commute and helmet

A year ago I spent 2 weeks visiting the intensive care ward of a major hospital as my brother lay in
a deep coma following a fall resulting in a fractured skull, and he didn't fall off a bike. It made
me more conscious of our fragility - I now wear a helmet.

Make sure any helmet has the CE and other (TUV, GS for example) safety marks. Price is almost
certainly fashion related.
--
M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

doobrie <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]... snip

Quoted message said:

currently i dont use a helmet and wear a baseball cap and shades for eye protection and im
thinking of getting a helmet for the regular commute

any recommendations? ... looking at the various helmets on offer at halfords a couple weeks back
cost seemed to scale on how they were styled and what sort of fastening/alterations could be made
- is this about it and protection is basically similair?

snip

doobrie said:

currently i dont use a helmet and wear a baseball cap and shades for eye protection and im
thinking of getting a helmet for the regular commute

I've had a crash wearing a baseball cap. I spent months picking broken glass out of my head.

Quoted message said:

any recommendations?

I would recommend you at least own a helmet. I have a Specialized airwave - 15 ukp on sale at
Evans Cycles IIRC. I also have a mad helmet from the 1980s which I wear if I want to confuse
cycling buffs.

Quoted message said:

... looking at the various helmets on offer at halfords a couple weeks back cost seemed to scale
on how they were styled and what sort of fastening/alterations could be made - is this about it
and protection is basically similair?

AFAIK the improvements made by paying more for helmets are largely about ventilation and comfort. If
you get a cheap helmet which you find comfortable in the summer, that'll be good enough if its got
the appropriate approval stickers. Unfortunately, its not easy to judge in the shop how well the
vents work...

Quoted message said:

any thoughts or recommenadations considering this is for a commute due to start properly sometime
over the next few weeks with only several test runs home happening the next couple of weeks ....
also if it makes any difference (other than head size!) that im a big heavy chap.

For commuting 120 miles/week on an A road, I would probably wear a helmet. Thats my recomendation.
When you think it might rain, a GoreTex cover is a fantastic thing to have in the saddlebag.

My thoughts are that in the helmet community they say "buy a cheap helmet if you've got a cheap
head". But you're not riding a motorbike, so just get an approved one. If you don't like wearing it,
then its not too much money down the drain. If you ever have to use it for its intended purpose, its
money well spent. Its like an investment whose value may go up and down, only the down is gradual
and limited, but the up may be effectively infinite.

--
Jim Price

jimprice.dsl.pipex.comjimprice.dsl.pipex.comOpen ↗

Conscientious objection is hard work in an economic war.

On Sun, 3 Aug 2003 23:02:44 +0100 someone who may be doobrie <[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

well, ive talked myself into testing my commute route on the way home from work tuesday night ...
15 mile from cannock to new oscott mainly down the a452 [snip]

Quoted message said:

any thoughts or recommenadations considering this is for a commute due to start properly sometime
over the next few weeks with only several test runs home happening the next couple of weeks

I would recommend getting a copy of "Cyclecraft" and reading it thoroughly. This will protect you
more than any helmet.

Having read it, including the section on helmets, you may want to get a helmet. If so you want one
that is suitable for riding to work, not performing stunts or riding along rocky paths.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E I will always explain revoked
keys, unless the UK government prevents me using the RIP Act 2000.

"Malcolm Stewart" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

A year ago I spent 2 weeks visiting the intensive care ward of a major

hospital

Quoted message said:

as my brother lay in a deep coma following a fall resulting in a fractured skull, and he didn't
fall off a bike. It made me more conscious of our fragility - I now wear a helmet.

Hi Malcolm,

I hope your brother has made a full recovery.

When you say that you now wear a helmet, do you mean that you wear it while you are doing whatever
your brother was doing when he had his accident?

--
Rob

Wildly Out Of Date Excel VBA Programming Stuff from the Heart of Wales:
www.analytical-dynamics.co.uk/

Please keep conversations in the newsgroup so that all may contribute and benefit.

"doobrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

well, ive talked myself into testing my commute route on the way home from work tuesday night ...
15 mile from cannock to new oscott mainly down the a452

currently i dont use a helmet and wear a baseball cap and shades for eye protection and im
thinking of getting a helmet for the regular commute

any recommendations? ... looking at the various helmets on offer at halfords a couple weeks back
cost seemed to scale on how they were styled and what sort of fastening/alterations could be made
- is this about it and protection is basically similair?

