"Coolest" Helmets

So we have moved on from what is the coolest helmet to whether we should wear one. I guess it depends how much value you put on your head.

So for those who look good in a helmet, whats an inexpensive cool helmet that I can get mail order to Australia cheap?

OscarC said:

Thank God for those overpriced polystyrene flower pots! I was in a mountain bike race where I was bucked up and over my handlebars. I landed head first onto a boulder and layed in a ditch. The loud impact scared me very much as it could've been my bones breaking. The loud pop was infact the helmet breaking as it absorbed the impact. The helmet cracked all way through in 5 different places where the vents join. Just like the bumper of a modern day car. A car's bumper also is filled with polystyrene. I had x-rays done on my ribs, neck, back, and hand. Missed three days of work. I could not turn my neck or move it for a week and regained full motion after a month. I got away with only a broken finger which I'm still hoping to get full range of motion. I can only imagine if I had been wearing one of those leather base ball helmets. There would have been no shock absorbed and my body would've taken all the impact. Result could've been a broken neck, back, a crushed disc or something.
I have a wife and a little mouth to feed so in the big picture, the $70 helmet was well worth it. Even if I had paid $100 which is what my helmet cost me that I use when on my road bike.

Zeco - luckily for you, you haven't needed to put this to the test. If you think you don't need one of these flower pots don't use one. You might as well cancel your health insurance too. You'll be able to save even more money there too!

If you retrace and read my posts more carefully you will note that I did experience a crank breakage during a race, the result of which caused me to fly over my bars and hit my head on the road. I was wearing a leather helmet and it served me exceedingly well. The helmet did not need replacing.

Racing on roads open to other road-users presents a far greater safety problem in the UK.

Health insurance? When I was racing I paid extra for medical benefits and before I next throw a leg over the saddle I will take out the appropriate cover.

We still have a semblance of a national health service in the UK although suffering from severe cut backs due to expenditure in other and very questionable areas.

Zeco2 said:

If you retrace and read my posts more carefully you will note that I did experience a crank breakage during a race, the result of which caused me to fly over my bars and hit my head on the road. I was wearing a leather helmet and it served me exceedingly well. The helmet did not need replacing.

You *must* be joking! How many F1 drivers do we see wearing leather helmets? hmmm, oh, that's right NONE! How many GP motocyclists, hmmm NONE! Any airforce pilots out there sporting their leather helmets when going into battle, I certainly don't think so! For gods sake..

mikesbytes said:

AU$269 +$7 postage at Dean Woods. Where can you get them at a better price?

I got mine for $90 at an end of year sale. Nice helmets but I prefer my avanti exoskeleton that retails for $99:p 😄!

The limar fits me perfectly and the ventilation is good but I can't tell the difference between that and my avanti. The avanti is lighter and more aero for less than a third the rrp.

If you want to keep your head cool shave it! If your a chick get a limar 😉 😄 .

Im thinking of selling my limar for $200 so i can make a profit 🙄 , prolly wiser to keep it incase I crash the avanti.

If I had my choice of any road helmet it would be the specialized decibel for its minimalist design.

Maybe the uvex t-mobile helmet or a catlike kompact...not the golf ball one:eek: .

Jono L said:

You *must* be joking! How many F1 drivers do we see wearing leather helmets? hmmm, oh, that's right NONE! How many GP motocyclists, hmmm NONE! Any airforce pilots out there sporting their leather helmets when going into battle, I certainly don't think so! For gods sake..

When I take up F1, GP motor cycling or enlist for fighter service, I'll certainly take your advice.

However, in respect of cycle helmets and the likely benefits to the wearer, how does a polystyrene helmet better a leather version. No more anecdotes, just factual comparisons?

Zeco2 said:

When I take up F1, GP motor cycling or enlist for fighter service, I'll certainly take your advice.

However, in respect of cycle helmets and the likely benefits to the wearer, how does a polystyrene helmet better a leather version. No more anecdotes, just factual comparisons?

Can you not see a common theme here??? Big bang on head= OUCH! All sports where big bang on head possible no one wear leather helmet, hmmmm make sense?

I've crashed and cracked my polystyrene flower pot and thank god for it because if my head was wrapped in leather then I'd be lying in a hospital bed drooling like and idiot. Hasn't it occured to you that if leather helmets offered decent protection then, maybe, just maybe someone out there in the big wide world would still produce them?

mikesbytes said:

AU$269 +$7 postage at Dean Woods. Where can you get them at a better price?

search.ebay.com.auW0QQsassZrttdirectQQhtZ 1Open ↗ (No paypal for Aus unless you pay surcharge)

Don't buy the Medium Sprinter Blue... Its mine next pay...

