mstateglfr 

1- that guy has a great shirt on- the Mississippi Gravel Cup series!
2- who knows if MIPS will help in a specific crash or not, but it certainly wont hurt so why not use it?
3- the claim in the video that MIPS is snake oil and they are just trying to make money off consumers is really funny to me since countless MIPS helmets are LESS expensive than non-MIPS helmets. The cost of a helmet is not at all linear with features or durability or really anything else besides marketing. Helmet cost is typically aligned with marketing cost.
4- maybe hair acts like a MIPS liner. It would be good for this concept to be disproven by MIPS if it isnt accurate.
5- maybe a cycling cap acts like a MIPS liner. See above for why.
6- to follow up on 4 and 5, why trust the company that is vested in selling something to prove other options arent as good?

I have one helmet that is MIPS and one that is not MIPS. The one that is MIPS, a MET Rivale, I chose the MIPS option instead of buying the non-MIPS option.
I feel safe wearing both and this is largely an unprovable topic since nobody can actually create real repeatable testing on people.

livedarklions

I've watched the VA Tech ratings since the beginning, and initially, there were far more non-MIPS helmets at or near the top of the rankings. I suspect that what's really going on is that the quality manufacturers are now defaulting to producing MIPS helmets only because of consumer demand.

The fight between Snell and VA Tech has been going on for years, and I'm sure someone could pick apart the Snell testing just as easy. All testing involves simplifying assumptions. I doubt the video guy is particularly qualified to know which method of testing is more realistic.

BTW, I suspect the loose head thing might, if anything, decrease the rotational effects as the head is bouncing freely, and less likely to get twisted around as the body weight behind/on top of it shifts while the helmet is on contact with the ground.

livedarklions

I find the hair thing to be remarkably unconvincing--hair varies too much from person to person to be relied upon, and the data on the effects of different hair growth patterns, styles, length, thickness, etc. will probably always pretty much suck. It's possible that hair might actually make helmets more adhesive, effectively filling in gaps between the helmet and the scalp.

grizzly59

Does MIPS reduce ventilation / airflow? Comfort in 95/95?

msu2001la

The only negative I've seen with MIPS is that longer hair gets caught in it easily. I had to use some packing tape on the inside of my daughter's helmet because every time she took it off, a chunk of hair was tangled in it.

I haven't noticed any difference in ventilation between MIPS and non-MIPS helmets.

livedarklions

I had an early one that was completely intolerable on a hot day. I think they've gotten better at this.

tkamd73 

I have a high quality S Werks helmet that I really like, very light and comfortable, and way more expensive then any helmet I’ve owned previously. It’s non MIPS, but plan on keeping it for at least ten years, or until It starts to show wear, or I crash it.
I have no idea who rated it, but it’s replacement will also be the most comfortable helmet I can find, regardless of cost, MIPS or non MIPS. Probably won’t be many non MIPS to choose from in the future though.
Tim

Sy Reene

Looks like we got tacked onto an 8yr old thread, which seems to be more about whether one should need to wear a helmet at all..

EDIT, also this thread btw is somewhere way off the first page of posts in A&S, even though recent comments are today 5/2/22

kjaioqhbkqb

Can I use my hockey helmet for bicycling? Touring, commuting.

Tony P.

Generally, yes you can but 1) hockey helmets are usually heavier than bike helmets and have far fewer vents and 2) avoid helmets with face guards or pointed edges. Finally, you should be able to find a good bike helmet for $50. Here is one example:
Bike helmet

Marxipan

no one denies climate change.. they question the cause.

Marxipan

head on road bad

livedarklions

Still denying the obvious, why the planet is warming is well-known at this point. Playing your little word games won't change that.

vidpet

Hey all,
The other day I saw a girl passing by with a helmet I really liked.
I quickly took a pic of her, but the resolution is not great. I know its a long shot, but could anybody guess the brand for me? Thank you!!

tfay

I think one bicycle accessory that plays an essential role in protecting cyclists is the helmet. Because Wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of head injury to bicyclists by as much as 85 percent. Besides, it also helps us partly in weather conditions such as rain, sunshine, ...

igorgroks

April 2021 I was descending a hill I had ridden hundreds of times. Got cocky and thought I could take the right angle curve where it Tee'd at the bottom of the hill at speed, (38mph per Strava) Last thing I remembered was seeing my front wheel approaching the center divider curb at about a fifteen degree angle and thinking $#!%! I'm not going to make it. Woke up in the ER long enough to sign consent for craniotomy to insert drains for subdural hematoma. Don't want to think about how bad it would have been not for the helmet.

soloman

Nowdays I ride a Catrike. Not much chance of falling off. I stay away from other riders. No helmet is going to protect me from a car or truck.

curbtender

greatbasin

I've always worn a helmet since I started riding in the late seventies. I never considered riding without a helmet to be a good idea, but until I used the internet to find rational arguments against helmet use, I had never heard any.

I have read a few arguments against helmet use, and seen a few videos, TedTalks or whatever that make rational arguments against bicycle helmet use. While the facts presented made me reconsider helmet use for bicycling, putting it in a different perspective, for the most part, I didn't feel compelled to forgo helmet wearing just to make similar advocacy points.

