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new helmet technology
Last Post 02/07/2014 04:49 PM by Andy Eunson. 12 Replies.
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gabbard

Posts:27

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02/05/2014 10:10 AM
There are some new technologies in helmets showing up (Kali helmets interviewed on VN, POC, MIPS, etc.)   My Bell is several years old and I have never had a reason to replace it, because new helmets were effectively the same as the previous years helmets, with incremental improvements in retention systems and new graphics.  Now, it appears that there are actually some reasons to upgrade.  So, what is the prevailing wisdom - do any of these new ideas make sense, or are they just a way to sell helmets with "new" technology?

Steve
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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02/05/2014 11:41 AM
I did a spill on my Bell Influx last June that sold me on MIPS. Hit my left side hard. Broken ribs, collarbone. Needed a crutch for my hip for days. Distinctly remember feeling the left side of my helmet hitting hard, then being ground by the pavement. But zero concussion. I have no memory of the rest of the crash. But that was just my mind sparing me of witnessing a lot of pain and body damage. When I came to a stop, I was clear as a bell. No concussion repercussions later.

Now, that part that was interesting is that my helmet straps were not tight. The helmet slid down my face; a lot. Enough that my glasses were knocked off, cutting my face in several places. The chin strap nearly took my ear off.

What I take from that is the shell sliding relative to my head mattered a lot in that crash. As one who gets concussions easily and regularly in crashes, that lack of concussion really stood out. (Big time head injuries do that; the brain connective tissue that minimizes bounce inside your skull does not regenerate.)

A week or two later, I read about MIPS. All I could think is "yeah, next helmet".

Ben
stronz

Posts:447

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02/05/2014 11:46 AM
I posted some time ago on the Scott Lin. It has the MIPS insert. Also the only one I could get my hands on that is reasonably mainstream -- look, weight(actually lighter than my old Bell Sweep) and venting. I do believe there is enough evidence to buy a new helmet immediately. The off-axis impact protection is too compelling to ignore. There is plenty of evidence to support making this change. Great article in Bicycling magazine last year and the mips website also is very informative

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

Posts:2881

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02/05/2014 08:40 PM
Ben, I'm not a neurologist, but if you "have no memory" of the impact, isn't that a concussion?
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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02/06/2014 12:50 PM
lsd, that wasn't a concussion. That was my brain sparing me from feeling a lot of flesh being ground off and injuries piling up. I was fully aware of the start of the grinding. Apparently I flipped or rolled over and a lot more happened on my other side but that I did not have to witness. As soon as I stopped sliding, I was fully there. I knew right where I was and what the situation was around me. It was maybe a second or two I missed.

The doctors I mentioned this to were not concerned at all. I think it is a fairly common thing. (I've probably trained my brain pretty well over the years. It has seen hamburger in the making enough.)

Ben
6ix

Posts:485

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02/07/2014 09:03 AM
Just gotta say that those Poc helmets are an abomination!! Did you see the aero helmet that the Garmin guys are being forced to wear? Horrible, just horrible. And I thought the Giro Air Attack was bad. Well, it still is but these are worse.
There is certainly a fine line between safety and style. It's up to the consumer to decide which side they want to be on. For me, I'll take a pass on dorky helmets because I already feel like the general public looks at me and my lycra-clad friends as complete dorks. I don't want to give them any more ammo.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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02/07/2014 11:35 AM
Those POC lids are just sooooooo bad.

I don't give a flying fook how fast that TT lid may be.....it ain't gonna be fast enough to warrant the ridicule!!
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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02/07/2014 12:13 PM
Perspective, guys. The same was said about the old Bell Biker. Real men wore leather hairnets to race.

At the Maine International, 1977, there were ~116 hairnets, maybe a Skid Lid or two and two Bell Bikers. The Biker on my head saved my life 3 months to the day after that race. Now, if I had a MIPS POC, my coma and seizures might not have happened or been less severe and I might well not be as prone to concussions now. I might now be working in the field I dreamed of as a kid and went to school for.

Those POCs don't look a bit more dorky than the Biker., just different.

Ben
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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02/07/2014 12:30 PM
Not the road lids, Ben.....the TT lids. I can grasp the safety benefits of the road lids over a "tradtional" helmet. The TT lids......not so much.

Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
ChinookPass

Posts:809

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02/07/2014 02:47 PM
never
not gonna wear no scalp-nostril!
79pmooney

Posts:3178

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02/07/2014 03:51 PM
If pumpkins could fly ...

Ben
stronz

Posts:447

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02/07/2014 04:08 PM
the POCs are fugly I agree -- which is what I was referring to when I said the scott lin was reasonably mainstream -- see below





the inside yellow lining is what rotates and allows the harness to remain firmly in place on the head while the hard shell rotates. Very simple and very cool
Oldfart

Posts:511

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02/07/2014 04:49 PM
http://www.nsmb.com/smith-optics-forefront-helmet/ Smith has some new bike helmets although I don't think road helmets that use this koroyd material. Light, airy and said to absorb low energy impacts better. Looks as though they simply fill the vents with it. Troy Lee has some interesting full face DH type helmets in testing I guess where they add layers of EPS to the exterior of the helmet. I would think that could make a helmet stick to a surface as opposed to slide and make things worse. But it great to see that helmet designers are working on new protective designs and materials rather than simply new aesthetics.
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