Bicycle helmets haven't changed since their introduction

Re:Bicycle helmets haven't changed since their introduction by kevinpet on Tuesday June 18, 2013 @06:51PM (#5902569)

I commute by bike on roads shared with cars every day and wear a helmet. When I ride in the whole way to work, I tend to average about 15mph, which is probably about 18mph if I count only time actually moving. Some cyclists can ride far faster than this. Most cyclists ride slower than this. There are far more occasional riders or people taking a mountain bike to Caltrain than there are lycra-suited enthusiasts.

I have never seen any reference to bike helmets being "rated" for a specific speed or type of impact. Bike helmets are approved based on a single test carried out by the CSPC which is not calibrated to correspond to any particular speed or type of impact. I don't consider the method of testing helmets particularly important to the well-supported fact that these helmets significantly reduce the risk of serious head injury and death.

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Re:Bicycle helmets haven't changed since their introduction by devilshaircut on Wednesday June 19, 2013 @04:40PM (#5908055)

I am not going to go digging for this information for you but essentially the way bike helmets are tested is a weight is dropped onto the helmet traveling at a certain velocity and the result is recorded. It is not representative of the real world and it is only valid for speeds between 11 and 14 mph.

There are no well-supported "facts" that helmets reduce serious head injury. In fact, among the cycling community, it is a very hot point of contention.

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