Good Bicycle Helmets?

Huihahaa
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Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby Huihahaa » Fri Jul 15, 2011 4:43 pm

I'm looking for a helmet that is ascetically pleasing. Something not to bulky and doesn't make me look like an 8 year old. Any body got any suggestions? Manufacturers? styles? What do y'all use?

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ldrcycles
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby ldrcycles » Fri Jul 15, 2011 6:36 pm

My current helmet is a Specialized Align, cheap at $69 from my LBS and it fits my head PERFECTLY (other helmets i tried only contacted my head at points rather than cupping all the way around as this one does), the catch is i find it very hot, especially producing a lot of sweating on my forehead due to lack of airflow (in spite of the vents above the brow).

I can live with the sweat though, because it fits my head so well i believe it will do a better job than a helmet which transmits the force of a crash to only a few points on my head. Everyone has a different head though, so the only way to get a helmet that works for you is to try out as many as possible.
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Warnesy
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby Warnesy » Fri Jul 15, 2011 8:08 pm

I splurged and got myself a Giro Ionos when I got the new roadie and have been really really happy with it.

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ozzymac
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Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby ozzymac » Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:27 pm

Hi,
I recently bought a Spiuk brand helmet off a seller on feebay ( see specials post) and they fit really well, comes with bug net and a visor which can be taken off if not required. And or $30 I couldn't complain. Got quite a few more vents than the laser I got with the hybrid when I started cycling last year.

Cheers

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trailgumby
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby trailgumby » Fri Jul 15, 2011 11:17 pm

You're doomed, I'm afraid. There is no helmet that will stop you looking like an 8 year old. You'll just have to wait until your next birthday like the rest of us.

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TailWind
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby TailWind » Sat Jul 16, 2011 4:59 pm

You could go all Robocop on us:
http://www.lazersport.com/index.php?opt ... 39&lang=en
Image

Lazer has some other interesting models too, and seem to sell them at local bike shops.
I have no experience with them, so I can't really make a recommendation, but if it's a different look you're after, this may be the place... :mrgreen:
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il padrone
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby il padrone » Sat Jul 16, 2011 5:28 pm

Image

Not just a bowler hat :wink:


Or you could go for theYakkay look.

Image



None of these will be AS-approved however. :|
Last edited by il padrone on Sat Jul 16, 2011 5:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mandatory helmet law?
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Mustang
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby Mustang » Sat Jul 16, 2011 5:33 pm

Limar777, fits my fat head nicely.
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Aushiker
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby Aushiker » Sun Jul 17, 2011 1:36 am

Hi

Bell Sweep user here. Will probably get another one or another Bell. A good resource for helmets is http://helmets.org.

Andrew
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gorilla monsoon
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby gorilla monsoon » Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:09 pm

Huihahaa wrote:I'm looking for a helmet that is ascetically pleasing. Something not to bulky and doesn't make me look like an 8 year old. Any body got any suggestions? Manufacturers? styles? What do y'all use?
Ascetically pleasing or aesthetically pleasing?

"Ascetic" means this: a person who practises severe self-discipline and abstains from all forms of pleasure, especially for religious or spiritual reasons.

Then again, that could describe all of us who ride, I suppose. :wink:
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CommuRider
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby CommuRider » Sat Feb 04, 2012 9:53 am

il padrone wrote:Image

Not just a bowler hat :wink:

Or you could go for theYakkay look.

Image

None of these will be AS-approved however. :|

Ip, I wonder if I could just buy the helmet covers from Yakkay and fit them on top of a Nutcase helmet say a size bigger.....fully compliant then n'est-ce pas? Alternative is I wait until Nutcase produces covers for their shell....
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il padrone
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby il padrone » Sat Feb 04, 2012 11:10 am

No, it's the covers that makes them non-compliant I believe. AFAIK the Australian Standard for helmets requires them to have smooth shells to reduce the chances of snagging on the road or other surfaces in a fall (which could make for a greater risk of axial brain trauma - a twisting action to your brain). Back in the early 90s there were many helmets that were sold with no shell, just polystyrene; or a fabric helmet cover. They are now no longer made.

Over in Europe (where Yakkay are made/marketed ) there is much less concern about standards-compliance for helmets. I prefer the German approach where the more important standard for bicycles is the lighting standard.
Mandatory helmet law?
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CommuRider
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby CommuRider » Sat Feb 04, 2012 11:15 am

No more worse than having naff helmet covers like these ones from Treadley?

http://www.treadley.com.au/
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il padrone
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby il padrone » Sat Feb 04, 2012 11:36 am

Yep, for sure. And they technically make your helmet non-compliant as well, as do helmet cameras and helmet-mounted lights. AS has no say in what people might market as helmet accessories.

