which helmets should I consider?

andyh01

Hi I'm mainly a commuter 10 miles per day, but also looking to do some sportif and what have you. I'm looking to replace my helmet following a crash, car pulled out in front of me, I went over the front bonnet - still being disputed and tp not admitting liability . So I'm looking to replace. I've tried a few helmets on in store (when I say "tried" I mean wore a few helmets in shop for a few minuets looked in mirror and removed) so far best I've seen/felt most comfortable is the Specialized Propero II Helmet. I understand there's no real prove safety performance difference and most I'm paying for is; Aerodynamics, brand, weight and vents I'm not too fussed about aerodynamics for the cycling I'm doing and just wondered what the best options are or which helmets you'd recommend or any ones I should l be looking at or on special offer ?

I know its personal preference but which helmet would you be looking at ?>

sloppyschleckonds

AndyH01 wrote:

I understand there's no real prove safety performance difference

http://news.pocsports.com/2014/08/21/po ... -eye-park/

stoveman

Bought a Kask Mojito a few months back on my return to cycling after many years.
Read all the reviews and most Kask hekmets come up trumps.Absolutely love it,comfiest and best fitting helmet in the shop by mile

ivanoile

Firstly,try the helmet alone,then try with your sunglasses then try to put them on helmet(those 3 are my rules for new helmet,as I had issues with Oakleys and Mojito and I like putting sunglasses on helmet).At the end buy if it fits within your price range.
I have Bell helmets and they are great in those 3 rules for me...

andyh01

I don't want put people off from commenting but @ SloppySchleckonds I've been reading about " floating plate" which apparently is exactly what your skull does naturally and reading poc' s website stating ;

"Therefore, it is important to underline that protection can’t guarantee your safety. What it can do is reduce "the risk of being injured. The most vital ingredient to avoid injuries is you. Skill and good common sense are the assets that need to be prioritized."

Therefore even their own website doesn't nor can say that their helmet gives better protection, or have I misunderstood........?

northpole

stoveman wrote:

Bought a Kask Mojito a few months back on my return to cycling after many years.
Read all the reviews and most Kask hekmets come up trumps.Absolutely love it,comfiest and best fitting helmet in the shop by mile

I too was taken by the Mojito but for some reason unbeknownst to me, it felt fine during a shop fit but turned out to be just a fraction small. I sold it on rather than persevere having suffered a few years back with a similar sizing problem. Hence I would urge a bit more caution prior to committing to purchase - wish I'd done so myself! The Mojito does look great, seems to be very well put together, and is a much neater design than my giro.

The other thing not necessarily apparent at this time of year is venting. Come the summer, there is a significant benefit to be enjoyed from a lid with decent vents. Whilst I don't particularly like the looks of it, I've found the giro aeon to strike a fab balance of light weight, perfect fit and great venting. Fit is the most important of all in my opinion having suffered a splitting headache some years back during a long ride from a helmet which was only very slightly too small...!

Peter

mercia_man

Our heads are all different so advice on comfort is not that useful. If OP likes the Specialized helmet, having tried it for size, that would be a good one to get.

I have a Giro Aeon. I really like its light weight and brilliant venting. It has only thin padding inside and I found at first that it put pressure on the two protruding bones at the corners of my forehead. I suppose I have a square rather than round forehead. That pressure reduced as the helmet wore in and it's now comfortable for me. It does look a bit "mushroomy".

My wife needed a new helmet and we bought a Kask Mojito as it gets consistently good reviews, is non-mushroomy and is said to fit a wide range of heads. She didn't get on with it as she didn't like the pressure from the large retaining harness pads at the back of her head.

