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Old 06-14-19, 07:51 AM
  #1  
Glyndwr
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Retro helmets?

If there is a more appropriate place to put this, my apologies, but I'm going for a vintage look with modern safety.

I love the style of the Ekoi Legende (Roman Bardet wore a fantastic French team version at World's last year) and the Met Trenta 3K (current UAE team wears them) that harken back to the leather "hair net" worn by pros in the old days. However, I don't really feel like shelling out the $200-$350 for which I've seen these products listed.

Anyone see a brand offering something similar?

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Old 06-14-19, 10:02 AM
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I saw these on the Brooks stand at Eroica. Back in the day, our helmets were almost always black. These are pretty colorful, but might suit somebody. Not my style. I would like them better without the tweedy stripe.
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Old 06-14-19, 10:44 AM
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The normal non-Brooks verson of the carrera is tweedless and comes in normal colors, like black or white.
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Old 06-14-19, 11:08 AM
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Since helmets are a safety feature only (who wears one just for the looks?) it's the one item I want modern every day of the week, and twice on Sundays.

I treat 'em like shoes: if they fit, I'll wear it.
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Old 06-14-19, 12:48 PM
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That does have the vintage "hairnet" look.
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Old 06-14-19, 01:34 PM
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Whatever you do, don't get one of those helmets that look like oversized caps. I have never seen anything more ridiculous looking in my life.
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Old 06-14-19, 03:36 PM
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Originally Posted by gugie
Since helmets are a safety feature only (who wears one just for the looks?) it's the one item I want modern every day of the week, and twice on Sundays.

I treat 'em like shoes: if they fit, I'll wear it.
+1
I wear an mips helmet, because it's current "best" tech to protect the brain (within reason, I'm not about to wear a motorcycle helmet). If not for safety concerns, I would wear what we wore when not actually racing bitd, nothing.
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Old 06-14-19, 03:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Slightspeed
I saw these on the Brooks stand at Eroica. Back in the day, our helmets were almost always black. These are pretty colorful, but might suit somebody. Not my style. I would like them better without the tweedy stripe.
Brooks Brothers? Sheesh.
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Old 06-16-19, 09:46 AM
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...and they look NOTHING like the vintage "hairnet" for which I was looking.
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Old 06-16-19, 09:49 AM
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As I led off my thread, "I'm going for a vintage look with modern safety."

...and if you don't consider looks when buying a helmet, you might end up with one of those butt-ugly POC things on your head!
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Old 06-16-19, 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Glyndwr
As I led off my thread, "I'm going for a vintage look with modern safety."

...and if you don't consider looks when buying a helmet, you might end up with one of those butt-ugly POC things on your head!

You mean like these?

I actually think they are some of the best looking helmets out there. To each their own, I guess.

You are not going to find a real vintage look with modern safety, unfortunately, it just doesn't seem to exist. People post a thread like this fairly regularly and nobody ever comes up with anything better than "kinda ok."
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Old 06-16-19, 01:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Last ride 76
Brooks Brothers? Sheesh.
No, Brooks doesn't have anything to do with Brooks Brothers.
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Old 06-16-19, 01:23 PM
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I have always liked the Giro Sport Design - Santa Cruz collection. Most of the products they market in that collection are very understated and have a classic look. I have one of their helmet for road bike riding. It looks similar to the pics the OP posted but it is in a Matte Black, my favorite color. I also have a couple pieces of the apparel. All of them are very functional and look good on and off the bike. No bling.
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Old 06-16-19, 03:19 PM
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I haven't seen another like it. I guess if you want fashion you have to pay. I hope those stickers come off, as you'd get stopped at the starting line for that BITD. If you search for folding bike helmets you'll see there's some very cheesy ones that are vaguely similar but uglier.

Some Giro helmets can be pretty close, if you get a black one and peel the stickers off. That's what I did. I agree with the others though, a helmet is for safety. It's purpose is to protect your noggin. Modern good, vintage bad. Just deal with it and wear a modern one IMO. Today's drivers are rude, distracted and crazy. Anyway, the most authentic vintage helmet is no helmet, as has been noted. Hairnets were just to satisfy race rules.
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Old 06-16-19, 03:45 PM
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Originally Posted by lostarchitect
No, Brooks doesn't have anything to do with Brooks Brothers.
No? Are you sure... then why do they have a strip of herring bone fabric on their helmet huh? Explain that away, if you can.

