What are folks using for helmets?
#26
Senior Member
I've been using Limar helmets for years, I bought my first one before they were being sold here in the US. Many Euro dealers would not ship them here at that time, But, found one that did . One of their helmets saved my life or at least kept me from being a vegetable.
#27
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I put that's stripe on it to match my Sachs.
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#28
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Bell Sixer MIPS
Gotta have a visor.
Most comfortable helmet I have owned.
https://www.bellhelmets.com/bike/p/s...500000069.html
Gotta have a visor.
Most comfortable helmet I have owned.
https://www.bellhelmets.com/bike/p/s...500000069.html
#29
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Built this bike just for local stuff, no roads posted above 25mph, always within 10mi of my house. No bike “gear” required, whatever I happen to be wearing at the time, get on and go. I find that I ride more often if I don’t have to gear up. If it’s a high traffic time I’ll grab the helmet, otherwise Nada. I like that word. Also, nice having a kickstand again.
Tim
1971 Schwinn Sports Tourer
Tim
1971 Schwinn Sports Tourer
#30
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POC Tectal, I added some Scotchlite to the visor, and some reflective material used on road signs on the back. People remark about the visibility. I've replaced the cheap generic lights with smaller/lighter ones from the swap.
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#31
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Bell helmets fit me better than the rest. Got a new Falcon this past week.
#32
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Every once in a while they still get me. I recently went in for that on the Nitto Noodle, going so far as to replace a stem with subtle aesthetics I absolutely loved with a Pearl in 26.0 to accommodate the new bars. Supremely anticlimactic.
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A race bike in any era is a highly personal choice that at its "best" balances the requirements of fit, weight, handling, durability and cost tempered by the willingness to toss it and oneself down the pavement at considerable speed. ~Bandera
A race bike in any era is a highly personal choice that at its "best" balances the requirements of fit, weight, handling, durability and cost tempered by the willingness to toss it and oneself down the pavement at considerable speed. ~Bandera
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#33
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Back in the day we wore these helmets, but we had to make whirring sounds and chose African swallows. We had to make clicking sounds and had crickets in clever small cages. We had to make squealing brake sounds, so we carried small pigs and would squeeze them at appropriate times. It would have been better to have a bicycle.
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#34
Senior Member
Giro Aeon. Plain black, stickers removed, and it's still ugly. I confess I'm a long time no helmet wearer, but the times are different. The modern driver is angry and distracted, and cares more about the cell phone than watching the road or staying between the lines. This Giro is not any more of an inconvenience than wearing a hat, so there really isn't any rational reason not to wear one.
It is getting pretty well past its prime though. Due for replacement. I was looking at the POC, but they are just so expensive. I wonder how they hold up? I'm on my second set of hardware for the Giro.
It is getting pretty well past its prime though. Due for replacement. I was looking at the POC, but they are just so expensive. I wonder how they hold up? I'm on my second set of hardware for the Giro.
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#35
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Specialized Chamonix MIPS for me. I like it okay. All black, which I'm fine with (though a couple of friends have hi-viz yellow and I have to admit they're cool), and at least it's not pink or some other "girly" color. What they had at the bike shop in my price range on the day I went (I have never in my life owned such an expensive helmet, though I realize that ~$70 is on the low end). These days I'm not 100% sure it fits perfectly; when I bought it the guy at the LBS thought I'd take a medium/large despite the fact that I have a small head (I wear kids' glasses, or at the very least the smallest women's size, and often wear kids' hats, so you can see why this was a surprise to me). When I compared the medium/large vs the small/medium, it did seem the larger size had less of that look of "perching" on top of my head that I tend to get with helmets (despite the fact that my head is actually all the way in) so I agreed with him and bought the larger size, but now I'm not certain. I can get it snug with the adjustments though, so there's that.
And I agree with Salamandrine. I have never in my life fallen off a bike in such a way that it wasn't my elbows/knees that took the brunt (next candidate would likely be my face, which nothing but a full-face helmet is going to save me from)-- I'm no super-fast rider so it's unlikely I'd go crashing onto my head at a low speed*-- but, all bets are off if I were to get hit by a car and actually go flying. I don't especially trust other drivers at all anyway, but it's more of a concern when there's no heavy metal frame or airbags or seatbelts between me and their two-ton fast-paced projectile.
And it does quickly turn to regret, so there's that...
