Consumer Reports has been picking
Bell, Giro, Troxel (Pro Action) and recently a Louis Garneau
model designated as a Best Buy. Their article on helmets doesn't
cover most of the other brands on the market, though. We
recommend finding a helmet that fits you well, is round and
smooth on the outside, and has at least an ASTM or CPSC standards
sticker inside.
Marketing hype aside, ventilation
depends on the size of the front vents. Consumer Reports has
rated some helmets on the market, but not many, and nobody else
publishes coolness ratings. You can look at most helmets and see
90 per cent of the ventilation story. Most riders will not need
all the vents you see in the most expensive Giro and Bell models.
What will I pay for it?
Our local K-mart and Ames discount
stores have smooth, round, helmets meeting the ASTM standard on
sale regularly for $8 (regularly $10), and most discount stores
are under $30. Local bike shops have some of the Consumer Reports
picks for $35 to $125. Any helmet without a sticker saying it
meets the new CPSC standard should be heavily discounted in 1999.
Is a cheap helmet as safe as an expensive one?
Maybe. Probably. Almost. Maybe safer.
Apart from the models Consumer Reports rates, we don't have lab
test data on all the helmets out there. Virtually all of them
meet the ASTM standard, and all must meet the new US standard by
law if manufactured after March, 1999. (Helmets made earlier will
still be on sale, and should be cheap.) If money buys you a
better fit, more stable on your head in a hard crash, then the
more expensive helmet is worth it. If it buys you a
spiffy-looking squared-off poorly-rounded exterior with points to
snag, definitely not.
What about helmet standards?
Helmets are tested to standards for
things you can't judge in a store: impact performance and strap
strength. Until this year ASTM was the benchmark standard, Snell
B-90 is similar, and Snell B-95 is a little better. (The old 1984
ANSI standard is dead.) In March the new U.S. CPSC standard
(similar to ASTM) took effect for all helmets manufactured after
March 10, 1999. It is similar to ASTM, but requires a few
millimeters more coverage. It has replaced ASTM as the new
benchmark. Any helmet not meeting it should be really cheap at
this point.
Kid's helmets?
There are lots of helmets for kids
from one to five. There are no tiny helmets on the market because
nobody recommends taking a very young infant on a bicycle. Kids
appreciate vents, and most toddler helmets have sets of fit pads
of different thickness to adjust for growth.
Several manufacturers have extra
large helmets, but Bell has the largest, its Kinghead model
fitting up to 8 1/4 heads. Your local bike store can order it.
What about my bald head?
We recommend that bald riders pick
their helmet carefully, add light screening in the top vents, or
wear a kerchief or sunscreen to control those tan lines.
How can I tell if my helmet is on backwards?
On some helmets it isn't easy. Some
helmets have a "Front" sticker. The brand is normally
on the front, The nape straps go toward the back.
When do I need to replace a helmet?
Did you crash it? Replace!
Is it from the 1970's? Replace.
Is the outside just foam or
cloth instead of plastic? Replace.
Does it lack a CPSC, ASTM or
Snell sticker? Replace.
Can you not make it fit
correctly? Replace!!
Do you hate it? Replace.
What other activities can a bike helmet be used for?
The ASTM Inline Skating standard is
identical to the bicycle helmet standard. Inline skaters asked to
have it that way after using bike helmets for a decade and
finding them completely adequate for skating protection. For
other activities you are on your own with a bicycling-only
helmet. There are multi-purpose helmets on the market that meet
Snell's N-96 multi-purpose standard.
The Ages
