My wife and I are doing our first race this summer. I have a helmet that is at least 10 years old and hers is of an undetermined age. I was wondering about deterioration etc. and then this popped up on here: http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=5128485;search_string=lifetime;#5128485 We live in downtown Chicago so riding on the street is dangerous and riding the lakefront path is filled with idiots walking in the middle of the path, riding divvy bikes, and just generally being morons aka making it dangerous.
So my question is what’s a good starter helmet. We don’t need anything aerodynamic, just literally something that will keep our noggins safe if we bite it. The last time I just went to the bike store and bought the one that fit. I’d prefer not to go over the top/top of the line since even doing triathlons on the relative cheap is still pricey (times two). I don’t need a model just a brand and where to buy it cheapest (though a model would not go unappreciated). Thanks in advance.
As long as it meets cspc or what ever the standard in the US is (I always forget) it will be fine. The more money you spend on a helmet usually just makes it lighter and have more ventilation (or less in some aero helmets). …
Lots of helmets for less than $50 at nashbar dot com. I think there’s an MTB helmet there that I’ve used for 6 years in off road races. I almost always buy a road helmet from giro or bell that was over $100 on sale for much less than that. I have a giro atmos that’s many years old and cost about 80 back then when it was a year out of date.
Andrew Moss
ETA: I think road bike review dot com has reviews of helmets that are organized by model
The Bell Alchera is inexpensive, comfortable, relatively light, well ventilated and good looking. It’s about $50.
^^^This was my road helmet for years. Really well ventilated for a low cost helmet (~$40 online).
All helmets sold in the US must meet the CPSC spec. (there’s a sticker inside the helmet), so no helmet is technically “safer” than another. Expensive helmets will get you newer tech and more fashion, but that’s about it.
The Giro Monza can often be found on sale for 70 or so - have not checked lately on whether it is still available.
A tremendously good road helmet for the price - couldn’t really tell too much of a difference between that and my double that price and then some Giro. A little less weight, some snazzier retention.
The Bell Alchera is inexpensive, comfortable, relatively light, well ventilated and good looking. It’s about $50.
^^^This was my road helmet for years. Really well ventilated for a low cost helmet (~$40 online).
All helmets sold in the US must meet the CPSC spec. (there’s a sticker inside the helmet), so no helmet is technically “safer” than another. Expensive helmets will get you newer tech and more fashion, but that’s about it.
This may be a noob question but that’s me. There is the minimum level (think a small subcompact in a crash test) and then exceeds (think Volvo back in the day). Is that applicable to helmets in a demonstrable manner or is the minimum so high that there not much room for improvement?
The Bell Alchera is inexpensive, comfortable, relatively light, well ventilated and good looking. It’s about $50.
^^^This was my road helmet for years. Really well ventilated for a low cost helmet (~$40 online).
All helmets sold in the US must meet the CPSC spec. (there’s a sticker inside the helmet), so no helmet is technically “safer” than another. Expensive helmets will get you newer tech and more fashion, but that’s about it.
This may be a noob question but that’s me. There is the minimum level (think a small subcompact in a crash test) and then exceeds (think Volvo back in the day). Is that applicable to helmets in a demonstrable manner or is the minimum so high that there not much room for improvement?
There is a slightly tougher certification than the CPSC standard, Snell-1995. The reality is that there hasn’t proven to be a market for “safer” helmets enough to justify the extra expense of getting the Snell-1995 cert. (in addition to the CPSC, which is required by law). The only company I know of that promotes the idea that they have safer helmets is POC.