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new helmet

Last Post 08/30/2021 10:10 PM by Frederick Jones. 27 Replies.

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smokey52

Posts:493

08/27/2021 10:47 PM
I realized that my helmet is ten-years old. I got it just after my crash wrecked my left side (I was all right.) and cracked my helmet. I like Bell. As I searched for a new lid, I found that the technology has changed. Is there really an advantage to MIPS? Any suggestions? I prefer mtn-bike over road-bike helmets since I like the visor. thanks all -smokey

79pmooney

Posts:3180

08/28/2021 04:12 AM
I'm coming up on seven years (I think) on my POS Trabek, MTB with visor and MIPS. It was the first highly visible (white) MIPS helmet I came across that fit. I'd been using Bells forever. (Influx for the past few.) This helmet weighs a real amount more, is radically more comfortable, better made, has held up much better. Granted it is a much more expensive helmet. Only gripe- the chinstrap buckle doesn't hold adjustment. I sewed the straps at the best adjustment early on and haven't looked back. (The headband adjust is really good, And six years later, POC may have gotten to the chinstrap buckle.)

Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

08/28/2021 11:02 AM
Yes, MIPS makes a difference. If you review the VA Tech testing results, the best helmets all have MIPS. Can’t give you any tips on MTB helmets since I wear road helmets…but in general, I like Specialized helmets as they tend to fit my head better. Girl helmets tend to be rounded than Speicialozed. I just got a Kask Utopia, and honestly, it is quite good. Air flow is arguably the best I have ever had in a helmet, despite being an aero road helmet.

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

zootracer

Posts:833

08/28/2021 01:45 PM
Long time user of Bell Helmets. My LBS had a 40% off sale on Helmets. Only problem was the only sizes they had were in small or large (I wear medium). I drove over to another bike shop and tried on a Specialized Propero III MIPS. Very comfortable. Sticker shock ($140). Most comfortable helmet I have every worn. Very light, lots of vents. Buckle is on the side near left ear so it does not get crusted in sweat. I had previously ordered a Giro Agilis MIPS from Amazon. Fit was great, straps were narrow and short. Buckle was tiny, hard to open. Would have been near impossible when wearing winter gloves. I returned it. Best bet would be to visit an LBS with a large inventory of helmets and find one the fits the best. $140 is a lot to pay for a helmet. But consider it protects your head in case of a crash its worth every penny. I was in a bad crash years ago and was knocked unconscious. ER room Doctor wanted to see my helmet. No doubt saved me from a very serious head injury.

Dale

Posts:1767

08/28/2021 08:33 PM
I'm a big fan of MIPS. Also a proponent of replacing helmets sooner rather than later. I usually replace every 3 or 4 years.

longslowdistance

Posts:2881

08/28/2021 11:37 PM
MIPS seems like a real step forward, at least in theory. The EPS foam that absorbs the hit is purported to have a shelf life and 5 years - this is bandied about in both bicycle and motorcycle lit. Of course it's not really black and white, going from good to not good in one day, more just losing goodness over time. And of course they want to sell us more helmets. In addition to the question of when does the clock start ticking (sale date or manufacture date, I can relay tales of hypocrisy), seems to me if you store your helmet in a cool dry place without ozone the EPS will keep its goodness far longer than other sorts of environs. Especially hot places like a car parked in the sun. I dislike the analogies of cheap helmets for cheap heads, but there is something to advice to keep that lid fresh to protect your brain.

Dale

Posts:1767

08/29/2021 07:15 AM
LSD, some motorcycle race classes require helmets less than five years from date of manufacture. The have a date code tag somewhere in or on the helmet. The owner of a motorcycle dealership in central Nebraska several years ago showed me a helmet he sliced in half with a bandsaw. The EPS was so hard I couldn’t compress it with my thumb. The helmet was less than five years old. I have no idea the what the conditions were like where the helmet was stored but it convinced me to replace my helmets sooner rather than later.

