Should you spend a lot on helmets?

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Pinhead
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by Pinhead »

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re_cycler
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by re_cycler »

mjr wrote: 16 May 2023, 5:15pm
Ignoring the product in the damaged box is just a way to reduce the chance of getting a damaged product. It's all a flaming lottery and if you think cycle helmets could help you, surely you really don't want that? Shouldn't there be a verifiable safe-handling delivery chain for so-called safety products?
The irony of needing safe handling for something people buy to protect from an impact. It needs an impact tell-tale in the same way that the pop up on a jam lid shows if it's been opened.
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al_yrpal
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by al_yrpal »

If you wish to avoid the pain of nesting buzzard attacks, most definately.

Al
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mjr
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by mjr »

re_cycler wrote: 17 May 2023, 8:18am
mjr wrote: 16 May 2023, 5:15pm
Ignoring the product in the damaged box is just a way to reduce the chance of getting a damaged product. It's all a flaming lottery and if you think cycle helmets could help you, surely you really don't want that? Shouldn't there be a verifiable safe-handling delivery chain for so-called safety products?
The irony of needing safe handling for something people buy to protect from an impact. It needs an impact tell-tale in the same way that the pop up on a jam lid shows if it's been opened.
Why's it irony? It seems absurd that these things are sold to mitigate against a single impact without any way of telling whether it has already been in an impact.

I agree that a tell-tale would be good.
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re_cycler
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by re_cycler »

mjr wrote: 17 May 2023, 10:27am
Why's it irony? It seems absurd that these things are sold to mitigate against a single impact without any way of telling whether it has already been in an impact.

I agree that a tell-tale would be good.
It was just a little tongue in cheek about the design of sacrificial safety equipment. I had no idea but you can get tell-tales for rough handling.
https://impactograph.com/product/shock- ... or-labels/.
I'm surprised they're not built into the helmet as a way to increase replacement sales.
Pete Owens
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by Pete Owens »

softlips wrote: 22 Feb 2023, 8:19pm How much is your head worth? I have a Giro Aether which has MIPS. To be honest you don't know you're wearing it and its very cool in hot climates.
So do you wear yours 24/7 ?
If you find it as comfortable as that, then you would have no reason to ever remove it.
Presumably you value your head every bit as much at times when you are doing things other than cycling.
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Pinhead
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by Pinhead »

al_yrpal wrote: 22 Feb 2023, 10:46am I guess any helmet that passes the tests will do. Mine was about a tenner in Aldi, to me its indistinguishable from helmets costing much more. They all seem to be polystyrene moulded into a very thin plastic shell. Guess the soundness of the polystyrene and the correct thicknesses is the key thing.

Al
"to me its indistinguishable from helmets costing much more"

You can't SEE the difference in materials but there is
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Audax67
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by Audax67 »

AIUI the outer shell is to protect the polystyrene from UV.
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Manc33
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by Manc33 »

The most I spent was about £70 but that was with 65% knocked off, it was meant to be £200 :shock:
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Stevek76
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by Stevek76 »

Pinhead wrote: 8 Jul 2023, 3:03pm "to me its indistinguishable from helmets costing much more"

You can't SEE the difference in materials but there is
As far as safety goes, on the basis of the tests done by virginia tech and folksam then price does make limited difference, obviously it might get you lighter, more aero etc but it's certainly no indicator of the level of impact mitigation.
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Manc33
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by Manc33 »

That was why I got the Giro Aeon, it's 200g and has great airflow. Then I strap a GoPro to it and defeat both purposes. :lol:
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Re: Should you spend a lot on helmets?

Post by pjclinch »

Pinhead wrote: 8 Jul 2023, 3:03pm
al_yrpal wrote: 22 Feb 2023, 10:46am I guess any helmet that passes the tests will do. Mine was about a tenner in Aldi, to me its indistinguishable from helmets costing much more. They all seem to be polystyrene moulded into a very thin plastic shell. Guess the soundness of the polystyrene and the correct thicknesses is the key thing.
"to me its indistinguishable from helmets costing much more"

You can't SEE the difference in materials but there is
The aim with a lot of helmets is to meet the standard, because where there are rules they relate to standards (e.g., if I turn up for a race in an old-style hairnet and say it's a proper cycling crash helmet I'll get told to go away and come back when it passes EN1078, Snell B95 or some such current standard).
Because it's advantageous to be as light as possible it's thus advantageous to build down to the standard, and by throwing money at better materials you thus get a helmet that is as protective but lighter, and possibly better ventilated (all those holes reduce the strength, so to have holes you have to make up for that reduction by either thicker or better materials elsewhere).

However, there's "indistinguishable" and "superficially similar" and one thing hiding in there you'll not get from visual inspection is shape and the degree the strapping/cradle will adjust and work with a particular head shape. I'm happy with a Lidl helmet to do my basic MTB coaching with an insurance requirement to wear a lid. My wife finds the same helmet not very comfortable and as she uses hers for racing where she'd prefer to limit discomfort to screaming muscles she uses a Kask helmet that cost quite a bit more, not because she's expecting any better from it in a prang but because it fits her much better. Particularly if you're wearing one every trip, if paying more means less discomfort then that could well be worth the extra.

Pete.
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