Buying a new helmet. What you like and what you don't like

[MORNE]

On 3/26/2024 at 4:59 PM, Robbie Stewart said:

Leatt also have something akin to MIPS which works well. I've had a few smacks and it dissipated the force each time.

One thing I would ensure is that the helmet you get has replaceable helmet liners. My current lid only came with one, and it is starting to fall apart from regular washing. It's about a year old.

Sounds about right for anything Leatt 👀

They dont use the best Chinese child labour thats for sure.
 

All my leatt things were bin worthy after max a year of use. One jersey only lasted one wash before unraveling at the seams. I dont buy their things anymore. For the price you have plenty of options. 

[Robbie Stewart]

On 3/29/2024 at 1:09 PM, Zebra said:

Inexpensive shot of White vinegar into the washing machine drawer, IF the anti-bacterial wash is pricey, or finished; works wonders!
Chris

I tried that today. I'll admit to doubting the vinegar, but it actually worked as advertised. Even after a wash I could normally smell a faint whiff of sweaty odour, but not today. I chucked all my kit into the machine, gloves, shoes and the rest and they came out smelling fresh as daisies. Thanks for the advice. 

[Robbie Stewart]

13 hours ago, SwissVan said:

 

It’s the washing machine

I sweat like a pig 🐽 and wash my helmet under the shower with hair shampoo. The liner stays in the helmet and still looks and smells like new. Helmet is at least 5 years old. Taking the liner out of the helmet every time is probably contributing to the damage.

My gloves go into the washing machine very occasionally, they never smell (well as far as I can smell….) but only for a cold wash with the lowest spin speed. I also alternate gloves having multiple pairs allows them time to dry properly indoors and not in direct sunlight.

 

 

I'll be using that shampoo tip. Thanks.

[Robbie Stewart]

5 hours ago, MORNE said:

Sounds about right for anything Leatt 👀

They dont use the best Chinese child labour thats for sure.
 

All my leatt things were bin worthy after max a year of use. One jersey only lasted one wash before unraveling at the seams. I dont buy their things anymore. For the price you have plenty of options. 

Just bought a pair of clipless shoes from them. 😶

[Robbie Stewart]

I watched a fellow rider go down hard on the Leatt skills park this morning resulting in concussion and some minor abrasions to his chin from pushing the dirt with his face. 

His helmet was not full face and that led to his chin pushing dirt. The nature of the crash meant that concussion was always going to be on the cards regardless of helmet type. I didn't explicitly catch what brand it was, but for some reason I'm thinking it was Leatt.

[PhilipV]

On 3/28/2024 at 10:39 PM, ChrisF said:

 

@V18 is a medical specialist that has some real life experience of what WORKS.

@V18

 

 

Pffft, @V18 takes fancy photos of broken bones and random objects in places that they are not supposed be.

On 3/28/2024 at 10:45 PM, V18 said:

Like I said. Unpopular opinion. Not PhD peer review proven fact. Just daily pattern recognition. Completely willing to eat my hat if proven the stuff works as well as advertised. 

I’ve wondered about the flexibility of the scalp, and hair slip factor. But my receding hairline means that I need to start investing in fancy acronyms like MIPS. Elke bietjie help. 
Skaters and bmxers have been riding hard shell lids for years, but they don’t seem like the smartest test population. Hard plastic slides well on steel skate ramps. Not so much on tarmac. 

[MORNE]

1 hour ago, PhilipV said:

Pffft, @V18 takes fancy photos of broken bones and random objects in places that they are not supposed be.

100% can corroborate. 

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, PhilipV said:

Pffft, @V18 takes fancy photos of broken bones and random objects in places that they are not supposed be.

I’ve wondered about the flexibility of the scalp, and hair slip factor. But my receding hairline means that I need to start investing in fancy acronyms like MIPS. Elke bietjie help. 
Skaters and bmxers have been riding hard shell lids for years, but they don’t seem like the smartest test population. Hard plastic slides well on steel skate ramps. Not so much on tarmac. 

Skater , bmxers , kayakers all seem to use helmets without MIPS and they’re multiple impact, yet our bike helmets are single impact . 
sounds like someone is being taken for a muppet

[PhilipV]

19 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Skater , bmxers , kayakers all seem to use helmets without MIPS and they’re multiple impact, yet our bike helmets are single impact . 
sounds like someone is being taken for a muppet

Those are constructed differently, and handle impacts differently, are heavier and don’t breathe. At all: I’d much rather have a breathable crumple zone around my neural macaroni than a hard shell with some foam padding. 

