Dabrim and helmet effectiveness
 

I'm interested the "Da Brim" for sun protection, but since it is mostly out of stock at the moment, I'm left to deliberate my decision to buy one. What I wonder is to what degree the brim affects the helmet's protection. It seems like the brim would be crushable and not likely to severely deflect or rotate the helmet provided the strap was adjusted properly. This is only speculation though, and without any evidence.

According to https://helmets.org/visors.htm , there appears to be some concerns with hard plastic visors causing lacerations. This would not be a concern with a soft brim. The same site https://helmets.org/helmet22.htm also published, "We recommend looking for a helmet that fits you well, pleases you as wearing apparel and has a rounded, smooth exterior with no major snag points."

The "rounded" shape is something that is proven. Arai, a premier motorsports helmet producer, has since the 1970's maintained a loyalty to what they call their R75 shape -- a round shape with a minimum of 75mm radius curves. https://parts.araiamericas.com/the-arai-difference/r75 I am a loyal Arai user for over 25 years. Some independent tests have shown the R75 shape to be just as effective as MIPS at managing rotational energy. This is an objective fact that can be measured. I do appreciate that what this means for injury is much more ambiguous. It seems intuitive to me that a round helmet will direct forces tangentially whereas a helmet with sharp radii, protrusions, or square edges has the potential to snag, increase neck torsion, and especially in the case of a lower-coverage bicycle helmet, deflect the helmet out of the position that's necessary for maximum protection.

I am currently looking to replace my helmet, a Giro MIPS model, simply because it is worn out, and to possibly add Da Brim so I don't have to goop-up my face, head and neck so much.

If da brim is what you really want, order it on back-order. If you can't wait, to tide you over until it's delivered: buy an appropriate hat, cut the crown out (you can even hem the cut-out area to prevent fraying/make it look better), sew some velcro to the inside, glue some velcro to your helmet. Voila!

It might look like hell, depending on your sewing/crafting skills, but lets be honest - da brim will never be "cool" (in the esthetic sense) anyway, so who cares?

I've considered what you're proposing. Have you done this? I am supposing I would need a hat that is exceptionally large for the crown to fit over the helmet. I understand I would cut the top of the crown off, but the inner circumference of the brim would need to fit around the perimeter of the helmet. I also considered if I could make my own brim perhaps out of canvas.

It seems very unlikely that a soft brim would do anything to make the helmet less effective. There's some chance that it could even help a tiny bit.

Nothing is 100% risk free. This seems close to 0.

If you see it having a clear benefit to you, I would find something else that is more of a risk to worry about.

Nope. I do see the utility of a 'da brim'-type hat, though, for example if you're cycling in the desert or are especially sensitive to the sun. If you just want a visor, though, IMO worries about being cut by a plastic visor in case of a crash are overblown (I don't use a visor, personally). Yes, it could happen. Is it likely? Not in my opinion. In 40-ish years of cycling I've crashed and landed on the front of my helmet once, and my eyebrow got cut by the rim of my glasses, much worse than I would have gotten cut by a visor. If it worries you, though, then just wear a cycling cap under your helmet if all you need is a visor.

QUOTE=greatbasin;22557796]I am supposing I would need a hat that is exceptionally large for the crown to fit over the helmet. I understand I would cut the top of the crown off, but the inner circumference of the brim would need to fit around the perimeter of the helmet. I also considered if I could make my own brim perhaps out of canvas.[/QUOTE]
Yes, you'd probably need an exceptionally large hat size. Not sure if my suggestion is really practical, it's just an option to consider.

Or buy one of those shading brims that don't have a top on them - just an adjustable band. Then there's nothing to cut off; you just shorten the band and add the velcro type pieces to attach it to the helmet.

Cheers

An inexpensive baseball-type cap (without an extra cost logo) would have an even more effective sun blocking visor.

We have da brim and it seems soft enough that it would not deflect your head in any way in a crash, and it's not so tightly attached to the helmet that it will give grip to the ground and yank your helmet around that way. The biggest issue we have had with it is getting it to sit flat. The curve of the edge wants to undulate - front right a little higher than front left, adjust that and it goes the other way. Definitely suggest buying at LBS and having someone who has done it before attach it for the first time.

At the cost of ventilation. Da Brim does not cover your scalp or helmet vent holes.

The squatchee of a baseball hat can be a real pain if you don't have a centered vent hole too.
And the bills of baseball hats can be too large.
And unless you get a mesh baseball hat, they are often hot.
And few baseball hats have neck coverage, which some Da Brims do. Of course, you can buy an inexpensive neck cover to add onto your inexpensive baseball hat.

Or you could just get a Da Brim.

Finally, last I looked, there are inexpensive cycling caps (without the *gasp* extra cost logo) that are just as inexpensive as inexpensive baseball hats.

But *some* people are more likely to sneer at someone wearing a cycling cap. (Or, I would guess, sneer at someone wearing a Da Brim.)

My advice? Wear what ya wanna. I wear a headsweats without a bill, but there are headsweats with bills. And don't overthink it.

-mr. bill

I wear a (branded) Golf visor under a Giro MIPS helmet because I do not need sun protection I need eye protection, from glare. A Golf visor keeps sun (and rain) out of your eyes, but all of your neck and maybe chin will be vulnerable to sunburn. My wife has a Da Brim for her helmet and there really is no substitute. There is no hat on the market with a body large enough to fit a helmet through! There are few hats with brims wide enough to be worth destroying to make ersatz Da Brims out of. It really is a unique product with no equal out there at the moment.