Which helmet for fast ebike in Europe?

Square

1 mW
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Feb 21, 2022
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I ride a fast ebike (45 kph/28 mph) in Europe and I am looking for an helmet with adequate protection at these speed, but that doesn't make it obvious that I'm riding a fast ebike.

My problem with the current offerings are:

  • Regular cycling helmet: they are useless at 45 kph and I don't like the way they look.
  • "Speedelec" helmets: they look horribly dorky and I doubt they provide much more protection than regular helmets.
  • Full-face MTB/DH helmets: looks great but they are way too conspicuous for city riding. They will make it obvious that I'm riding an overpowered ebike.
  • Full-face helmets with detachable chinbar: the most appropriate for me, but they are really expensive, and no store sells them near me. I'm very reluctant to drop 200 € on a helmet I have not tried on for fit.

What kind of helmet do you use for you fast ebikes? Which helmet could I buy to have adequate protection but that doesn't attract attention?
 
If you're going to detach the chinbar why not just start with a much cheaper open face motorcycle helmet? These mostly have a "classic" look which maybe you want or maybe not but some also have a more modern look.

I've always thought that perhaps the best way to be inconspicuous while wearing a full face helmet is to just be as intentionally conspicuous as possible. If you are wearing tons of hi-vis safety gear with all the safety accessories you can get, you don't look like a hooligan on and obviously way to fast e-bike, you look like a very responsible and perhaps over safety conscious rider and nobody will bother you. This will of course make you look very very dorky.
 
If the goal is to protect your head, then it's going to look like a motorcycle helmet. If it's fashion, then just wear a bicycle helmet.
 
For what it's worth, all certified cycle helmets pass impact tests that are similar to impact tests for moto helmets. They're not so good for multiple impacts or abrasion, and they provide less coverage.

Planning not to hit your head and riding accordingly is at least as effective as wearing a helmet, for pedal cyclists. That's why the increased use of helmets doesn't decrease overall injury and mortality rates for cyclists like it does for motorcyclists. Bicycle riders who wear them do things just differently enough to cancel out their physical protection. So... don't be that guy.

Even the biggest goofiest-looking helmet is only so much protection, not magic. It reduces your situational awareness as you increase its coverage, and it does nothing whatsoever for all the important body parts it doesn't cover.

If I were you and I wanted a helmet, I'd go for the skater style. Those have hard shells (better for abrasion and multiple impacts) and more coverage than most sport cycling helmets, but the impression they make is "responsible cyclist" rather than "daredevil".

NC21_ST_Cityofpearls_visor_Angle_grande.jpg
 
My two takes from riding fast...

Don't overdo it with ventilation holes. I never felt like I wanted my head colder on high speed morning commutes.

Get one that minimizes wind noise. I can feel the long term effect on my hearing from the wind buffeting, and wish I had done more about it then instead of ignoring it.
 
scianiac said:
If you're going to detach the chinbar why not just start with a much cheaper open face motorcycle helmet? These mostly have a "classic" look which maybe you want or maybe not but some also have a more modern look.

The advantage the detachable chinbar helmet is that you can remove the chinbar for city riding, when you want to avoid attracting attention to your ebike, and use the chinbar for faster rides, for roads where cars are going faster and occasional MTBing. Anyone know of a reasonably priced (< 150 €) with detachable chinbar?

Chalo said:
For what it's worth, all certified cycle helmets pass impact tests that are similar to impact tests for moto helmets. They're not so good for multiple impacts or abrasion, and they provide less coverage.

Planning not to hit your head and riding accordingly is at least as effective as wearing a helmet, for pedal cyclists. That's why the increased use of helmets doesn't decrease overall injury and mortality rates for cyclists like it does for motorcyclists. Bicycle riders who wear them do things just differently enough to cancel out their physical protection. So... don't be that guy.

Even the biggest goofiest-looking helmet is only so much protection, not magic. It reduces your situational awareness as you increase its coverage, and it does nothing whatsoever for all the important body parts it doesn't cover.

There are some dangers you can't always expect, like gravel in a corner, oil of the road from vehicles or a dog on a trail. So IMO wearing an helmet is still a good idea if one is riding a high-powered ebike.
 
One of my worst wipeouts was coming around a corner on a nice grippy hardpack trail, then getting to the lone oak tree that had dropped little round acorns...It was like giant ball bearings got scattered everywhere!
 
Square said:
There are some dangers you can't always expect, like gravel in a corner, oil of the road from vehicles or a dog on a trail. So IMO wearing an helmet is still a good idea if one is riding a high-powered ebike.

You are fooling yourself if you think any type of bicycle helmet will protect you at any speeds above regular bicycle speeds. I've had 4 occassions where a helmet (full face) save my life. 2 were at speed, and 2 were only going around 30 mph. There's no way a bicycle helmet would even survive the initial impact.

