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#1
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Helmet Advice
This seems to be a largely US ng but I couldn't find a UK equivalent so here
goes: Just got back on a bike after a few years. Never previously worn a helmet but having three kids changed my perspective. Anyway in my price range - up to GBP30 or so - there are a couple of alternatives on offer at the local store Specialized Chamonix and Met MaxTrack II (I'm sure I could order another if there is a standout model). One of the reasons I'm asking is that five years ago 'Which', a consumer magazine in the UK, did a survey of bike helmets and a majority were not suitable for their intended purpose, ie they did not adequately protect your head. So what would you recommend as a suitable helmet for someone commuting 4 or 5 miles a day to work and back on city roads? cheers dd |
#2
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Helmet Advice
DD,
I won't open the discussion of whether helmets are effective or not. There are times when they may possibly be (just like there are times when the small bible in the shirt pocket can stop a bullet), and there are times when they certainly are not (probably those situations where adults are most likely to experience). That said, certified helmets are all essentially the same. If you must have one, select one (if you can find it) that conforms to whatever standards organization tests helmets in Europe. Helmets that lack labels from a standards organization are useless (or worse). In the US, for example, most helmets, possibly all that are certified, are ANSI certified. The last time I looked at helmets, I could not find any that conformed to the more stringent Snell standard. It would seem that once helmets were mandated in most states, there was no longer any benefit in marketing a such a helmet. Yet another example of style over substance. Rick "DDEckerslyke" wrote in message ... This seems to be a largely US ng but I couldn't find a UK equivalent so here goes: Just got back on a bike after a few years. Never previously worn a helmet but having three kids changed my perspective. Anyway in my price range - up to GBP30 or so - there are a couple of alternatives on offer at the local store Specialized Chamonix and Met MaxTrack II (I'm sure I could order another if there is a standout model). One of the reasons I'm asking is that five years ago 'Which', a consumer magazine in the UK, did a survey of bike helmets and a majority were not suitable for their intended purpose, ie they did not adequately protect your head. So what would you recommend as a suitable helmet for someone commuting 4 or 5 miles a day to work and back on city roads? cheers dd |
#3
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Helmet Advice
DDEckerslyke wrote:
This seems to be a largely US ng but I couldn't find a UK equivalent so here goes: Just got back on a bike after a few years. Never previously worn a helmet but having three kids changed my perspective. Anyway in my price range - up to GBP30 or so - there are a couple of alternatives on offer at the local store Specialized Chamonix and Met MaxTrack II (I'm sure I could order another if there is a standout model). One of the reasons I'm asking is that five years ago 'Which', a consumer magazine in the UK, did a survey of bike helmets and a majority were not suitable for their intended purpose, ie they did not adequately protect your head. So what would you recommend as a suitable helmet for someone commuting 4 or 5 miles a day to work and back on city roads? cheers dd Make sure it's certified and fits your head. If there is more than one helmet that meets those standards, go for the one with the best ventillation. -- -- Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall "I'm not proud. We really haven't done everything we could to protect our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security." --Microsoft VP in charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine. |
#4
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Helmet Advice
Well, all helmets meet the same standards, and I don't think those
standards have changed since the "Which" article was written. The Which article noted a tendency for helmets that meet the European std not to meet the American standard, and vice versa, but some did meet both. The best rule is NOT to get a "good one". What makes a helmet "good" is usually being lighter and cooler than a cheap helmet. This is achieved by using as little styrofoam as possible, so an expensive helmet is probably even less protective than a cheap helmet, even though both meet the same stds. There is some question about whether it really is necessary to replace a helmet every x years as some people recommend. In practice the styrofoam is unlikely to degrade from UV radiation. However, one current theory about why helmets are so ineffective in practice is that they are not kept tightly enough in position. It might be, so the theory goes, that putting on and taking off a helmet over and over again gradually compresses the material inside, thus making the helmet loose. The same theory emphasizes that the chin strap MUST be kept tight. If you can open your mouth to talk, the strap is probably too loose. Adding a helmet to your head makes it larger and heavier than normal, thus upsetting your reflexes that move your head out of the way of impacts. Thus you will hit your head more with a helmet than you would without. This doesn't matter though, because of that very helmet. Don't assume, though, that in the impacts you are now having the helmet is saving your life. Jeremy Parker |
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