Massive Helmet

Manc33
Manc33 Posts: 2,157
edited January 2013 in Road beginners
I got a bike helmet a while back and when I put it on it seems like the shell is about 3 inches thick.

The exterior of the helmet looks absolutely massive.

It is the knock off version of the silver Raleigh helmet...
http://www.argos.co.uk/wcsstore/argos/i ... 06124M.jpg

Yes, Argos. :roll: It was only about £7.99 or whatever. I hate it with a passion because it is huge.

Looking at that pic it makes the helmet look flat, it isn't, it is huge. It sticks up, it sticks out.

My sister just came back from a ride with a helmet on that looked not much bigger than her head, but she dashed back out again. Anyone know of a helmet that is thin but still conforms to all the safety standards?

It seems the cheaper the helmet is the more huge it is. If you held this thing in your hand you'd know what I mean. It fits the skull of an average person, but looks on the outside like it is made for someone 12 feet tall.

So, rather than ride around with what looks like a mushroom on my head, what are the CHEAP alternatives?

I wouldn't mind but cycling injuries went up 51% when everyone started wearing helmets. I only wear it because my mum makes me. :lol:

It annoys me that every other helmet I see on anyone looks "shaped to their head" and like 0.5 inches or 1 inch thick tops.

One things for sure, you can't shop online because like that Argos pic that helmet is nothing like that in real life, it is a massive bulging sphere. The Argos pic makes it look flat. I like those flat ones, they don't look stupid.

My helmet is just bad bad bad, the straps cover my ears making it harder to hear traffic, it whistles like crazy going over 22 MPH.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Never buy a helmet without holding it in your hand, thats all I can say. Otherwise you'll order this nice flat looking helmet and receive a big bulging mushroom thing.

I was astounded at how big it was when I first saw it, but as we all know you can't take a helmet back for a refund.

Comments

  • benkxk
    benkxk Posts: 151
    Go to your LBS and try some on until one fits.
  • paul_smith_srcc
    paul_smith_srcc Posts: 247
    BenKxK wrote:
    Go to your LBS and try some on until one fits.
    Seconded; you don't need to spend a fortune, most quality manufacturers start at about £30.00, even their lower ranges will be well designed and reasonably well ventilated.

    Like you I started to wear one in part because my mum made me :lol: now I wouldn't go as far as to say I like wearing one, but the modern helmets available are light, well fitting, well ventilated and now I have grown a small round sunroof at the back of my head I find they stop me getting a burnt scalp in the summer; to an extent I use mine as a sun hat; I don't even take it off when waddling up a very long climb on a very very very hot day

    Ventoux_016.jpg

    The helmet in that picture above is a 'Specialzied Propero' RRP £70.00, but as you can see from the pic' below their 'Align' model RRP £30.00 below is also quite well ventilated.

    11206?$Large$

    Paul
    My personal cycling blog
  • derosa
    derosa Posts: 2,819
    I'm another Specialzied Propero' fan, but try a few on before you decide.
    Big H

    May the road rise up to meet you.
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  • Manc33
    Manc33 Posts: 2,157
    Well I picked up that helmet before and it was just like what I want. Vastly different to my cheap one, so much thinner and lighter.

    Thing is my mum said... she will buy me a helmet "as a treat". Long story but she spends money on my sister all the time and never me, because I never ask for anything hehe. I said I will go halves on a "good" one. Could get one for £30 or £40 (thats how much that MET one was of my sisters and its no different I agree, to the far more expensive ones)

    But because I can bung £35 towards one and have another £35 for it, I have carte blanche really. :p

    Might as well get that one I saw at £72 thats meant to be £200 :lol:

    Giro Aeon 2012
    UyrP3.jpg

    There is also the MET Sine Thesis 2012 at £65, also massively reduced (from £180) but I would rather spend the extra £7 on the Giro since it is only £7 more.

    Then bikers can look at the helmet and say WOW then look at my bike and say "hahaha" :p

    The RRP of that Giro helmet is 66% of the cost of my bike. :lol:

    I know its almost silly to get one online because you can't try it but I will try to find out the actual CM sizes of the helmet. On the descriptions it just says vague measurements like "Medium" and "Large" lol.

    My head is 57cm! Thats larger than medium, but sort of in between. I have exactly the wrong size head, too big for a medium, too small for a large. They are listed as say Medium @ 53-56cm and large @ 58-62cm. :? What if its 57cm like mine!

    Problem is if I go trying them on I am limited to say £30 and £40 jobbies. If the Giro was on sale in a shop it would be £140 thats the problem. Nah I certainly don't need a top one like that but I wouldn't spend £72 on one in a shop, because I would be getting one way down the line from the Giro one then.