[Gr3mlin131]

Riding mostly on road and sweating like a pig at the slightest heat I got the helmet with the most holes I could find at the time, Suomy Timeless. Happens to be a very lightweight option as well. I have tested both the crash protection and their crash replacement, and happy with both. Might need some more coverage if I go on more gnarly rides than gravel in the future, so watching this thread for those.

Also MIPS covers holes, so just in the way of the cooling winds so actively avoid it.

[Jewbacca]

1 minute ago, Gr3mlin131 said:

Riding mostly on road and sweating like a pig at the slightest heat I got the helmet with the most holes I could find at the time, Suomy Timeless. Happens to be a very lightweight option as well. I have tested both the crash protection and their crash replacement, and happy with both. Might need some more coverage if I go on more gnarly rides than gravel in the future, so watching this thread for those.

Also MIPS covers holes, so just in the way of the cooling winds so actively avoid it.

Dunno... My MIPS helmets all have holes that align with the other holes.... 

But it is weird/interesting to see how certain things are perceived by different people.

I am not actively against anything, even if it doesn't do entirely what it says, it isn't LESS safe than any other sort of benchmark, so if it's within the price bracket all the added wizz nizz is a bonus.

Oval chain rings are the same. I really couldn't care if it adds 0% or 3% or whatever, the chainring feels good, it's comfortable to ride and it retains my chain. So I lose nothing and 'May' gain something.

(I don't use oval chainrings as a preference, it is an example)

 

[Shebeen]

On 3/30/2024 at 9:13 AM, SwissVan said:

 

It’s the washing machine

I sweat like a pig 🐽 and wash my helmet under the shower with hair shampoo. The liner stays in the helmet and still looks and smells like new. Helmet is at least 5 years old. Taking the liner out of the helmet every time is probably contributing to the damage.

My gloves go into the washing machine very occasionally, they never smell (well as far as I can smell….) but only for a cold wash with the lowest spin speed. I also alternate gloves having multiple pairs allows them time to dry properly indoors and not in direct sunlight.

 

 

I'm the biggest cheapskate out there, and the whole "don't risk it with your head" mantra pisses me off because helmet safety does not correlate with price.  BUT even i think 5yrs is too long with the same helmet.

Probably time for me to get a new one myself actually.

 

surprisingly 9 pages of helmets for sale, Personally I'd only buy an "almost new" helmet that didn't fit the owner or wrong colour. - not worth skimping to get a deal here in my books.

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/c/helmets

Edited April 4 by Shebeen

[ChrisF]

2 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

Dunno... My MIPS helmets all have holes that align with the other holes.... 

But it is weird/interesting to see how certain things are perceived by different people.

......

 

 

December I got stung by a bee while cycling.

 

Bee went IN the front vent hole .... got trapped on my scalp.  (there are enough space for the air to move through, but not for an insect)

 

I duly got stung while at speed on a downhill .....  Stopping with hand on the bars while janking the helmet off with the other ....

 

 

Very FEW helmets actually have vent "slots" that follow through from front to back.  I ended up buying a Sepcialized helmet that offers this.

 

 

Yea yea ,,,,,, whats the chance of another bee getting stuck in there ..... darned if I can put on that other (still very new) helmet without feeling exposed .....

[DieselnDust]

5 hours ago, PhilipV said:

Those are constructed differently, and handle impacts differently, are heavier and don’t breathe. At all: I’d much rather have a breathable crumple zone around my neural macaroni than a hard shell with some foam padding. 

The main difference is the thicker plastic shell. The EPS density is much the same. The crumple zone is the deforming shell that doesn’t recover it shape whereas the other helmets have shells that can absorb more but break when its design limit is breached 

[The Ouzo]

This talk of helmets from different sports has me lolling at hard hats on construction sites. These things are so thin and flimsy I cant see them protecting the wearer from much, but they are mandated PPE.

[Spafsack]

On the subject of helmets, it seems having a peak on an mtb helmet seems old school? Seems more people ride 'road type' helmets or no peak helmets nowadays, why is this?