If anything, I became convinced that helmet use in automobiles is a compelling practice. The un-helmeted bicycling advocates seemed to think that the fact that helmet use in automobiles was more sensible and would prevent far more injuries than helmet use on bicycles, would simply cast helmet use as absurd because nobody could rationalize helmet use in automobiles. Wrong. If anything, I feel like a fool to have neglected using helmets in the car all this time just to conform to other people's practice. I have always used helmets on a bicycle. I have always used helmets on motorcycles. It makes complete sense to use them in the car, preferably with a HANS device -- and no, not because I race on the street. Reasonable and common speeds have proven deadly enough and there is no question that helmets and HANS devices would prevent some injuries and deaths. I've always like Arai helmets. All mine are full-face, which will work, but I'd like to get a GP-J3 for enclosed cars.

As for bicycling, I am persuaded that helmet use is less critical than I previously thought. I've never chastised an adult for not wearing a helmet, even when I thought it was more important that it probably is -- because I've always valued freedom over safety. I have chastised kids because they need to be chastised, and even now I see the evidence that they need helmets more than adults.

One thing that sticks in my mind about bicycle helmets. I was riding my motorcycle one day around Guadalupe Reservoir, Hicks Road, near Almaden Quicksilver Park. I saw an older couple, maybe in their 40's or 50's (everybody was old to me back then) riding bicycles up ahead. They were either stopped or going very slow. The woman fell. I don't know if she lost balance or her wheel was caught in a crack, but she went down and smacked her head. They were both wearing helmets. The woman struck the back of her head underneath the helmet which only covered the crown. It was one of those wedge things that's upswept in the back. She looked to have suffered a basilar fracture of the posterior fossa and she remained unconscious for more than 10 minutes while the cerebrospinal fluid was oozing out of the back of her head.

I had a cell phone. This was back in the days of the Motorola Star-Tac. But someone had already called 911 and the truck and ambulance arrived about the same time she regained consciousness. I left after that because I didn't need to be there, but I'll never forget that bike ride that changed her life. I'll never be able to unsee what I saw.

Now I've seen people die on motorcycles. I formerly raced them and I knew people that died and saw people die when their head hit but you could say that they were "asking for it." When we raced, we knew we were taking an extreme risk. I've seen people die on the street too, and they also were taking extreme risks when it happened. This woman on the bicycle wasn't doing anything like that. She was out for a casual Sunday ride on a country road with practically no traffic and she was only riding a bicycle and nowhere near fast.

Now I suppose someone could say that people have suffered awful TBI's just walking down the street, and that this woman was wearing a helmet and it didn't prevent her injury. Really, those things don't convince me not to wear a helmet. Instead, I think the reason her helmet failed to prevent an injury is because it was designed with too much consideration to fashion or comfort.

On helmets.org, I read, "An unfortunate trend in shapes became evident in the late 1990's as designers began producing helmets with ridges, rear projections and squared-off lines to give them a more stylish appearance."

My first helmet was a Bell Biker. After that, I can recall having a Bell Mark 1. My current helmet is a Giro with MIPS, and it's pretty worn out. I need to get a new helmet.

I also wear a helmet whenever I skate. I've rollerbladed and skated at the park before, but I mostly longboard on the street now. I don't wear a helmet nordic skiing, but I do alpine.

I-Like-To-Bike

Given your convictions, do you always wear a full face helmet and/or use a HANS device when you are a driver or passenger in an automobile or any other 4 wheeled motor vehicle?

greatbasin

No, I don't. My mind was just changed about that recently. I don't have a HANS device and I don't have an open-face helmet. My full-face motorcycle helmets aren't ideal for inside an enclosed car, but that is not why I haven't worn them. I haven't worn helmets inside cars because of my tendency to conform and because I had not formed the convictions you mentioned until now.

Look at the reasons for not wearing a helmet in car, and you will find nothing but the same tired, worn excuses for not wearing them on bikes and motorcycles and ATV's and side-by-sides or for not wearing seat-belts. There are no good reasons, just excuses.

greatbasin

I saw one video where the speaker blamed helmet wearing on a "culture of fear," and argued for a culture of rational living -- the kind of rational thinking that frames bicycling as such a great idea for transportation. Well, if you look at tthe data objectively, it's not a culture of fear that would drive helmet wearing for automobile use. It's completely logical and sensible. It's not about fear, but sense over vanity and conformity. If an irrational fear is involved, it's not the fear of head injury, but the fear of not being 'accepted' socially.

I have a son who is about to start driving. I will encourage him to use a helmet, but I won't require it. He's old enough that he's going to follow his own convictions. This wouldn't be the conviction that I would most desire to impart to others. I won't require it of my passengers, but they will see my example. Similarly, you can make up your own mind. If you don't wear a helmet, what do you think is the main reason for that?

Roll123

Didn't used to consider even using a helmet. Thought they were for motorcyclers. Over time, I decided to use one every time I ride.

igorgroks

Very recently my view on the subject has shifted slightly. First of all one thing that has not changed is my view that much anti-helmet sentiment is a form of science denialism.

It's physics.

What changed me is the realization that many cyclists do not ride very fast. Science again.

There is the science of kinematics that tells us about motion, forces, and impacts. By itself this gives an incomplete picture of traumatic brain injury. For a more complete assessment of the risks we need to take probabilities into account also. These probabilities are affected by many factors such as speed, terrain, and angle of impact. There is also the variable beloved of the anti-helmet crowd, the "busted spleen." While I have not, and will not, ditch the helmet, I do understand that slower riders are at lower risk, not only of TBI, but of "busted spleens" as well.

If you like getting on tempo and cruising down the highway at your best performance without a helmet, that is science denialism. E-Bikes? fuggidaboudit.

curbtender

This guy refused to wear a helmet, but his help did...