Sheesh...If you don't appreciate my sense of humor/humour, just say so. I'll understand... Lots of people don't.

Best regards, Eric
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Old 06-16-19, 07:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Last ride 76
+1
I wear an mips helmet, because it's current "best" tech to protect the brain (within reason, I'm not about to wear a motorcycle helmet). If not for safety concerns, I would wear what we wore when not actually racing bitd, nothing.
I’m not buying the mips hype. We were all born with mips already installed. It’s our scalp. It functions exactly like mips but with even more movement. Until the testers use a dummy head with a layer that acts the way the scalp does, I consider the testing invalid and will not believe that mips is safer than any other helmet design out there.
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Old 06-16-19, 09:54 PM
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I wish BELL would introduce an updated version of their old V1 PRO helmet. I really liked the one I had bitd.
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Old 06-17-19, 08:07 AM
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Originally Posted by busdriver1959
I’m not buying the mips hype. We were all born with mips already installed. It’s our scalp. It functions exactly like mips but with even more movement. Until the testers use a dummy head with a layer that acts the way the scalp does, I consider the testing invalid and will not believe that mips is safer than any other helmet design out there.
Seems like a valid point... Are the tests done on those plastic skulls we generally see in the videos? Presumably for sophisticated tests it's at least a shell structure with some decisions regarding a range of human skull bone density and appropriately placed structural reinforcing and weak spots. Impact fracture characteristics would be more complex than just some measure on an accelerometer, depending on where the impact actually occurs, as well as the vectors and even the material impacted.

Food for thought, and idle time research.
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Old 06-17-19, 08:32 AM
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MIPS works. I had an opportunity to have it proven a couple of months ago, unintentionally.

On a group ride we were split at a railroad crossing. The signal light came on just as we were crossing. I braked hard and stopped just short of the tracks. The train was still about 400 yards away and moving very slowly. As I backed up, just walking backward, the crossing arm came down suddenly and conked me in the head.

As claimed, the Bell Formula MIPS deflected the blow. Nary a scuff or dent in the helmet, and no harm to my admittedly thick skull.

No idea whether that would translate to a typical bike crash. But MIPS does exactly what it's claimed to do.
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Old 06-17-19, 09:45 AM
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Originally Posted by Glyndwr
...and if you don't consider looks when buying a helmet, you might end up with one of those butt-ugly POC things on your head!
Hmmm, my "butt-ugly" (and bright pink to boot) POC helmet is the only one I've had in the last 35+ years that has gotten compliments. And frequently from women, even when I'm riding with my wife (shrug).

Granted, I bought it for the coverage, not cosmetics. (That, and it was on sale, quite likely because of the color.) I had a few people I trust tell me that area of coverage is more important than the MIPS technology, and the POC had the greatest coverage area of anything reasonably affordable I could find.

Originally Posted by Last ride 76
Sheesh...If you don't appreciate my sense of humor/humour, just say so. I'll understand... Lots of people don't.
Don't worry, Eric, some of us "see what you did there".

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Old 06-17-19, 09:54 AM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by Last ride 76
No? Are you sure... then why do they have a strip of herring bone fabric on their helmet huh? Explain that away, if you can.

Sheesh...If you don't appreciate my sense of humor/humour, just say so. I'll understand... Lots of people don't.

Best regards, Eric
Ah, I didn't get the joke I guess? Where I am from jokes are supposed to be funny.
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Old 06-17-19, 10:10 AM
  #22  
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Frankly, I found leather hairnets to be too goofy looking to ever consider wearing one, back in the 80's so when the Bell V1 Pro helmets that emulate the look of leather hairets came out, it did not make sense to me......
Now as a C&Ver, I don't really know why, but I've grown to accept and like the look of modern helmets that look a bit like hairnets. I presently use a Giro helmet that looks like one that I bought a couple of years ago.

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Old 06-17-19, 11:13 AM
  #23  
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Originally Posted by lostarchitect
Ah, I didn't get the joke I guess? Where I am from jokes are supposed to be funny.
Brooklyn, really? Sez youse...
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Old 06-17-19, 12:11 PM
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not sure what is up with this trend to make everything look like a can of mountain dew...I've searched high & low for helmets with a more simple, elegant, unassuming aesthetic and without spending $. I think Giro has the nicest offerings...
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Old 06-17-19, 12:31 PM
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I'm waiting for the Mel Brooks helmet.
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