A Cycling & bikes forum. CycleBanter.com

Go Back   Home » CycleBanter.com forum » Regional Cycling » UK
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

How much to pay for a cycle helmet?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old August 1st 09, 08:46 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Mr. Benn
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 139
Default How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

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
Ads
  #2  
Old August 1st 09, 08:55 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Daniel Barlow[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 57
Default How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

"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


-dan
  #3  
Old August 1st 09, 08:58 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Marc[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,589
Default How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

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.

Why?



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?


No
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!


They are all made to the same ( low) standard. The material costs are
less than 5p the production cost less than 10.

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?


Any in Eruope will meet EN1078 European standard

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


define "merits"?
  #4  
Old August 1st 09, 08:58 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Marc[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,589
Default How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

Daniel Barlow wrote:
"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

and ....
DUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  #5  
Old August 1st 09, 09:14 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Daniel Barlow[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 57
Default How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

Marc writes:

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

and ....
DUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Quack quack. 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.


-dan

  #6  
Old August 1st 09, 09:14 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Daniel Barlow[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 57
Default How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

Daniel Barlow writes:

hot-button posts from new or unfamiliar names.


"hot-button topics", I meant, of course


-dan
  #7  
Old August 1st 09, 09:27 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Adam Funk[_5_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 80
Default How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

On 2009-08-01, 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?


AIUI (I'm not an expert, and this information may be out of date):

* the Snell standard is higher than the EN one and widely used in the
USA, but is not seen as often in the UK as the EN;

* more expensive helmets that meet the same standard may have better
ventilation.
  #8  
Old August 1st 09, 09:37 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Just zis Guy, you know?[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,166
Default How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

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
--
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
  #9  
Old August 1st 09, 09:45 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Just zis Guy, you know?[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,166
Default How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

On Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:27:03 +0100, Adam Funk
wrote:

the Snell standard is higher than the EN one and widely used in the
USA, but is not seen as often in the UK as the EN;


Snell certified lids should be lot-traceable, but they are not common
any more since the CPSC standard was introduced; this is slightly
weaker, self-certified and involves no payment to SMF so is naturally
more popular in the US - you wouldn't want to erode the 99.5% profit
margin after cost of manufacture, would you? ;-) I have been told -
and this is just hearsay so I can't be sure - that Bell's packaging
costs more than the manufacture of the lid itself.

EN is about the same test as CPSC but is at least independently
certified - though rather a lot fail, according to Brian Walker. I's
pretty clear that the things are built down to the lowest limit
allowed by the standard, but of course that's not a surprise.

The cheapest ones might well be the strongest, at least in the soft
shell designs. If you are serious about protection your best bet is
to buy a *hard-shell* BMX helmet. Expect it to be heavy and hot.

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
  #10  
Old August 1st 09, 10:51 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Simon Brooke[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 671
Default How much to pay for a cycle helmet?

On 1 Aug, 20:46, "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!


Helmets are all made of polystyrene foam with a thin plastic outer
shell and some webbing straps. Even the most expensive don't cost a
fiver to make (although, to be fair, they may spend a lot of money on
testing). On the whole the more expensive ones have more ventilation
and so may be actively weaker. From a safety point of view I see no
point in paying extra - the cheap ones will be at least as effective
at protection as the expensive ones.

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?


No, there are safety standards - but they are not very stringent.

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


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




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Best cycle helmet for under £10? Brian D'Amarge. UK 10 December 1st 04 03:45 PM
Does anyone cycle wearing a MOTORCYCLE HELMET ? [email protected] UK 31 August 24th 04 12:05 PM
Novel cycle helmet. Simon Mason UK 2 May 18th 04 03:19 PM
Large Cycle Helmet - what and where? BigMac UK 8 April 27th 04 07:33 PM
Halfords Cycle Helmet Richard Bates UK 2 March 31st 04 06:17 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:56 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CycleBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.