All About Cycling Helmets and Their Fit

When should you wear a helmet? All organized races now require them. Often I see families out for a ride and the children are wearing their helmets, yet the parents aren't. When riding, weather on of off road, always wear your helmet. Adults are the example to children and if they don't wear their helmet, how can you expect a child to wear their's when they're teenagers.

According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, if they'd been wearing helmets, 90 percent of bicyclists who were seriously injured or died in accidents in 2000 would have survived with treatable injuries. The thing that makes helmets so important is how high your head is above the ground when you're riding. That's a long way to fall and quite an impact if you strike your head.

True helmet safety story: as a teenager in 1988, a member of our staff was on a night road ride with some friends. He was without a light, riding on a borrowed bike in an unfamiliar area and not wearing a helmet. He was going down a steep incline and hit an unseen object. He was thrown off the bike, and memories of events get vague after that. His riding companions contacted EMS, so he has some flashes of memories: ambulance, hospital, x-rays and being told in between "don't fall asleep". The diagnosis was a skull fracture, a closed head injury. After spending a week in Primary Children's Hospital for observation, he was told he was lucky he's not a vegetable. The near tragic event could have been avoided had he just worn a helmet.

A properly fitted helmet is safe and comfortable. If a helmet is too small it will feel tight, possibly be painful, and will not give proper coverage on the forehead. If a helmet is too lose it will slide forward or backward no matter how much you try to tighten it. Those who are new to cycling and are unsure of how a helmet should fit may put it on backwards. If you are unsure of how a helmet should fit or feel, have someone assist you while trying on your first helmet.

First: Adjust the slack in the chin strap, it will be comfortable with the correct tension. If the strap is too loose the helmet may slide forward, or back. If the chin strap is too tight you'll know as soon as you try to connect the buckle.

Second: The placement of the buckles. The average bicycle helmet will have a chin strap buckle and two side buckles. Adjust the chin strap so the chin buckle is under your chin and not rubbing against your neck. The side buckles should be placed underneath your ears.

Third: How the helmet sits upon your head. The helmet needs to sit squarely upon your head. If it tips forward it will block your vision, and if it tips backward your face will be exposed and unprotected in a fall, which is extremely dangerous as mentioned in the above story. You will need to adjust the straps to get the helmet to sit correctly. To prevent rear slippage tighten the front straps and loosen the rear straps. For front slippage tighten the rear straps and loosen the front.

As mentioned in the above story, the initial benefit of wearing a helmet is that they will save lives. There are other benefits you may not be aware of.

First: Many helmets are brightly colored, which signal to motorists while on the road or if you're a mountain biker they'll signal hunters that you're not a dear.

Secondly: Helmets have a visor to shade your eyes, a nice feature on a sunny day.

Lastly: Helmets are made of a polystyrene, similar to the materials a cooler is made of which will insulate your noggin. There are also ventilation holes, that are not just for design. This insulation and ventilation will help you stay cool on a warm day and keep you warm on a cool day.