Great vid - but that's your usual standard. As a physician who has worked in brain injury rehabilitation any helmet is good ! Those Captain Starfish falls do happen. I've had several with nice Aikido rolls upon hitting the ground and no injury whatsoever. Those are the ones that make good stories. I've had two where I landed on my noggin with the shell of the helmet cracking. In one of them, I had no alteration of consciousness or head injury symptoms at all. Got up, rode home, and bought a new helmet. On the second though, my last memory before crashing was one of a dog suddenly darting in front of my front wheel. My next memory was in the shower at work wondering why I was hurting and feeling groggy. There was a good 5 km between my crash site and my workplace. I somehow managed to negotiate traffic lights etc. in the interval. I had to take a few weeks off work after which I returned to medical work (including being the convenor of a day long medical education session on the topic of ............. head injury). The point to make here is that I did have a mild traumatic brain injury. My mangled helmet saved me from a moderate or severe brain injury with lasting effects. People often say that helmets don't save you from death due to crashes. That's partially true BUT those crashes involve severe traumatic injuries to multiple body systems including the head. Helmets save you from the long term consequences of head impacts that CAN AND DO occur in the vast majority of bike crashes. My current helmet has MIPS, Wave Cell and a more robust shell than my old ones. These new tech factors combine to alter the impact vectors of forces due to the crash, and to spread the impact of the crash over a longer period of time which is of critical importance. Somehow the ventilation is just as good as was the case in my older road type helmets. Due to wearing a helmet I've been able to to continue my medical practice, continue riding, and watching Simon's videos! This video is a great public service so spread the link to your friends.
Using a Giro Montana with Mips helmet. Bought it as was doing Mtb only, got a gravel and am using for ‘gravel’ and road now. No problems with the ventilation during the summer. No need for a peaked cap, use sunglasses and the peak is handy. To be honest after thinking of buying another helmet to use with my gravel, I decided not to. Cycling is not my only sport and it doesn’t warrant having 2 or more helmets at the moment. If I have to change my helmet every 5-6 years I prefer spending a bit extra on something that fits well and ticks all the boxes for trail riding on mtb and so covers the gravel riding I do. The gravel riding I do tends to be gnarly off-road. ( I have flown over the bars with the gravel and managed to break some ribs and just miss a face plant).
Another informative video! I ride MTB, Gravel bike and road bikes and have just the one helmet. A Bell MTB helmet! I think it feels safer as there is more to it! Keep up the good work, thanks.
I've heard several podcast interviews with someone from Kali helmets before. Always interesting to hear his take on designing and testing helmets and worth listening to
I had this predicament very recently. I got back into biking at the start of this year with a hard tail ebike and cheap MTB helmet from Amazon. As I improved I bought a gravel bike. I found that when on the drops my helmet would be pushed forwards due to the added coverage around the back. I've just bought a MET allroad and it's perfect for riding on the drops and staying in place. Great video as always!
Since I sold my mountain bike and went gravel, I have been using my MTB helmet with the peak removed. I find the peak annoying in the drops. I tend to wear a cap under as well
The year in the sticker can be different from the year when you started to use it. I wonder why manufacturers don't give recommendations based on hours worn. For example when I started to ride a road bike, I was a runner who complemented training by riding a bit. That year I rode about 500 km. Nowadays as a cyclist my target is 20000 km a year. It makes a huge difference also when it comes to helmets.
Great vid - also worth noting what you crash onto/into between road and offroad too. Road crashes are usually onto flat tarmac or concrete - whereas offroad you have sticks, branches, rocks etc to contend with - also why there is more coverage by design, as having a rock get into a vent hole can be quite disasterous.
That’s a very good point! Having just done my first aid refresher this was made clear to us. A face-down MTB rider could easily be impaled on something.
