Looking at road bike helmets. So many brands, grades, and opinions. After reading there seems to be no shortage of B.S on EPS, EPP, PET and ABS. I heat up easily and in fact breaking a sweat just now thinking. My major concern is something that will give me the best ventilation and not cook away what little brains I have left. It seems that for brand selection Giro dominates and Specialized is a close second . I think you're paying for the name especially with Specialized products.Does Bell make a decent helmet for the money? I like (for the money) the Bell Array or even the Influx; will others point and snicker when I put one of those on my melon?
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What's Cooler than being cool?
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Why concerned about snicker-people? Don be. FWIW Bell (Easton-Bell Sports) owns Giro. Most of the snicker people probably don't know that.
Get a helmet that fits and has the amount of ventilation that suits you. More holes generally equates to more $$ ... either because it is more difficult to engineer to regulatory requirements with more ventilation, or it is just more cool. 🙂
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Quoted post said:
Originally Posted by sitzmark [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]
More holes generally equates to more $$ ... either because it is more difficult to engineer to regulatory requirements with more ventilation, or it is just more cool. 🙂
Unless it's the new Giro Air Attack where less holes = more $$. Go figure. -
It's usually less weight that drives the price. I would never laugh at a person's helmet , maybe their skinny legs but not their helmet.
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A Specialized Align weighs 313 grams in large, and meets both CPSC and Snell standards. Costs all of $40.
When you do weight comparisons, don't forget that there are 28 grams to an ounce. Getting a helmet that's 50 grams lighter, while paying 5 times the price---is it really worth it to save less than 2 oz.?
You're not going to get any ideas on how well ventilated any helmet is when trying it on.
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No one's as cool as Kim Deal.
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Hey Jay. Having brains in 2013 is overrated. Just dummy up and ride and life will be a lot easier lmao. The Lazer Helium helmet has good ventilation and is very comfortable. Too rich for my blood, but I have tried one on and they are very nice. As cool as the Giro Air Attack looks I have no idea who would want to wear one for a couple of hours. Say goodbye to your brains and hair if you wear a Giro No Air Attack!
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Quoted post said:
Originally Posted by mark174ace [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]
Hey Jay. Having brains in 2013 is overrated. Just dummy up and ride and life will be a lot easier lmao. The Lazer Helium helmet has good ventilation and is very comfortable. Too rich for my blood, but I have tried one on and they are very nice. As cool as the Giro Air Attack looks I have no idea who would want to wear one for a couple of hours. Say goodbye to your brains and hair if you wear a Giro No Air Attack!
Apparently the AA is pretty well vented all things considered. I have no idea though not having actually tried one but even if it's venting is as minimal as the Loius Garneau Vortice (which I have tried) it would be enough for all but the hottest days. That guy who won the TDF used one despite us knowing heat is enemy #1 when it comes to a good result. But if you start getting hot, just ride faster... it's an old trick anyone who's ridden aircooled MC's knows all too well. As long as you don't stop, you'll be ok [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif[/IMG] -
Just because Bell now owns Giro doesn't mean their helmets are the same. In fact, they aren't. In the past I've used a Giro Pneumo and a Giro Atmos. They both vented very well and fit mostly okay....mostly. Now I'm using a Bell Volt which ventilates better than the other two and fits nearly perfectly, which implies it has a different fit than the Giros did, which is actually fact and no longer implication. As others have said, more money generally buys you a helmet that is lighter, ventilates better, and might have fancier graphics. More money does not necessarily buy you a helmet that is better at impact energy dissipation. With that said, the commonly held belief that, for example, one CPSC rated helmet isn't any safer than another CPSC rated helmet is not necessarily true. Standards only set baseline criteria. A helmet either meets the standard or doesn't. There's nothing added, no additional labeling or information, that indicates by how much a helmet exceeded a standard. As such, you'd probably struggle to find info that ranked helmets according to safety. By struggle, I mean you'd almost certainly come up empty handed after such search. The most important thing is to buy a helmet that fits. If a helmet is uncomfortable you're less likely to wear it or possibly even ride.
