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#21
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On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 17:48:53 -0500, "B Paton"
wrote: I was thinking about my own helmet use the other day, particularly in response to the helmet issue here in Ontario. It occurred to me that helmet-wearing actually creates hazards for users under certain circumstances. For example, many times I have been blinded by sweat on fast descents when air pressure squeeezes sweat out of the pads and into my eyes. The oily, salty sweat causes near-total blindness for 3-10 seconds before the tear ducts can flush them out. Knowing that the helmet will partially protect me from the hazard it causes is not comforting. It's occured with every helmet I have ever owned. It occurs frequently while riding around here. It is a hilly area with lots of 6--12% grades. I was wondering who else has experienced this feature of bike helmets. Is it my physical features that are at issue, do I just ride too hard, or what? Thanks, note the spam trap in the reply address. Blake I think that far more people are blinded by the statistics, rather than the helmet itself. Michael J. Klein Dasi Jen, Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with asiancastings --------------------------------------------- |
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#23
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"Peter Cole" wrote in message
news:fOJkd.28740$5K2.10613@attbi_s03... "B Paton" wrote in message news I was thinking about my own helmet use the other day, particularly in response to the helmet issue here in Ontario. It occurred to me that helmet-wearing actually creates hazards for users under certain circumstances. For example, many times I have been blinded by sweat on fast descents when air pressure squeeezes sweat out of the pads and into my eyes. The oily, salty sweat causes near-total blindness for 3-10 seconds before the tear ducts can flush them out. Many/most helmets are sold with "open cell" foam pads. These act like sponges, soaking up sweat and concentrating it into brine. The solution is to replace the open cell pads with closed cell pads which are not absorbent. Your LBS should have bags full of pads, used for helmet fittings. Replace at least the pads in the front of the helmet. Good headbands are a necessity when wearing a helmet, I've had good luck with the Pearl Izumi ones, pricey at $10, but work well. Other solution used by some is to wear a cycling cap underneath the helmet. The "cycling cap under the helmet" approach works well in my experience. It wicks sweat from my mostly hairless head, and keeps the sun out of my eyes. If I'm going downhill, or spending time down low on aero bars or in the drops, it's simple to flip it up out of the way. FWIW, I find that wearing a helmet is often cooler than not wearing one. Modern helmets are very well vented, and by shading your head they can make it feel cooler than it would otherwise be. If I was doing a long hot climb, and had to choose between a dark colored cycling cap (e.g., this year's Postal team cap), and a good helmet, the helmet would win out. Disclaimer: my opinions are influenced by my lack of head hair, and by the fact that I live in an area where 20% relative humidity is considered "muggy" (but daytime summer temps can often exceed 100 degrees F). YMMV -- ~_-* ....G/ \G http://www.CycliStats.com CycliStats - Software for Cyclists |
#24
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"GaryG" wrote
The "cycling cap under the helmet" approach works well in my experience. It wicks sweat from my mostly hairless head, and keeps the sun out of my eyes. If I'm going downhill, or spending time down low on aero bars or in the drops, it's simple to flip it up out of the way. I wear a helmet with a visor. It works the same to keep sun out and rain off my glasses, I also flip it up when in a tuck. Getting brine in the eyes used to be a problem before I swapped out the pads to non-absorbent ones. Sometimes just turning my head would (via the strap) put enough pressure on the pads to squeeze them out. |
#25
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"Peter Cole" wrote in message
news:Zeqmd.94045$HA.53463@attbi_s01... "GaryG" wrote The "cycling cap under the helmet" approach works well in my experience. It wicks sweat from my mostly hairless head, and keeps the sun out of my eyes. If I'm going downhill, or spending time down low on aero bars or in the drops, it's simple to flip it up out of the way. I wear a helmet with a visor. It works the same to keep sun out and rain off my glasses, I also flip it up when in a tuck. Getting brine in the eyes used to be a problem before I swapped out the pads to non-absorbent ones. Sometimes just turning my head would (via the strap) put enough pressure on the pads to squeeze them out. For mountain biking I use a helmet visor, but for road riding I find they either weigh too much, or catch too much wind, resulting in a sore neck on long rides. Also, they don't solve my need to keep the sun off of my scalp - I've had "helmet stripe sunburn" once, and that was enough! GG |
#26
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"GaryG" wrote
For mountain biking I use a helmet visor, I use the same helmet for both. I think a visor is really a disavantage off-road, since sunlight isn't a problem in the woods, and it blocks overhead peripheral vision. but for road riding I find they either weigh too much, or catch too much wind, resulting in a sore neck on long rides. You're pulling my leg, right? |
#27
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"Peter Cole" wrote in message
news:Fptmd.40183$V41.12470@attbi_s52... "GaryG" wrote For mountain biking I use a helmet visor, I use the same helmet for both. I think a visor is really a disavantage off-road, since sunlight isn't a problem in the woods, and it blocks overhead peripheral vision. but for road riding I find they either weigh too much, or catch too much wind, resulting in a sore neck on long rides. You're pulling my leg, right? Not at all. Unless I'm sitting pretty upright (like on a mountain bike or cruiser), my neck muscles can feel the difference after a long day. The weight of the visor is out in front, and it does catch wind (especially at higher speeds). However, it's been a number of years since I tried a visor on a road bike helmet - perhaps they've gotten lighter and/or more aerodynamic since I last used one. It might also depend on your position on the bike (I usually ride pretty low, even when on the hoods). I assume I'm not the only one that feels this way...on typical tours and century rides that I take part in, I doubt that one rider in 50 wears a visor. GG |
#28
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"GaryG" wrote in message
... Not at all. Unless I'm sitting pretty upright (like on a mountain bike or cruiser), my neck muscles can feel the difference after a long day. The weight of the visor is out in front, and it does catch wind (especially at higher speeds). However, it's been a number of years since I tried a visor on a road bike helmet - perhaps they've gotten lighter and/or more aerodynamic since I last used one. It might also depend on your position on the bike (I usually ride pretty low, even when on the hoods). I assume I'm not the only one that feels this way...on typical tours and century rides that I take part in, I doubt that one rider in 50 wears a visor. Yeah, but I think that's a style thing. Almost everybody wears a visor'ed helmet off-road and I can't think of any advantage to that if you ride in the woods. I don't know how much my visor weighs, but I'm pretty sure it adds less than 10% to the weight of a helmet. That's been true for the ~10 years I've been wearing a couple of (Bell) helmets. As for the aerodynamics, I don't know, I don't feel any effect, I don't take it off to time trial, nor do I get any fatigue, at least not on the up to 250 miles I have ridden in ultra events. BTW, I usually ride low enough for my thighs to touch my ribs. |
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