Here is a topic suggestions for new riders: How to wash and care for your helmets. I have tried removing the padded strips but this makes them wear out faster. So, I now wear a cap to absorb sweat on warm days. Then rinse and wash it in warm soapy water when necessary. Not sure if this is the right idea. Love the new style with the dial adjuster at the back. Makes changing fit easy if you are or aren't wearing a balaclava or liner in cold weather. I will be getting a new helmet for the spring and will consider a MTB style model. My road helmet is fairly new and will do for awhile longer. When the padding gets worn after a couple of years, I buy a new one and use the old one for winter commuting. To keep warm and dry ( as low as -20C plus wind chill) I put tape to cover the vent holes on the top and sides. Very effective.
Usually just wash the whole thing in a sink with warm soapy water but this may not be good for the foam or adhesive. That is why I started wearing a cap on warmer days.@@alwaysanotheradventure
I recently qualified as a junior senior(55) to join a local pool for $80 Canadian a year. This will be my cross training for the winter. I am a complete newby so it is great cardio. Today I swam 6 lengths and felt tired. But I can float now, sort of...maybe, come summer I can do a ride to the lake and swim in the wild. I have to wait for new lessons in January to learn properly. Nice to do something indoors.
Something to think about!! Bought a new road helmet after your previous video on helmets and now maybe need a mtb one. Hadn’t appreciated how much they had changed over the years. As always interesting content.
Well I'm glad it was helpful Graham. I want the MTB one for those rides I do in really wild places, with no phone signal and rough tracks, just in case.
Yes! MTB/enduro helmet with mips for me, the better cover on the back of the head is great, and the way the straps are set up into the helmet allows for a comfortable use of prescription glasses 🤓
Great video as usual :) I can vouch for the fact that off road crashes are pretty violent regardless off speed. When the bike stops it stops and you won’t… took a 10kph over the bar crash caused by a sneaky root to the pedal, and ended up breaking couple of ribs. Guess skill has something to do with it but I just want to point out that speed alone should not be a factor when choosing a helmet for off road riding :)
Oh absolutely Johan. The Captain Starfish fall I took was comically slow, which thankfully gave me time to tuck and roll, and crucially I was in an open area and didn't face-plant into a tree.
I own both a peaked mountain bike style helmet and a road helmet, I tend to revert to the peaked helmet in the winter to help deal with the low sun in the late afternoon. I’m quite tempted by the Met Allroad helmet which seems like a reasonable compromise (road styled but with a small peak)
I like the mtb style helments not only for the added back protection but also because I think they look cool xd (also de the peak is handy during summer)
The rider angle is different on drops and flat bar therefore the Helmets are differently designed. It's difficult on the drops with MTB helmet without the peak. As well as because of the angle the ventilation is not the same. This is something which must take under consideration.
Interesting, I never thought about that. The only grip I have with MTB helmets peaks is that at certain speed it becomes unstable and annoying, I have one with the peak removed
Bell Spark helmet I have found is perfect. Good coverage but not like a proper enduro type mtb helmet. The visor also sits pretty high so it blocks the sun but not your view when in the drops. Plus it's very reasonably priced 👍
Interesting video, I have had 3 road bike crashes caused by 2 cars and 1 group of cyclist in all 3 offs the back of the helmets were cracked ,how ever on my MTB bike the 3 helmets that need to be replaced because of flying over the front of the bike .On my gravel bike at the moment I use a road helmet. Next year I am going to ride the GDMBR and will wear a road helmet because weight ,mtb helmet for 3/4 hours on a ride ok but not 10 hours every day .
Is is usually not UV-light from the sun who will make you need to change yor helmet, it is those fine micro-cracks from when the helmet fall from the handlebar and other similar accidents which will make the helmet unsafe to use.
Those cracks are certainly an indicator Thomas, but I found different manufacturers said varyingly UV to natural hair oils helped with the degredation of the glues in the helmet, not the foam itself. After I took a ride leader course I did a video about checking your helmet czcams.com/video/htS6JaMExJA/video.html
I’m not convinced; gravel is supposed to be on the soft side of XC mountain bike and yet, in XC, they ride with road/gravel helmet (well display @ tokyo game). The other helmet seems to be more enduro orientated; note than I am not saying “don’t wear it”, I am saying that road/gravel should be more than suitable as used in UCI XC race.