She has now taken over my Aeon and really likes it. I have taken over the Mojito and find it very comfortable as it has more internal padding than the Aeon and accommodates my forehead much better. I do experience the same issue as Ivanoile, however, in that the retaining harmess fouls the arms of my Rudy Project Rydon specs. I have got round that by bending the arms downwards. The Mojito is slightly heavier and slightly less well vented than Aeon (still pretty airy though) but has a more substantial construction such as the outer shell curling underneath to avoid exposing unprotected shock absorbing material.

ai_1

Different helmets fit different heads better or worse and fit is the most important variable.
It took me ages to find a helmet that fitted pretty well when I last shopped for one about 3.5 years ago. Ordering online isn't ideal for helmets. I decided this after trying helmets in lots of local shops and discovering that many of them were a really bad fit. I measure my head circumference at about 60-60.5cm. However that doesn't mean any helmet with a size range straddling that would do the job (e.g. 58-61cm). The vast majority of helmets were too round for me by which I mean they were too wide and short for a given circumference. They'd fit on my head but I couldn't get them both comfortable and secure at the same time.
I ended up with a Lazer Genesis which was still slightly wide IMO but I could get a decent fit due to the Lazer Roll-Sys harness which was a bit more adaptable than the adjustment systems on most helmets I was looking at. A few other brands now seem to have improved their harnesses so I'm hoping things have improved now that I need to go looking for a replacement. Anyway, my point is that you can get recommendations for which helmets are worth a look but don't get your hopes up too much until you try them on.
Features like aerodynamics, appearances and venting are relevant only if you can find more than one helmet with a good fit and have the luxury of then choosing between them!
I tried a couple of Kasks on last year and if I remember correctly the different models had quite different fits. One fit me quite well and the other was way off. I'll have to go figure out which was which and try again.

Is it just me or have helmet prices shot up yet again in the last 3 years? Especially for anything even vaguely aero.

One thing i relaly liked about the Lazer was that you can get a clip on aero cover for €20 that makes the helmet not only more aerodynamic but more importantly, warmer and rain proof, so ideal for winter with the cover on and for summer with it off. €20 was a bit steep for a simple sheet of vac formed acrylic but functionally it was well worth it!

japiers

One thing that people don't always consider is whether they want to wear a hat/headband/cap etc under the helmet and if it will fit ok. I had a Specialized Propero which fitted pretty well but I couldn't get a hat on under it on cold days without having to adjust the chin straps and still couldn't get a great fit.

I've now got an Uvex race which has a quick adjusting chin strap which fits a lot better. The same system in used in their new Uvex Boss which is a very good value helmet.

As others have said the key thing is to try as many as you can. Try on in store but for a wider range you can order a couple of options on line and many places have very good returns policies so it won't cost you anything. No where near to me stocked the Uvex but I ordered it and a couple of others online and it fitted better than anything else I'd tried. One of the ones I returned was the Kask Mojito which looked great but didn't fit me at all.

sloppyschleckonds

AndyH01 wrote:

I don't want put people off from commenting but @ SloppySchleckonds I've been reading about " floating plate" which apparently is exactly what your skull does naturally and reading poc' s website stating ;

"Therefore, it is important to underline that protection can’t guarantee your safety. What it can do is reduce "the risk of being injured. The most vital ingredient to avoid injuries is you. Skill and good common sense are the assets that need to be prioritized."

Therefore even their own website doesn't nor can say that their helmet gives better protection, or have I misunderstood........?

You are correct in your understanding of the statements made.
However the 'Multi-directional Impact Protection System' could offer a safety performance difference. If I was buying now I'd consider this as an option, irrelevant from how it looks.

Tjgoodhew

I went for a Giro Savant which i found to be a good fit for me and IMO has the styling of something a lot more expensive. Picked it up in a sale for £40.

I tried on a number of brands and found that when i weighed up all the factors (cost, style, fit) it was the best option for me.

Bets bet is to go to a shop that has a really wide range and try a few on

cougie

What helmet did you have initially ? Some manufacturers give you a % off a replacement if you crash. I'd go that route if its an option.

