How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

On 2 Aug, 05:25, "Mr. Benn" %%@%%.% wrote:
Simon Brooke wrote :

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?

If the foam of the helmet cracks on impact then the helmet has failed.
Polystyrene foam absorbs a lot of energy when crushed but very little
when broken. However the outer shell's only function is to protect the
foam from scuffs and abrasion; if it cracks on impact it's neither
here nor there as it has then done it's job. Obviously after any
substantial impact the protective ability of the helmet is compromised
and it should be discarded (and if you still want one, replaced).

On 2 Aug, 08:38, (Roger Merriman) wrote:

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.

This is a significant issue - you're much more likely to die of
heatstroke through overheating than of falling off your bicycle. If
you cycle for long periods or fast then a helmet with inadequate
ventilation will increase, not decrease, your risk.

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....

They do protect against scrapes and bruising of the scalp in a fall.
That isn't what most people buy them for, but it is a protective
effect and is not completely worthless.

On Aug 2, 6:30*pm, Simon Brooke wrote:
On 2 Aug, 08:38, (Roger Merriman) wrote:

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.

This is a significant issue - you're much more likely to die of
heatstroke through overheating than of falling off your bicycle.

Numbers please.

James

On Sun, 2 Aug 2009 03:14:01 -0700 (PDT), James
wrote:

On Aug 2, 6:30*pm, Simon Brooke wrote:
On 2 Aug, 08:38, (Roger Merriman) wrote:

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.

This is a significant issue - you're much more likely to die of
heatstroke through overheating than of falling off your bicycle.

Numbers please.

42 ;-)

On 2 Aug, 09:27, (Roger Merriman) wrote:
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?

skate helmets apear to the strongest though also rather warm.


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

"skate helmets"
"headhake"

Shouldn't some fish-based puns be appearing by now?

On Sun, 02 Aug 2009 09:16:16 +0100, "Colin McKenzie"
wrote:

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

ffs - every time.

He came here clearly to ask about the cost of a helmet.

Perhaps if he had wanted to know your view on the effectiveness of
them he would have asked.

A perfect example of why the group turned to rat-****.

Question to proposed moderator: would this response be allowed in the
proposed new group?

--


Vote NO to the proposed group uk.rec.cycling.moderated aka uk.rec.cycling.censored

On Sun, 2 Aug 2009 04:36:15 -0700 (PDT), GutterCyclist
wrote:

"skate helmets"
"headhake"
Shouldn't some fish-based puns be appearing by now?

Oh for the love of Cod, we'll be herring from the Pun Police any
minute now...

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/urc | http://www.nohelmetlaw.org.uk/
"Nullius in Verba" - take no man's word for it.
- attr. Horace, chosen by John Evelyn for the Royal Society

jms wrote:
On Sun, 02 Aug 2009 09:16:16 +0100, "Colin McKenzie"
wrote:

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.


He came here clearly to ask about the cost of a helmet.
Perhaps if he had wanted to know your view on the effectiveness of
them he would have asked.
Question to proposed moderator: would this response be allowed in the
proposed new group?

Well, just taking all this at face value, and assuming that everyone
posting is sincere...
That post would pose a problem to me. If we are going, as I believe for
a 'light touch' on moderation then I'd have to let it go. To me, though
it fails because it does seem provocative and unhelpful. I would prefer
it not to appear.
We are, as yet not in the moderated phase, and I realise that my opinion
may not be representative.
I would like to see a little more balance in the thread, and would have
liked to make some comments about the 'helmets can only stop cuts and
bruises' point [essentially to say that it the opinion that they can do
much more than that is not unreasonable] and the cracking polystyrene
issue [to say that in most cases the energy dissipating crushing will
also take pace].
However I don't want to provoke the ****storm that I predicted, and I'm
reluctant to be pushed into the position of being a helmet enthusiast
when I'm really a helmet moderate.

I want to see a group where the view that helmets can save people from
serious injury and death is accepted as something that a reasonable
person can conclude having read the evidence. I don't demand that this
view go unchallenged and in the same way I don't expect the helmet
skeptics want their views to go unchallenged.

This is probably why you thought of me as one of the moderates. I still
don't want to see the Violet Eizabeth persona in the moderated group.

--
Roger Thorpe

Standing on a golf course, dressed in PVC.....

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

You could afford to buy a helmet built to a higher standard of head
impact crash protection than a cycle helmet, such as a motorcycle
helmet, but it would be heavier. Do you think the extra safety factor
worth the extra weight?

--
Chris Malcolm

On Sat, 01 Aug 2009 23:19:40 -0500, "Mr. Benn" %%@%%.% wrote:

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.

I sell ones I bought he
www.bhit.org/hscheme.html
at no profit for £7.30 each.

Red and silver are all size 58 - 61 cm
Blue and silver are all size 54 - 58 cm

I don't post or deliver so you'd have to collect from south-east
London. I will be happy to fit the helmet correctly for you.

However, I will also advise you that any safety benefit of wearing a
helmet is likely to be marginal, and proper road positioning and
riding a well-maintained bicycle are likely to have a far greater
safety benefit.