longslowdistance

Posts:2881

08/29/2021 01:11 PM
The "5 year rule" is widely promulgated in motorcycle land. Some helmets are 18 months old when sold. When does the clock start? Storage conditions surely matter. As you point out track days use manufacture date, reasonable. As for the EPS stiffness, moto helmets are intended to manage much higher forces than bicycle helmets. Safety standards are an interesting, deep rabbit hole to go down (you may stop reading now). The early landmark standard in the US was Snell approved, and was adopted early by Bell, which earned Bell a lot of loyalty. basically way better than no standard as a lot of crap was being sold back then. But early Snell was optimized to protect the skull, not the brain - that was the ideal many years ago. As medical understanding evolved, Snell has revised their standards, but too slowly for several reasons, not least of which is the litigious environment here in the US. Meanwhile, the EU to their credit focused on protecting the brain from the get go, and with as much science as possible. Snell will match CE eventually, but DOT standards are still a bit behind. So if I have the option of choosing a Snell or CE helmet, I'll choose CE. Thanks to the gray market, they can be purchased directly by US consumers - and often are a lot cheaper than the heavier "legal" DOT version, as they don't have to put a lot of money aside for the US tort system. The CE approved helmets may have softer EPS, but I suspect heftier than bicycle helmets.

Dale

Posts:1767

08/29/2021 02:46 PM
LSD, we're going waaaay down the rabbit hole now SNELL, DOT, and CE use variations of the same tests: 1) Plumbob to the helmet to test for penetration 2) Helmet drop to measure G-spike 3) Chin strap retention test None of the three standards test rotational mitigation. When I was selling moto helmets for one of the major players in the industry one of the things I pointed out was the improbability of crashing in the same manner as the helmet was tested for. Nobody crashes straight down, there's always some forward momentum unless you tip over at a stoplight. Unfortunately nobody has come up with a testing protocol that can be agreed upon so consumers are left to try and figure out marketing hype from actual science. There's a lot of discussion in the helmet industry about how to reduce rotational trauma. MIPS, Wavecell, Koroyd, multi-density/ multi-material layers (Bell's Flex system), and a few others that may have escaped me. FYI, the DOT test is self reported... guess how many DOT helmets actually pass the test? Less than 60% https://ultimatemotorcycling.com/2020/02/05/2020-dot-certified-helmet-performance-test-data-update-failure-rate-increases/ Both SNELL and CE helmet are tested and certified by 3rd party labs. I agree that SNELL has lagged behind some of the CE standards but they aren't without fault either. The testing for SNELL is random; the plumbob can strike anywhere. With CE the points of impact are specific so a helmet manufacturer can "build to the test" by paying up extra material in this areas and use less in non-tested sections making the helmet lighter. Moto has used multi density EPS on some helmets for years, I'm just now seeing that trickle down to bicycle. You're spot on as to the degradation of EPS being environmentally accelerated. A helmet stored in the back seat of a car when it's 95* outside will deteriorate a lot faster than one inside an air-conditioned house.

longslowdistance

Posts:2881

08/29/2021 05:18 PM
In case you haven't seen this semi independent moto helmet test site, you might find it interesting https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/

zootracer

Posts:833

08/30/2021 09:20 AM
Anyone around during the late 70's when we rode with a cycling cap turned around backwards ala "Breaking Away" style? Steel bikes, no clipless pedals, full length frame pumps, no computers, wool jerseys, small water bottles, one one cage mount...those were the days my friends....

Orange Crush

Posts:4499

08/30/2021 09:35 AM
Never wore a cap, it just prevents ventilation (have abundant hair), but did have a sweatband a la Fignon. Bought my first helmet in 2003 (was stopped by a police officer last Friday for not wearing my helmet on way to work lol, old ingrained habits die slowly). Transition from toeclips to clipless probably early 90s. Still have a somewhat bend (from heat in car presumably) full size frame pump so that transition was quite recent. Last bike purchase was steel. Wool jerseys suck. Glad transition to Lycra happened right when I started biking. Lots of gas station rewater stops with single cage. Always just used their tap in front of building. These days one buys plastic bottles of water.

Orange Crush

Posts:4499

08/30/2021 09:41 AM
On LSD and Dales testing discussion, seeing that lab testing is non ideal in reproducing real world impact conditions, how much retrospective analysis is being done on actual crashes? I could see this being challenging too in terms of determination of what happened. Never mind that majority of cyclists wears there helmet incorrectly (proper setup is an order of magnitude harder than a seatbelt) which limits utility. A fair amount of retrospective analysis being done in hockey I believe but don’t know details. Interesting thread. Been reading along keenly. I believe my current helmet is a MIPS but mostly bought it cause it’s visible bright yellow.