clarknick67

Actually, I hate wearing helmet when riding bike. But my gf ask me to buy one over and over again. She said that is much safer. I've no experience about helmet at all. Now I'm just looking into this Smith Venue Helmet. Looks not bad. What ya think? Is it nice stuff to go with? Any other good tips?

tagaproject6

If you hate the idea of helmets, then no tip will work for you. Just go to Wal-mart or some store that sells helmets and go with it. Then ride!

rog

I can't remember if bike helmets are held to DOT or Snell testing standards, but I believe that in order to be sold as a bike helmet, it has to have passed the accepted standard. Basically, they all protect your head about the same, and anything after that is just comfort and style. That helmet doesn't have very many vents, and it may be uncomfortable in warmer weather. Outside of that, it's a helmet, and will do a much better job of protecting your head in a fall than your skull will, so lid up.

Blackdays

Props from me if you do wear a snowboarding helmet on the bike.

shouldberiding

I don't know how comfortable a snowboarding helmet is going to be on a bike. I personally can't stand a helmet without good venting, even in the cold weather months. I don't know how heavy those things are either.

Just buy whatever is on closeout from last year. You could get a hundred dollar helmet for forty bucks.

BLR_0719

I saw a guy crash once and slide about 25 feet along the pavement. I can still distinctly recall the sound of his helmet screeching along the road. Not only do you risk cracking your head open, but you also risk scraping all the skin off the side of your face which will probably leave you with a nice road rash scar on your face for the rest of your life.

Go to a bike shop and try some helmets on and find one that is comfortable and looks good. If you have a Performance Bike around you they have a generous selection of helmets. You can also try REI, or any other local bike shops. You want a helmet made for cycling that will be properly ventilated; you will regret not having that ventilation on hot days.

scirocco

+1. If you're going to get one, at least get a decent one unless you're only riding 2 miles on a cruiser with your gf or something. They're not so bad - you get used to them. Eventually you feel kind of naked without one.

Be grateful you live somewhere it's not compulsory.

pdedes

tip one. buy the helmet that fits.

tip two. buy the helmet that you think looks awesome. you're more apt to wear it.

Caracalla.

try to look at actual bikers wearing helmets and compare it to the one you are looking at. if you are looking for one in the same price range, Giro and Bell have nice models within your budget.

pgjackson

Find the cheapest helmet you can get that you don't think makes you look like a total dork. Doan't wast a lot of energy researching helmets. they are all styrofoam coolers with a thin layers of plastic on top. There's not a lot of "technology" involved. Got mine for $19 and it works just as well as andy $100 helmet.

chasm54

Yes. Before you spend the money, get your gf to read this thread.

v70cat

So Clark do you ride a fixie?

PS Buy a bike helmet, a cheap one is fine, $30+/- at Walmart or others.

BarracksSi

clarknick67, which one fits and feels comfortable?

After that -- light weight is good, vents are good. You're on a bike, you look dorky anyway, so don't worry about the helmet making you any MORE dorky.

If it's heavy, hot, and fits like crap, you won't wear it and you'll have wasted your money, whether you spent $5 or $250.

Hot Potato

Try on helmets before you buy them. I know Giro fits my head less comfortably than Bell helmets, so far at least.

rjc100

Years ago I too thought a helmet was a pain, but when I got into road cycling, I never went without it. Just recently I had my first crash, and my helmet took a major hit, and protected my head from all but a few scrapes on the face. From the crack the helmet took, I would not be alive if my skull took it.
I have had the best fit and air flow with Giro helmets, but looking at the Bell Volt as my next one.

roccobike

Around here so many riders wear helmets the only ones who look like dorks are those who don't wear a helmet.

Just sayin'

miwoodar

Here too.

I went down this summer when I hit a patch of sand only a little larger than my foot print. It all happened so fast that my hands were still on the handlebars when my head hit the ground. Whack! My helmet broke in two places but I was fine. I am absolutely convinced that I would be, at best, a vegetable today if not for the flimsy piece of wanna-be-nascar-cooler I was wearing that day. I will never, ever ride without a helmet again. Before you doubt my handling skills, for better or worse, I will gladly huck my MTB off of just about anything with a decent landing...I've broken a few frames and popped plenty of wheels.

clarknick67

I can't stand that for sure. I'll keep on searching. Thanks.

ADSR

Get one that looks like a hat.

ScottStr

I got an Ascent Strada from Performance in June, on sale for about $30. In July, I crashed and broke it, got a concussion, but I'm sure it would have been worse without it. Called the 800 number inside to ask about a discount on a replacement. The Performance rep, who answered on the first ring, with no press 1 for whatever, said "There's no discount. We just replace it. Shipping is free too." Since I had bought it at the local store, I just took it in and they handed me the new one.

That helmet is solid silver, not the coolest looking lid, so I added some green and black accents to make it cooler looking. Repainting helmets is frowned upon by the manufacturers, but I didn't get any grief at the return. With 20 vents it's cooler wearing it than not wearing a hat in the Texas sun.

My recommendations:

1) Don't spend a fortune.
2) Try on several helmets.
3) Make sure it's cool enough that you'll wear it.
4) Wear it all the time. It would suck to be riding without it the time it would do you some good.

noise boy

Hi Clark, Every helmet sold in the US has to pass the exact same safety standard so in the end go with the one that suits you aesthetically and fits you and your budget best. All of the different manufacturers use slightly different head shapes to design the helmet around, so alot of the battle will be figuring out which manufacturer uses a model that has the same shape as your head.

pgjackson

Mine has a little spinny wheel on the back so that I can make it fit perfectly. No adjusting pads and all that. Just spin the wheel till it fits properly.

veganeric

I'd just like to add that since there is not a measured safety difference between helmets you should pick your price range and not try on anything above it. They may not be safer, but the more expensive helmets are more comfortable (within any particular brand). When I bought my first helmet I had one picked out that I was going to buy. Then just for the heck of it I tried on the top of the line model. Then put the one I was going to buy back on. No dice. I ended up forking over the extra $40 for the fancy one.

BarracksSi

The two most comfortable helmets I've worn yet are my S-Works and Lazer's RollSys-equipped helmets. They both fit the same fundamental way, with an around-the-head ring strap that's separate from the foam body of the helmet. It makes the quality of the skull-to-foam fit less critical, so it fits more like a baseball cap instead of a rigid helmet.

rogerstg

Your conclusion of greater expense = better fit is false. That lower priced helmet didn't fit you as well, that's all. OTOH, a lower priced helmet fit me better than one $50 more. My wife, however, had to buy a pricier helmet for a good fit. The slight irony is that she is much more frugal than I am.