    Argh I ordered my last one from Argos and it fitted. :p Can't try them on in Argos. :lol:
  • Manc33
    Manc33 Posts: 2,157
    On that Giro Aeon...

    Small: 51-55 cm
    Medium: 55-59 cm
    Large: 59-63 cm

    Taken from a website selling this at the full RRP of £199.99 so its "probably" correct. :)
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    Can get a Giro Aeon from http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=aeon. for around £70 . Get a fitting and STAY AWAY from 1 size fits all helmets.

    I'm sure your mam would feel better knowing that if you were ever to need it, the helmet on your head was going to possibly save your life.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Or just ride the bike and don't worry what you look like ?
  • Manc33
    Manc33 Posts: 2,157
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    Can get a Giro Aeon from http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=aeon. for around £70 . Get a fitting and STAY AWAY from 1 size fits all helmets.

    I ordered one last night. 8)

    It was about the only cool colour left, I think they are on really limited stock now or at least at that price they soon will be, seems to be so cheap just because its January 2013 and they are last year's helmets. Even so it is an insane reduction and I think worth the money, its practically a third of the RRP and half what they sell for.

    Only last year people in the US were paying $250 for the helmet.

    Never thought I would think this about a bike helmet but I can't wait to use it!

    Funny you should say "stay away from one size fits all", because that Argos "Challenge" helmet I have got, well I found out why its so big anyway...

    Size: L/XL (58-62cm)

    I never even knew there were XL helmets! Maybe this is why Argos can sell it for £6.99, not telling you its L/XL, just telling you its a bike helmet. I can hardly blame them, its not a LBS after all.

    My head is 57cm so that £6.99 helmet's smallest size is still 1cm too big!

    Well I know that isn't safe and it has to fit tight, or reasonably tight. If there's a gap in the helmet it could cause concussion in a collision - same principle as getting knocked out when your brain hits the inside of your skull, except its the outside of your head hitting the inside of the helmet that then causes your brain to hit the inside of your skull, sorry if anyone is eating reading that!
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    I'm sure your mam would feel better knowing that if you were ever to need it, the helmet on your head was going to possibly save your life.

    I really only wear one because of how much she worries. Well no I do want to wear one as well, sort of.

    I was biking down a canal path on my (now dismantled) MTB in January 2012 and tried to hop up a kerb, but with the combination of cheap knobblies, ice, a slanting kerb... I came off and hit my head on a tree, nearly got knocked out and my face was covered in blood although I really only had a busted lip and scratches on my face. If I had a helmet on that definitely would have stopped the bump on my head, probably the scratches and busted lip.

    Its like believing in UFO's. If you have seen a UFO then you will believe in them obviously, if you have never seen one, you won't. Same with bike helmets. If you have never banged your head on a tree like I did, you'll never think you need a helmet, but if you have come off like that you'll probably buy a helmet the same day... assuming you're in a fit enough state to go to a shop.

    Looking stupid is a big part of it, but then I was after all wearing an L/XL helmet. :P

    With its 24 vents and only being 195g I think the Aeon should look the part. :mrgreen:
  • the playing mantis
    the playing mantis Posts: 2,129
    wrong wrong wrong. ive never had a prang, yet, but appreicate the need for a helmet. likewise you can return helmets.

    As for trying them on, if you want to try for size, order a few from wiggle, try them on, and then freepost them back in the same container they came in, via the excellent collect plus scheme, and go and buy the one you wanted from your retailer of choice. you can return all sorrts to wiggle, quiblle free so long as you havent damaged it, cut the labels off etc. not exactly ethical (i mean simply ordering them to try for size then to return, and buy from somewhere else) but then wiggle should lower their prices!
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    I had a fall on Saturday. Was on a steep decent, front wheel skid, and I wet on my side. Didnt hit my head so no worry about the helmet, but it goes to show you never know what is around the corner. Especially when every car or van has a potential twunt driving it.

    BTW, Ordering different sizes from wiggle and trying them all on? Really? Is it not easier to walk into a shop and ask a person who knows what they are talking about to size you up? Just cos it feels ok dont always mean it is.
  • the playing mantis
    the playing mantis Posts: 2,129
    yeah its so difficult clicking order on the wiggle website, such an effort and its really so difficult to size up a helmet accurately yourself...and most people in LBS's are superb in that and not just trying to flog the stuff they have in stock....

