Tell me about helmets. Need to replace my 6 yr old giro, in fact it might be older than that.

Can find much re reviews or a group test sort of thing online. It might be just poor googling but I have looked and I can never get much out of the search on here.

I ride in the south of England and do a couple of 1 hr blasts weekdays off-road on natural singletrack and often once a week at the local FC singletrack trying to beat my time on the trail there.

I hit the trail centres when I can get around the country for meetings (work for the FC)

I need a new helmet. Large. Have tried giro phase I think and hex. They were ok I guess. Tried a bell super today which was super nice and I’ve tried the poc trabec which at the time I thought was quite large but I guess similar to the super The fox flux and a similar model were ok as well.

I guess for the riding I do is the trabec/ super type helmet a bit much? What are people wearing on their heads these days? Is there something that’s modern like the super/ poc but a bit less coverage but more than an xc lid that just sits on top of your head?

I’ve seen catlike and others that look more modern. Any ideas?

£20 On-one fits me and I can’t see a reason to spend more.

Go to LBS. Try on helmets. Buy the best fitting one that suits your riding from the aforementioned LBS.

I tried a Mavic Notch on the other day and it felt perfect. I currently have a Fox Flux and it slides forward a little on the rough stuff which is really annoying.

What flashy said. Helmets and shoes and clothing, totally worth going to LBS for.

what the CPT said
All are rated the same so fit is what counts

I’d expect Jimbo to agree with me*, but when Junky and I agree it just HAS to be right!

*Y’alright, Jimbo? Oddly enough, Tony V cropped up in a conversation earlier this week. Got me pondering other folks from those heady days…..! 😉

Yep, I get the bike shop thing it’s just most shops have 2 or so brands only. Happy to try on and see what fits and I wouldn’t want to buy one that doesn’t. I’ve had a number of helmets over the last 20 or so yrs.

The one that fit best earlier was the bell super but it seemed a lot of helmet, although well vented and reasonable light. I just wondered what else was out there and if there’s lots to recommend then I’ll widen my search and visit a few more shops.

Things really seem to have moved on since my last helmet buying foray. I just wanted to test the water on here.

Go to LBS. Try on helmets. Buy the best fitting one that suits your riding from the aforementioned LBS.

That approach alays seems to cost me over £100. 😯

It is, however, the best one.

Junkyard – lazarus

All are rated the same so fit is what counts

Course, that doesn’t actually mean they all offer the same protection. No argument that fit is most important though.

When i was looking for a new helmet I couldnt find a bike shop that had any on display that werent either huge or tiny. Eventually took a risk and bought a new Giro Xen which is perfect

Rubbish. Your decision should be made purely on colour coordination. 😀

Fox Flux have a spoiler which’ll make for a nice and grippy rear end

Fox Flux unless you want really deep coverage.

I have a Giro (medium) shaped head. So two road and one mtb (hex) helmets. If they fit, why go elsewhere? Different brands will not feel the same. I couldn’t get on with Kask, for example.

dekadanse – Member
Fox Flux unless you want really deep coverage.

Unless the Fox doesn’t fit… OK doesn’t sound like fits really.

In the last round I tried
Trabac – didn’t fit as I was in between sizes
Bell Super – Fitted but rested on my ears (quite common from what the LBS was saying)
and a few others that was around, I was put off the Fox as I sat right on the size line in the Flux but ended up with the Strike when I tried it the fit was right (not OK right)

Course, that doesn’t actually mean they all offer the same protection.

Yes it does. It is just that the protection is the minimum they all offer not the maximum – is their a smart arse/pedantic emoticon?

Quite liking my IXS Trail RS. Fits me a treat, well vented. Very, very green.

Junkyard – lazarus
Course, that doesn’t actually mean they all offer the same protection.

Yes it does. It is just that the protection is the minimum they all offer not the maximum – is their a smart arse/pedantic emoticon?

Only for folk who use the correct spelling of ‘there’.

Anyone using a bell super on day long rides and less gnarr stuff? Are they hot/ cool/ light heavy etc…. .?

It did fit really well.

Fox Flux

If only because it lets you do the “Wear the Fox Hat?” joke 😀

I have a Bell Super it replaced my Giro Xen, I wanted a helmet that fit well and much prefer one that has a lot of coverage over anything “minimal XC”. Not because I ride anything Gnarr, but because I want all the reasonable protection I can get without going too far.
Am really happy with it, the venting is fine but my only complaint would be it is a little heavy compared to XC lids but similar to other “all-mtn” lids.

