> What kind of Helmit do you guys recoment?? I go with a Pro Tech Skate
> Boarding style of helmit for 3 reasons They are cheap, have plenty of
> sticker space, and 3 they protect your brain.
Skate helmets offer better protection than regular bike helmets. They would
be better for Trials or other forms of riding where you tend to fall more,
or be surrounded by obstacles. They’re just not as cool (temperature-wise)
as regular bike helmets. For anyone into Trials, it’s probably the most
appropriate kind of helmet to use.
As for me, I just use a regular bike helmet (Specialized is my new one). If
I did more Trials and hopping around on rocks, I’d think about beefing up my
helmet.
I disagree. In Canada at least bike helmets are subject to standards such as CSA, CSPC. Skateboard helmets aren’t nescessarily subject to these standards. I don’t know why. If you are going to buy a skateboard helmet check to see it meets some kind of safety standard.
Skate or BMX jumper style helmets cover more of the back of the head than regular cycling helmets. That’s where the extra protection comes from.
Skate helmets are usually designed to take multiple impacts while cycling helmets are designed to take a single impact. Different designs for different purposes.
The Giro Semi helmet is a nice skate style helmet that meets cycling helmet specs. It gives good protection for the back of the head. It’s also lighter than true skate helmets. But it does cause your head to get more soaked than with a traditional MTB style helmet. <http://www.giro.com/usa/cyc_semi.html>
I agree to the by the fact that sk8 helmets provide more protection in the back of the helmet. However, when it comes down to it, when you really need a helmet to keep you alive, a skate helmet will leave you knocked out and badly injured, whereas with a biking helmet, you would be able to get up and ride away. The bike helmet is designed to break around your head, exerting the absolute minimum amount of pressure on any part of your body. That is why they cannot take multible impacts. Skate helmets, because you fall more, but not as bad, are made to take more abuse. The only really physics behind them is that the plastic spreads the impact out a bit, and the foam absorbs some of it. It will be good if you happen to land on a very sharp rock, but if you get hit hard, you feel the hit.
example: Corry (last name?), inline skater in the '96 X-games was running third place. On his way out after a bad run he thought he’d throw a back flip over the box, he overspun, came down fully on his helmet on the lip of the ramp. He diddnt get up again for a long time, and he wassnt doing much skating for a while after that. For bike helmets…all I can say is, I was hit damn hard by a car once on a road bike. I landed roughly 40 ft ahead of where the car managed to stop (he had not done much slowing down before he hit me). And I walked out of there without a scratch and my helmet in 3 pieces.
“The Dutch version goes like Hit two flies in one blow. Maybe better?”
as in “twee vliee met een klap…”
u may know that the longest place name in south africa used to be “tweebuffelsmeteenskootmordoodgeskietfontein”
that translates to “two buffalo killed with one shot fountain”
this is frontier country
> I disagree. In Canada at least bike helmets are subject to standards
> such as CSA, CSPC. Skateboard helmets aren’t nescessarily subject to
> these standards. I don’t know why. If you are going to buy a
> skateboard helmet check to see it meets some kind of safety standard.
Agreed. I’m not sure if the same is true here in the USA, so check it first.
In article <thisistrev.7kajz@timelimit.unicyclist.com>,
thisistrev <thisistrev.7kajz@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
)
)example: Corry (last name?), inline skater in the '96 X-games was
)running third place. On his way out after a bad run he thought he’d
)throw a back flip over the box, he overspun, came down fully on his
)helmet on the lip of the ramp. He diddnt get up again for a long time,
)and he wassnt doing much skating for a while after that.
You’re kidding yourself if you think a bit of styrofoam would have made
a difference in an impact like that. The most stringent helmet standards
call for survival of impacts up to only 14 MPH. The curbstone standards
are more like 11 MPH. Someone overspinning on a back flip in a vert ramp
is going to hit the lip a lot faster than that.
And many skateboard helmets also meet the CPSC standards.
-Tom
The CSPC standards for helmets are for bikes only. They are designed to withstand a certain impact. If a skateboard helmet meets the CSPC standard it is acceptable for biking purposes.
While a skateboard style helmet may cover more of your head, the liner could be made of a thinner material. As a result, you are relying on the plastic to protect your head more than the foam liner.
Many BMX riders use skate hemits, I believe for this reason most skate hemits are certified to pass CPSC standards (This was not allways the case) . Even the most basic Pro Tec Hemit out there is Certified to Both US and European standards for bike helmets. Yes Skate helmits are designed to take multiple colision falls at lower speeds. But Even riding a coker or a 28" most of us unicyclers will never see the speeds you can pedal an average bike. So will you ever really need the protection of a $100-150 pro road or Mountain Biking helmet? I think I’ll take my chances with my skate hemet and be glad that it covers all of the back of my head unlike most bike helmits.
> So will you ever really need the protection of a
> $100-150 pro road or Mountain Biking helmet?
No, but a $25 helmet passes the same safety standards and offers the same,
or nearly same protection as those expensive ones. Mostly what you’re paying
for on those is more holes.
If you’re gonna get a bike helmet, just remember that if price is an issue, they’re only designed to protect your head once. Crash on your head, and the helmet is retired instead of you. So go for the certified dixie cups with the dixie cup price, unless you like expensive disposable things.
>Mostly what you’re paying for on those is more holes.
And the label- but that’s the whole point, a pricey helmet looks way cool and is much cooler (vent wise)! Something to consider when buying uni equipment (for me at least) is how much my mountainbike buddies would salivate when they see it. Ok, thats shallow, but its fun.
I think that Giro and some other brands also offer a crash replacement warrantee; which means a lower price when buying a new helmet after crashing your old one. I’m not sure if that is still the case but may pay to check it out.
I just checked my bike helmet (a Met), it has a three year crash
replacement program (as usual there are conditions).
I feel with unicycling that as it isn’t as high speed as cycling then you
will need a helmet with more holes as you don’t get the wind pressure to
the same extent.
>
>>Mostly what you’re paying for on those is more holes.
>
> And the label- but that’s the whole point, a pricey helmet looks way
> cool and is much cooler (vent wise)! Something to consider when buying
> uni equipment (for me at least) is how much my mountainbike buddies
> would salivate when they see it. Ok, thats shallow, but its fun.
>
> I think that Giro and some other brands also offer a crash replacement
> warrantee; which means a lower price when buying a new helmet after
> crashing your old one. I’m not sure if that is still the case but may
> pay to check it out.
>
>
> –
> Ken Looi - One footed
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Ken Looi’s Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/514
> View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/19133
>
>
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