    Getting back to the real world ,most LBS's have a very limited range and choice of hlemets in stock imo, even the big chain stores (evans for example), and more often than not only stock a couple of manufacturers. for example i havent yet found an LBS that stocks a decent range of kask or catlike models. its far simpler, quicker and easier to order and return from the likes of wiggle, than wasting time searching for and travelling to a stockist that actually has any of what you want. you may have the time to do that, i dont.

    incidentally i got my mojitos from wiggle anyway after trying a number of models and sending them back there, so im ethically sound, however there is no reason not to return them all once you have decided on your best fit/choice and then find the cheapest retailer of it.
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    Getting back to the real world, here is a young lad looking for a helmet. You suggest he goes on Wiggle and orders 3-4 helmets to try the size. Do you suggest he pays the £280+ pounds it would cost to order 4 and then wait for a refund for the three he returns? What World do you live in?
  • the playing mantis
    the playing mantis Posts: 2,129
    the world that something called a credit card exists....

    how do you know he is a young lad?
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    Manc33 wrote:
    Well I picked up that helmet before and it was just like what I want. Vastly different to my cheap one, so much thinner and lighter.

    Thing is my mum said... she will buy me a helmet "as a treat". Long story but she spends money on my sister all the time and never me, because I never ask for anything hehe. I said I will go halves on a "good" one. Could get one for £30 or £40 (thats how much that MET one was of my sisters and its no different I agree, to the far more expensive ones)

    But because I can bung £35 towards one and have another £35 for it, I have carte blanche really. :p

    Might as well get that one I saw at £72 thats meant to be £200 :lol:

    Giro Aeon 2012
    UyrP3.jpg

    There is also the MET Sine Thesis 2012 at £65, also massively reduced (from £180) but I would rather spend the extra £7 on the Giro since it is only £7 more.

    Then bikers can look at the helmet and say WOW then look at my bike and say "hahaha" :p

    The RRP of that Giro helmet is 66% of the cost of my bike. :lol:

    I know its almost silly to get one online because you can't try it but I will try to find out the actual CM sizes of the helmet. On the descriptions it just says vague measurements like "Medium" and "Large" lol.

    My head is 57cm! Thats larger than medium, but sort of in between. I have exactly the wrong size head, too big for a medium, too small for a large. They are listed as say Medium @ 53-56cm and large @ 58-62cm. :? What if its 57cm like mine!

    Problem is if I go trying them on I am limited to say £30 and £40 jobbies. If the Giro was on sale in a shop it would be £140 thats the problem. Nah I certainly don't need a top one like that but I wouldn't spend £72 on one in a shop, because I would be getting one way down the line from the Giro one then.

    Argh I ordered my last one from Argos and it fitted. :p Can't try them on in Argos. :lol:

    Hardly sounds like the words of say a man in his 20s +
  • the playing mantis
    the playing mantis Posts: 2,129
    fair point, although he could be a bit simple maybe! still thats not to say he doesnt have a credit card or get his mum to use hers. refund would be in place before he even has to think about paying it, wiggle are very prompt.
  • Manc33
    Manc33 Posts: 2,157
    Ordering the Aeon was easy enough, I found out online the medium size one is 55-59cm and my head is 57cm.

    So my head is right in the middle of the sizes of the medium.

    If it doesn't fit I can return it.

    I am 36 years old BTW but I look about 20 or 22. :mrgreen:
  • the playing mantis
    the playing mantis Posts: 2,129
    sizing is vague usually, most people are between sizes, so as long as the adjustment strap, ratcchet, whatever in the Aeon tigthens enough and there is no movement and its comfy should be all set. unfortunately one of the eternal challenges of being a roadie is finding a non mushroomy helmet!
  • Manc33
    Manc33 Posts: 2,157
    the playing mantis wrote:
    sizing is vague usually, most people are between sizes, so as long as the adjustment strap, ratcchet, whatever in the Aeon tigthens enough and there is no movement and its comfy should be all set. unfortunately one of the eternal challenges of being a roadie is finding a non mushroomy helmet!

    Yeah thats the helmet I have now, it would be bad enough in a medium but it says it is "L/XL" :roll:

    Its more like "mushroom x1.2"
  • simon_masterson
    simon_masterson Posts: 2,740
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    Get a fitting and STAY AWAY from 1 size fits all helmets.

    I respectfully disagree only because my Kask K-10 fits really well, but otherwise, spot on. The odds that the helmet will actually save you in the event of head trauma are by no means stacked in your favour as it is, so if it doesn't fit properly you might as well not bother.
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  • Manc33
    Manc33 Posts: 2,157
    I belong to the crowd that thinks you might be less safe with a helmet on, when it comes to cars and how close they drive to you - depending on whether or not you have a helmet on.

    Then there's cheap helmets where straps might cover your ears = can't hear the traffic as well.

    I just have one because I am only ever going to go longer and longer distances as I get fitter and my mum worries too much if I don't have one on.

    You tend to never hear "He would have lived if he had a helmet on" I mean yeah, no one ever says that, so I am dubious about how protective it is.

