no bro this bugged me as well, but what if the straps we dimpled?

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~The B
The new poster child for triathlon...Pretty Boy Billy
(lets see if that sticks)

You're joking, right? They finished 1, 3, and 4 in the time trial and two of those finishes included crashes. And somehow you're complaining that they weren't aero enough? Furthermore, tightening a strap restricts breathing, which undoubtedly would have slowed them down, relative to any aero gains that you think they might have otherwise made.

Their AWESOME bikes made up for it!

No one said they weren't fast...they were extremely fast! But the straps were extremely lose. They were hanging loke 2 inches below their chin. As far as cutting of the oxygen supply, they don't have to be restrictive, just adjusted a little. If their race number had been flapping in the wind how many people would have said something? Its just a small thing but it just seemed odd.

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B.Oliver -My Blog...triguywithavx.wordpress.com
Powered by:
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Bugged me too.

Also Kloden's helmet was on crooked which must have slowed him down ;-)

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Member of the Litespeed Factory Team
www.litespeed.com

Aerodynamics aside, the point of the helmet is to protect the head- and to do so it needs to be securely fastened. Those straps are so loose it looks like you could push the helmet right off the racer's head (or at least enough to expose critical parts of skull). Which is what the ground would surely do should they happen to collide.

(yeah, I'm a safety nut)

Although not ST approved, pros or fast athletes don't really worry too much about every single little piece of equipment as many tri-geeks do. For some weird reason they just rather shut up and train so they can go fast when they have to...

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Jorge Martinez
Head Coach - Sports Science
E3 Training Solutions, LLC
@CoachJorgeM

Not so, Lance was a stickler for making sure his equipment was in top notch shape and setup.

Actually, that is a 100% incorrect. With respect to aero helmets used in the tour, the only purpose they serve is to make a rider more aerodynamic, without any regard as to safety or protection. Those aero helmets offer no protection. That is the primary reason why they have not been sold for commercial use, until recently, when some of the helmet companies (e.g. LG) altered their helmets to offer more protection.

Exactly, if I'm ever cycling and see Vino with his straps lose I will toss a stick into his spokes and teach him a lesson.

END SARCASM

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

I noticed the chin straps too and wondered about it.

But what really bugs me is how EVERY one of their helmets looked like it was crooked...

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

Your info is about 3 years outdated......

Also, as it pertains to aerohelmets, depending on the fall, a loose strap would offer more relief upon impact.

Out of curiosity how would a loose strap, which would allow the helmet to move out of proper positioning, offer more relief upon impact?

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Proud Founder of the Jamis Mafia- Daring to be different.

B/c your head isn't going to follow the same path as the helmet when you ding it against the road, start skidding or have the tail catch on the pavement while you go ass over tea kettle. A good fitting/adjusted helmet doesn't need the chip strap tight to be effective in preventing the initial shock absorption.

The tail on a aerohelmet make me cringe as much as the old styrofoam helmets with the lyca cover.

I still wear one, but it's a false sense of security.

Yes, a good fitting helmet does not need a strap...if your head hits only the ground, only in a direct manner,only once and if the initial reason for you to go down does not include some sort of very sudden, possibly violent movement. In other words a correctly adjusted strap is very important.

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Proud Founder of the Jamis Mafia- Daring to be different.

Yep...and if it's a sudden movement with a TAIL , I do not want my head to follow......and just want the initial impact take care of.

I'm running out to ride my bike, but there's a website that provide the research to "real world" helmet test. I hate to paraphrase, but last time I read it there was a lil debate amongst neck injuries which occurred after the initial blow.

Of course, what is the worst of two evils? I dunno, but simply assuming that all helmets are "safe" isn't quite accurate.

So you are saying that it's all about the strap causing a neck injury and not about the helmet taking all of the impact(s)???? In over 20 years of racing I have never heard of a rider having a neck injury caused by having his strap properly fitted.

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Proud Founder of the Jamis Mafia- Daring to be different.

Hello 115InTheShade and All,

Do you live in Ridgecrest or near China Lake Naval Weapons Facility?

Looks like aero helmets are not that good at protecting your melon anyway.

