Bike helmets?

[siderea]

Where may one shop for bike helmets in the greater Davis co-prosperity sphere?

I'm looking for retail establishments that will have a variety of options I could try on for fit. Previous experiences buying headwear suggests I will have trouble finding something that works for me, so I should not buy on-line and I should find a place with a diversity of style to try before I buy.

ETA: Report on results.

Thanks, all for the suggestions (feel free to keep them coming). I went for my initial round of bike-helmet shopping this evening. (For anybody else planning on shopping for bike bits, Thursday evenings turn out to be particularly good evenings, as several shops are open later on Thursdays.)

I went to:

City Sports (which I was turned on to by googling "women's bike helmets") - Modest array of Bells and Giros, and a commuter style I forget the manufacturer of. Maybe some Specialized?

Bicycle Belle - Yakkays only. These are (I don't mean this meanly) hipster helmets. They are somewhat pricey higher-end fashion accessories, concealing the actual hardware in a fashionable hat.

Wheelworks (which does not have "Ace" in its name anymore?) - Lots of Giros, Specialized, and Bell. Possibly others (Nutcase? I'm not looking for commuter style, so I didn't pay attention to this.) The biggest selection I saw.

Bicycle Exchange - Bells and Giros, overlapping with City Sport's selection, plus some Nutcases.

Haven't hit up Bicycle Boom yet.

Comments

[ron_newman]

I get mine at Ace Wheel Works, corner of Elm St and Willow Ave.

[siderea]

Groovy, I'll check 'em out.

...wait, your grammar suggests this is a regular thing. How often do you buy helmets? Am I going to regret asking the question: how frequently do you go through helmets?

[ron_newman]

Some people say that helmets deteriorate over time, and should be replaced every 3-5 years. This is controversial and not everyone agrees. I've replaced helmets that appeared to be dented, not because I had an accident but probably just because I dropped them too many times.

The last time I bought a helmet, it was after I got doored. On my own street, 1/2 block from where I live. Fortunately I was going about 4 miles an hour, having just gotten on the bike.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Not everyone agrees that replacing helmets every 5 years +/- 1 is controversial! ;-) ;-)

[siderea]

Wait, so those $200 aluminum confections which presumably pedal the damn bike for you, those are disposable?

[ron_newman]

I don't think I've ever spent more than $40 on a helmet.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Many things cost well over $200 and are not kept around and used for five years! Car tires, for example, should be replaced every 40,000 miles, and the average American between 25 - 50 years old drives ~15,000 miles per year. [citation (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm target=_blank)]
I'm sure I've gone through $200 worth of phones in the past five years, and I don't even have a smart phone, just a basic, flip feature-phone. :)


If a $200 helmet fits your head better than a $40 one (which is not true for everyone, but the peeps in my life with especially big heads have to pay a premium for well-fitting helmets) then it's still a bargain over driving or buying a T-pass, I'd say. If you ride in extreme heat, the premium for good venting starts to feel *really* worth it, I'm told, too.

[siderea]

Is buying a helmet enough to ride bikes, or do I have to join the cult, too?

[siderea]

...

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Buying a helmet is not really sufficient, I'm afraid.

You kinda also need access to a bike, too.

[dcltdw]

I got a 404 on that link. (I'd heard that car tires last longer than 40k, but well, anecdote vs data.)

[madrigal.livejournal.com]

I bought mine at the Bicycle Exchange in Porter Sq on Mass Ave when I bought my bicycle last year.

You do have to replace helmets every couple of years. My friend worked at a bike shop, and he said they would occasionally destroy helmets there.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

"Your mileage may vary." :)

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Were you going the wrong way on a one-way street?

[ron_newman]

No.

And the person who doored me was very nice and apologetic and immediately agreed to pay for a replacement helmet. (He was lucky he did not have to pay for anything else.)

[ron_newman]

is Hubway a cult?

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

My friend worked at a bike shop, and he said they would occasionally destroy helmets there.

Don't they just strip the covers when they can't sell them?

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Likewise (and they had enough selection to help me out when I, too, had trouble finding things that fit, because apparently I have a head the size of a ten-year-old's).

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I'd say "consumable," rather than "disposable." Do you think of running shoes as disposable? If they use lighter materials for the treads and arch support and all that, it won't take as many steps to crush down...but it will be more comfortable. More expensive shoes tend to be LESS durable, because the people who run long distances are paying a premium for low weight. It's kind of similar with helmets--you're not stepping on it all the time, but it does get bumped around with carrying, and exposure to air and UV and high temperature degrades the foam a little over time. The manufacturers generally charge extra for low weight, for decorative features, and for some kinds of comfort features like extra vents.

