robnol

I just bought a new helmet for daily training on amazon, it was cheap the reviews were good so I took a chance....it is a darn good helmet and it cost a hek of a lot less than my old helmet....I guess u don't have to spend a lot to get a quality product

Doctor Morbius

One thing is for sure, it often buys the perception of quality.

GlennR

All helmets have to meet a minimum level, but that doesn't mean they can't exceed it.

More expensive helmets are lighter, have better ventilation and are more stylish. They COULD be safer but you'll have to determine that.

What I can tell you is I crashed and cracked a 2 week old $275 helmet and was able to ride home. I took it back to the LBS and the manufacturer gave me a 30% crash replacement discount and the LBS gave me another 20%.

Best $275 I ever spent.

robnol

for 275 I could have bought 4 of the helmets I bought on amazon....money doesn't buy u ventilation lighter maybe stylish is irrelivent….if u crash and ur able to walk away then its money well spent no matter how much u spend on a helmet

sdmc530

the only real difference is the that fancy MIMPS technology in high end lids. I am sure I have the wrong acronym for it buy other than that they have to have the same standard tests to be DOT approved. My helmet was $80 on sale. Its a really nice helmet but wouldn't have pain the $150 regular price that's for sure!

GlennR

My helmet was one of the first ones that offered MIPS. My head hit the pavement at 18mph. I said the impact was like getting hit with a volley ball instead of a baseball.

jefnvk

Define "quality".

02Giant 

Define "buy"...

DrIsotope

If I get to the point where I'm scrimping on the foam cap that protects the contents of my skull, it will probably be time to check those contents.

I've had to replace 3 helmets in 4 years, two of which were cracked almost in half. None of them were cheap. I wear those helmets 15+ hours a week. Fit and comfort are of paramount importance.

If I could find one that fit well, breathed well, and was both light and cheap, that would be great. But it's been $100+ so far. My current Kask is the most expensive helmet I've bought, and it's also the coolest, lightest, and most comfortable.

So I don't much care about the price.

79pmooney

Helmets are a place where you have to define "quality". The lightest with most advanced cooling? Or best protection? Protection and cost aren't very closely related. All US helmets must meet SPSC. ALL MIPS helmets sold in te US also meet CPSC. One the lightest and coolest helmets, it is quite likely that engineers shaved everything down to very close to the CPSC (and MIPS if used) minimums to minimize weight and insulation. But a cheaper helmet may have just a one time through design procedure and be (say) 20% over the standards. In a crash, that cheaper one may will be better. (It might leave the brain more subject to secondary shock as it holds together better on impacts so predicting which will better protect you is not easy.

My most notable head impact crashes were my first; hitting very hard with the original Bell Biker where most my my brain damage was from secondary shock and my last; wearing a medium priced Bell with the chin strap loose. Hit my head quite hard, nearly lost my ear to the strap as the helmet rotated and I walked away with no concussion whatsoever. I've been wearing the very expensive first MIPS helmet I could buy that fit since. But I've recently seen $25 MIPS helmets and there are now competing similar technologies too.

Ben

elpedaleur

My experience is that in most cases money buys you quality, but the increase in quality doesnt necessarily justify the extra money. Think its all a matter on how much you value extra quality. For a helmet it might be worth to spend some extra money.