It's a personal matter - I sometimes ride in really wild places, with no phone signal and very rough tracks. I don't care what the helmet is supposed to be for, I want a tough lid just in case the worst happens. Perhaps that's not what many folk consider to be 'gravel' territory and I get that, but I'm not too keen on such labels and it works for me.
@@alwaysanotheradventure i get that, i am only saying that the road helmets are not unsafe in off road condition (which the video suggest to me with the sliding impact vs over handle bar). However, they may not be best on down hill jumps
It's important to point out that if you take a hit to the helmet (or even just drop it), even if it looks fine there might be micro-cracks inside and it should be replaced
But how do I know if I'm going to fall off on the road on the way to the woods or in the woods if I'm out on my gravel bike? Currently using my road helmet
Nah, you're stuffed there 😁. It's all personal choice but if I knew I'd be riding some gnarly sections somewhere I'd use my MTB helmet that day. And I'd make sure it fit me and was in date - as in this vid czcams.com/video/htS6JaMExJA/video.html
I'm sure I could Philip. The downsides are a) it doesn't keep the rain off my glasses as well as a peaked cap b) hotter in summer c) doiesn't look as good (in my view😁)
Great vid - but that's your usual standard. As a physician who has worked in brain injury rehabilitation any helmet is good ! Those Captain Starfish falls do happen. I've had several with nice Aikido rolls upon hitting the ground and no injury whatsoever. Those are the ones that make good stories. I've had two where I landed on my noggin with the shell of the helmet cracking. In one of them, I had no alteration of consciousness or head injury symptoms at all. Got up, rode home, and bought a new helmet. On the second though, my last memory before crashing was one of a dog suddenly darting in front of my front wheel. My next memory was in the shower at work wondering why I was hurting and feeling groggy. There was a good 5 km between my crash site and my workplace. I somehow managed to negotiate traffic lights etc. in the interval. I had to take a few weeks off work after which I returned to medical work (including being the convenor of a day long medical education session on the topic of ............. head injury). The point to make here is that I did have a mild traumatic brain injury. My mangled helmet saved me from a moderate or severe brain injury with lasting effects. People often say that helmets don't save you from death due to crashes. That's partially true BUT those crashes involve severe traumatic injuries to multiple body systems including the head. Helmets save you from the long term consequences of head impacts that CAN AND DO occur in the vast majority of bike crashes. My current helmet has MIPS, Wave Cell and a more robust shell than my old ones. These new tech factors combine to alter the impact vectors of forces due to the crash, and to spread the impact of the crash over a longer period of time which is of critical importance. Somehow the ventilation is just as good as was the case in my older road type helmets. Due to wearing a helmet I've been able to to continue my medical practice, continue riding, and watching Simon's videos! This video is a great public service so spread the link to your friends.
That's a scary but hugely informative story - thank you for sharing it John and I'm glad you're in one piece.
@@alwaysanotheradventure Meant to be informative - but it simply supplements the hard work you did getting the video out to your viewers.
Using a Giro Montana with Mips helmet. Bought it as was doing Mtb only, got a gravel and am using for ‘gravel’ and road now. No problems with the ventilation during the summer. No need for a peaked cap, use sunglasses and the peak is handy. To be honest after thinking of buying another helmet to use with my gravel, I decided not to. Cycling is not my only sport and it doesn’t warrant having 2 or more helmets at the moment. If I have to change my helmet every 5-6 years I prefer spending a bit extra on something that fits well and ticks all the boxes for trail riding on mtb and so covers the gravel riding I do. The gravel riding I do tends to be gnarly off-road. ( I have flown over the bars with the gravel and managed to break some ribs and just miss a face plant).
Another informative video! I ride MTB, Gravel bike and road bikes and have just the one helmet. A Bell MTB helmet! I think it feels safer as there is more to it! Keep up the good work, thanks.