*I think the last time I fell off-- keep in mind that I don't ride that often so don't have much opportunity anyway-- was maybe 15+ years ago when I was actually stopped, trying to turn the bike around on a sidewalk; somehow I turned the front wheel too much, put myself enough off-balance that I hit the concrete. I can't even remember the last time I might've fallen off while actually riding, if it actually has happened since I was learning. Maybe that time I hit a pothole fast-ish, but that at most would've just resulted in me coming off the seat and slamming onto the center bar/into the handlebars, not actually falling.
And I agree with Salamandrine. I have never in my life fallen off a bike in such a way that it wasn't my elbows/knees that took the brunt (next candidate would likely be my face, which nothing but a full-face helmet is going to save me from)-- I'm no super-fast rider so it's unlikely I'd go crashing onto my head at a low speed*-- but, all bets are off if I were to get hit by a car and actually go flying. I don't especially trust other drivers at all anyway, but it's more of a concern when there's no heavy metal frame or airbags or seatbelts between me and their two-ton fast-paced projectile.
And it does quickly turn to regret, so there's that...
*I think the last time I fell off-- keep in mind that I don't ride that often so don't have much opportunity anyway-- was maybe 15+ years ago when I was actually stopped, trying to turn the bike around on a sidewalk; somehow I turned the front wheel too much, put myself enough off-balance that I hit the concrete. I can't even remember the last time I might've fallen off while actually riding, if it actually has happened since I was learning. Maybe that time I hit a pothole fast-ish, but that at most would've just resulted in me coming off the seat and slamming onto the center bar/into the handlebars, not actually falling.
Last edited by Kat12; 08-08-20 at 01:47 PM.
#36
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I got lucky with mine. Stopped at the Erik's store on Madison's east side on a whim, as we were driving past. They had mine on sale, close to 50% off, I'm guessing because the pink was, er, a slow seller. For me it was a bonus. No hardware issues, BTW.
#37
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because it fits so well...
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Vintage, modern, e-road. It is a big cycling universe.
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#38
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On the recommendation of a local bike shop owner, I chose the Giro Xen for its spherical shape, which fits my head perfectly.
(Little Erik E., age 2 in this picture from last year, has to wear a helmet instead of his favored Mickey Mouse cap when riding his tricycle or in the Burley trailer.)
(Little Erik E., age 2 in this picture from last year, has to wear a helmet instead of his favored Mickey Mouse cap when riding his tricycle or in the Burley trailer.)
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
#39
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^^^^^^^ Find a Mickey Mouse cap big enough to fit over the helmet.
#40
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#41
Disraeli Gears
Recently got a Smith Convoy to replace a heavier, less airy gray Bern that I gave away along with a bike to my nephew.
I like the design, but I wish I liked wearing a helmet better.
I like the design, but I wish I liked wearing a helmet better.
#42
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I use a bike helmet. It has a name on it. I can't be bothered to remember what the name is. It was a closeout at Nashbar last time I ordered something from them (over two years ago).
They're all ugly and they're all hot and they're all important. When I'm wearing it, I can't see it ... so the ugly doesn't bother me.
They're all ugly and they're all hot and they're all important. When I'm wearing it, I can't see it ... so the ugly doesn't bother me.
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#43
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I haven't had an ugly or hot helmet since, roughly, the turn of the century.
My old '80s Bell Biker, well, that's another story.
My old '80s Bell Biker, well, that's another story.
#44
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They are kinda bulbous or mushroom-head looking, so be sure the style suits you. The EPS foam is thicker than most other helmets, and the polycarbonate shell may be a bit thicker too, so they run a little heavier than some helmets. But most folks love the ventilation.
I'm considering an Abus, which also fits lower on the skull, especially the sides and rear, but more tapered so it appears less bulbous.
After seeing a pretty horrific crash at 20+ mph last year I won't ride without a helmet now. The guy's front tire nicked a raised ledge of pavement in the middle of what appeared to be a smooth road, smacked the right side of his head hard, then slid several feet and hit head first into a curb.
I know some folks think they have fast enough reflexes or can roll with the fall or some such thing, but... nah. Most of us fall like a sack of potatoes and smack our heads on the pavement. We aren't highly trained, zero body fat pros, and even those guys don't duck, cover, roll and pop up like ninjas when they crash. When I was hit by a car a couple of years ago it was fairly slow speed (driver ignored the yellow yield light and turned left into me while I had the green), maybe 10-15 mph, and as I fell I remember consciously trying to roll with the fall and keep my head up. Nope. The side of my helmet smacked the pavement and my shoulder was broken and dislocated. All my boxing and martial arts judo, karate and wrestling training years ago meant zippo when it came to a 60 year old man vs car and pavement.
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