What helmet on a gravel bike?

concorde

Some may think it's a silly question as all that really matters is it protects your bonce... but still.. What helmet is the norm worn on gravel bikes? Mountain bike? Road bike?

Most gravel adventures be taking place on road and gravel but I won't be breaking any speed records so aerodynamics ain't a worry. Just want to 'fit in' with the norm...

Cheers

imposter2.0

one that fits..

concorde

Imposter wrote:

one that fits..

I've got a full face that fits but I don't think it'll be ideal?

Matthewfalle

who cares if you fit in?

i'd rather be an odd bod than smash my head and face to bits because i'm trying to fit in with someone ele's idea of what you should wear.

concorde

I've got a MTB helmet, but On One doing 15 squid roadie ones I was considering getting one. But if everyone riding gravel wears MTB lids I won't bother. If they all wear roadie lids, I will bother...

So... What do they generally wear?

imposter2.0

Concorde wrote:

I've got a MTB helmet, but On One doing 15 squid roadie ones I was considering getting one. But if everyone riding gravel wears MTB lids I won't bother. If they all wear roadie lids, I will bother...

So... What do they generally wear?

Not sure what answers you are expecting. People who ride gravel or CX bikes do not wear one particular type of helmet. Have you tried looking on the internet?

cougie

Why so bothered ? Nobody cares. I ride a cross bike in the winter that could be classed as a gravel bike. I've three helmets on the go I think. All roady type ones. But all white. So definitely get a white one.

What gravel roads will you be riding ?

joe_totale-2

Don't worry, I'm sure that this time next year there'll be loads of different gravel helmets available and plenty of articles written about why you have to wear one and mustn't wear a road or MTB one.

Matthewfalle

Concorde wrote:

I've got a MTB helmet, but On One doing 15 squid roadie ones I was considering getting one. But if everyone riding gravel wears MTB lids I won't bother. If they all wear roadie lids, I will bother...

So... What do they generally wear?

Does it matter? Why don’t you just wear what you want to wear?

Or am I missing something?

Not sure if you are worried that your helmet won’t protect you or if you are desperate to fit in and be like everyone else.

rokt

I have a black and a white Kask Mojito, I wear them for everything.

big_harv

Everything?

tgotb

I have a road helmet that I wear for touring, commuting, track racing, cyclocross and MTB-ing. So far no-one has teased me, though it got close yesterday when I got home from work and my daughter pointed out the large lumps of mud still stuck to it from Sunday's race; I managed to save the situation by pointing similar lumps on the helmet she'd just worn to ride home from school.
I have a separate helmet that I wear for time trialling. It looks ridiculous, and I would fully expect to be teased if I wore it for anything other than time trialling. I wouldn't be able to see who's teasing me though, because the visor steams up if you're not going fast enough.

I also tend to wear the same lycra shorts/tights/jerseys for road, track, CX training and MTB-ing; again, no-one has ridiculed my kit. Baggy shorts seem to be de rigeur on MTBs, but as my lycra ones seem to do the job perfectly I haven't felt the need to buy a pair of baggy ones. As an aside, what are the benefits of baggy shorts? Do they have pockets or something?
I do wear skinsuits for time trialling and CX racing; I suppose I might get a bit of teasing if I turned up to a club run in them, but since they don't have pockets that's not likely to happen. If I wore the TT suit in a CX race no-one would tease me, but I wouldn't be able to stand up straight and the zip would probably explode on the first dismount. If I wore the CX suit in a TT race I would get too hot, and probably go slowly because it's not very aerodynamic. I keep meaning to have a go at MTB racing, and I'll presumably do that in a CX skinsuit (they're much the same thing, right?)

monkimark

I wear a road helmet on drop bar bikes (including cx/gravel type stuff) because the peak on my mtb helmet is a bit annoying when riding in the drops.

concorde

monkimark wrote:

I wear a road helmet on drop bar bikes (including cx/gravel type stuff) because the peak on my mtb helmet is a bit annoying when riding in the drops.

Cheers for the sense spoken here. I'll order a roadie type on. I knew there must have been something there but wasn't 100%.

tgotb

Apologies for the thread drift - OP, hope you don't mind, but seems like a good place to ask:
- Why do MTB helmets have peaks?
- Why are MTB shorts baggy?

I'm sure there are good reasons for both, just don't know what those reasons are!

fenix

MTB peaks are good in woods - you can avoid getting smacked by low hanging branches.

As to Baggy Shorts - maybe its because the speeds aren't so high and they spend longer sitting around saying things like 'Gnarly ride duuuude' - so they dont need the aero benefits ?

monkimark

The helmet peak keeps the sun/rain out of your eyes, it also shadows the helmet light on night rides.

Baggy shorts are probably mostly a fashion thing - they can also keep off the worst of the water/mud, are a bit more resistant to tears when i fall off and it's useful to have a pocket to carry my keys etc when commuting

Vino'sGhost

baggy shorts for mtb because its about the ride.

tgotb

TGOTB wrote:

- Why are MTB shorts baggy?

I went mountain biking today and asked, so now I have a definitive answer; it's partly about keeping your a*se drier, and partly because the extra layer provides a bit of protection if you fall off: the baggy outer shorts slide against the lycra shorts underneath, which means nothing needs to slide against your skin.

I'd love to be able to say it was like a cycling version of Point Break, with everyone "hanging loose", describing everything as "gnarly" and calling each other "dude", but everyone seemed to be speaking normal English.

I forgot to look at what helmets people were wearing - sorry!

Vino'sGhost

Matthewfalle wrote:

Concorde wrote:

I've got a MTB helmet, but On One doing 15 squid roadie ones I was considering getting one. But if everyone riding gravel wears MTB lids I won't bother. If they all wear roadie lids, I will bother...

So... What do they generally wear?

Does it matter? Why don’t you just wear what you want to wear?

Or am I missing something?

Not sure if you are worried that your helmet won’t protect you or if you are desperate to fit in and be like everyone else.

Going "gravel" is a good indication of the need to fit in. ......

tootsie323

TGOTB wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

- Why are MTB shorts baggy?

I went mountain biking today and asked, so now I have a definitive answer; it's partly about keeping your a*se drier, and partly because the extra layer provides a bit of protection if you fall off: the baggy outer shorts slide against the lycra shorts underneath, which means nothing needs to slide against your skin.

I'd love to be able to say it was like a cycling version of Point Break, with everyone "hanging loose", describing everything as "gnarly" and calling each other "dude", but everyone seemed to be speaking normal English.

I forgot to look at what helmets people were wearing - sorry!

Yup. I found myself on my back in a bramble patch at the weekend when my lack of downhilling skill on an MTB was exposed; believe me, I was glad of the extra layer on my legs. I can generally trust myself to stay upright on the road (crosser bike) so just the one (more aero, less flappy!) layer in this instance.

brunojohn7102QikkwggD

I read some tutorials on how to wear a bike helmet with a ponytail. I tried it on my daughter and it was quite helpful. First, the Ponytail Helmet comes with hairpin ports that can be matched with a ponytail. I prefer to choose a high ponytail bike helmet for this hairstyle. In the case of a low ponytail, a standard helmet with enough space for thick hair will fit. The next step is to place the middle left buckle just below the chin. You can stretch the rope to lengthen or shorten it depending on how comfortable you feel. Make sure that the strap is not too tight, or it will leave marks on your skin and chin area.