I currently commute 14 miles a day wearing a helmet. I have nightmares buying helmets because, like
any item of clothing, they are very personal. I don't find most Giro or Specialized helmets very
comfortable and even within the MET range, only certain ones fit. My best advice is to go to your
local bike shop and try some on. I've found MET and Bell to be very good, although it all depends on
the shape of your head. I'd spend enough to get a decent adjustable headband (Giro rocloc or
similar) as this makes a big difference to the fit. You needn't spend more than about 30 quid on a
good helmet, although cost is irrelevant compared to a quality fit so if the only one that fits well
is 40 quid, get that one rather than the uncomfortable 20 quid one. You won't wear an uncomfortable
helmet so it will be 20 quid wasted.

Following on from Malcolm Stewart's message. . .

Quoted message said:

Make sure any helmet has the CE and other (TUV, GS for example) safety marks.

I think you'll find that the CE mark is basically a "the manufacturer claims this isn't dangerous"
mark and not equivalent to say a BS or DIN which specifies a level of performance. You can get a CE
mark on a Teddy Bear but that doesn't mean much if you're riding along with it on your head!
(Probably it won't catch fire or contain sharp spikes.)

I thought that proper helmet 'standards' were pretty much defunct at the moment.

--
PETER FOX Not the same since the deckchair business folded

Witham Cycling Campaign www.eminent.demon.co.uk/wcc.htm East Anglian Pub cycle rides
www.eminent.demon.co.uk/rides

"doobrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

well, ive talked myself into testing my commute route on the way home from work tuesday night ...
15 mile from cannock to new oscott mainly down the a452

currently i dont use a helmet and wear a baseball cap and shades for eye protection and im
thinking of getting a helmet for the regular commute

any recommendations? ... looking at the various helmets on offer at halfords a couple weeks back
cost seemed to scale on how they were styled and what sort of fastening/alterations could be made
- is this about it and protection is basically similair?

Get the lightest one with the largest number of biggest vents. (grammar?) You will find that if you
overheat and sweat a lot you will not want to use a helmet. Even with a decent helmet (Selev Alien)
I don't wear it if the ambient temperature is above 25c. (Oddly enough this hasn't increased the
incidence of head injuries round these parts :-) )

Regards Simon

David Hansen said:

I would recommend getting a copy of "Cyclecraft" and reading it thoroughly. This will protect you
more than any helmet.

How do you hold it in place over your head ?

Simon Galgut said:

"doobrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

well, ive talked myself into testing my commute route on the way home from work tuesday night ...
15 mile from cannock to new oscott mainly down the a452

currently i dont use a helmet and wear a baseball cap and shades for eye protection and im
thinking of getting a helmet for the regular commute

any recommendations? ... looking at the various helmets on offer at halfords a couple weeks back
cost seemed to scale on how they were styled and what sort of fastening/alterations could be made
- is this about it and protection is basically similair?

Get the lightest one with the largest number of biggest vents. (grammar?) You will find that if
you overheat and sweat a lot you will not want to use a helmet. Even with a decent helmet (Selev
Alien) I don't wear it if the ambient temperature is above 25c. (Oddly enough this hasn't
increased the incidence of head injuries round these parts :-) )

Regards Simon

Blimey. I'm a FBOAB and feel the heat a lot, but I don't find I get any urge to take the helmet off
in the heat - maybe because by then I'm loathe to expend any additional energy over and above what's
needed to cycle (and so long as I keep moving the wind provides cooling).

Velvet

Peter Fox <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Following on from Malcolm Stewart's message. . .

Quoted message said:

Make sure any helmet has the CE and other (TUV, GS for example) safety marks.

Quoted message said:

I think you'll find that the CE mark is basically a "the manufacturer claims this isn't dangerous"
mark and not equivalent to say a BS or DIN which specifies a level of performance. You can get a
CE mark on a Teddy Bear but that doesn't mean much if you're riding along with it on your head!
(Probably it won't catch fire or contain sharp spikes.)

Quoted message said:

I thought that proper helmet 'standards' were pretty much defunct at the moment.

Before I retired I was responsible for standards compliance in a large defence company, and am very
aware that the CE mark varies in its meaning from one area to another. However when it's backed up
by reference to a standard, it can provide some measure of end-user / customer protection.

