Helmets

In news:9Nq9c.14926$oH2.14732@lakeread01,
tcmedara <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

Michael Dart said:

Pulled a Jon Bond. ;^) A series of stepped boulders on a
XC bike at speed. Front end washed and I sailed head
first at a big rock. I pulled my face up to avoid it and
smacked my chin hard. Had a 3x1cm gash in it almost to
the bone. Looked like I had a second mouth.

Quoted message said:

Broken jaw, teeth, concussion... etc???

No fortunately. Jammed the jaw joint and it's swollen a
bit and is difficult to chew. My molars don't quite meet
on the right side. They took xrays of my head and
confirmed I had no brains :^o but nothing broken. A lot
of rock rash on my leg and chest and very sore muscles.

Mike :^)x

Mike,

Glad to hear it wasn't worse. I don't envy the stitches or
the sore noggin, but I'm sure you appreciate the exent of
what "could have been!" Nice to see you can laugh about it
at this stage. XC bike or not, this just proves you
downhillers just ain't like the rest of us normal folk.
Heal fast.

Tom

Thanks Tom. Yeah I don't want to think about what "could
have been!" That rock was way bigger than my head. I'm very
lucky to walk away with only what I got. Always have to keep
the sense of 'hurmor'. ;^)

Mike

Michael Dart said:

I'm warning you it's not pretty!

pbase.com27375818Open ↗

Well it's a good looking scar anyway.

Mike

I've 'ad worse.....actually I've got one just like it from
an OTB incident when I was a wee pup of only 18 years old.
Chick dig scars.

Tom

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

Quoted message said:

A good helmet will be light with plenty of ventilation and
provide you with excellent protection. Prices

for

Quoted message said:

good helmets start around 69$.

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

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

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?

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.

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?

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

Quoted message said:

Chris said:

Lies. All helmets certified by the CPSC - that's
everything made by

real

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

helmet makers like Bell, Giro, LGarneau, Briko, whomever
-will protect

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

problem in my $29-on-sale Bell Ukon - and I wear a
bandanna between my

head

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and the cover (as no sweatpads can restrain my manly
flow of

perspiration).

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm of the opinion that helmets are the one area where
riders

consistently

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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

"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

"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

"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.

In article
<[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

"Chris" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:LNudnXnGd5OmCvXdRVn-
[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.

The difference is essentially in the marketing, like
expensive sunglasses, the main difference is that you've
seen ads for it in major magazines and/or Micheal Jordan
wears them.
--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia ramsays-ramsays-Open ↗
online.com

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.

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!

Quoted message said:

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

Well, there's no guarantee they are more protective. But a
well fitting helmet won't roll off or move as easy. IMHO, a
good fitting/feeling helmet is first priority; if it happens
to be inexpensive, that's an extra bonus.
--
Slacker

"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

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