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Need a quiet helmet. Pretty important.

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Need a quiet helmet. Pretty important.

Old 10-17-18, 05:03 PM
  #1  
Reynolds 531 
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Need a quiet helmet. Pretty important.

I have this exact helmet. It is way too loud. Almost painful. I have tried twisting straps, "cat-ears", tucking straps, tightening, loosening, everything. My average speed on MTB is 12 mph, but on the road bike is up 20-21 ish. I really need advice from someone with sensitive ears who can steer me to a quiet helmet.

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Old 10-17-18, 05:42 PM
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Too much turbulence. You need this, especially if you average 22 mph

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/s-works-tt/p/131543
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Old 10-17-18, 05:46 PM
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Since the helmet doesn't cover your ears, I don't think it has much to do with the noise. You might want to try some attenuator ear plugs.

I have pretty bad tinnitus and the wind noise bothers me as well. Cat Ears helped but only slightly. One other thing that seems to help is putting your glasses on over the helmet straps so they don't create wind noise.

When I rode motorcycles I wore ear plugs 100% of the time but not really comfortable doing that on the street on a bike.
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Old 10-17-18, 05:49 PM
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https://www.hearos.com/products/ulti...ries-ear-plugs
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Old 10-18-18, 05:53 AM
  #5  
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While i can't claim to have sensitive ears, my wife would say i'm deaf, i noticed a big difference in sound when i switched from a Giro Atmos to the Giro Air Attack shield helmet. I'm wearing the Atmos again because my kids found the Air Attack to be a fun toy and threw it around and immediately i noticed the Atmos was louder.
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Old 10-18-18, 07:47 AM
  #6  
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My Kask Infiinity and Specialized Evade are quieter than my Prevail
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Old 10-18-18, 07:59 AM
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I have a Kask Mojito and it's pretty quiet and the strap is so comfortable.
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Old 10-18-18, 08:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Ogsarg
Since the helmet doesn't cover your ears, I don't think it has much to do with the noise. You might want to try some attenuator ear plugs.

I have pretty bad tinnitus and the wind noise bothers me as well. Cat Ears helped but only slightly. One other thing that seems to help is putting your glasses on over the helmet straps so they don't create wind noise.

When I rode motorcycles I wore ear plugs 100% of the time but not really comfortable doing that on the street on a bike.
This ^ 100%. Earplugs seem like an inexpensive, easy solution, guaranteed to work.
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Old 10-18-18, 08:03 AM
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I have a suggestion, but I would test two things first:

1. A short ride without any helmet, to know for a fact how much noise is from the helmet
2. A short ride with the straps unbuckled, and tucked under the helmet, to know how much noise if from the straps.

I don't personally hear any noise, but some people do and it's often due to the straps, hence the suggestion to find out for sure first. There are some products available, but they are essentially wrapping the straps with some thick fuzzy fabric. I would think that's also pretty easy to check out before buying anything. Wrap the straps with something soft, not too tight, try it out.
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Old 10-18-18, 08:56 AM
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I'm riding a Bontrager Velocis, and the only noise I notice is wind (it's much worse when riding into it). Some of that you just can't get away from, regardless of helmet. So I +1 the earplugs for you, hope it helps,
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Old 10-18-18, 06:23 PM
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The straps on my Giro cause the wind noise I hear when riding.
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Old 10-18-18, 06:37 PM
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I ride with earplugs and find it works well. You hear the car tires screeching or the other signs of traffic that are important but the wind noise is dramatically reduced so that you can enjoy the ride. Give it a shot.
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Old 10-18-18, 07:01 PM
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I never addressed helmet noise but I should. I know different helmets are very different for the amount of wind noise they create. (It's aerodynamic turbulence and very small differences in object shape can make big differences.) How you wear the helmet will also make a difference. (Think flute player. Very small difference in the details of a persons mouth mean no sound at all, a muffled. slightly musical "whoosh" or one of the purest sounds in an orchestra.)

My suggestion - go a good bike shop and ask to try on helmets and ride around the parking lot or block and try them out. (Pick a windy day.) The shop has probably never been asked this before, but maybe this will start a trend. Maybe it will get helmet manufacturers looking at lowering wind noise as part of the design. And if they do, we all win. Some of us might even get to live longer.

Ben
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Old 10-18-18, 07:08 PM
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You live in a country that isn't stupid enough to ban cycling without a helmet. Solution seems pretty simple to me
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Old 10-19-18, 08:36 AM
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I wear Etymotics attenuating ear plugs. I can hear car traffic just fine, but the wind noise is not a problem with them in. The only thing I can't hear is when pedestrians try to tell me stuff as I ride by (probably something stupid about not riding on a walking trail, even though it's really a MUP).
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Old 10-19-18, 08:50 AM
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Originally Posted by dwolsten
Etymotics attenuating ear plugs.
I thought to mention these as well. Generic ear plugs attenuate sound differentially across the spectrum; these are designed to attenuate sound uniformly. I'm pretty sensitive to annoying sounds and I like these quite a bit. Plus, you can wear them to your favorite death-metal concerts and not lose any of the artistic nuance, yet retain your hearing for another day.
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Old 10-19-18, 12:21 PM
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I have tinnitus and found the Cat Like Whisper and Mixino to be quiet. Some don't like the aesthetics but I get nothing but complements on the road.
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Old 10-19-18, 06:10 PM
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I can't hear anything over all the noise I make singing. ��

I wear a Catlike Whisper. Red color. Size: humongous
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Old 10-20-18, 08:29 AM
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My Synthe created a humming at certain speeds. The Prevail II not so much.
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Old 10-20-18, 09:11 AM
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Originally Posted by Reynolds 531
I have this exact helmet. It is way too loud. Almost painful. I have tried twisting straps, "cat-ears", tucking straps, tightening, loosening, everything. My average speed on MTB is 12 mph, but on the road bike is up 20-21 ish. I really need advice from someone with sensitive ears who can steer me to a quiet helmet.

Great topic.

Mine is too laud too. Very annoying and I look forward to see if anyone has some workable solutions. I find the only thing that works is a thin scull cap the covers the ears. Good for winter. Summer, not so much.
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Old 10-20-18, 02:07 PM
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I’ve had many, many helmets over the decades, and they definitely matter in terms of sound. Absent practical experience, rational consideration reveals the same, that helmets generate wind noise. it’s a shame some would suggest otherwise.

Results will very depending on fit, head postioning, environmental factors and speed, but I will second the suggestion to look at the Giro Air Attack Shield. I love mine and it is the quietest of my current four helmets (Dux Helm, POC Octal Aero, and Uvex Boss Race).
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Old 10-20-18, 02:34 PM
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I have that helmet. It has zero affect on wind noise. I'm not sure how that's possible. A full face motorcycle hemlet is a different matter.
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Old 10-20-18, 02:36 PM
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$12, work great.
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Old 10-20-18, 03:55 PM
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I'm currently using the Bontrager Circuit MIPS. It's not silent by any means, but one of the first things I noticed when I started riding with it was that it's quieter than the helmets I'd used before -- a Lazer O2 recently and Giro Pneumo before that. Noticeably less "whooshy" in my ears. It's also a pretty damn solid product, for anyone as skeptical about Bontrager stuff as I was.
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Old 10-20-18, 06:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Lazyass
I have that helmet. It has zero affect on wind noise. I'm not sure how that's possible. A full face motorcycle hemlet is a different matter.
Never heard of aerodynamics, huh?
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