Bicycle helmet vs Skate helmet

[OneWheelLess]

Originally Posted by ntappin

The way I see it is, a skate helmet protects better from actually hitting your head, whereas the bike helmet will protect you from other things hitting you.

i can't think of one instance where it would provide more protection.

[Shug]

I have a doofy yellow Bell helmet that I abhor wearing but it has saved my melon a couple of times on MUni now. Especially the back of my head.
I gotta say that I want a skate helmet as it seems to come down a wee bit lower in the back. In my opinion is reckless to not wear some head protection .... but then again I am a bit long in the tooth.

[feel the light]

I bought one and only wore it once. Way to hot and uncomfortable. So for me that helmet offered only one day of protection.

After about a year of riding naked, I bought a low end foam-shell Giro bike helmet that is full of vent holes, weighs nothing, and has a visor. It is so comfortable I forget I am wearing it, until I am riding into the sun. I only use it on the 36, where the speed makes it comfortable to wear, even in the tropics.

It is amazing how light it is. I don't think I need protection from road crashes, it is more like side walk mishaps where I might hit my head on the edge of a cinder block or something.

I am not knocking the skater helmets, in a colder place they might be great, as well as safer. But it isn't safer if it's sitting on the shelf. So if you hate your helmet, consider one of the full of holes bike things, at least they are comfortable.

[feel the light]

My model is this Giro Atlas 2. There are other very similar models in the same 37 $ ish price range, the Giro indicator etc., and the very similar Bells. I think they all fit-work about the same so pick by looks -color that you like.

I would advise getting a Giro or Bell because they use the same dial fit system, which is very good. Just pick a model that you like that is all full of holes and has a visor. I see no point in the expensive carbon helmets. These < 40 $ helmets are super comfortable and weigh less than a fat mans sandwich.

[agentQ]

Originally Posted by OneWheelLess

i can't think of one instance where it would provide more protection.

Bicycle helmets are designed, mainly, for forward crashes. A typical bike crash will leave the rider going head first over the handlebars.

A skate helmet on the other hand is designed to have a more all around even coverage. Skaters, when they fall, can and will fal in any direction, but most often the board will slip out making the rider fall straight down and often to the back of the head.

Id say unicycle crashes do not usually result in hitting your head. However unless you are ridding distance uni, a skate helmet will offer more useful protection. Even in muni where there is a lot of forward momentum, You are pretty likely to have the uni slip out and you fall backwards.

backwards and sideways falls are why skate helmets are designed the way they are, and without a doubt have better protection for falling in all directions.

They were not designed to be the coolest helmets while ridding a hundred miles. So yes, skate helmets are hotter.

[IsaacSteiner]

Trials - Bike helmet
Street - No helmet, or skate helmet, sometimes a bike helmet
Freestyle - No helmet
Distance - Bike helmet

-Isaac

[Tak]

Originally Posted by harper

...

Dude, that post was AWESOME!!!!!

Originally Posted by feel the light

I am not knocking the skater helmets, in a colder place they might be great, as well as safer.

I guess it's all a matter of preference; I prefer the skater-style helmet, even in the heat. Although I am a few hundred miles farther north...

[john_childs]

It reads to me like that part of the Wikipedia article is talking about toddler and young children helmets and extrapolating that info to adult and older children helmets. Makes no sense to make that comparison.

I have both a highly vented MTB style helmet and a skate style helmet. The skate style helmet is by Giro and is light weight, built like a bicycle helmet, single impact, not multiple impact like true skate helmets. I wear one style or the other depending on weather, the terrain, how I'm going to ride, and other factors. Mostly I wear the MTB style helmet.

I'd like to see MTB helmets that are shaped more like skate style helmets but with more vents. Giro is going in that direction with the Xen helmet, but that helmet is too expensive for my tastes. I'd like to see some lower cost MTB helmets with that kind of skate helmet influenced shape.

[oldandmoldymat]

gave me a helmut its called my skull, a one time use and all natural material helmut. HAHA

I have used a full face helmut for muni, and prefer no helmut for trials, i usually fall and roll or land on my feet, i have never come close, to my head, but i would like to start wearing a skate helmut, light and visible protects back of head and front.............makes sense to me, i wil also look into diffferent materials,

what ever happened to those old leather ones..shit those was nice..

[OneWheelLess]

Originally Posted by john_childs

I'd like to see MTB helmets that are shaped more like skate style helmets but with more vents. Giro is going in that direction with the Xen helmet, but that helmet is too expensive for my tastes. I'd like to see some lower cost MTB helmets with that kind of skate helmet influenced shape.

I just was checking out the T.H.E. B-1 helmet. It's a pretty cool looking helmet that seems to be a sort of blend between traditonal skate helmets and more vented mtb designs. I'm not quite sure if it's what you're looking for, but I think it's a move in the right direction.

[john_childs]

Originally Posted by OneWheelLess

I just was checking out the T.H.E. B-1 helmet. It's a pretty cool looking helmet that seems to be a sort of blend between traditonal skate helmets and more vented mtb designs. I'm not quite sure if it's what you're looking for, but I think it's a move in the right direction.

That does look like a good helmet. I took a look at the THE Industries web page and saw the F-14 helmet. That's what I'm talking about. A bicycle style helmet with the coverage of a skate helmet. Too bad the MSRP is $80. Maybe I can find it on sale.

I have a problem with expensive helmets. Helmets are disposable items that need to be replaced after a certain amount of wear and use. If a helmet is "expensive" I am not going to throw it away and replace it as soon as I should. If a helmet is under $40 I'm willing to throw it out when its time is due. If a helmet is up around $100 I will feel very guilty about throwing it out and would end up keeping it for longer than I should.

[catinabag1]

during crashes you ten to hit the side and back of your head more than the top (top almost never). so any helmet that covers the sides and back of your head is better. i wear a skateboard helmet over a bike helmet for this reason except when i coker. i like the cooler bike helmet for cokering.

[kington99]

a bit of both, the 661 mullet skate-style dirt jump helmet (skate style) for muni and trials, a nice bell cycle helmet for distance and x country. Essentially, for times when I'm likely to hit my head a helmet that will survive more than one fall and offers heavy protection, and something lighter and more comfortable for situations where i rarely if ever fall on my head.

[OneWheelLess]

Originally Posted by john_childs

That does look like a good helmet. I took a look at the THE Industries web page and saw the F-14 helmet. That's what I'm talking about. A bicycle style helmet with the coverage of a skate helmet. Too bad the MSRP is $80. Maybe I can find it on sale.

I have a problem with expensive helmets. Helmets are disposable items that need to be replaced after a certain amount of wear and use. If a helmet is "expensive" I am not going to throw it away and replace it as soon as I should. If a helmet is under $40 I'm willing to throw it out when its time is due. If a helmet is up around $100 I will feel very guilty about throwing it out and would end up keeping it for longer than I should.

I agree, I would prefer not to spend $100 for a single-use disposable helmet. My last skate helmet is at the point where the padding is shot, and the shell has had several hard impacts. I plan to spend $30-40 on a new one that will fit my needs. I really like the classic pro-tec design, but I like extra ventilation the B-1 has, and the price tag was a pleasant suprise. It may be a good compromise for me.

[hobo_chuck]

Originally Posted by catinabag1

i wear a skateboard helmet over a bike helmet

Really? That's either a tiny bike helmet or a huge skateboard helmet.