Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

post concussion helmet choice

7K views 21 replies 8 participants last post by  OldManBike 
#1 ·
So I had an off and a resulting concussion. out for about 1 week.
Dumbass me goes swimming another week later, does a cannon ball, and gets concussed AGAIN! so 2 in 3 weeks. Now I'm sitting on the couch for about 4 weeks now, and finally feeling better. So....

I need a new helmet with the best protection for XC and the occasional beginner trails at downhill parks. No jumping.

I was thinking something with a chin guard like the MET parachute and the old switchbacks, or maybe the Casco Viper.
All seem like you have to go over seas to buy one.
What is available here with MORE protection, at least the ears, cheecks and possible the chin/front face.
Thanks
 
#6 ·
you may also want to look at the new MIPS helmets (POC has a MIPS version of their Trabec). iirc, i read somewhere that the brain experiences both linear and angular acceleration in most impacts (this makes sense---very few impacts involve a perfectly linear motion like a woodpecker pecking on a tree)

i think the MIPS system is supposed to help reduce the angular component
 
#7 ·
This. After messing up my face I've been researching helmets and my next one will have MIPS. MIPS | Safest helmets in the market

Agreed, shiggy. The purpose of any eps liner is to take energy out of an impact. Furthermore check out the new tech a new company has developed from concussion research...
6D Helmets
These are cool but still only see motorcycle helmets which aren't as safe for biking as helmets specifically designed for biking.
 
#9 ·
I got a gnarly concussion last November and have gone to the MIPS helmet. Haven't had a hard crash yet with the new helmet but I would rather be riding with the latest technology than not. MIPS | Safest helmets in the market

They also have a few youtube videos explaining the new technology if you are skeptical.

Below is a list of available Mtb Helmets with the technology:
Trabec Race MIPS
Scott Lin
Scott Taal
 
#10 ·
As I understand it, the chin protection on a fullface isn't designed to do a thing for reducing concussion risk. It just protects your face from abrasion. The current helmet certifications focus on ensuring that helmets reduce skull fracture risk, they ignore concussion risk. Helmet technology is likely to improve dramatically in the coming years. For now, MIPS is the only concussion-specific feature out there.
 
#14 ·
Eyewear Glasses Nose Vision care Eye


This ridiculous image is eye-opening for me. Here is what it shows:

two notable helmet experts prepared an analysis for us explaining what thickness a helmet would have to be if made with today's standard EPS foam to keep the g's below 100 in the drops included in the CPSC standard. (You might still be concussed at 100g but the odds are with you.)

We mocked up a helmet with their parameters, and it came out looking like this:​

For me, this vividly illustrates the point that current-technology foam helmets don't and can't give effective protection against concussions. And also makes the point that our aesthetic preference for a slimmer helmet works against us when it comes to avoiding concussions.

The image came from Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, here.
 
#15 ·
View attachment 946096

This ridiculous image is eye-opening for me. Here is what it shows:

two notable helmet experts prepared an analysis for us explaining what thickness a helmet would have to be if made with today's standard EPS foam to keep the g's below 100 in the drops included in the CPSC standard. (You might still be concussed at 100g but the odds are with you.)

We mocked up a helmet with their parameters, and it came out looking like this:​

For me, this vividly illustrates the point that current-technology foam helmets don't and can't give effective protection against concussions. And also makes the point that our aesthetic preference for a slimmer helmet works against us when it comes to avoiding concussions.

The image came from Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, here.
I understand the point they were trying to make. I read that site and not sure I buy everything they say. First the CPSC standard is ancient if you look at all the recent information that has been learned about head injuries.

That article even mentions rotational energy "....upping the dreaded rotational energy to the head..." So the CPSC standard doesn't even take into account rotational energy, just a flat drop. Well when was the last time you crash with you body in a nice straight line and hit the ground, tree rock- whatever nice and perpendicular.
 
#20 ·
Our helmet standards are antiquated. As one user mentioned, they're designed around preventing traumatic injury (e.g. skull fractures) rather than preventing concussions. You can have a brain injury at 70-80 g's, but our helmets don't start to protect us till much higher impact levels.

The benefit to the multi density coneshaped foam used in our helmets is that is allows us to use a softer density foam around the head. This enables the helmet to dissipate impacts of different speeds more efficiently. The way the cone shaped foams are distributed also help to spread the impact over a larger surface.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top