Oenone Wood with Limar 909... No prettier cycling combo exists...

Get them to confirm that it has the Aussie saftey standard sticker. If the helmet doesn't have the sticker and they inspect the helmets at a race you won't be permitted to compete.

The way I see it, this pretty much eliminates buying a helmet from over seas.

Its an aussie seller, but will ask before buying...

What about the 720 if your budget isn't strong enough for the 909

fauxpas said:

Oenone Wood with Limar 909... No prettier cycling combo exists...

Is he gay? you may be out of luck.

A little expensive for a 2nd hand 909, but if ya got a bianchi, maybe very well worth every cent...

cgi.ebay.com.auBianchi Limar 909 helmet W0QQitemZ320016805319QQihZ011QQcategoryZ7298QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemOpen ↗

janiejones said:

I think Met look cool, and I have found them the best fit as well.

+1 on the Met Stradivarius II

Research carried out by the CTC. From their website:

'Helmet promotion campaigns claim great benefits from helmet use, but these predictions are based on small non-randomised studies, that have never been matched by real-life evidence from whole population data, such as traffic casualty and hospital treatment records.

Across several countries where helmet use has become significant, large population sources show no discernible reduction at all in fatal or serious injuries relative to cycle use. Moreover, where injury trends have changed, the number or severity of injuries has increased. In London, for example, where some 50% of cyclists now wear helmets, injury severity was higher in 2001 than in 1981 and fatalities were at their highest since 1989. This cannot be attributed simply to traffic conditions; the severity of pedestrian casualties, which historically tracks those of cyclists, declined.

In the USA, an increase in helmet wearing from 18% to 50% of cyclists between 1991 and 2001 was associated with a 40% increase in risk of head injury. Safety experts admit to being mystified that they can’t find a benefit from rising helmet use. In Australia, there have been competing claims about the effect of the country’s helmet laws, but it is now clear that whilst the absolute number of head injuries fell, this was proportionately less than the decline in cycle use'.

The popularity of the present 'hardshell helmet' over that of the 'softshell' helmet is just one example of viral marketing concept, prevalent in the sport of cycling. 🙄

Zeco2 said:

Research carried out by the CTC. From their website:

'Helmet promotion campaigns claim great benefits from helmet use, but these predictions are based on small non-randomised studies, that have never been matched by real-life evidence from whole population data, such as traffic casualty and hospital treatment records.

Across several countries where helmet use has become significant, large population sources show no discernible reduction at all in fatal or serious injuries relative to cycle use. Moreover, where injury trends have changed, the number or severity of injuries has increased. In London, for example, where some 50% of cyclists now wear helmets, injury severity was higher in 2001 than in 1981 and fatalities were at their highest since 1989. This cannot be attributed simply to traffic conditions; the severity of pedestrian casualties, which historically tracks those of cyclists, declined.

In the USA, an increase in helmet wearing from 18% to 50% of cyclists between 1991 and 2001 was associated with a 40% increase in risk of head injury. Safety experts admit to being mystified that they can’t find a benefit from rising helmet use. In Australia, there have been competing claims about the effect of the country’s helmet laws, but it is now clear that whilst the absolute number of head injuries fell, this was proportionately less than the decline in cycle use'.

The popularity of the present 'hardshell helmet' over that of the 'softshell' helmet is just one example of viral marketing concept, prevalent in the sport of cycling. 🙄

.

If a helmet protects you in any small way I'm still going to wear one.
I can't see the link between the severity of cycling related injuries and wearing a helmet, unless the more aerodynamic helmet design (longer rear extension) breaks your neck as it snags on the ground during a crash.

Not a big fan of the Limar and Specialized. I do like the Catlike and Giro. Fave is definitely the Sweep R, great lines.

One of my LBSs said he is clearing his Limar range as the Limars are becoming 'Rudy Project' helmets.

I chose Trek's Sonic.
Vents well and it's fitting system is great for it's price range.

Unbelievably said:

I chose Trek's Sonic.
Vents well and it's fitting system is great for it's price range.

My LBS have them for $220 AUD

But in the US http://freewheelbike.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1841

Makes me sick...