--
M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

Robert Bruce <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Malcolm Stewart" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It made me more conscious of our fragility - I now wear a helmet.

Hi Malcolm, I hope your brother has made a full recovery. When you say that you now wear a helmet,
do you mean that you wear it while you are doing whatever your brother was doing when he had his
accident?

--
Rob

Thanks for your sentiments. Considering my brother's very poor prognosis on entry to the operating
theatre, he's made a remarkable recovery, but it's unlikely he'll ever be without his wheelchair.

I wear a helmet when cycling, but not when walking; which is what my brother was doing when he fell
- possibly a result of long term and very serious epilepsy.

--
M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

"doobrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

You may regret asking this ;-)

Quoted message said:

currently i dont use a helmet and wear a baseball cap and shades for eye protection and im
thinking of getting a helmet for the regular commute

You've done things the right way round: get on the bike first, then think about helmets. well,
almost the right way round - you really should have a current Highway Code
(highwaycode.gov.ukhighwaycode.gov.ukOpen ↗ to save you the cover price) and a copy of Cyclecraft by John
Franklin (The Stationery Office, ISBN: 0117020516), and Haynes or similar bicycle maintenance book.
These will help you not to crash in the first place :-)

Quoted message said:

any recommendations?

Here's one: have a look at cyclehelmets.orgcyclehelmets.orgOpen ↗

Read it all very carefully, especially the more counter-intuitive bits. Once you are absolutely
convinced that a helmet cannot and will not save your life, you are ready to buy one. Otherwise you
might ride less carefully, influenced by a false sense of security. This is Very Important. You have
to remember that when they talk about helmets reducing head injuries, the majority of the injuries
analysed are not life-threatening, most indeed are trivial cuts and scrapes. Lids are great for
preventing gravel rash on your head, and even a nasty headache if you hit a low branch, but anything
where you part company with the bike or a motor vehicle is involved and all bets are off. Not saying
a lid is worthless in these circumstances, just that it is absolutely not designed to withstand
those kinds of impact, so you can't rely on it doing so.

Then, try lots of lids in lots of sizes until you find one that fits well out of the box. If you
intend to ride in winter, take your ear warmer or ski mask with you and try the helmet over that.
The velcro-on pads should be for fine adjustment, not making an ill-fitting helmet stay on your
head. Good helmets have adjustable cradles that fit the back of your head as well, and detachable
visors to keep sun & rain out of your face - but you can buy these as add-ons.

If you find more than one which fits, I would choose the one with the most vents, but if you ride
offroad a lot it apparently makes sense to choose the most spherical one you can, as the strange fin
things on the back of some lids can allegedly cause some strange effects.

I have a Giro helmet which has lasted me about two and a half years and is about due for replacement
as it's getting a bit manky and the straps are beginning to part company with the shell.

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
chapmancentral.comchapmancentral.comOpen ↗

well, in the end went to a halfords with the bikehut and bought a black giro helmet with lots of
tuned vents, whatever they are!:-

wiggle.co.ukv2 product detail.aspOpen ↗

same price at wiggle and it fits well and will go with any colour outfit too!

In article <[email hidden]>, Jim Price <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

For commuting 120 miles/week on an A road, I would probably wear a helmet. Thats my recomendation.
When you think it might rain, a GoreTex cover is a fantastic thing to have in the saddlebag.

I like to keep my head dry when it's pouring down, so if it's wet out I'll take my helmet along as
the Goretex cover fits that better.

I've not been able to find a Goretex cap in any of my local outdoors or bike shops (and I have quite
a good choice - FW Evans, Condor cycles, Blacks and North Face).

--
congokid Eating out in London? Read my tips... congokid.comcongokid.comOpen ↗

I have a problem with a Selev Alien I bought a couple of months ago, as the little strip of padding
at the front has disintegrated. The last time I used it, it started leaking stale sweat into my
eyes, so I had to remove and throw away the "brow-band", which was the consistency of a wet kleenex.

It this a general problem, or just with the Alien, and is it possible to buy replacement padding?

As for helmet usage, I always wear one when off-road on the mountain bike. I've never fallen off my
road bike (in more than 40 years), but I've started wearing the helmet if I'm going through a busy
town, or where there's heavy traffic. My normal patch is the Chilterns, so it's easy to avoid both
on my weekend rides but I've been riding to work (Prestwood to Staines) once a week - passing
through Beaconsfield and Slough - and I usually wear the helmet then.

