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Re: Helmets

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01 / Original postRe: Helmetsmiles todd · 29 Mar 2004 02 / This pagePosts 1–8Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #8Shawn Curry · 31 Mar 2004

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Mountain Bikes
Published
29 March 2004
Last activity
31 March 2004
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miles todd
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  1. Original post
    miles todd
    Archived post
    #1
    Chris said:


    Lies. All helmets certified by the CPSC - that's everything made by real
    helmet makers like Bell, Giro, LGarneau, Briko, whomever -will protect the
    OP fine. You can easily get a good-enough helmet for half of your $69
    baseline. Also, I have long, thick hair and have never had a ventilation
    problem in my $29-on-sale Bell Ukon - and I wear a bandanna between my head
    and the cover (as no sweatpads can restrain my manly flow of perspiration).

    I'm of the opinion that helmets are the one area where riders consistently
    spend way too much money. Yeah, it's your head, but the cheap ones work
    just as well as the expensive ones (assuming you're not trying to do a DH
    run with a little roadie job on you skull).

    Quoted message said:

    Go to your lbs(local bike shop) and get
    fitted properly.

    Not necessary...anywhere that sells helmets (LBS, outdoor stores, -Marts)
    better let you yank a helmet out of its box and see if you can get it to
    fit. If you can't do it yourself - adjusting a strap in the back and one
    under your chin - then you have problems no helmet will fix.

    Quoted message said:

    Good luck and cover your melon.

    That part I agree with.

    Chris

    I will agree that all helmets sold in the US have to meet the same
    safety testing standards, but I would never say that they are all
    equally safe.
    The testing protocols really don't resemble the real world at all- they
    simply put a weight in the helmet, drop it from a standard height, and
    see if it broke.
    Typically, the more money a helmet sells for the better the fit,
    adjustability, and not least, comfort. Sure, a $150 helmet won't
    protect an eigt pound weight dropped on a laboratory floor any better
    than a $21 helmet will. It can, though, protect somebody's head better.

    miles

    Report
  2. Brett Jaffee
    Archived post
    #2

    miles todd <[email hidden]> wrote in
    news:[email hidden]:

    Quoted message said:

    Sure, a $150 helmet won't
    protect an eigt pound weight dropped on a laboratory floor any better
    than a $21 helmet will. It can, though, protect somebody's head
    better.

    miles

    I've been wondering about this. Certainly I understand the issue of fit on
    saftey, but it seems odd that not even the manufacturers seem to claim that
    the more expensive helmets offer any better protection then the cheaper
    models. Usually the only claims are about more holes and better
    ventalation.

    Aside from comfort/fit (which I concede is very important), what factors
    would make the more expensive helmet better at protecting your head?

    Report
  3. Per Elmsäter
    Archived post
    #3
    Brett Jaffee said:

    miles todd <[email hidden]> wrote in
    news:[email hidden]:

    Quoted message said:

    Sure, a $150 helmet won't
    protect an eigt pound weight dropped on a laboratory floor any better
    than a $21 helmet will. It can, though, protect somebody's head
    better.

    miles

    I've been wondering about this. Certainly I understand the issue of
    fit on saftey, but it seems odd that not even the manufacturers seem
    to claim that the more expensive helmets offer any better protection
    then the cheaper models. Usually the only claims are about more
    holes and better ventalation.

    Aside from comfort/fit (which I concede is very important), what
    factors would make the more expensive helmet better at protecting
    your head?

    I'd say it's fit that makes the only difference safetywise. If you can get a
    cheap helmet with nice fit to your head then you are probably doing OK,
    safetywise. With fit I mean that it shall be easy to put the helmet on and
    then tighten it in the back so that it will not fall off when head is shook.
    After that the chinstrap can be fastened.

    I had to borrow my wifes helmet last year for a week when I'd crashed mine.
    It was OK fit wise, but so awful comfortwise that I bought her a new helmet.
    If you've been wondering. Yes my helmet cost me more than $150 😉))

    --
    Perre

    You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

    Report
  4. Chris
    Archived post
    #4

    "alex887" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:kQ_9c.63810$cx5.54431@fed1read04...

    Quoted message said:

    I recently bought a nice fitting Bell Ukon and compared it to the $150
    helmets. They had more holes, them same amount of adjustments, the same
    quality clasp and other plastic fittings. What, material or special
    manufacturing goes in to the $150 helmets that justisfies the extra $120
    difference I wonder?

    Exactly. The Ukon has the same adjustment-thingy in the back, pad
    arrangement, skull-retaining-plastic cage, and styrofoam compound as
    everything else Bell makes. The difference is it doesn't look as cool, have
    big vent holes (which you could conceivably argue make the helmet MORE
    dangerous), or let your buddies know you blew a hundred bucks on a helmet.

    If it works, it works. All XC helmets will protect you fine...save the
    money.

    Chris

    Report
  5. Pete
    Archived post
    #5

    "alex887" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:kQ_9c.63810$cx5.54431@fed1read04...

    Quoted message said:

    I recently bought a nice fitting Bell Ukon and compared it to the $150
    helmets. They had more holes, them same amount of adjustments, the same
    quality clasp and other plastic fittings. What, material or special
    manufacturing goes in to the $150 helmets that justisfies the extra $120
    difference I wonder?

    Marketing and hype.

    Pete

    Report
  6. Brett Jaffee
    Archived post
    #6

    "Chris" <[email hidden]> wrote in
    news:[email hidden]:

    Quoted message said:

    Exactly. The Ukon has the same adjustment-thingy in the back, pad
    arrangement, skull-retaining-plastic cage, and styrofoam compound as
    everything else Bell makes. The difference is it doesn't look as
    cool, have big vent holes (which you could conceivably argue make the
    helmet MORE dangerous)

    I can only assume that the all those extra holes means extra r&d to make
    the helmet as safe as one with fewer vents. I suppose it might be a bit
    more difficult to manufacture, plus, if they change designs every
    year...perhaps that's where the cost comes from.

    Report
  7. Pete
    Archived post
    #7

    "Slacker" <[email hidden]> wrote

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:


    I've been wondering about this. Certainly I understand the issue of fit


    on

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    saftey, but it seems odd that not even the manufacturers seem to claim


    that

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    the more expensive helmets offer any better protection then the cheaper
    models. Usually the only claims are about more holes and better
    ventalation.

    I believe that's because everyone is testing to meet the legal
    requirements. It cost a lot of money to come up with specific tests. I
    know the company I work for (Aerospace) frequently has to do this.

    The helmets that have more venting while still meeting the same standard
    of helmets that don't tell you something about the design/engineering of
    it. I believe that's one of the reasons why they're way more expensive;
    those dang engineers are expensive!

    "The idea is to raise prices and get the consumer to buy up. If you have a
    helmet at $50 with 500 vents, how are you ever going to sell a $100 helmet?"
    -Bell's Senior Product Manager Candi Whitsel September 1, 1997

    Pete

    Report
  8. Shawn Curry
    Archived post
    #8
    Pete said:


    "The idea is to raise prices and get the consumer to buy up. If you have a
    helmet at $50 with 500 vents, how are you ever going to sell a $100 helmet?"
    -Bell's Senior Product Manager Candi Whitsel September 1, 1997

    duh, 1000 vents!
    Isn't that how we got the Hummer and Extinction er, Excursion?

    Shawn

    Report

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