A good MTB / road helmet?

zacmorris

After an encounter with a rock after a journey over the handle-bars on Tuesday night up in ticknock- my helmet is no more.
It did it's job and saved my bacon, so I'm happy.

Buying another one tonight and just wondering whether it matters how much you spend on a helmet? I mean, surely any helmet that's for sale has to conform to certain standards etc. Mine was a bell venture i think, only cost €35 but worked fine. Is there any point upgrading to a more expensive one etc?

Cheers.

Tenzor07

Once its up to safety standard then the extra you are paying for will be in design and weight...

the Giro Indicator is a good budget lid for general mountain cycling..

tomasrojo

Which? magazine ran a few tests years ago, and most helmets didn't do very well. I don't think it's a very tightly regulated industry.

In one test, 14 out of 24 helmets manufactured to internationally recognised standards failed the criteria for shock absorbtion and two others failed on retention and strap strength

www.ctc.org.uk/resources/Campaigns/0305_CTChelmetpromo8brf.doc

One interesting point was that the expensive helmets didn't fare any better than the cheaper helmets.


I don't know much about mountain biking, but I suppose the conclusion is, as already said, that the more expensive helmets probably don't perform their primary function any better than the cheaper ones.

ciarsciars

If you have a medium sized head this looks a good offer:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=17689

It have read a couple of good reviews too.

munsterleinster

I bought a Bell Sweep. It looks identical to a Bell on sale in Halfords for less than half the price. When you look closer you'll notice much better ventilation on the expensive ones. Basically there are bigger holes resulting in less helmet material. Better materials used and better fitting mechanism... So I'd agree that the safety is not proportional to price but comfort and fit is very important too.

PS. Helmets from the smaller UK online shops will not have VAT charged so you're saving 20% if you're happy to buy online. (CRC and Wiggle will charge)

Got mine from total cycling for about 30% cheaper than CRC: http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/product/HM_SWEEP_XC_TI.html

£5 for next day delivery from Norn Iron.

Cookie_Monster

http://www.53degreesnorth.ie/ADURO.html

another couple of quid off if you have a 53 deg membership card.

if you manage to persuade the Gov that they're a safety item rather than a luxury you could take 21% off that too :pac::pac:

zacmorris

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Once its up to safety standard then the extra you are paying for will be in design and weight...

the Giro Indicator is a good budget lid for general mountain cycling..

Cheers for that. Do you reckon it would be suitable for the road bike too? Don't really see why not!? Unless i'm missing something...?

Tenzor07

zacmorris wrote: »

Cheers for that. Do you reckon it would be suitable for the road bike too? Don't really see why not!? Unless i'm missing something...?

Yeap, would be just the job... Me personally I use my MTB helmet on the road bike too, let the roadies sneer at me for having a peak on the helmet!

Of course if you wear one of these Parachute anywhere but on a mountain bike going downhill then you deserve to be savaged!

zacmorris

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

http://www.53degreesnorth.ie/ADURO.html

another couple of quid off if you have a 53 deg membership card.

if you manage to persuade the Gov that they're a safety item rather than a luxury you could take 21% off that too :pac::pac:

Thanks, not a bad option!

zacmorris

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Yeap, would be just the job... Me personally I use my MTB helmet on the road bike too, let the roadies sneer at me for having a peak on the helmet!

Of course if you wear one of these Parachute anywhere but on a mountain bike going downhill then you deserve to be savaged!

Could have done with one of those Parachute ones the other night when I cam e off!!

Nice one for the help!

BostonB

Well the old one worked didn't it?

I ended up picking the one that fitted best rather than picking on price. Some I just couldn't get comfortable with .

Ah_go_on

Get urself one of these: http://www.ccmracing.com/products.php?id=847&s_id=36&ss_id=0

Won loads of awards in a number of magazines. I use the met parachute myself though and it has saved me after a number of spills. I get a few funny looks sometimes but Id get funnier looks with no teeth;)