Bicycle Helmets for the 2. Season. Summary Our review finds no radical safety improvement this year that would compel you to replace your current helmet, although new technology has finally come to the marketplace. Some new developments, including MIPS, we consider unproven. Almost all of the helmets described below meet standards and offer good if not excellent protection. We have tested a sample of cheap and expensive helmets and found no real performance differences by price. We recommend looking for a helmet that fits you well and has a rounded, smooth exterior with no major snag points. Trends this year. There are new models in 2. The trend continues toward the compact, rounder, smoother profile that we think is best when you crash. But there is still no verifiable major advance in impact performance, ventilation or wearability this year that would compel you to replace your current helmet. A slip plane addition to some helmets exploded in the market in late 2. Bell bought a large chunk of the MIPS patent holder company. Avant_bicycle_CPSC_large.jpg' alt='Specialized Bike Serial Number Location' title='Specialized Bike Serial Number Location' />According to a patent granted to Apple on Tuesday for Biometric Initiated Communication, the panic button could operate from a number of inputs including a. We still regard MIPS as unproven technology unless you have a helmet that couples so closely to your head that you cant move it even a quarter inch. Your scalp is natures MIPS. Specialized Bike Serial Number Location' title='Specialized Bike Serial Number Location' />We have more on that on our MIPS page. Almost all of the helmets listed below meet national or international standards and offer good protection, although some standards are tougher than others. For the US market the CPSC standard is required by law for any bicycle helmet. Without comparative test data we usually do not know if a particular model exceeds the requirements of the standard and offers superior protection. Most of them probably do not, even those that provide additional coverage. There are unpublished indications that the lightest and thinnest helmets do not perform well when impact levels exceed those required by the CPSC standard. Highlights for 2. There are many new helmets using the MIPS Multi directional Impact Protection System tm slip plane technology. The trend was boosted by Bells purchase of a big chunk of the MIPS patent holder company in mid 2. Most are implemented by a thin layer of material in the top that slides. Unfortunately, the road models have nothing in the rear, a frequent impact location, because it interferes with ring fit and stabilizer mechanisms. Some skate models have full coverage MIPS layers. We still regard MIPS as unprovent technology unless your helmet is so closely coupled to your head that it cant move on impact even a quarter inch. Impact liners are finally evolving this year. Smith has models that use collapsible plastic modules looking like hollow straws in place of foam, but with some EPS still included in the liner. POC has a liner partially composed of a honeycomb material. Aluminumalloy cotterless cranks had been a highend item, not found on the runofthemill European tenspeeds that sold for around 150 in the early 1970s bike boom. WELCOME TO THE BICYCLE MUSEUM. Bicycles are wonderfully simple, eloquent and efficient machines. A few of the bikes were purchased by me, or for me, new, including. There are more Conehead designs with dual density impact foam in helmet liners. Conehead helmets have two layers of standard EPS foam. One is lower density, and should crush more easily at lower impact levels, possibly offering an advantage in avoiding concussions. Abus has shown a model with a cardboard liner section, backed by standard EPS, and there may someday be a full cardboard liner helmet. In football, hockey and lacrosse there have been helmets using collapsible plastic modules in place of foam for some time. The debate rages over whether or not they reduce concussions. Many 2. 01. 5 models come with Icedot stickers, a system for linking to an emergency call system. If you ride solo in isolated places, you might want to look into it. Enduro helmets have appeared in many lines for 2. They are designed for enduro racing stage races with riders racing the clock over timed downhill courses. Between downhill stages, the racers have to climb to get to the next course, so there is a premium on ventilation and light weight, and riders are sometimes willing to compromise on protection to get that. Some manufacturers just designate road models as their enduro models, but the form generally resembles a downhill mountain bike racing helmet with chinbar. The level of protection needed would seem to call for downhill helmets, but enduro models may or may not meet the more demanding ASTM F1. The new helmet for 2. Not as slick as a chrono time trial helmet, but made more aerodynamic than a normal road helmet, often just by covering vents with a plastic cover. Some have adjustable vents, or use vent plugs. They are used by pros in some races, but abandoned for stages where ventilation becomes critical. They will not improve the average road riders performance very much, but you might want one for the image, and some have the rounder, smoother profile that we recommend. Some examples are the Bell Star Pro, Cratoni Evolution, Giro Synthe, Kask Protone, KED Wayron Race, Lazer Z 1 Fast, Limar Velov, POC Aero Octal, Seleve TT Octal, Smith Overtake and Specialized S Works Evade. A search of this page for aero road will find them. A slip plane helmet appeared in 2. This is claimed to mitigate the rotational force on the head, and in some cases that has been measured by some labs. The hope is to reduce rotational brain injury. Search for MIPS, the patent holder licensing the technology. Others are working on similar concepts. Most helmets slip anyway on impact, and we regard MIPS as unproven. High visibility colors have returned. After the bright neon color craze of the 9. But about 2. 01. 3 neon came back, usually referred to as Hi Viz, and never called neon. POC was actively promoting hi viz for 2. Others have followed suit. If you like neon colors, buy them now before they go out of fashion. Green helmets are growing, pioneered by Urge and later by Kali. They use renewable materials, but still rely on EPS for energy management, and recycled EPS is just getting to the stage where it can be incorporated into helmets without too much performance penalty. When the time comes to dispose of the helmet, it is still difficult for the consumer to get EPS to a recycler. Life cycle management for helmets is just not there yet. Rounder profile city, urban or commuter models are in almost every manufacturers lineup. Higher priced helmets usually have big vents, but no verifiable advantage in impact performance. Our testing showed that the sample of very expensive helmets and very cheap helmets we had tested had about the same impact protection. Ring fit systems, the one size fits all solution, have taken over for most of the market. They work well for some, but not at all for others, who find that they have to tighten the ring uncomfortably to get a stable fit. You have to try them on to be sure. There are still models using fitting pads instead, but you may have to look for them, and you may pay more. Several manufacturers now have fit systems with fixed side straps to compete with Bells True Fit system. But they do not have the internal strap anchor cage that makes the True Fit system work, and we found that they do not work for us as well as the True Fit helmets do. That includes Bells own bike shop line of helmets, the Giro version and the ones from Specialized. True Fit is still sold only in big box discount retail stores, in helmets priced around 2. Microsoft Project Saving The File To The Web Folder Failed Root. Strap adjustment fittings buckles and side pieces still badly need improvement. Most of them slip too easily, resulting in the strap creep that can loosen straps even on riders who have adjusted their straps carefully. Expensive materials Carbon fiber has come back in some high end motorcycle style helmets and a few bike models.