How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

Mr. Benn wrote:

I have seen several helmets being sold for £20 or less. Does it make any
sense to spend a significant amount of money on a helmet? I realise it's
my head which is at stake but how much is it worth paying? I know that
some will say that considering there isn't much in my head, then it's not
worth spending very much. But I do value my head very much!

As others have said, the more you pay, the more and bigger the holes are
in the helmet, and the less it keeps heat in.

What you should really be looking for if you buy a helmet is how well it
fits. Try a few different ones on, and get the one that fits the best. A
poorly fitting helmet will never work as well as one the fits well.

Martin.

Daniel Barlow wrote in
:

"Mr. Benn" %%@%%.% writes:

I have seen several helmets being sold for £20 or less. Does it make
any sense to spend a significant amount of money on a helmet?

More money will get you a lighter better ventilated and more stylish
helmet, not (in general) a safer one.

Are there any safety standards which the helmets have to meet for
them to be on sale in the UK or can anyone make an untested helmet
and then claim that is it suitable for use by cyclists?

EN1078 is the basic standard: as far as I know it's mandatory for sale
in the UK. Snell B-95 is a better standard, but optional. It's said
to be actually quite hard to find Snell-certified helmets on sale.
See

http://www.smf.org/certlist/std_B-90...90C_B-95C.html


I'm not too bothered about style, more about safety and comfort. My bike
lost any style it ever had a long time ago.

Are there any particular brands and suppliers which anyone can recommend?
I'm prepared to pay up to £50 or so.

Mr Benn

"Just zis Guy, you know?" wrote in
:

On Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:14:00 +0100, Daniel Barlow
wrote:

One of the worst things about the crap that judith et al
have put this group through is that it causes people to be much more
ready to jump to "troll" conclusions when they see posts about
hot-button posts from new or unfamiliar names.

True, but "Mr Benn" has been in my kf for some time.

Guy

That was because I called you an idiot or similar. So glad to see that
tolerance is alive and well.

Simon Brooke wrote in
:

The Snell organisation runs independent tests on helmets and their
standards are very slightly more stringent than the European standard.

Thanks for the info. Are helmets ranked anywhere in terms of safety?

I have noticed in a coupe of cases I have seen that the outer shell cracks
when subjected to impact and I can only assume that is designed in to
absorb the impact. Is that the best mechanism for impact absorption or are
there lightweight aluminium shells available which deform to absorb the
impact?

Mr. Benn %%@%%.% wrote:

I have had my Raleigh road bike for around ten years and during the summer,
I use it once a week and hardly ever during the winter. So far, I haven't
got around to getting a helmet. After some recent road accidents involving
a couple of my colleagues I think it's about time I bought one.

I have seen several helmets being sold for £20 or less. Does it make any
sense to spend a significant amount of money on a helmet? I realise it's
my head which is at stake but how much is it worth paying? I know that
some will say that considering there isn't much in my head, then it's not
worth spending very much. But I do value my head very much!

Are there any safety standards which the helmets have to meet for them to
be on sale in the UK or can anyone make an untested helmet and then claim
that is it suitable for use by cyclists?

Are there any independent tests which have evaluated the merits of
different makes of helmet?

Thanks

Mr Benn

what you get is a cooler head, so the more money the lighter and better
vents.

skate helmets apear to the strongest though also rather warm.

Helmets in terms of evidence seem to in many ways do nothing in that
they neither seem to much if any effect on kill rate etc. though it's
very much true that helmets create long threads on forums/usenet....

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

Roger Merriman wrote:
Mr. Benn %%@%%.% wrote:

I have had my Raleigh road bike for around ten years and during the summer,
I use it once a week and hardly ever during the winter. So far, I haven't
got around to getting a helmet. After some recent road accidents involving
a couple of my colleagues I think it's about time I bought one.

I have seen several helmets being sold for £20 or less. Does it make any
sense to spend a significant amount of money on a helmet? I realise it's
my head which is at stake but how much is it worth paying? I know that
some will say that considering there isn't much in my head, then it's not
worth spending very much. But I do value my head very much!

Are there any safety standards which the helmets have to meet for them to
be on sale in the UK or can anyone make an untested helmet and then claim
that is it suitable for use by cyclists?

Are there any independent tests which have evaluated the merits of
different makes of helmet?

Thanks

Mr Benn

what you get is a cooler head, so the more money the lighter and better
vents.

skate helmets apear to the strongest though also rather warm.

Helmets in terms of evidence seem to in many ways do nothing in that
they neither seem to much if any effect on kill rate etc. though it's
very much true that helmets create long threads on forums/usenet....

roger

Wearing a helmet or even a hat,makes my head sweat and gives me a
headache.Most unpleasant for me personally.