Until it fell apart, that is...

"Simon Galgut" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Get the lightest one with the largest number of biggest vents. (grammar?) You will find that if
you overheat and sweat a lot you will not want to

use

Quoted message said:

a helmet. Even with a decent helmet (Selev Alien) I don't wear it if the ambient temperature
is above 25c. (Oddly enough this hasn't increased the incidence of head injuries round these
parts :-) )

Thus spake congokid <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Jim Price <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For commuting 120 miles/week on an A road, I would probably wear a helmet. Thats my
recomendation. When you think it might rain, a GoreTex cover is a fantastic thing to have in the
saddlebag.

Quoted message said:

I like to keep my head dry when it's pouring down, so if it's wet out I'll take my helmet along as
the Goretex cover fits that better.

Quoted message said:

I've not been able to find a Goretex cap in any of my local outdoors or bike shops (and I have
quite a good choice - FW Evans, Condor cycles, Blacks and North Face).

I've just bought a *very* warm one[1] from the sale at Field & Trek, Long Acre, Covent Garden.

[1] Gore-Tex shell + fleece body

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden] Edgware.

now ive bought my helmet and going to use it first time tonight i just wonderd why they are so
fragile - mainly from reading the gumph stating they are not intended for this or that?

is it purely down to the weight they would need to be to give real protection in a serious
collision? surely materials are around these days that can make a fairly strong helmet fairly light?

anyway, just musing over it really as i think about my ride home tonight ... i feel nervous about it
for some reason which is very odd indeed as im a fairly confident road user car or bike .. with bike
im certainly cautious but generally confident!

"doobrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

now ive bought my helmet and going to use it first time tonight i just wonderd why they are so
fragile - mainly from reading the gumph stating they are not intended for this or that?

is it purely down to the weight they would need to be to give real protection in a serious
collision? surely materials are around these days that can make a fairly strong helmet
fairly light?

anyway, just musing over it really as i think about my ride home tonight ... i feel nervous about
it for some reason which is very odd indeed as im a fairly confident road user car or bike .. with
bike im certainly cautious but generally confident!

As with any piece of safety (or any other) equipment your helmet is a bundle of compromises.

Basically, it works by providing a bit of collapsible material between your bonce and what it hits.
You could make a helmet out of finest concrete. This would have some advantages but less than you
might think. If, for example, you had a tight fitting concrete helmet and were dropped head first
onto a concrete floor virtually all the energy would be transferred to you bonce. (a bit like those
Newton's Ball multi ball executive toy pendulums -- since the concrete is incompressible the energy
is transmitted straight through.

The outer shell should crack and the polystyrene collapse as you bash your head. And in doing so, it
will dissipate some of the energy and reduce the acceleration your brain experiences.

Given the amount of polystyrene in an average helmet it will help in 'colisions' up to about 12-15
mph (it will help above this speed but probably not enough to prevent injury). Luck plays a big part
in it. Smashing your bonce against a sharp kerb (hard and sharp) will be more damaging (for you)
than smashing against Jordan's [censored] (large, soft and rounded) -- and probably less fun :o

If the helmet was bigger and heavier you would be at increased risk of other types of injury --
whiplash etc. And, of course, overheating as you pedalled along.

Most of the restrictions and limitations have been put there not for engineering or safety reasons
-- but because the company's lawyers have to justify their existence and so write in lots of guff
which basically means "if you bang your head don't sue us".

The best safety measure is not to rely on the helmet but on your road-craft. Read (if you haven't)
Cyclecraft -- its a much better safety device.

Remember -- cycling is statistically safer than sitting at home.

T

congokid <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Jim Price <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

For commuting 120 miles/week on an A road, I would probably wear a helmet. Thats my
recomendation. When you think it might rain, a GoreTex cover is a fantastic thing to have in the
saddlebag.

I like to keep my head dry when it's pouring down, so if it's wet out I'll take my helmet along as
the Goretex cover fits that better.

I've not been able to find a Goretex cap in any of my local outdoors or bike shops (and I have
quite a good choice - FW Evans, Condor cycles, Blacks and North Face).

No matter! The Goretex cover makes a fantastic waterproof beret, giving you a bohemian continental
look in heavy weather.

David