The helmets would be better served with a rubber tail (that could bend with the cross winds) or frangible tail that would break off like a desert lizard's tail on impact.

http://www.helmets.org/hurtmemo.htm


Excerpt:

The adverse effect of this aerodynamic shape is that the wedge at the back of the helmet tends to deflect and rotate the helmet on the head when impact occurs there. Any impact at the front or sides of the streamlined helmet is no different from other helmet shapes, but any impact on the rear wedge tends to rotate the helmet on the head, probably deflecting the helmet to expose the bare head to impact, and at worst ejecting the helmet completely from the head. Actually, everybody who has tested these streamlined helmets over the past years has encountered the problem of these helmets being displaced during impact testing at the rear wedge. Usually additional tape was required to maintain the helmet in place during rear impact tests; usually the basic retention system alone could not keep the helmet in place during impact testing on the rear of the helmet.

Unfortunately, the implication of helmet displacement and possible ejection in an actual accident impact did not register as a real hazard in previous years of testing, but now there are accident cases appearing that show this to be a genuine hazard for bicycle riders wearing these streamlined helmets. Accident impacts at the rear of these streamlined helmets can cause the helmet to rotate away and expose the head to injury, or eject the helmet completely. The forces generated from the wedge effect can stretch the chinstraps very easily, and even break the [occipital--Prof. Hurt used a trademarked name] retention devices.

We request that F08.53 committee study this problem and develop advisory information for both manufacturers of these streamlined helmets and consumer bicyclists who now own and wear such helmets. There is a definite hazard for displacement or ejection from impact on the rear wedge of these helmets, and bicyclists should be warned of this danger by an authority such as ASTM.


Cheers,

Neal

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

Oh yeah, good point. I forgot all those helmets in the last three years suddenly became CPSC-certified and that's why not only are they offered for commercial purchase now, but also are allowed in races.

My bad, I was thinking in terms of helmets in general, I was unaware of the concerns specific to the aerohelmets. With all the ensuing sarcasm, though, I'm still not sure what the consensus is.

Not that I actually expect STers to reach a consensus.

"Accident impacts at the rear of these streamlined helmets can cause the helmet to rotate away and expose the head to injury, or eject the helmet completely. The forces generated from the wedge effect can stretch the chinstraps very easily, and even break the [occipital--Prof. Hurt used a trademarked name] retention devices. "

Never thought of that, but makes sense and sure doesn't convince me running out and buying a aero helmet to gain 5" but give up considerable safety features at teh same time....


I also thought that the riders at the TDF TT "unbuckeled" the helmets on purpose.
But I thought this was more to keep the helmet resting/sitting between the shoulder blades against the riders back.
And I seriously considered that at high speeds the tail might actually straighten itself out with the helmet rotating on the riders head.... (not really ;-)

Live and learn....

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Ego numquam pronuncio mendacium,
sed sum homo salvaticus

Based on my (thankfully) one and only proper fall from a bike (as an adult) I conclude the following about pointy hats.

1) Keep the chinstrap correctly adjusted so it stays on for the first and subsequent impacts with the road.

2) The pointy bit at the back will make negligible difference to the helmet getting smashed or twisting your head and creating other injuries.

In my accident I was spun around in the air, when my riding buddy crashed into me, and landed diagonally on the back of my head. The helmet smashed into many many peices of various sizes, but due to the straps and the semi-rigid shell, stayed on and looked remotely like a helmet. I managed to break my skull anyway (I'd hate to think how much worse it would have been without one). I was unconscious for about 30-40 seconds according to observers (that's a common time for me, after far too many skiing accident's before the common use of helmet).

According to observers I bounced around several times before I came to a stop. Given the forces in a bike crash, and the desigh of the styrofoam in the pointy part of the helment, I think it's a bit of a non-issue. In any bike crash, I'd rather be wearing a properly fitted compliant helmet (including a pointy hat) rather than not wearing one at all.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

"So you are saying that it's all about the strap causing a neck injury and not about the helmet"

Nope. Never said that. But, I hate to break the news to you.....but there are situations for what a BIKE helmet is designed for and there are many situations (riding a bike) in which it is NOT designed for. Lil Jonny going to the local 7-11 on the sidewalk would be a good example of what the standard is based upon. Getting hit by a car going 40mph, siding on your head at 45mph down Loveland pass or hitting a tree at 30mph, it's not. Those situations are better suited for a motorcyles or NASCAR helmet. There is a reason why they are round.

I'm not sure where you were racing 20 years ago, but if you actually were....you would probably remember the old styrofoam helmets causing MORE INJURIES than they pretended (because they wouldn't slide on the pavement, thus neck injuries). Other helmet in that era has the same problem.