downhillmaster

Bonzo Banana

In the bicycle industry a huge percentage of higher priced products is related to lowering weight that doesn't mean they are safer it means a performance advantage. From what I can see you start off with the junk stuff really made to very low costs (can still be safe if there is required certification though) and then you move on to the products that meet most people's expectations of quality, reliability and beyond that you have the more premium brands and lighter weight products. Many of the performance products are not the safest they are made of less safe material like carbon and steel and aluminium tubes have more butting to lower weight to make them more prone to fatigue than straight gauge tubes. When it comes to bicycle helmets there is a company in China that produces millions of helmets per year for many brands they are a huge OEM supplier and there are many other manufacturer's there too competing with it. I have a Cannondale bike helmet and a lower end bike helmet I honestly can't see any difference in quality and they are both made in China and broadly similar. I have a preference for the Cannondale helmet just because I like the branding on it but I honestly don't believe it offers any additional safety or quality. Nowadays Cannondale is just a brand of Dorel Industries of Canada and pretty much an importer who sources everything from the far east, yes there is a R&D side to Cannondale that Dorel's other brands don't get but I'm pretty sure my Cannondale helmet is just something sourced from a Chinese factory with a Cannondale brand slapped on and a huge margin stuck on top. I bought my Cannondale helmet heavily discounted here in the UK, it had a normal retail price of about Ł90 but I paid something like Ł10 in a big sale at Planet X here in the UK, I also bought some Cannondale pumps at Ł2 and Ł3 each when they were normally Ł15 and Ł20 if memory serves me right. They were old stock and had stopped stocking Cannondale for sometime I believe and were just clearing out. I think when you look at alibaba you can see helmets can be as low as $2 each from the factory and often the alibaba prices can be pushed lower for larger orders. It's quite possible good quality helmets are being produced for less than $3 each factory door price.

It may well be the same situation as children's bicycles where high quality chidren's bicycles cost peanuts to make but are incredibly highly priced at retail because parents are obsessed with safety for their children so can be more exploited on pricing. Many people clearly want to protect their head and so may consider a premium helmet as a priority so can be exploited again with far higher pricing. I think if people actually knew the factor door price for many of the products they buy compared to what they actually paid they would probably be incredibly angry and feel completely ripped off but its not about what is a fair price it is about what the market will bear. Why would you sell a helmet at $15 is someone was prepared to pay $60? So many retail industries are struggling to find a decent margin.

Wileyone 

If you have a $10 Head buy a $10 Helmet...

Riveting

The responses to this poll are extremely biased towards purchasing higher quality helmets, but I'm guessing that's because those who bought lesser quality helmets are no longer available to answer this poll.

Paul Barnard

I have no idea what kind of quality I got in my Giro Synthe. I do know what kind of comfort I got. It was worth the price.

I-Like-To-Bike

Please send this thread to the helmet sticky thread to join the thousand other same old, same old helmet proselytizing posts.

Retro Grouch 

That's certainly one analysis. Another is the high end buyers feel the need to justify their expenditure.

The test is a pass/fail so I'm not seeing objective evidence the higher cost helmets are safer.

Gresp15C

At the risk of exaggerating just a bit, cheap helmet with good reviews on Amazon probably describes about 1000 different helmets, some good, some bad. Everything on Amazon has good reviews.

Wileyrat

Here's my experience.

I crashed and cracked an inexpensive helmet and I sort of rode away.....With a pretty good concussion. I crashed and cracked a much more expensive helmet in virtually the same spot with about equal damage, and rode away with no concussion.

Maybe the the two crashes were different enough that I wouldn't have gotten a concussion out of crash two wearing a cheaper helmet, but riding away with a clear head certainly helped the decision to replace it with the same model.

Edit... FWIW, I wear a lesser expensive helmet when I'm out easy single tracking on my mtn bike, the ventilation sucks compared to my more expensive road helmet.

AlmostTrick

This pretty much demonstrates the outrageous amount of mark up there is on high dollar helmets. They're still making a killing. Yay, capitalism!

eja_ bottecchia

BobbyG

No amount style is going to help me actually be stylish. In fact, I fear I am one of those late, late middle-age men who look even more ridiculous in stylish attire than in more pedestrian livery.

As far as quality...I mostly commute, so durability,value and comfort are what I judge helmets by. I may buy a more vented helmet this summer, but in the fall and winter, vents are irrelevant.

My one complaint with the newer crop of helmets is the dial-fit knob on the back. I like the elastic band. It makes slipping a 360-degree flasher on the back really easy.

AlmostTrick

Agreed.

GlennR

So the government should nationalize the helmet industry? I'm sure they'd do a better job... just like the $10,000 toilet cover.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...=.0c7caeab4859

The nice thing about capitalism is you don't HAVE to buy something.

If price is your main concern, Walmart sells this one for $20 if you have a small head.