Bod

Mr. Benn wrote:

Thanks for the info. Are helmets ranked anywhere in terms of
safety?

Not that I'm aware of, but you need to understand that "safety" is
a catch-all term and tests on helmets are very specific things
(like does it absorb up to standard impact x when truck against a
test anvil in a certain position) so it would be very tricky to say
"this one is safer than this one, period".

For example, a helmet may be better than another hit from one
direction while another may do better in a different orientation,
or more difficult to see from a rank based on tests, one may let
branches in through vents that another doesn't, but the one with
fewer vents gets more sweat in your eyes at crucial points on sunny
days than the other.

I have noticed in a coupe of cases I have seen that the outer
shell cracks when subjected to impact and I can only assume that
is designed in to absorb the impact.

The outer shell on most current helmets is thin and pretty soft.
It's the polystyrene underneath that's meant to do the absorbing
(though in high impacts that's rather prone to brittle fracture too).

Is that the best mechanism for impact absorption

Again, be wary of terms like "best". A cycle helmet, if you read
the spec they're typically built *down* to, says that it's for low
speed impacts with no other vehicles involved. And for that, /for
a given (low) cost/, what they do to meet the (not very rigorous)
standards is probably the "best" way to do it. But in terms of "is
that the best they can make a helmet in terms of impact
absorption", almost certainly not. But OTOH, a really good impact
absorber would be much more uncomfortable to cycle in: try cycling
in a m/cycle helmet to see that for yourself...

or are there lightweight aluminium shells
available which deform to absorb the impact?

Not that I've seen. But climbing helmets, which are meant to take
a rather more serious rap, aren't made in aluminium that I've ever
seen. The real old toughies like the JB Super and Compton II were
made of thick fibreglass, and have largely passed from use as so
heavy that they affect the climbing to a degree where safety gains
from protection give way to being so uncomfy few want to climb in
them. Modern climbing helmets are plastic (ICBW, but I think
usually polycarbonate) and tend to rely on a fair bit of air space
above the crown of the head to deform: rocks tend to fall on you
from directly above, not such a safe assumption with an RTA. Some
are made like cycle helmets for lightness (like the Petzl Meteor)
but these are, I think, stressed by the makers as being lower
protection than the (heavier and more expensive) polycarb ones
(e.g., the Petzl Ecrin Roc).

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

On Sun, 02 Aug 2009 05:19:40 +0100, "Mr. Benn" %%@%%.% writes:

I'm not too bothered about style, more about safety and comfort.

Then get some cycle training.

Colin McKenzie


--
No-one has ever proved that cycle helmets make cycling any safer at the
population level, and anyway cycling is about as safe per mile as walking.
Make an informed choice - visit www.cyclehelmets.org.

Bod wrote:

Roger Merriman wrote:
Mr. Benn %%@%%.% wrote:

I have had my Raleigh road bike for around ten years and during the summer,
I use it once a week and hardly ever during the winter. So far, I haven't
got around to getting a helmet. After some recent road accidents involving
a couple of my colleagues I think it's about time I bought one.

I have seen several helmets being sold for £20 or less. Does it make any
sense to spend a significant amount of money on a helmet? I realise it's
my head which is at stake but how much is it worth paying? I know that
some will say that considering there isn't much in my head, then it's not
worth spending very much. But I do value my head very much!

Are there any safety standards which the helmets have to meet for them to
be on sale in the UK or can anyone make an untested helmet and then claim
that is it suitable for use by cyclists?

Are there any independent tests which have evaluated the merits of
different makes of helmet?

Thanks

Mr Benn

what you get is a cooler head, so the more money the lighter and better
vents.

skate helmets apear to the strongest though also rather warm.

Helmets in terms of evidence seem to in many ways do nothing in that
they neither seem to much if any effect on kill rate etc. though it's
very much true that helmets create long threads on forums/usenet....

roger

Wearing a helmet or even a hat,makes my head sweat and gives me a
headache.Most unpleasant for me personally.

Bod

don't get a headhake but yes to hot and unpleasant, I do have one which
i used for the Capital to Coast, which was done at a very comftable
pace.

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

"Mr. Benn" %%@%%.% writes:


Are there any safety standards which the helmets have to meet for them to
be on sale in the UK or can anyone make an untested helmet and then claim
that is it suitable for use by cyclists?

There are various standards - see e.g. http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/research/rsrr/theme1/bicyclehelmetsreviewofeffect4726?page=6


Are there any independent tests which have evaluated the merits of
different makes of helmet?


Most on sale meet some standard. The main thing you pay for as they get
more expensive is less weight and better ventilation.