Homebrew01

Some helmets could exceed the standards, thus offering better protection that those that just meet the minimun standard.

jadmt

it has the Mips designation. it is a Free town lumiere 3.

teejaywhy

I have little trust in what is coming out of universities these days,

Flip Flop Rider

neither..try them on and see what works for you

icemilkcoffee 

the one with the prettiest color of course. And I am only half kidding. A visible helmet >>>> whatever protective features it's purported to have.

PeteHski

Do you understand the concept of "minimum standards"? Some helmets far exceed the minimum standards, which is what makes independent testing a useful reference if you care.

Bald Paul

Ask yourself this - would you buy a bullet-proof vest that just met minimum standards?

wolfchild

There are no minimum standards for bike helmets...All bicycle helmets must meet the same safety standards. It does not matter what brand or how much they cost.

wolfchild

Very bad analogy in comparing bicycle helmets to bulletproof vests.....because the safety standards for bicycle helmets are the same for all helmets regardless of price or brand.

Bald Paul

There is a difference between meeting a standard and exceeding a standard.

From the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute - "Standards are useful to consumers to cover the performance you can't judge for yourself in a bike store--mostly impact management and strap strength. A standard sets minimum requirements, but does not tell you how far a manufacturer exceeds requirements. So a standard sticker inside a helmet does not necessarily tell you whose helmet is superior, but it tells you that the helmet always meets the minimum requirements."

rekmeyata

Virginia Tech has far better testing protocol than CR, or the Feds.

Bill in VA

I looked at the VPI ratings, made a short list of those that I liked, Including it being offered in any color other than black, and fit my price range. I then read some online reviews and then went to the LBS to try them on. I also decided that I since was trying on at the LBS, I was buying at the LBS. I wanted a sized helmet and not a "universal fit", which for me, means it will not fit well. My choices included road, MTB, and commuter helmets. After trying them on and getting recommendations from both a store employee, and an unsolicited opinion from another rider, I eliminated the commuter helmets due to not as good ventilation, critical in my area, as any head covering seems hot.

The difference between my older helmet and the new sized one was the new one was very stable and did not shift even unstrapped, and only required a tiny adjustment of the wheel. Additionally it was a smoother design. I liked the VPI shortlist as it included all types of helmets and was searchable also as types of helmet.

GamblerGORD53

What's a helmet??

taylorgeo

It's interesting, only Lazer helmets have a Prop 65 warning on them. Possible cancer-causing chemicals mixed with one's sweat. Hmm...

teejaywhy

What does tell you? How does one measure the extent to which a helmet exceeds the standard?

Bald Paul

Well, you could do a little research, I guess.
MIPS vs Non-MIPS Bike Helmet: Which is Better And Why (declinemagazine.com)

rsbob 

Like most of us, we view the world from our own perspective based on experience, education, preferences, denial or acceptance of danger, and/or budget.

If your current helmet is more than 3 years old and it doesn’t have the latest safety technology, chances are good it is outdated and not providing optimum protection. When I used to drive my cars on the track, there were definite safety requirements on having the latest in helmet and safety technology and I also had a steel cage around me. Compare that now to being super exposed on a bike where the best head protection is paramount.

My preferences in buying a NEW helmet, based in rank order, are:

1. Is it certified my the leading safety organizations (Snell/ANSI/etc) and have MIPS and meets or exceeds standards? Safety is first for my brain since you only get one.
2. Does it fit well?
3. have good ventilation?
4. look good and aerodynamic

Just my opinion, I could be wrong - just ask my “sig O”.

burnthesheep

To throw another turd into the bowl, why does the US and "the continentals" each think their standard is the bee's knees and accepts their own but not others? Is it purely an old school economic BS trade thing?

Like, how in the hell is it so far off each refuses to allow the other?

I don't get it. Especially when you dig the fine details, the race organizations do allow the opposite standard if your "team" is sponsored by that brand. Instead of forcing them to carry two brands of helmets as teams. That tells me it's BS.