Glad I'm not the only one with a reel of reflective red tape that is applied liberally...
From my sea kayaking...
Agreed. I’ve started wearing my MTB helmet mainly due to weather and do feel better protected
I've heard several podcast interviews with someone from Kali helmets before. Always interesting to hear his take on designing and testing helmets and worth listening to
If you can think of the title of the podcast that would be a good listen. The more I know about helmets the better!
I had this predicament very recently. I got back into biking at the start of this year with a hard tail ebike and cheap MTB helmet from Amazon. As I improved I bought a gravel bike. I found that when on the drops my helmet would be pushed forwards due to the added coverage around the back.
I've just bought a MET allroad and it's perfect for riding on the drops and staying in place.
Great video as always!
Since I sold my mountain bike and went gravel, I have been using my MTB helmet with the peak removed. I find the peak annoying in the drops. I tend to wear a cap under as well
The year in the sticker can be different from the year when you started to use it. I wonder why manufacturers don't give recommendations based on hours worn. For example when I started to ride a road bike, I was a runner who complemented training by riding a bit. That year I rode about 500 km. Nowadays as a cyclist my target is 20000 km a year. It makes a huge difference also when it comes to helmets.
just packing for TransScotland 22 and using your videos for some great tips , I may now swap to my MTB helmet based on this , thanks !
I’m pleased the videos are useful have a great trip
Great vid - also worth noting what you crash onto/into between road and offroad too. Road crashes are usually onto flat tarmac or concrete - whereas offroad you have sticks, branches, rocks etc to contend with - also why there is more coverage by design, as having a rock get into a vent hole can be quite disasterous.
That’s a very good point! Having just done my first aid refresher this was made clear to us. A face-down MTB rider could easily be impaled on something.
Here is a topic suggestions for new riders: How to wash and care for your helmets. I have tried removing the padded strips but this makes them wear out faster. So, I now wear a cap to absorb sweat on warm days. Then rinse and wash it in warm soapy water when necessary. Not sure if this is the right idea. Love the new style with the dial adjuster at the back. Makes changing fit easy if you are or aren't wearing a balaclava or liner in cold weather.
I will be getting a new helmet for the spring and will consider a MTB style model. My road helmet is fairly new and will do for awhile longer. When the padding gets worn after a couple of years, I buy a new one and use the old one for winter commuting. To keep warm and dry ( as low as -20C plus wind chill) I put tape to cover the vent holes on the top and sides. Very effective.
David, if you figure out how to clean those pads without ruining them I'd love to know!
Usually just wash the whole thing in a sink with warm soapy water but this may not be good for the foam or adhesive. That is why I started wearing a cap on warmer days.@@alwaysanotheradventure
I recently qualified as a junior senior(55) to join a local pool for $80 Canadian a year. This will be my cross training for the winter. I am a complete newby so it is great cardio. Today I swam 6 lengths and felt tired. But I can float now, sort of...maybe, come summer I can do a ride to the lake and swim in the wild. I have to wait for new lessons in January to learn properly. Nice to do something indoors.
Something to think about!! Bought a new road helmet after your previous video on helmets and now maybe need a mtb one. Hadn’t appreciated how much they had changed over the years. As always interesting content.
Well I'm glad it was helpful Graham. I want the MTB one for those rides I do in really wild places, with no phone signal and rough tracks, just in case.
Yes! MTB/enduro helmet with mips for me, the better cover on the back of the head is great, and the way the straps are set up into the helmet allows for a comfortable use of prescription glasses 🤓
Good point about compatibility with glasses. I'd forgotten that.
Great video as usual :) I can vouch for the fact that off road crashes are pretty violent regardless off speed. When the bike stops it stops and you won’t… took a 10kph over the bar crash caused by a sneaky root to the pedal, and ended up breaking couple of ribs. Guess skill has something to do with it but I just want to point out that speed alone should not be a factor when choosing a helmet for off road riding :)
Oh absolutely Johan. The Captain Starfish fall I took was comically slow, which thankfully gave me time to tuck and roll, and crucially I was in an open area and didn't face-plant into a tree.