For me, to get sun protection (and wicking evaporative cooling) I use a halo bandanna, fits underneath the helmet. I'd use a halo solar if I wanted even more coverage.

Image
Mandatory helmet law?
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."

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CommuRider
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby CommuRider » Sat Feb 04, 2012 11:57 am

I love technicalities. :D

Thanks ip. As long as I show off the 5 ticks, not a problem. Shows the absurdity when it is the means, and not the ends authorities are focusing on.
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il padrone
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby il padrone » Sat Feb 04, 2012 12:05 pm

CommuRider wrote:Shows the absurdity when it is the means, and not the ends authorities are focusing on.
Not sure which means and ends you're referring to here ??

I see the ends as being protection of cyclists from head injuries. The means is a helmet that meets required standards, and is not going to worsen any injury via its design or use. Attached cameras, lights and fabric covers have been shown to worsen the risk of more severe head injury. Now I'm certainly no MHL apologist, but I do see the logic of this. I wear my helmet and it is a smooth shell, bare of any add-ons. My lights are fitted to the bike (what the legal requirement once was).

Note - no-one is going to enforce your use of such fabric covers, the authorities do not have the power. But the standard does control what is legally sold in Australia as a complete bicycle helmet package. Yakkay's fabric-covered package misses out - not to mention they don't have the local market potential to get AS certification for their helmet shell.

I would like to focus on more people riding bikes on our roads, but that is another topic entirely.
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CommuRider
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby CommuRider » Sat Feb 04, 2012 12:18 pm

il padrone wrote:
CommuRider wrote:Shows the absurdity when it is the means, and not the ends authorities are focusing on.
Not sure which means and ends you're referring to here ??

I see the ends as being protection of cyclists from head injuries.
Same if that is where helmet laws originated from. Nowadays, the $20k fee to test a helmet to meet Aussie standards begs the question if the Kmart and Aldi helmets being sold for a pittance underwent the same rigorous testing too.

Market niche here for Yakkay since most helmets being sold as AS accredited all seem to be inspired by TdF designs. Pity they can't afford paying the $20k. Nutcase looks fugly to me. I mean, if you look at the history of hat designs, the people who wore Nutcase types of hats belonged to the mental asylum (ok am exaggerating).
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il padrone
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby il padrone » Sat Feb 04, 2012 12:57 pm

Nutcase..... derived from:

Image



Which was itself derived from:

Image


Worn by people who don't have the intellect (or care) to understand the concept of 'ventilation'. Yakkay is not far off. Fine for 6kms in Denmark, but I wouldn't want to wear one on a Melbourne summer day.
Mandatory helmet law?
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."

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Aushiker
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby Aushiker » Sat Feb 04, 2012 1:24 pm

il padrone wrote:For me, to get sun protection (and wicking evaporative cooling) I use a halo bandanna, fits underneath the helmet. I'd use a halo solar if I wanted even more coverage.
Thanks for the link. I have been looking for something like this for ages.

Andrew
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Aushiker
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby Aushiker » Sat Feb 04, 2012 1:32 pm

and now we have the ...

Image

More details at Technabob.

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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby high_tea » Sat Feb 04, 2012 3:12 pm

I'm very pleased with my Specialized Echelon. It fits really well (something that I have trouble with, being fuller-figured in that area) and isn't madly expensive (about $100). Looks, I dunno, that comes down to taste I guess. I think it looks all right...

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CommuRider
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby CommuRider » Sat Feb 04, 2012 5:23 pm

il padrone wrote:Fine for 6kms in Denmark, but I wouldn't want to wear one on a Melbourne summer day.
Winter in Melbourne then :wink:
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newbikeorupgrade
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Re: Good Bicycle Helmets?

Postby newbikeorupgrade » Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:56 pm

I tried out some helmets...
Dilemma... 50-58 small helmets seems to fit better but straps not as strong as align...
My previous helmet plastic straps split and tour.
Align only comes in one size I would say it has a little space on the sides...

By a helmet that is 30 bucks more fits better but whose straps will likely break like the specialized tactic.
Or get a helmet with a bit of space on the sides with stronger straps and cheaper...
I measured my head its around 54-56cm tactic felt the best

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