Calsun

Neither one. Helmets sold in the USA and Europe must pass mandatory testing to be certifed. They do not need to be a MIPS type and I replaced our helmets with MIPS ones to get the extra bit of protection.

I prefer to buy name brand helmets (Fox Racing, Bell, Scott, etc.) sold by places like REI. The cost may be 30-50 dollars more but my head is worth it.

PeteHski

Has it never occurred to you that some of them might exceed these basic safety standards? hint: the bar they set is actually quite low.

PeteHski

That's exactly where independent test labs come into play e.g. Virginia Tech

Ttom

Me too!

rekmeyata

Someone bought the Kool-Aid. You don't need to throw away a helmet after 3 years, that's marketing hype to get you to buy more helmets. A helmet is good for a very long time. Sun and salt from sweating will interact with the foam liner and degrade it, how you can tell it's beginning to degrade is if your sweaty forehead feels like it has tiny bits of sand on it, that sand is actually tiny bits of the foam stuff they use. I've been able to use a helmet for 15 years before having to replace it, 12 to 15 years is the range of time my helmets last where I live now, when I lived in the Mojave Desert area of California my helmets lasted 8 to 10 years, but it was a lot hotter there then where I'm at now, and the combination of sweat and sun ruined the helmets faster.

The USA Federal CPSC rating is a bare minimal rating, all helmets sold in the US must meet that standard, the bar was set low so that China could make helmets cheaper and sell them in mass quantities. Snell set the bar just a tad higher, but not many helmet manufactures wanted the Snell rating because it cost them money to get that rating; now Virginia Tech set the bar quite a bit higher than what the others did, now some helmet manufactures are scrambling to get their helmets to meet those requirements, even though there will be no sticker in the helmet saying it meets or exceeds the Virginia Tech tests. Europe had their own minimal safety standard, however, where CPSC is a mandatory requirement, ASTM is voluntary, CPSC is more demanding than ASTM is, thus if a helmet meets the CPSC standard, indicated by a label in the helmet, it automatically meets the ASTM which means, at least in the US, there will usually be a second label inside the helmet if that helmet is sold in Europe, then if by chance a helmet company voluntarily requested Snell to test the helmet then there would be another label. Virginia Tech has a lot of experience testing helmets, they were testing hockey, football, and other sports for years, it was only in the last 3 or 4 maybe 5 years they turned their attention to cycling.

The newest safest helmet rated at number 1 is now the Specialized Tactic 4 ($110) with MIPS for mountain biking, and the Giant Rev Comp ($65) with MIPS for road bikes, if you are more of an urban rider than the Specialized Mode ($120) with MIPS is the best, for multi-sport it's the Specialized Align II ($50) with MIPS. If you notice, these helmets are not the most expensive ones on the market, in fact they're mid-lower-end priced helmets! So, paying more money for a helmet is not a good thing to do if your brain is more important to you. While those helmets I listed are 5 star rated, and there are others that have gotten 5 star rating, but they have singled those out as being the best of all the 5 star rated helmets, how much better? you will have to go to their site and look at the bar graph charts to see why they exceeded the others in the 5 star rating, they probably should add a 6th star to single out the really good ones, but I don't think the way they do the ratings they will ever do that.

The cancer warning found in Lazer helmets is Lazer going to far, probably due to lawyers. The cancer causing situation is due to the plastic used on the polycarbonate SHELL, not the foam liner where the sweat and skin is actually in contact with. In addition to that, the cancer causing situation is so tiny it really isn't worth mentioning. There is no evidence YET that the strap, buckle, interior fit system, pads, and liners have shown any cancer related issues. Thus the Lazer helmet is completely safe to wear, unless you plan on wearing your helmet upside down so the shell contacts your skull.

taylorgeo

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thorough and informative response. Thanks to everyone, actually. A great community with copious amounts of wit and humor. (I love Benny Hill!)

I've been trying on a lot of helmets, and what I found most interesting is how varied the fit is from brand-to-brand.