….but not fantastically expensive. Cheap is fine as long as it doesnt make me look like Mister Mushroom head.

Bell slant…cheap (£35) loads of air circulation and does a good job of protecting your head.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/protection/helmet-standard/product/slant-helmet-10126

Giro Phase? (not the most expensive one, but can't remember just how much they cost)

The only one Ive found that sits down rather than on my head is the giro xen, but a bit pricey these days

Hex?

Slight hijack –

Hora, those Lyriks you sold me, what spring did you have in them? (I already know the answer, I just want to see if you do too…) 😀

*Off top of my head – firm? (thats what the seller told me).

*Do you see what I did there?

PP – Is the answer 'the wrong one'?

We're all painfully familier with the Hora refraim at the bottom of every descent "these forks aren't working properly!"

Back to the original point – Hora, whatever helmet you biy, given the swollen mishapen lump that balances on your shoulders, any helmet will 'sit' on top of it.

Hora's head:

Mat Kaos is a head in rather than on top kinda lid… not sure its worth the dosh I paid for mine though, but it sure is a lot more vented than a Xen, but then so is a collinder..

Met helmets are definitely a more in than on top design.

Yeah, that's right!

I assumed there would be the standard medium in there (Although I never asked) so at the same time I 'dropped lucky' and bought a firm off the classifides…. Came to fit it recently and realised I had 2 springs the same. First I thought I'd been ripped off by the bloke that sold me the spring. But a quick check revealed I had 2 firm springs. 🙂 I sold the other one on and covered my purchase price, so no harm done. I just didn't know if YOU knew, that's all.
I did think they felt 'about right' when we were in the Dales, mind…. 😯

EDIT
With a bit of, err, 'buying and selling', I upgraded to those Lyriks for £25. Not bad eh? 😉

Depends on the shape of your head I suppose, but for me the Giro Hex sits round rather than on top of my head. Also tried the Xen but thought it was less comfortable, didn't fit as well and much more expensive

Just bought a Specialized Vice – might be worth a look – £80 though – still for a man that buys a set of forks per week that should be nothing 😉

Specialized Instinct (£50) works for me, and having mashed it up sent it back to Spesh for a crash-replacement – only £20 and sent Tues pm, new one returned Fri am!

ignore ALL the posts above!

All helmets fit differently, all peoples heads are different shaped.
you NEED to go and spend an hour in a helpful bike shop.

ive ordered a Giro Hex this last weekend, it fitted me really well, snugly and comfortable and was just "right"

the famous Xen, most comfortable helmet of them all, didnt fit at all and had a proper rattle to it.

for me, all of the bell ones felt like they were designed for hammer head sharks.

Bell variant suits me well – I liked the Hex too, but the shell at the front used to dig into my forehead over longer rides.

PeterPoddy he told me they were firm but after the experience I did doubt what exactly was in there.

Currently have a Giro (road) £100 effort which I bought initially as a 'posh' helmet – first ride out I washed out on sheet ice on my commute and slammed down sideways onto the tarmac.

I'd like to avoid expensive helmets in the future!

Bell look good.

I too have a longish head 🙁

Giro Xen – You can get a Xen for £58

I'd also recommend a Fox Flux – bt it's a little warmer.

No, it's a firm alright. Spot on! 🙂

All helmets fit differently, all peoples heads are different shaped.
you NEED to go and spend an hour in a helpful bike shop.

Best advice given yet quite frankly…

I had a Giro E2 for years, fitted me really well. When I came to replace it I found that none of the current Giro range fit my head very well at all. Tried soooo many helmets, eventually finding that the Met Kaos was the best fitting for my bonce. Great helmet it is too, fits really well, nice and light etc. The only annoying bit is that most of the vents are too small to get my digits through to scratch my head, whereas with the E2 most were big enough to have a scratch!

Peter! Shocked from Manchester here. You thought the forks felt spot on when riding them but still decided to tinker…..tut tut.

Yes- Me thinks I should pop down to a bikeshop, try on then order online.

I found the Xen comfy, but very hot. Nice helmet though, & had I not left it swinging merrily from my bike rack before driving home I'd probably still have it. The Uvex ones seem to get decent reviews IIRC.

+2 for Bell I use a Triton and it's well worth a look.

Peter! Shocked from Manchester here. You thought the forks felt spot on when riding them but still decided to tinker…..tut tut.

Well, I thought they were OK in the Dales, but so were my Pikes with the standard spring in. I upped that to a firm for the Alps last year though, which was better, so I assumed I'd have to do the same…..

They're at TFTuned right now. The bushings were as slack as a wizzards' sleeve! 🙂

I lost my faith in the classifieds after that experience. Then another STW'er re-ignited it by selling me 'as described' Fox 36 Floats 😀

Yes- Me thinks I should pop down to a bikeshop, try on then order online.

NO, NO, NO!!

If everyone does this there will be no more bike shops left to try things on at. They are in business, not some kind of free fitting centre.

1) work out which helmets you are going to try
2) note the online prices
3) go to the shop and choose your helmet
4) say you will buy it as long as he gets within 10% of the online price
5) repeat for all future purchases

Everyone want to get the best deal, but sucking the LBS's dry so they cannot afford to stay in business is counterproductive in the long run.

Captain; + 1 million

My Spesh 2D sits on my noggin pretty well.

Uvex – brilliant lids, cheaper than the Giros of the world – loads of air and fit the larger and odder noggins really well.

Fox Flux is far too over-built for trail riding and bloody noticeably heavy.

Hex felt the best option for 'feel' but it sits like a hard-hat.

So I went for the Bell Variant in medium…. ta guys 🙂