idea for fit) and the outside (to get an idea for 'mushroom profile'), oh and what size they are (M,L etc) :roll:

lef

LAS Victory, most comfortable mushroom i've ever had the pleasure to wear. Its actually very low profile.

jordan_217

Kask K10 - had mine a year now and it's absolutely brilliant. Low profile fitting, well vented and a nice two-way retention system. Currently on offer at Parkers:

http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... n=pid18662

DavidJB

I had a similar mushroom head issue. Brought the Lazer o2 and no such issues and as someone said the fitting system is excellent.

fungus_the_muffin_man

I have a simlar problem. Hence every Giro, Spesh etc.... lid all make me look like I'm straight of the set of Mario.

I found the the Las Squalo (s/m) was a great helmet and due to the shape of it Mr Mushroom head was no longer a problem. All ther other Las helmets follow a similar profile so give them a try as well if you can.

Oh it also worked fantastically when I was hit by a car last Feb. The rear of it absorbed some serious blows to the back of it when I hit the tarmac.
I can't recommend it enough

GordonH

+1 for the Kask K10

Slack

Kask K10 is definitely a Mushroom on me.

staffo

+1 for the LAS Victory

gabriel959

Catlike Kompact Pro is good too and another vote for the Las Squalo.

Avoid GIRO and Spesh IMO.

fungus_the_muffin_man

I've actually also just bought a rudy project sterling today for my crash replacement helmet. If the styling of the Las puts you off then this is very much in the same fitting vein but with out the aggressive styling. Much more fluid and futuristic. Also like the LAS it has great adjustability with up down as well as the usual round the head shape changing.

BBH

another + for Kask k-10 for no mushroom-head!!

Monty Dog

Measued the helmet width - internal and external of Helium and Limar Ultralight:
Helium - 220mm external, 165 mm internal
Limar - 205mm, 160mm

bus_ter

Monty Dog wrote:

Measued the helmet width - internal and external of Helium and Limar Ultralight:
Helium - 220mm external, 165 mm internal
Limar - 205mm, 160mm

Thanks for these measurements, the extra 1.5cm I can imagine making a difference. Also looking up the Limar I see it's supposed to be the worlds lightest helmet! Surprisingly you're the only person who's recommended that helmet.


Thanks for all the other comments too. Though it's just confusing me more. I've heard the Las Victory described as quite a round helmet, there was a recent Cycling Plus magazine review that even commented on it being more suitable for round heads. Also out of the Kask helmets I've read the Vertigo and k50 are the best in regards to mushroom head.

I think generally the high end helmets are much better for this, and that most people move from a cheap helmet to a higher end design and immediately notice the improvement, and as such recommend them. Really I need a shop that has a good seletion of all the forementioned helmets to try on and compare. I don't know of any such shop, especially NE England where I'm based.

bus_ter

Slack wrote:

Kask K10 is definitely a Mushroom on me.

Is this what you wear or have you found a better shaped helemt?

Slack

I do indeed. I will be more patient next time I buy a helmet.

You'll have to try a load on and work out what suits you best! That said, I wouldn't procrastinate over it too much, because once you're out on the bike, you'll look just like every other cyclist, no one will be saying 'hey, look at that mushroom head over there'

bus_ter

After even more reading and research I've come to the conclusion that everyone just recommends what they bought. All I can really say is that the higher end hemlets tend to be lower profile, less muchroomy and look more 'pro'. Very few shops (certainly none near me) offer a large selection of the higher end helmets, stocking maybe 2-3 £100 helmets at best. Ideally I would spend an afternoon walking around the Wiggle warehouse trying on helmets, but since I'm doubting they will allow that I've ordered myself a Limar Ultralight which has the lowest profile measurements I could find. I was also able to find the older '104' model for half price in my bike colours making it not much more expensive than my current Halfords bought Giro. My only concern is the Limar might be a little shallow (accounting for it's lightweight) and will sit too high on my head like a top. I'll update the post when it arrives in the next few days..

jordan_217

bus_ter wrote:

After even more reading and research I've come to the conclusion that everyone just recommends what they bought.

Well, why would anyone in their right mind recommend something they have no knowledge or experience of ?!? That wouldn't exactly help you in your decision making process.

Good luck, hope it fits and you don't look like this:

http://www.bangitout.com/uploads/3952.jpeg

luv_shimano

+1 Mushroom head sufferer here when my hair is short.

bus_ter

OK my new Limar Ultralight arrived today. It's a significant improvement over my Giro Indicator, and much less mushroomy. It's slightly on the shallow side and shows maybe too much forehead, but still much better overall. On the looks scale I would say the Giro was 4/10 and the Limar an 8/10. I now just look like a guy wearing a bike helmet instead of a mushroom head dork. So I'm happy.

The build quality is nothing special. I would put it on par with the Giro, or maybe even slightly less. For a £100 helmet (compared to £30 for the Giro) it's a bit of a dissapointment. However it weighs 190g vs 260g of the Giro which is a benefit, though the weight difference is mostly down to the basic fitting system and the smaller/shallower size.

If you're not bothered about low profile looks I wouldn't recommend it. If you're a weight weenie, really don't want mushroom head and can find it for a significant amount off the RRP (as I did) then it's worth a look.