As for having a giro shaped lid, as mentioned above, the newest Giro Xar doesn’t fit my head even though I had two previous Xen’s. Not all helmet even by the same manufacturer are the same shape (the E2 didn’t fit my head when I bought the Xen)

Other helmets of the same ilk, not mentioned above that might be worth perusing are the Bluegrass Goldeneye, Troy Lee Designs A1 and Catlike leaf (very light)

It’s really disappointing that there seems to be no competition in making helmets that are actually safer than others, rather than all just being certified to a really low standard.

I want to know that next time I hit a tree at 30mph I’ve got the best chance I could afford, I don’t so much care about the look, or brand, or colour. I broke my old Scott helmet that day, but not much else.

I replaced it with a Catlike Leaf but if did generally feel like style over function (very cool though). I’m now riding with the MIPS equipped Scott Stego. Is that MIPS thing going to save my life someday, who can say.

Read this as a really great resource for understanding how little importance safety has in the sales of safety equipment.
http://www.helmets.org/helmet14.htm

It’s really disappointing that there seems to be no competition in making helmets that are actually safer than others

Safer often means heavier. Consumers don’t like heavier helmets:

e.g. Abus Performance: supposedly 40% better at shock absorption, but at 640g it is more than three times the weight of a Specialized Prevail. I doubt it will sell well:

http://road.cc/content/review/120826-abus-performance-helmet

Safer might also mean a full face helmet that also covers the back of the head properly. Consumers don’t like that either (at least for road use anyway).

A motorcycle or scooter helmet would offer a lot more protection than a bicycle helmet, but you don’t see cyclists wearing them.

Folk don’t wear helmets to be safer, they wear helmets to feel safer.

grilla – Member

It’s really disappointing that there seems to be no competition in making helmets that are actually safer than others, rather than all just being certified to a really low standard.

Yup. It’s at least partly because the standards are so feeble- basic CE is a low standard, and there’s no CE2 for bike helmets, nor specialised CEs for different sorts of use.

The SNELL standard used to be the more rigorous one but that doesn’t seem to be used as much now.

Anyone using a bell super on day long rides and less gnarr stuff? Are they hot/ cool/ light heavy etc…. .?

It did fit really well.

I had a Bell Super (until a recent OTB incident, which split it down the side, after a heavy head impact…eek).

My 2p’s worth. Really well made helmet. Fitted me very well and proved it’s protection qualities in the OTB incident. However….it’s a very hot design, in hindsight far too hot for summer use for me.

I replaced it with a Bluegrass goldeneye helmet, which in comparison appears to give a similar coverage/potection and high-quality, but is very cool to wear when compared to the Bell Super.

The cooling ridges inside the helmet are far deeper on the Goldeneye, which is the main area of difference I think.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, some really helpful stuff. One of my localish shops has catlike helmets so will try the leaf.

R

GrahamS – Member

e.g. Abus Performance: supposedly 40% better at shock absorption, but at 640g it is more than three times the weight of a Specialized Prevail. I doubt it will sell well:

Weight also has negative safety impacts though, more stress on the c-spine and tends to increase dwell times as well. Don’t know if this sort of weight difference would outweigh the benefits though.

http://mipshelmet.com/find-a-helmet

*paging CFH*

very good thanks old bean. Our daughter is four months old and has infected us with norovirus this week, have just spent a very enjoyable stag do riding bikes in the lake district, and then pub is ramping up for busy times. Also have a cheeky weekend watching the tour go past my parents house in yorkshire in a couple of weeks….. nice.

Wear an imaginary one, then you can chose the style as fits your mood rather than your head.

Lovely riding with the wind in you hair. Did it loads for 30 years but less frequently these days, much the pity.

Used to ride without a helmet yrs ago in the 90s. Almost the first big ride I wore one in the s w valleys (cwmcarn) I had a big over the bars and landed on my knee / head on a rock mashing my helmet and knee but leaving me intact and with little damage other than cut and bruised knee, ripped Ron hills (remember those days) and a mullered helmet. Since then I’ve pretty much always work one off road.

661 recon here, nice lid.

Just make sure it’s an Enduro helmet.

I recently replaced my very aged Giro Zen, in large… with an IXS trail (in medium/large).
Fits really well, and is actually better vented i think despite the fill coverage. Good spec/value mix.

Basically… a good fit is what you need.
One of those times that an LBS is the right place to go. Regardless of price.