Originally Posted by wphamilton

The one-time hit and comfort are driving factors in design of these foam bike helmets. Also, the anticipated speed is often cited but take that with a grain of salt. I don't know about you, but I am way more interested in protecting myself better from a high speed crash than having something marginally better at 6 mph. Anyone would - I think that there's a bit of smoke there.


Different sports have different standards, but the minimum standards are pretty much converging at least for the g-force allowed.


That said, though it's been awhile since I wore a motorcycle helmet I recall that they are larger with more material, plus the hard shell of course, and I believe that they offer more protection at any speed. We don't wear them because they're hot and heavy relative to bike helmets - uncomfortable when we're going hard. Bicycle helmet may have an aerodynamic edge.


It's kind of ironic that these are the same reasons why some of us (including myself) sometimes don't wear a bicycle helmet. Whether you choose not wear one, or choose to wear one but not a motorcycle helmet, it's a trade-off between comfort and protection.