    We're not riding motorbikes here.
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    Not sure I would want to put your theory to the test.
  • Manc33
    Manc33 Posts: 2,157
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    Not sure I would want to put your theory to the test.

    You mean remove the helmet to see if cars drive a bit further away from you?

    Helmets don't reduce cycling injuries though, because if they did, cycling injuries would have reduced when everyone started wearing helmets and that didn't happen, injuries in fact went up by 51%.

    Those Aeon helmets have gone back up in price to £109.99 :roll: Good job I bought it when it was £71.99 :D

    I cannot believe people in the US are paying $250 for it, or were in the summer of 2012.

    What makes me laugh is the 2012 helmet was £71.99 then it shows the 2013 helmet that looks exactly the same and it is £179.99. :?

    It really pays to shop around in January for last years stuff. CRC discounts are insane at times, I usually just sort stuff by biggest discount anyway, thats how I first found the Aeon, but it seems to have only been £71.99 for literally a few days. I ordered on, someone on here said they ordered 4 of them... then they went up to £109.99 which I would never pay for a helmet, even if the RRP was £500.
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    $250 = £156 So thats still cheaper than the £179.99 the 2013 was so actually it was probably cheaper than here at the time!!

    You could factor in a lot of things for the amount of casualties since people started wearing helmets more. How many more people were riding then before? How much heavier has traffic got in that time? What type of injuries? What was the fall/rise of deaths on the road? If less deaths and more injured, I would say the helmet did the job wouldn't you?

    End of the day, If I had the choice of having my skull bounce off the concrete or have a helmet do it, I think I would go for the latter.
  • Manc33
    Manc33 Posts: 2,157
    Same here, but I won't mind wearing the Aeon, whereas I hate wearing the current "mushroom" one.
  • migrantwing
    migrantwing Posts: 385
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    $250 = £156 So thats still cheaper than the £179.99 the 2013 was so actually it was probably cheaper than here at the time!!

    You could factor in a lot of things for the amount of casualties since people started wearing helmets more. How many more people were riding then before? How much heavier has traffic got in that time? What type of injuries? What was the fall/rise of deaths on the road? If less deaths and more injured, I would say the helmet did the job wouldn't you?

    End of the day, If I had the choice of having my skull bounce off the concrete or have a helmet do it, I think I would go for the latter.

    Hear, hear! I believe that 8, possibly 9 out of 10 drivers are also cyclists, as stated in a documentary last year. This is a huge increase over the last 2-3 years. Hence, as you say, percentages of accidents are higher as there are more people on bikes/wearing helmets.
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  • Manc33
    Manc33 Posts: 2,157
    Apparently 86% or something of all cycling fatalities are caused by a slow moving HGV turning left.

    Yes, you need your wits about you.

    I wonder what the other 14% comprise of. Surely high speed incidents, again "user error". :lol:

    Well, I think we need to focus on the odd 3% where its not sure why. If you remove HGV turning left and the high speed ones (over the handlebars at over 25 MPH etc), what does it leave?

    The thing is if you're going to get a bump on the head you've got a helmet on. Wearing a helmet on a bicycle does seem counter intuitive, because it infers safety but surely your legs need protecting more? Shin pads! :!:
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    Ref that on trucks turning left. There are a much higher percentage of foreign trucks on UK roads now. And as the driver sits on the left, they find it a lot harder to spot cyclists around their vehicle. Usually cos they are looking into their blind spot on the other side. I have driven army trucks in both UK and Europe with wrong sided steering wheel (i.e left hand drive in UK and vice versa) and it is hard to keep an eye on everything when you are disadvantaged to be sat on the wrong side of the cab.
  • DavidJB
    DavidJB Posts: 2,019
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    Can get a Giro Aeon from http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=aeon. for around £70 . Get a fitting and STAY AWAY from 1 size fits all helmets.

    I'm sure your mam would feel better knowing that if you were ever to need it, the helmet on your head was going to possibly save your life.

    I have a lazer 02 and it's absolutely fine. Nothing wrong with one size fits all helmets.
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    DavidJB wrote:
    SmoggySteve wrote:
    Can get a Giro Aeon from http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=aeon. for around £70 . Get a fitting and STAY AWAY from 1 size fits all helmets.

    I'm sure your mam would feel better knowing that if you were ever to need it, the helmet on your head was going to possibly save your life.

    I have a lazer 02 and it's absolutely fine. Nothing wrong with one size fits all helmets.


    If yours fits you then all I can say is glad to hear it. But, I would prefer something I know is closer to my size. You can have two people buy the same helmet. One it will fit fine, the other it may not. We dont have one size heads so why buy the most important piece of protective kit that way. If a one size fits you perfect then all that says to me is its not one size, its YOUR size and no other.

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