what sort of bike helmets to pedelecs wear?

[Tourangang]

daft question i know - what sort of safety helmets do you lot wear?

i have a voucher from my company to spend £100 on safety equipment for my electric bike.

would value people opinions on what to buy?

cheers

john

 

[flecc]

I find the invisible ones the most comfortable.
.

 

[Barnowl]

I can't see it myself..

 

[Tourangang]

not so good when you come off though

 

[themutiny]

Oh, not again....

Sorry, but there have been many threads about this subject. They generally run on (and on, and on )

Have a read of this

Contradictory evidence about the effectiveness of cycle helmets

 

[Mussels]

I think safety equipment also includes wet weather gear and locks under the government definitions so there's plenty it could be spent on.
As for helmets I find I still work up quite a sweat much of the time so a normal cycle helmet is good with a skull cap to go underneath in the cold.

 

[eddieo]

dont you have one already?

 

[JohnInStockie]

If you want one, then the Bell Metropolis is a good one, and versatile (addons available of mirror, light, rain cover, winter ear covers).

 

[Tim]

These are good (I wear one now it's cold)
50cycles electric bicycles - Casco E.motion cycle helmets for Pedelec electric bike riders

 

[fishingpaul]

How can a helmet possibly be designed specifically for electric bikes,does it have a plug in connector or something or is this a talk bull**** and make lots of £s promotion.

 

[Beeping-Sleauty]

oh yes...

How can a helmet possibly be designed specifically for electric bikes,does it have a plug in connector or something or is this a talk bull**** and make lots of £s promotion.

Wondrous idea.... in-built scalp warmer, auto goggle wiping, 360 degree motion sensor with 'heads-up' display, toaster.... the possibilities are endless when you can 'plug your hat into your batt....'

 

[flecc]

How can a helmet possibly be designed specifically for electric bikes,does it have a plug in connector or something or is this a talk bull**** and make lots of £s promotion.

Actually there is some sense in this, a helmet can be e-bike specific.

The problem with bike helmets in general is that due to the need to keep cool, they don't provide adequate wrap-around or penetration protection since they sit only over the crown of the head and really need substantial ventilation slots.

With an e-bike where the motor provides over 50% of the effort and often very much more, helmets can afford to cover the head more fully and do away with the larger ventilation since the rider doesn't have to exert so much heat generating energy. You see that in practice on the Casco range, a helmet wrapping more fully around and giving much better overall protection:

Not ideal for a hard working cyclist, but making much sense for an e-biker.
.

 

[iaing]

Hello

I wear a Met Predatore as I have am officially a big-head and the Predatore comes in different sizes. The one-size-fits-all variety are useless to me and the Predatore is very comfortable and cool with all the vents.

Iain

 

[Conal]

Extra protection?

I have seen these helmets "recommended" before and Nick (Tibirius)wore a similar one when riding his high powered ebike. Is this design a lighter version of a motorbike helmet?

 

[rooel]

Here is a fortunately rare incident where wearing a helmet may be sensible regardless of whether the bike is electically assisted or not:

BBC News - Ice thrown from Edinburgh bridge hits cyclist

It would appear that the cyclist was on the road and the ice block was thrown from a cyclepath on an old railway bridge which crosses the road. The cyclist would not have been able to use the cycle path as it will have been, no doubt, like almost every pavement, park path, and cycle track in Edinburgh, covered in a sheet of hard ice for the past week.

However as this sort of thing also happens on motorways and railways, it would be sensible to wear helmets and face shields when driving a motor vehicle or a train too.

 

[Phil the drill]

Hi
Just a quick thought, but most people immediately think of helmets when talking about safety gear. The bits that always come a cropper in a decent fall are hands, knees elbows and ankles. The knees elbows and ankles have limited practical options, but the hands are a different matter (and they hurt A LOT when they get 'skinned' - believe me, I have experience here.......Definitely get yourself a decent pair of cycling gloves.
Next get a pair of cycling glasses. Grit, bugs, muck, thorns from hedgerows etc. all find their way into your eyes; even raindrops hurt at speed.
I'd put both the above items at the top of your list, then go buy a helmet after those.... .

Phil

 

[Footie]

daft question i know - what sort of safety helmets do you lot wear?

i have a voucher from my company to spend £100 on safety equipment for my electric bike.

would value people opinions on what to buy?

cheers

john

I can't seem to find a helmet that fits me, despite trying several designs. Unfortunately, I find within minutes of wearing a helmet my head hurts, as all helmets appear to be too small for me. It's hard to admit it but I have a big head - literally. Perhaps one day I'll find someone who does made to measure.
So for the time being my headgear is a baseball cap.
Gloves (I use full finger) and glasses (I use wrap-around sports) are essential for road riding. We have a lot of 4-wheel drive vehicles here (I won't say 4x4's because some forum members are sensitive about criticisms of them - personally I hate them ) and they fling large stones out of their treads the size of marbles as they speed by.
I have a hi-vis cycling jacket that I wear at night and in bad weather but my favoured jacket is a jogging jacket, which is very light and surprisingly comfortable and warm.
I've found that my feet hurt from the effort cycling up all the steep hills - my saviour as been a pair of cycling shoes (hard soles) that have cured the pressure pains in my feet
As I’m a leisure only rider (walk 50 yards to work) I don’t have wet weather gear so can’t recommend any.

-----------------------------------------------
Bike #1
Cougar Mountain Electric Bike 36v 200w rear wheel Hub motor (Jul07), 10 Ah LiFePo4 battery (Apr08)
Maximum range (road/hills - Cornwall) 18 miles. Maximum range (on flat) 25 miles

Bike #2
20 year old 18 gear mountain bike 36v 500w Goldenmotor front hub motor (Jun 09), 9 AH DIY rack-pack or 15 AH SLA (depending on trip). Used off road
.

 

[Sir_Bob]

my head is huge most helmets dont fit me too i find that having a haircut helps lots. once i shaved my head and it made my helmet fit much better my girlfriend says it maske me loook like a thug but i said to her dont be silly it would look much better than if i dont wear a helmet and get squashed by a truk

 

[flecc]

better than if i dont wear a helmet and get squashed by a truk

I don't think a bike helmet would help much in stopping a truck from squashing you Bob.

Unless the truck was made by Tonka or Matchbox of course.
.

 

[Sir_Bob]

how do you no flecc have you been hit by a truk before and why would a tonko truck hurt less a truck is a truck