Protective Headgear???

[smegy88]

Hi,
I'm just starting to unicycle. I'm also doing a product design
engineering project at uni. The focus of my study is protective
headgear for extreme sports. Therefore, since I have an interest in
unicycling I have decided to investigate protective headgear within the
sport.
Does anyone out there wear a helmet or anything to protect their head?
Are there specifically designed helmets for unicycling?
Also could you suggest the areas of the head which are specifically at
risk when unicycling.

What sorts of activity are most popular on unicycles? Off-road? Hockey?
Stunts? Also which is the most dangerous?

Any suggestions would be very helpful.
Thanks in advance,

Euan:confused: :)


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[abbabibble]

i always wear a helmet. Every time i ride.
I don't believe there is a helmet specifically made for unicycling.
Most of us just use bike helmets or skate helmets of some kind.


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[GILD]

'Here' (http://tinyurl.com/82gxb), 'here' (http://tinyurl.com/bk6hf) and
'here' (http://tinyurl.com/9rrpd) are just three threads about unicycle
helmets.

Hit the 'SEARCH' (http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/search.php) with
terms like ''helmets'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/search.php?searchid=17482)',
''skate-helmets''
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/search.php?searchid=17482),
_'b*ke-helmets'_ and ''protective gear''
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/search.php?searchid=17484) and you'll
come up with enough reading for a month of Sundays.

A lot of the discussion centers around 'should you/shouldn't you' but
some of it does touch on the technical aspects.
Between that suggested reading and the discussion that's bound to be in
this thread, you're likely to get more than enough info.

I'm not sure if there's a KH UniHelmet in the pipeline, maybe you can
ask?


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[wobbling bear]

Some additional thoughts on that.
though I use a skate helmet all the time I was wondering if a kayaking
helmet will do the job for muni?
(there seems to be kayak guys around this forum);
why this?
the helmets I have seen such 'as that one (the red one)'
(http://tinyurl.com/ajscx) are used for sports such as beach sailing -a
fairly dangerous sport-
pros: good protection , good envelope, + eyeshade (not shown on the
picture).
cons: wondering how it fits to your skull (when you are sweating like
mad)
any advice?


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[DK]

I think there should be thin, light weight helmets for trials and
street, because you aren't ever going faster than running speed, and
crashes aren't normally bad at all

As for general muni, skate and bike helmets are fine


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[Mikefule]

Let's not get into the should you/shouldn't you. That way dissent lies.
God told me so.

I think most active unicyclists wear a helmet some of the time. Many
wear one all of the time. Some perfectly good riders make the choice
not to.

As this is such a minority sport, there is no such thing yet as a
special unicycling helmet.

A bicycle helmet is often designed for aerodynamics and style. Most
unicyclists have little need for the aerodynamics, and unicycling is
stylish enough as it is! A bicycle helmet will protect against most
but not all normal riding impacts. It is lightish and fairly
comfortable. There is an argument that a road bike helmet won't
protect you well if you fall backwards - this is not a typical
direction of fall for a road bicyclist.

A BMX or downhill helmet is designed for accidents involving falling
and rolling, often on an uneven surface in unpredictable directions.
Generally, they look less well ventilated than road cycle helmets.

A full face helmet gives greater all round protection (did I mention
the 7 stitches in my chin:rolleyes: ) but is hot, uncomfortable, and
restricts your field of view.

A kayak helmet gives good all round protection, and is designed for
multiple knocks and bumps. They usually have a deformabe polythene
shell. Theoretically, a bicycle helmet is "use once and discard".
Kayak helmets are designed to let water out, so they are reasonably
well ventilated. The straps can be uncomfortable. They can look a bit
dorky.


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[johnfoss]

No, there are no unicycle-specific helmets being manufactured (same goes
for shoes, pedals, and many other parts).

But to get into specifics, one must first break down the various types
of riding to be done. There's a huge difference between Trials or
riding on broken rocks and hockey, or Freestyle, or road riding.

So there are two main kinds of helmets people use, bike and skate.
Skate is the more robust, offering greater coverage and more impacts,
but at the cost of greater weight and more heat inside. Bike helmets
are much more comfortable but offer less protection and are often
compromised after one good blow.

If the project is to design a unicycle-specific helmet, you will also
have to first determine to what level of riding it should protect. Why
doesn't everyone just wear a full-face motorcycle helmet? For obvious
reasons of comfort, weight, visibility, etc. So a successful helmet
design has to be as unobtrusive, lightweight and good-looking as
possible. Those may be marketing concerns, but that's an important part
of any useable product design.


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[Wheel Rider]

I prefer a skate board type of helmet because it (I think) provides
better protection than a bicycle helmet. However, my helmet is not
comfortable. I wish I could find a skate board type of helmet with
better ventilation (at a reasonable price). They are very hot in the
summer time.


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[rob.northcott]

Mikefule wrote:
> There is an argument that a road bike helmet won't protect you well if
> you fall backwards - this is not a typical direction of fall for a road
> bicyclist.