You might want to read the fine print in your HMO, if you have one. Some of them will pay part of the cost of a bike helmet.

[cfox.livejournal.com]

I find that a helmet for winter use (aka a ski helmet) and a motorcycle helmet have fit issues for me, and require trying on several, but for ordinary bike helmets, the lowest bidder (usually Bell branded) works with at most futzing with the bits of velcro-on padding. Same goes for my husband who has opposite fit issues, and requires an extraordinarily expensive motorcycle helmet, but uses a cheap bicycle helmet. YMMV of course, but this might not be a difficult exercise.

The helmets sold for a pittance by our health insurer are noticeably inferior - workable for me but not him.

I have destroyed helmets by wearing away the padding attachments on the inside, and by having one wander underneath a chair leg under a restaurant table. Not really worse than any other item I own that sees daily use.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Mainly because it's a silly myth made by manufacturers to sell more helmets :P

Replace your helmet after an accident or if the foam cracks from rough/mis-handling. otherwise, no worries.

[samcoren.livejournal.com]

Check out the new bike store on Beacon Street - Bicycle Belle - she seems to stock quite a few different types of helmets.

[siderea]

I'll check it out! Thanks!

[siderea]

Do you think of running shoes as disposable?

Do you slam your helmet into the ground a couple times a second for hours every day for years?

[siderea]

No doubt the way he was dressed, he was asking for it.

ETA: Cyclists need to learn that if you insist on dressing adoorable, you will get doored.

[siderea]

I bought mine at the Bicycle Exchange in Porter Sq on Mass Ave when I bought my bicycle last year.

I will check them out! Thanks for the req.

My friend worked at a bike shop, and he said they would occasionally destroy helmets there.

Huh, wow, that was totally an issue that hadn't occurred to me. All those bike helmets, all the styrofoam, winds up in landfills?

[ron_newman]

There's also a bike store on Highland Ave. in Davis Square, Bike Boom. However, I've never bought a helmet or any other accessory there, so I can't say anything useful about their selection.

[siderea]

If I check them out, I will report back.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

A good motorcycle helmet costs in excess of $200 (mine tend to go for about $350-$450) and should replaced every 3-5 years.

I have no problem with chucking a $50 bicycle helmet at least that often.

[squirrelitude]

It doesn't seem like you read the comment you replied to: The foam in bike helmets degrades over time.

Edit: Well, according to the manufacturers. Take that as you will.

[siderea]

Right.

I have no opinion or theory one way or another as to whether it actually does. After an evening of trying on bike helmets, I can entirely believe that after 3 years, the inside of a bike helmet gets too nasty to stand -- nothing in their manufacture[*] seems to be optimized for cleaning. Perhaps that answers the question of why the market tolerates helmets which rot, from almost no mechanical stressors whatsoever. (UV? Coat them. Abrasion? Coat them. Deteriorates in sweat? Coat them in something hydrophobic.)

Making a bike helmet which will endure for 20 years or your first impact, whichever comes first, strikes me at first blush as a not too challenging engineering problem. But clearly, there's no market for such a thing.

[* Exception: found some high-end helmets online with special anti-microbial liner materials.]

[siderea]

WELL played. :D

[kpht.livejournal.com]

I would assume if you WERE going the wrong way on a one way street, almost no one would door you, as they would see you coming as they opened the door. But bravo on the victimblaming...

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Bravo on your assumption as this was a reference to the many times I've nearly hot Ron as he goes the wrong way down Orchard.

[ron_newman]

- Wheelworks (which does not have "Ace" in its name anymore?)

There are three Wheelworks stores. The one on Elm Street is called 'Ace Wheelworks'. The other two, in Belmont, are 'Belmont Wheelworks' and 'Wheelworks Too'.

All three stores are having a Summer Sale from today through July 31.

[ron_newman]

This happened on Day Street, as I was heading into Davis Square. Fortunately I had just gotten on the bike at the corner, so I was riding very slowly. I might not even have had both feet in the toe clips yet.

[jducoeur]

My experience supports this. I've twice gone through periods of some years of no biking (mostly because it didn't suit the area); in both cases, when I came back to it, I found that the helmet was *structurally* fine, but the foam had semi-disintegrated...

[ron_newman]

Some folks over here say that equestrian and motorcycle helmets are also supposed to be replaced every 3-5 years, citing "lifespan of the crush foam".