Timbike2

Quick question (I think I know the answer, but had to ask).
I bought a Specialized TriCross Sport earlier this year to replace my Mountain bike I had been using for my 14 mile each way commute. I continued to use my Mountain bike helmet on the Cross bike. Everything went well in the transition--love the new bike, except I get pain in my neck from having to raise my head to see forward around the mountain bike helmet brim. Buying a new road bike helmet this weekend. Should I see some relief from the neck pain with the higher brim on the road helmet, allowing me to glance up without raising my head as far?
Sorry--I was longer winded than planned. Thank you!

EKW in DC

Could you maybe just remove the visor from the helmet you already have instead of buying a new helmet? My helmet's visor is removable, e.g. It just pops out and can be popped back in. I mean, if you want to buy a new helmet, don't let me stop you, but if you've got a better use for $30+, then that may be an option.

Timbike2

No visor on the existing helmet. The helmet I have sits low on my forehead and to see forward I have to bend my neck up to see forward, especially when I'm on the drops. The helmet I have is a cheap Bell that looks like a skateboard helmet. Road helmets sit further up on your forehead allowing a view of the road without lifting your head as drastically.

groovestew

I'm guessing you won't see much relief, because you'll still have to lift your head higher because you're angled lower. But get a new helmet anyway, because...
...you'll look dorky riding your new bike with that helmet.

frpax

Pop the visor off. Problem solved.

If you're still having neck pain, then maybe get a stem with more rise to it, or flip the existing one over, if that's an option.

OR, going from a mountain bike (which is typically a more upright riding position) to a road bike (more bent over) just requires some getting used to. I'd still pop the visor off, though, and see if that helps (which it should).

edit: after reading your 2nd post (which I initially did not do), go buy a proper helmet.

Sixty Fiver

My better half had an accident a few weeks ago when a motorist decided to play chicken with her in the rain... in avoiding the car she had to ride across a steel plate on the road and went down, hitting her head.

There was no concussion but she did get a little whiplash but what is important is that her helmet (a Bell metro) had a smooth shell and had she been wearing a road or mtb helmet with any pointy aero bits could have suffered worse injuries as these can catch on the ground and wrench your head and neck around.

Instead of a visor you could wear a cycling cap or sunglasses as the visor is another one of those things that can get snagged / hooked.

thorsteno

If you are willing to read there is plenty of info in here....
https://www.bhsi.org/
+1 on what 65er said which is mentioned in the site above.

PaulRivers

Bikeforums.net is composed of multiple personalities, and thus it is not surprising that it suffers from multiple personality disorder. :-D

I'll go into one thread and someone will vehemently insist that helmets don't make you any safer. Go into another, someone says a standard helmet isn't good enough, you need a smooth helmet to be safe.

lol, go figure...

To the OP, keep in mind that different helmet manufacturers shape their helmets slightly differently for the differently shaped heads out there. If you have any trouble with the helmet sliding around, you might try another brand. Just an fyi.

mtnwalker

Safest bet:


Its smooth, rounded with no pointy bits and HIGH impact grade with a smooth inner lining for the not so high impact.

BarracksSi

Why not go for an SA-rated automotive helmet since they're rated for multiple high impacts (such as banging your head against the roll cage of a tumbling car)?

shubonker

i like my giro transfer. its great if you got a smaller face/head. Plus its cheap.

idiotekniQues

i like the skateboard style helmets

dahut

I noticed that!
Personally I think anyone out on the road, jousting with cars etc, well... a helmet is a good idea.
Cruising around the campus or beach, okay, not such a big deal, perhaps. They look kinda goofy in those places, anyway.
But your wife is proof that the low danger statistics don't always work, for everyone, all the time.
Biking still remains a low danger activity, and the odds are that nothing severe will happen to you.

But when its you against the rest of the metal encased world, the long odds favor the prepared man... or woman.

Sixty Fiver, Im glad your wife wasnt badly injured. Thank Goodness!

DX-MAN

Yeah, 'Lopes', get the new helmet.

shouldberiding

I've had the same experience with a mountain helmet, sits lower on the forehead. It's really irritating. Buy new!

AndrewP

Mount a mirror on your bars so you can see forward without raising your head.

PaulRivers

See...forward?

BarracksSi

I don't understand what people are talking about when they're complaining that a bike helmet sits "too far forward" and blocks their view.

I wear mine down at my eyebrows, which is where it's supposed to go for decent forehead protection. The visor blocks the sky, which is what I want, but the body of the helmet really isn't in my way, especially since it doesn't block anything I can see through my glasses.

How far back do some of you want to wear yours?

PaulRivers

I'm a little confused as well, though I have a road helmet. Even so - I find it difficult to image there's any reason that a mountain bike helmet would sit farther forward on your head. A mountain bike helmet seems to have a bigger visor, but the helmet itself - you still need to be able to see down the trail. Only reason I know of that a helmet sits farther forward is that it's to big so it slides forward.

BassNotBass

It's only a rear-view mirror if mounted that way.

shouldberiding

I don't understand how you could wear any helmet (especially with a visor) down to your eyebrows and not have it obstruct your view unless you have a very upright position on your bicycle.

BassNotBass

I didn't think it was possible for a typical road helmet to be worn backwards but I just saw it a few weeks ago. I was surprised to see that there are quite a few pictures on the 'net of this.

BarracksSi

I don't mean covering my eyebrows, I mean down to the top of them, to the edge of they bony part of my forehead. Basically, you wouldn't be able to see my forehead, unlike a lot of the people I see around here.

shouldberiding

That's what I meant. To the top of the eyebrows. I can't see far enough ahead with my helmet down that far.

I usually have my helmet about an inch above the eyebrows. That's where it sits naturally. It would have to be deeper to sit that low without tilting the whole helmet forward at an angle.