After that - just one that is comfy on your head.

gsk82

Laser Genesis. Can find last year's model for reduced from £130 to under £60 online (Fatbirds, Sport Persuit). It's spot on, the least mushroomy helmet i've ever tried. The Mojito was really nice but doesn't like some sunglasses including a lot of Oakleys

wishitwasallflat

Fit is all

I love my aeon

andyh01

What helmet did you have initially ? - I had a Bell

Fit is all - this is the thing I've gone through the Halfords range so Boardman's and a few others, Specialised range and a few others and another independent retailer stocking mostly Giant. So far the most comfortable I've found is the one I mentioned. Didn't know if worth gambling one that I've not tried on but on sale like £150 at 1/2 price or go for one that I know feels comfortable.

Some return policies exclude helmets - guess due to hygiene reasons?

Apparently according to one store I have an average shaped head so I shouldn't have any issues with any helmet.

ai_1

AndyH01 wrote:

What helmet did you have initially ? - I had a Bell

Fit is all - this is the thing I've gone through the Halfords range so Boardman's and a few others, Specialised range and a few others and another independent retailer stocking mostly Giant. So far the most comfortable I've found is the one I mentioned. Didn't know if worth gambling one that I've not tried on but on sale like £150 at 1/2 price or go for one that I know feels comfortable.

Some return policies exclude helmets - guess due to hygiene reasons?

If I was you, I'd probably go with the one you already found that's a good fit, unless it's out of budget.

Andyh01 wrote:

Apparently according to one store I have an average shaped head so I shouldn't have any issues with any helmet.

Don't believe him.
Helmets are different shapes. Therefore they're not all equally well suited to any given individual, even if they're average.

Pigtail

I'd agree with what you have been told about fit. I need a large helmet and struggled with fit, ending up with a specialized max. It is heavy and quite warm in the summer but it fitted for about the first ever.

I then got a giro savant which was a step up in price and comfort and also fitted well, with the Max used for commuting. Following what sounds like a similar accident to yours I have replaced the Max with a Giro Monza. It fits really well and feels very good on the limited occasions I have used it so far.

I instinctively shy away from buying most top end kit. If you can get most of the performance at £50 that you can at £150 I'm not prepared to stump up the difference. Cycling is dear enough without that!

tangled_metal

To all those who recommended helmet makes and models I ask how you can do that? Fit is everything, right? Then how can you know what will fit the OP?

I stopped wearing helmets a few years back but am considering getting a new one (mine is probably about 8 years old and no longer fits me). I went to a few shops including one almost boutique style shop with 2 helmets under £50 but mostly at least £79.99 upwards, I think there were more over £100 than under it. I asked them and they were all about MIPS and at least £78.99 priced helmets despite me saying I did not want to spend too much. To them £80 is not much I guess.

Anyway I went to another few bike shops and got the attitude from one that is doesn't matter what helmet you get they are all going to be pretty much as good as another. I was told to try on as many as possible there and at other shops too. Different makes have different shapes i was told. Also spending a little more might get you better fit because you reach a price point where the helmets come in different sizes.

I tried a few, medium in one brand, large in another (yes they have different sizing standards too apparently). Then I tried a £30 helmet that was a one size fits all helmet. It fitted the shape of my head perfectly. I mean as it was in the shop, without adding supplied pads, i just put it on and turned the dial lock. the vents weren't as many as say a £140 helmet but it was a lot better vented than my old helmet and was the newer style of more rounded helmet shape too. I will be buying that in a short while.

andyh01

Thanks all I've gone for the one I've tried on just gambled on colour though went for the black green rather than silver red that I saw as the plain black is 30% more lol

However the 'Multi-directional Impact Protection System' could offer a safety performance difference. If I was buying now I'd consider this as an option, irrelevant from how it looks.-
My basic understanding is this is similar to how the skull behaves anyway ie it floats on a bed of blood and nerves and you still have issue with the rapid deceleration of the brain bouncing around your skull.
Imagine a raw egg wrapped in an outer casing dropped the outside egg shell may be in tact but crack it open the inside will still be scrambled.