Cycling UK Forum

There is a new downloadable article by Headkayse, those people marketing a soft, multi-impact helmet, at https://headkayse.com/blogs/news/852360 ... ?nopreview which gives a good review of the history of cycle helmets, their design parameters and their limitations.

It is a relatively short article but for anyone interested in understanding the extent of protection that a helmet can give, well worth a read.

It's good - although it does fail to mention (until the very end) that the best protection is to use the brain and avoid situations in the first place.

I didn't see anything about how well their wonder material ages.

I also didn't see anything about how often you might expect to use such a helmet - I have come off my cycles a number of times (normally ice or vehicle related, although also rejoining a path through leaves...) and my head has come nowhere near the floor.

Hi [XAP]Bob

I pretty much agree with your analysis. The best prevention is to be vigilant, though I have unfortunately had the opportunity to give helmets a serious test on 2 occasions.

Regarding the Headkayse (soft) helmet, I have many questions, including the longevity of the materials. That notwithstanding, I have been sufficiently intrigued to order one and will report back after I have used it for a short while.

I am looking for some great ideas for biking equipment for my coast to coast travel in March, and thought it would be good to ask if anyone got any really good bike equipment i.e Helmet,shoes etc that maybe really good to use for my coast to coast

jack1992 wrote:Is there a light weight helmet out there which is also easy to pack up, when not on the bike so then it doesn't take much room up in the bag?

I have signed up for one of these "soft" Hedkayse helmets https://www.hedkayse.com/ via crowdfunding. Reasonably light (~450g) but foldable, exactly how foldable I do not know. It's main feature however is keeping its structural integrity even after impact, allowing one to have multiple crashes (I may not have phrased that right )

jack1992 wrote:Is there a light weight helmet out there which is also easy to pack up, when not on the bike so then it doesn't take much room up in the bag?

I know nothing of this other than it exists.

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-h ... gLZd_D_BwE

geomannie wrote:

jack1992 wrote:Is there a light weight helmet out there which is also easy to pack up, when not on the bike so then it doesn't take much room up in the bag?

I have signed up for one of these "soft" Hedkayse helmets https://www.hedkayse.com/ via crowdfunding. Reasonably light (~450g) but foldable, exactly how foldable I do not know. It's main feature however is keeping its structural integrity even after impact, allowing one to have multiple crashes (I may not have phrased that right )

Sounds interesting?, has anyone else heard of this company?, but does seem very unique and clever if you can have multiple crashes and still be able to be safe and wear it (hoping not to crash though), could be a nice one of buy and then never have to buy a helmet if this is the case!

jack1992 wrote:

geomannie wrote:

jack1992 wrote:Is there a light weight helmet out there which is also easy to pack up, when not on the bike so then it doesn't take much room up in the bag?

I have signed up for one of these "soft" Hedkayse helmets https://www.hedkayse.com/ via crowdfunding. Reasonably light (~450g) but foldable, exactly how foldable I do not know. It's main feature however is keeping its structural integrity even after impact, allowing one to have multiple crashes (I may not have phrased that right )

Sounds interesting?, has anyone else heard of this company?, but does seem very unique and clever if you can have multiple crashes and still be able to be safe and wear it (hoping not to crash though), could be a nice one of buy and then never have to buy a helmet if this is the case!

All I can really say is that the project has been delayed, with the helmet design undergoing several major revisions. It's now nearly 3 years since I put my money down. What they are offering now, however, is much more sophisticated than the original concept. The final design now has EU certification and the initial delivery run is promised for April 2019, barring any more delays (which have been numerous). I will report here (Helmets thread) when I finally receive my Hedkayse.

geomannie wrote:

jack1992 wrote:

geomannie wrote:I have signed up for one of these "soft" Hedkayse helmets https://www.hedkayse.com/ via crowdfunding. Reasonably light (~450g) but foldable, exactly how foldable I do not know. It's main feature however is keeping its structural integrity even after impact, allowing one to have multiple crashes (I may not have phrased that right )

Sounds interesting?, has anyone else heard of this company?, but does seem very unique and clever if you can have multiple crashes and still be able to be safe and wear it (hoping not to crash though), could be a nice one of buy and then never have to buy a helmet if this is the case!

All I can really say is that the project has been delayed, with the helmet design undergoing several major revisions. It's now nearly 3 years since I put my money down. What they are offering now, however, is much more sophisticated than the original concept. The final design now has EU certification and the initial delivery run is promised for April 2019, barring any more delays (which have been numerous). I will report here (Helmets thread) when I finally receive my Hedkayse.

Sounds promising if the reason why they have delayed is due to improvements i guess! i shall keep an eye out for it! be interesting to see what your review on it is when you get yours!

I am looking for a multi impact helmet, i know helmets have came on leaps and bounds, so just wondering if there is anything out there which can take the crashes more then once- as i know it is recommended to replace once you've had a crash

One is discussed in viewtopic.php?f=41&t=101635 but it is not yet on sale, years after it was announced.

jack1992 wrote:I know helmets have came on leaps and bounds

Really? I thought the helmet test they are built to hadn't changed in years. I thought helmet design was mostly fashion, maybe better ventilation and comfort, but I've never seen any maker claiming their helmet was any safer than any other helmet.

In fact I wojuldn't be surprised if any advances had been used to make helmets to pass the existing test lighter rather than keeping the weight the same but giving protection that exceeded the test.

For an item pushed hard by many people on safety grounds there is little evidence of any attempts to make them safer.

irc wrote:

jack1992 wrote:I know helmets have came on leaps and bounds

Really? I thought the helmet test they are built to hadn't changed in years. I thought helmet design was mostly fashion, maybe better ventilation and comfort, but I've never seen any maker claiming their helmet was any safer than any other helmet.

In fact I wojuldn't be surprised if any advances had been used to make helmets to pass the existing test lighter rather than keeping the weight the same but giving protection that exceeded the test.

For an item pushed hard by many people on safety grounds there is little evidence of any attempts to make them safer.

The link given by the other response, the helmet company this is on about his Hedkayse, and when visiting their web page it does suggest what they have came up with is a material which absorbs the impact so it does not crack or destroy the integrity, looking at there blog page, some good videos of them proving that after many hits their helmet still passes the standards test whilst a 'normal' helmet fails after a couple of hits

mjr wrote:One is discussed in viewtopic.php?f=41&t=101635 but it is not yet on sale, years after it was announced.

Thankyou- just looked through their website very interesting!, from what they are saying it is being distributed soon! are you getting one?

It's an interesting question though.

As I understand it, the small force of impact mitigated by a cycling helmet is absorbed via the crushing of the polystyrene under the point of impact. This typically also cracks the ultra-thin plastic shell around the polystyrene sections that is used to put on the fancy paintwork, logos and such. However, the thing may still be wearable.

If one bangs the plastic hat on a particular spot and this crushes the polystyrene, surely the uncrushed areas of polystyrene would remain efficacious at absorbing small and inconsequential blows to the head? The hat might be a bit wonky and dilapidated in appearance but surely a blow to the still-undamaged parts of the polystyrene would absorb the 3 or 4 newtons of force the things are designed to absorb.......?

I have seen blokes (even wimmin) riding bikes that are quite dilapidated, with damage here and there. Why not treat the plastic hat in the same way? A few dings will hardly detract from it's already teeny functional capacity as a safety aid; and could look quite rakish! "Lookit me, a tough cyclist not afraid to crash, fall-off and generally macho-about upon my bike".

Cugel