Which bike helmet do you have for retro riding?

ishaw · Sunday at 14:09

I have used various and some have saved my skull from cracking open. Currently use a fox flux as it looks half decent on my head. Have a few others waiting in the wings for future use or my kids when their heads are big enough.

novocaine · Sunday at 14:38

one of these
https://planetx.co.uk/products/carnac-enduro-mtb-helmet

and
one of these

https://planetx.co.uk/products/carnac-podium-sl-road-helmet

Tommy27 · 2025-03-17T07:28:52+0000

Suprised no one's wearing one of these? Not that I actually own one.

Having smacked my head off the ground and seen the impact on the helmet afterwards I always invest in the best I can afford, though sometimes that's last seasons. Currently wearing a S Works Prevail.

I've also a got a Kask Mojito which I use to commute with, but I think that needs replacing.

I had hoped to get this from Troy Lee

But never really came up on sale

Just for it's resemblance to this.

markoc · 2025-03-17T09:46:45+0000

ishaw said:
I have used various and some have saved my skull from cracking open. Currently use a fox flux as it looks half decent on my head. Have a few others waiting in the wings for future use or my kids when their heads are big enough.

+1 for fox flux

I have four smashed helmets mounted above my garage door. Serves as a reminder (that I don’t need) to always wear one.

Wish I still had my tequila sunrise Giro Hammerhead SC from 1989 ish though.

Cloverleaf · 2025-03-17T10:56:01+0000

I've got a bunch of old TLD D2s but had more, most of which annoyingly got binned by my dad years ago when I was storing them at his. And yes, I'm still salty about it as he asked what I was going to do with them. Save them I said, I'll grab them next time I'm over. Bin them he did, without asking, including two custom painted ones. He'll have a shed so full of empty cardboard boxes that you can't get to anything yet will throw out stuff that's actually meant to be kept, probably so he can use the space created for more F'ing cardboard.

Still got my original '95ish Specialized Mountain Man helmet though, even if it doesn't fit me anymore. I have contemplated airbrushing one of my TLD open face lids to replicate it though which I think would look quite cool.

Personally I wouldn't use an old helmet, they're purely for display. If the foam is not used and kept out of UV then an unused helmet could probably still be safely used but if it's seen any use in the outside world or exposed to chemicals, sweat and UV it's just not worth the risk. A few years ago I ended up buying a new TLD D4 to replace my old, original D3 that was from 2010. That had only seen a few years use, but it was still nearly fifteen years old which for PPE is a big stretch even if a lot of the inherent strength in it comes from the carbon shell rather than a polycarbonate one.

novocaine · 2025-03-17T11:08:31+0000

still got a giro switchblade in the loft. cost me a fortune (ok it felt like a fortune) back in the 00's. It won't be used for riding ever again.

clubby · 2025-03-17T12:23:44+0000

Still have my Specialized Sub 6, a helmet marketed on how little of it there was! Scary how little coverage it has compared to a current mtb lid.
Personally, I try to buy from a physical shop so I can try them on. Companies shape often changes, eg I used to always wear a Giro, but the last few I tried didn't fit well.

No need to spend a fortune, but buy a reputable brand from a proper source. After seeing the amount of fake motorcycle gear being sold on Amazon, I'd never buy from there. Also check the date sticker on them to make sure they've not sat for years being bumped from place to place. Proper brands put the manufacturing date somewhere on them.

Currently running a Troy Lee A3, but hard to look past the new Flowline, which is very similar for £100 less.

Uncle Grumpy · 2025-03-17T22:15:14+0000

For day to day riding I have a Bell 4Forty MIPS. For retro riding I also use the Bell 4Forty MIPS. Comfortable and light. Thankfully haven't had to test it's ability to save my skull.

But for true dedicated retro riding there is only one option...

Hehehe, when that product was released, wearing one of those was a sure fire way to get the snot beaten out of you. Mum wanted to get one for me and I begged her not to, to the point where I saved up and bought a foam Scott.

Cloverleaf · 2025-03-18T10:45:53+0000

clubby said:
Still have my Specialized Sub 6, a helmet marketed on how little of it there was! Scary how little coverage it has compared to a current mtb lid.
Personally, I try to buy from a physical shop so I can try them on. Companies shape often changes, eg I used to always wear a Giro, but the last few I tried didn't fit well.

No need to spend a fortune, but buy a reputable brand from a proper source. After seeing the amount of fake motorcycle gear being sold on Amazon, I'd never buy from there. Also check the date sticker on them to make sure they've not sat for years being bumped from place to place. Proper brands put the manufacturing date somewhere on them.

Currently running a Troy Lee A3, but hard to look past the new Flowline, which is very similar for £100 less.

I remember seeing the Sub 6 in the catalogues at the time and thinking 'wow'. Now I see things like that and think 'wtf'!

I really struggle with a lot of helmets as I've got a bit on the back of my skull that seems to stick out more than average (I'd hesitate to call it a wisdom bump like you do on a Collie, there ain't much wisdom up there

) which means most Giro and Bell helmets dig in a bit, and Fox ones seem to dig in a lot. In fact from my early days of DH, the Troy Lee model head seems to be perfect for me. D2's were super comfortable, the D3/D4 much tighter and less comfortable as a result but still the right shape, the Stage a bit lacking in padding but again the right shape, and for open faces the A1/A2 are pretty spot on albeit not very well ventilated.