I "tested" my helmet with a hard impact to the back of the head this
morning. On the way to work (on the road bike) I hit a patch of ice
and went down VERY suddenly and somehow the back of my head hit the
road HARD. The helmet has cracked, like they are designed to do, but I
got away with a sore neck, some nasty bruises and feeling a bit shakey.
I walked home (I'd only made it 1/4 mile down the road :rolleyes:) and
drove the car to work. I'm sure if I'd not been wearing the helmet I
would have been knocked out. So it seems road helmets do provide quite
good protection to the back of the head. I'll be having to buy a new
helmet now, but I've had it a few years so it's not really that much of
an expense over that time. I didn't used to wear a helmet for road
riding until I moved here, where there is more chance of ice and wet
leaves, but I'm glad I was wearing it this morning - that was just the
sort of accident that a bike helmet is good at (relatively low speed
sudden fall onto flat ground, not involving other vehicles).

I use(d) the same helmet for muni and mountain biking, but I reckon
there would be more chance of injury in a fall onto uneven rocks. A
pointy rock could easily hit me on the back of the skull below the
helmet or in the face. But the alternative would be to wear a fuller
helmet like a downhill or skate-type helmet, which would get a bit too
hot (I don't really like wearing the road helmet in the summer, but
I've got used to it).

Rob


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[Ian Smith]

On Mon, 28 Nov, rob.northcott <> wrote:
>
> The helmet has cracked, like they are designed to do,

They are supposed to crush, not crack. Polystyrene cracking is a
relatively low energy failure mode - it should crush progressively.

regards, Ian SMith
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[smegy88]

Cheers guys. This info, and any more that may come, will be VERY useful
for me during this project.

Thanks again,

Euan

PS Do people prefer a larger coverage or more ventilation? Or both?
Also I plan to include a hard, puncture proof, exterior shell in my
design. Any ideas what I should use to make this? Would this detract
from the ventilation side? I would think so..??!:confused:


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[Tim Morin]

I always wear my helmet. Whether it's fooling around in the back yard,
or a trail ride...always.


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[Catboy]

A majority or riders wear helmets nearly always.

unless I'm just riding down the street to get the mail or around the
block for fun I ALWAYS wear a helmet.


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[Klaas Bil]

Bike helmets often have aerodynamic considerations in their design.
For unicycling with its lower speed, that isn't needed. But then
again, it just looks nice and 'speedy'.

Ventilation is important, especially with our lower speeds.

Sometimes people strap things to their helmet:
- A bright light for night riding is most common.
- A video camera is sometimes done.
- I often strap my GPS receiver on top of my helmet (for better
reception), but I haven't heard of anyone else doing that.
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
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[GILD]

Klaas Bil wrote:
> - I often strap my GPS receiver on top of my helmet

So you -really- know where your head is at?


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[Checkernuts]

First off I wear my helmet sometimes, if I'm doing trials I usually put
it on and 80% of the time I dont really mind it.

Normally I dont wear my helmet if I know I'm not doing anything that
would cause me to fall on my head normally.

I have 2 lids, one for street that is a skate lid, the other is a giro
e2 mtb lid. Both have their advantages the mtb lid is really light and
cool with massive vents, the Skate lid covers my whole head and I can
throw it around with out worry.

I feel that almost all skate lids are hot so you just have to put up
with that if you are going to use one. I personally really like the
design on the Capix sportcap, I think Jagur still sports it.


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[Mikefule]

rob.northcott wrote:
> I "tested" my helmet with a hard impact to the back of the head this
> morning. On the way to work (on the road bike) I hit a patch of ice
> and went down VERY suddenly and somehow the back of my head hit the
> road HARD.



Wow, Rob, your helmet must have saved your life...;)

Hope you're OK. Must be the complexity of that extra wheel that threw
you.:D


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[rob.northcott]

Mikefule wrote:
> Wow, Rob, your helmet must have saved your life...;)
>
> Hope you're OK. Must be the complexity of that extra wheel that threw
> you.:D


Thanks Mike. I seem to be fine apart from a few bruises and a stiff
neck, which is much better now than it was yesterday evening. Looks
like I got off lightly - could have been much nastier. I used to be
pretty anti-helmet, but started wearing one for mountain biking a few
years ago. Then I started wearing it on the road in the winter in case
of just that sort of accident. I've got so used to it now that I
usually wear it in the summer as well even on the road. I still reckon
that a bike helmet isn't really much use in a lot of cycling accidents,
but I was certainly glad of it yesterday - I would have had a very
nasty whack to the back of the head if I hadn't been wearing the
helmet; I don't think I would have walked home and driven the car to
work ten minutes later. I think I would have been pretty unlucky to
have been killed, but a cracked skull, concussion or something equally
nasty could definitely have happened.
Anyway, I'm fine. Thanks for the concern :)
What's quite funny in hindsight is I spent Friday muniing across the
moor in the ice and snow perfectly safely, then fall off my bike 1/4
mile from home on the way to work :o

Rob


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[thieum]

80% off topic

rob.northcott wrote:
> I'll be having to buy a new helmet now, but I've had it a few years so
> it's not really that much of an expense over that time.


Even if you had to change it every other day, it would always be
cheaper than fixing your skull ;)
You guys convinced me, I'll be wearing my helmet from now on for
trials.


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