I own both a peaked mountain bike style helmet and a road helmet, I tend to revert to the peaked helmet in the winter to help deal with the low sun in the late afternoon. I’m quite tempted by the Met Allroad helmet which seems like a reasonable compromise (road styled but with a small peak)
I like the mtb style helments not only for the added back protection but also because I think they look cool xd (also de the peak is handy during summer)
The rider angle is different on drops and flat bar therefore the Helmets are differently designed. It's difficult on the drops with MTB helmet without the peak. As well as because of the angle the ventilation is not the same. This is something which must take under consideration.
Interesting, I never thought about that. The only grip I have with MTB helmets peaks is that at certain speed it becomes unstable and annoying, I have one with the peak removed
Bell Spark helmet I have found is perfect. Good coverage but not like a proper enduro type mtb helmet. The visor also sits pretty high so it blocks the sun but not your view when in the drops. Plus it's very reasonably priced 👍
Please don’t forget that the best helmet is the one that fits you and a crash is best avoided 😏
Otherwise great video - thanks for your thoughts 🙏
Absolutely, and we have a video about making sure it fits. That's the main reason I switched to Giro czcams.com/video/htS6JaMExJA/video.html
Great advice. And, another great video.
Interesting video, I have had 3 road bike crashes caused by 2 cars and 1 group of cyclist in all 3 offs the back of the helmets were cracked ,how ever on my MTB bike the 3 helmets that need to be replaced because of flying over the front of the bike .On my gravel bike at the moment I use a road helmet.
Next year I am going to ride the GDMBR and will wear a road helmet because weight ,mtb helmet for 3/4 hours on a ride ok but not 10 hours every day .
Great video. Good subject to highlight.
Thanks god bless
Is is usually not UV-light from the sun who will make you need to change yor helmet, it is those fine micro-cracks from when the helmet fall from the handlebar and other similar accidents which will make the helmet unsafe to use.
Those cracks are certainly an indicator Thomas, but I found different manufacturers said varyingly UV to natural hair oils helped with the degredation of the glues in the helmet, not the foam itself. After I took a ride leader course I did a video about checking your helmet czcams.com/video/htS6JaMExJA/video.html
I’m not convinced; gravel is supposed to be on the soft side of XC mountain bike and yet, in XC, they ride with road/gravel helmet (well display @ tokyo game). The other helmet seems to be more enduro orientated; note than I am not saying “don’t wear it”, I am saying that road/gravel should be more than suitable as used in UCI XC race.
It's a personal matter - I sometimes ride in really wild places, with no phone signal and very rough tracks. I don't care what the helmet is supposed to be for, I want a tough lid just in case the worst happens. Perhaps that's not what many folk consider to be 'gravel' territory and I get that, but I'm not too keen on such labels and it works for me.
@@alwaysanotheradventure i get that, i am only saying that the road helmets are not unsafe in off road condition (which the video suggest to me with the sliding impact vs over handle bar). However, they may not be best on down hill jumps
It's important to point out that if you take a hit to the helmet (or even just drop it), even if it looks fine there might be micro-cracks inside and it should be replaced
But how do I know if I'm going to fall off on the road on the way to the woods or in the woods if I'm out on my gravel bike? Currently using my road helmet
Nah, you're stuffed there 😁. It's all personal choice but if I knew I'd be riding some gnarly sections somewhere I'd use my MTB helmet that day. And I'd make sure it fit me and was in date - as in this vid czcams.com/video/htS6JaMExJA/video.html
Stuff cyclist don’t tell you.
Love you 😘
so why not just use a mountain bike helmet all the time ?
I'm sure I could Philip. The downsides are a) it doesn't keep the rain off my glasses as well as a peaked cap b) hotter in summer c) doiesn't look as good (in my view😁)