Helmet Safety Protection Ratings

I do read :)
Don't worry though: You would always beat me on speaking and with the British idioms :)
 
Virginia Tech has the latest ratings for most 2025 bicycle helmets. Specialized has three in the top 12 out of 264. These cost less that one ranked 246. I purchased one today, not only to protect my head... https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html
Thanks for posting this link, and hats off to Virginia Tech for doing this important work.

Have been eyeing the Specialized Chamonix 3 for a while — mainly for its ventilation, color, and price. Now that I see its #25 of 268 ranking and above-average 5-star rating, I'm pulling the trigger.

My 3 year-old ABUS Pedelec MIPS 2.0 came in at #67.

Ironically, were there are the most bikes in traffic, Amsterdam, no one has a helmet, because cars know how to drive and bikes know how to ride. Note: Mopeds are no longer allowed in bike lanes.
I've ridden in Amsterdam, and as a retired MD who's read thousands of post-trauma brain CTs and MRIs, I still think it's a mistake to ride a bike without a helmet.

True, the cars and locals there are very bike-aware and stay out of bikeways. But the oblivious tourist pedestrians are every bit as dangerous there as they are here in SoCal. I wandered into a few bike lanes myself.
 
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tourist pedestrians are every bit as dangerous
A huge risk factor changed in the last decade with people watching videos while walking with headphones. They are isolated in a different world. In that cycling video from Amsterdam everyone is engaged in the same shared world. It is a sort of dance with simple rules, like a flock of starlings in the Netherlands with no collisions.

 
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Thanks for posting this link, and hats off to Virginia Tech for doing this important work.

Have been eyeing the Specialized Chamonix 3 for a while — mainly for its ventilation, color, and price. Now that I see its #25 of 264 ranking and above-average 5-star rating, I'm pulling the trigger.

My 3 year-old ABUS Pedelec MIPS 2.0 came in at
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Nice helmet, got the highvis version although the color is rather flat. My previous MET was brighter and the brim was better.
 
highvis version
I have one that is similar for ventilation, it is the Bontrager Specter WaveCel. That one is ranked #52 but still gets five-stars. A helmet could conceivably have a high test rating but could also be uncomfortable, sweaty, itchy, and heavy, so a rider ends up not using it. I did not use a helmet on one ride today, because I only used a multi-use path at low speeds. That was an exception. Another factor in practicality it the compatibility with eye protection. In my region particularly this time of year there are flying bugs. One little gnat in an eye at speed will ruin the trip.
 
All excellent points! Was very close to ordering the Spec Chamonix 3 online, sight unseen.

Now I'm taking the SL out for a helmet-shopping tour of local bike shops, including Carlsbad Specialized, to see real colors and finishes and try before I buy. And to look at hand pumps. And CO2 triggers. And an even lighter spring/summer wind shell. And...

Told the wife to brace herself for my return.
 
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For color regering, my partners Abus and my Spesh on top

Light set @ 4600K


And indeed fitting session for helmets will help deside what you actually want to wear. I do have a very everage headshape so rather Easy top pick one.
 
I had one helmet that would press goggles down into the bridge of my nose. It created a scab. My helmets have lights on top. It turns as l look around. I can put it into flash mode and track a car while in a crosswalk and look around corners before steering. Someone stole my black Abus from my HBar. A guy who is getting a motor and battery from me is making a list of items he will need. He asked if he needed a heat gun or if a hairdryer is fine. I said:

At trip to Harbor Freight will land you a dual mode heat gun for $11. Your wife or girlfriend would probably appreciate that gesture. Superstitions about hygiene can run deep and cannot be logically discussed, trying only makes it worse. It is mansplaining. A fatal crime. Then I told him:
Which brings me to another item, an automotive type wire stripper. That is if your wife doesn’t object to you bringing home a stripper.
 
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For color regering, my partners Abus and my Spesh on top

Light set @ 4600K

And indeed fitting session for helmets will help deside what you actually want to wear. I do have a very everage headshape so rather Easy top pick one.
Thanks! The ABUS has exactly the color and finish I'm after. Which model?
 
Alternate topic shift, I am about to talk about maintenance free lifetime chains that save drivetrains. This core should know. You should never need to clean your chain or lube it.
 
View attachment 192505

For color regering, my partners Abus and my Spesh on top

Light set @ 4600K

And indeed fitting session for helmets will help deside what you actually want to wear. I do have a very everage headshape so rather Easy top pick one.
Went with the Specialized Chamonix 3 in the end. The color and finish were acceptable in person, the fit was perfect, and compared to my ABUS, it was lighter, less bulky, and better ventilated.

Add the #25 safety ranking and $80 price tag, and it seemed like a no-brainer. No other helmet in the top 100 had as much overall appeal — at least not at a price I was willing to pay.
 
Great you found a nice helmet. The Abus is a Pedelec 2.0 mips in Signal. That one has the NTA8776 rating. So indeed bulkier but up to a lot more stress than the cycling standard for helmet require (basicly its rated as moped helmet).

If a helmet fits good you will wear it, that is the most important thing. I ride into a lot of roadies which have their helmet on their handlebar on warmer days.... Wrong place, so why bother to bring it along.
 
I ride into a lot of roadies which have their helmet on their handlebar on warmer days.... Wrong place, so why bother to bring it along.
You should explain the extra weight and wind resistance they can cut by leaving the helmet at home. Roadies like that s4it.
 
The Abus is a Pedelec 2.0 mips in Signal. That one has the NTA8776 rating.
I owned one, and think it is still somewhere around. A good thing. However, I have standardized on Specialized Echelon II after the first one I owned saved my skull and brains during a dramatic crash on a race.

I ride into a lot of roadies which have their helmet on their handlebar on warmer days.... Wrong place, so why bother to bring it along.
Not happening among gravel cyclists here. Last year, a rider was disqualified from a race for stupidly showing video of himself racing helmetless.
 
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