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I hear you but you cannot always ride fast. Giro claims the helmet is 97% as affective as one of there other high end road helmets (cannot remember the name). My question is how fast do you need to be going to reach that 97% effectiveness? The helmet looks nice, but I have my doubts. :-)
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mark174ace said:
I hear you but you cannot always ride fast. Giro claims the helmet is 97% as affective as one of there other high end road helmets (cannot remember the name). My question is how fast do you need to be going to reach that 97% effectiveness? The helmet looks nice, but I have my doubts. :-)
The only way to get that info would be for someone at Giro to tell you what they specifically mean by "97% effective", how that is measured, and at what speed(s) that was measured or calculated. Otherwise, there's no way of knowing.
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What's cooler than being cool? Being still alive after a bad crash because your helmet didn't roll off your bonce. The only way to buy a helmet is to try lots of them on, figure out which brand/brands fit the best and then narrow things down on price and looks. Due to the odd shape of my noggin I'm pretty much stuck with Specialized helmets. The Catlike aero helmet that I've done some testing with required a "little massaging" of the foam to fit properly - but ultimately it's a special use helmet that is pretty much saved for a rainy day, or a very cold very rainy day that involved a 300km brevet when I had an ear infection. The ear covers on the side worked ace - but I had to chuck the aero bars on the road bike just for added effect 😉
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Exactly and I am not so sure how helpful Giro would be with that information lol.
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I notice Rapha doesn't make a helmet (if they did it would cost $400 I guess). This suggests that the scope for a cool expensive helmet is somewhat limited.
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Quoted post said:
Originally Posted by mpre53 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]
meets both CPSC and Snell standards.
Do they now?????????????? [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/IMG]
Snell standards are one of the strictest ones I checked....
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Volnix said:
Do they now?????????????? [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/IMG] Snell standards are one of the strictest ones I checked....
So? A helmet can still meet both standards. What is your point?
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Quoted post said:
Originally Posted by Volnix [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]
Do they now?????????????? [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/IMG]
Snell standards are one of the strictest ones I checked....
My Echelon has the Snell certification label inside it. I've looked at every Spesh helmet there is, and they all have the Snell certification label inside--from the $40 Align to the 4200+ Prevail. -
Quoted post said:
Originally Posted by mpre53 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]
My Echelon has the Snell certification label inside it. I've looked at every Spesh helmet there is, and they all have the Snell certification label inside--from the $40 Align to the 4200+ Prevail.
Does the Snell label say B-90, B-95 or something else? I ask because read that the B-90 is virtually the same as CPSC in the US. B-95 seems to be the latest for bicycle helmets, with about 10% higher ratings for "Anvil drop" and "Energy Dissipation". Either way, suppose it's good that Specialized is supporting the Snell Institute. Of course, other manufacturers could have the same or better protection by exceeding the CPSC specs; would guess they all try to have a bit of margin over just the minimum CPSC legal requirements.
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Quoted post said:
Originally Posted by dhk2 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]
Does the Snell label say B-90, B-95 or something else? I ask because read that the B-90 is virtually the same as CPSC in the US. B-95 seems to be the latest for bicycle helmets, with about 10% higher ratings for "Anvil drop" and "Energy Dissipation". Either way, suppose it's good that Specialized is supporting the Snell Institute. Of course, other manufacturers could have the same or better protection by exceeding the CPSC specs; would guess they all try to have a bit of margin over just the minimum CPSC legal requirements.
I'll check it tomorrow. The helmet's in my car. It's pouring like hell and I'm not about to go out tonight. [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif[/IMG] -
Quoted post said:
Originally Posted by mpre53 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]
My Echelon has the Snell certification label inside it. I've looked at every Spesh helmet there is, and they all have the Snell certification label inside--from the $40 Align to the 4200+ Prevail.
Well, my next helmet might be a specialized one then. [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/IMG]
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