Helmets on an ebike are subterfuge. They make you look like you're riding a pedal bike and abiding by the local regulations.
 
E-HP said:
Square said:
There are some dangers you can't always expect, like gravel in a corner, oil of the road from vehicles or a dog on a trail. So IMO wearing an helmet is still a good idea if one is riding a high-powered ebike.

You are fooling yourself if you think any type of bicycle helmet will protect you at any speeds above regular bicycle speeds. I've had 4 occassions where a helmet (full face) save my life. 2 were at speed, and 2 were only going around 30 mph. There's no way a bicycle helmet would even survive the initial impact.

Helmets on an ebike are subterfuge. They make you look like you're riding a pedal bike and abiding by the local regulations.

I wasn't talking about the cheap kind of helmet for pedal-bikes like this one:

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I'm talking about more protective helmets like full-face helmets. Don't they offer better protection for higher speed falls, than a regular pedal-bike helmet?

I pretty much always ride faster than 35 kph and I'm still looking for an appropriate helmet at a reasonable cost. I already have a motorcycle helmet but it is simply not practical on an ebike.
 
C’mon guys. A helmet is better than no helmet in most crashes if you crunch the numbers. I work in automotive, have seen many rounds of head impact simulations. Sure, over certain g-forces you’re not seeing any benefit of a helmet since it’s coma/death anyway but most crashes are at lower speeds.

I have split bike helmets in two on several occasions, mild concussions as result. Without helmet i wouldn’t be writing here. It’s anecdotal, sure, and one of my closest friends died from brain damages at about the same speed with a motorcycle helmet. Difference is that he was unlucky and his head hit the curb and a signpost. Shit happens but that doesn’t mean that in average you might as well skip the helmet.

(Chalo:we’ve had this exact discussion before and i know you’ve got data saying something else. It IS safer to lower your speeds and be careful than to do the opposite and wear a helmet. I agree, but you don’t have to choose between these)
 
larsb said:
C’mon guys. A helmet is better than no helmet in most crashes if you crunch the numbers.

I have split bike helmets in two on several occasions, mild concussions as result.

No argument about that, but you can't expect a bicycle helmet to provide adequate protection at higher than bicycle speeds. Better than nothing though.

I had a bicycle helmet save my head when I miscalculated bunny hopping over some train tracks, and my head ended up hitting the track and railroad tie. But that's a single impact.

Motorcycle helmets cover the back of your head. When you crash at bike speeds, you might roll once or twice before you start sliding. At high speeds, you will likely roll, a lot, so chances of hitting the back of your head goes way up. The helmet Chalo linked almost has enough coverage.
 
larsb said:
C’mon guys. A helmet is better than no helmet in most crashes if you crunch the numbers.

Once you assume a crash, better to be wearing a helmet. But clearly helmet wearing cyclists crash more often, harder, or both, because in whole populations helmets don't reduce cyclist fatalities.

It's difficult to ride exactly the same way both with and without some perceived protection you're using. It's even more difficult to make motorists treat you the same with or without crash gear. It must be hypothetically possible to improve safety for yourself by wearing a helmet, but on average that's not what happens.

What isn't as well documented is where e-bikes fall along the axis between motorcycles (where helmets are a huge net win) and pedal bicycles (where helmets don't help overall). The latest data I've seen suggest that e-bikes are much more dangerous than pedal cycles, statistically. So maybe the benefits of helmets will be greater for e-bikes than for pedal bikes.
 
i used this back when i wore a ff helmet.

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=115400&p=1706112&hilit=helmet#p1706112

Speed Strength SS2200
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Hmm,,, so a bike helmet makes you inconspicuous when you are hauling ass? And they look at you like :shock:

Bottom line, wear any helmet you will wear. It will protect you more than nothing. My worst crash was not at a lot of speed, but my head struck the corner of the curb. Easily fatal. But the typical bike helmet on my heat split in half, absorbing a lot of energy. Broke both collarbones, but the head was just fine.

And of course, if you want protection from a dump truck that pulls into your path while you are going 40 mph, well, nice knowing ya. Unless you commit to full body armor, its going to hurt a lot. You just have to ride slow enough when that kind of impact is possible. Ride slower so you can avoid it altogether. On your bike, on your gas scooter, on your harley. If you see it coming, you can pull a lay down or other avoidance and survive that in full armor. Even the armor doesn't help if you let somebody surprise you by pulling out of that driveway or intersection.

Aside from the house fire, one reason I went gas was to put on the armor, and keep up with traffic.
 
dogman dan said:
Bottom line, wear any helmet you will wear. It will protect you more than nothing.

Caution protects you a whole lot more than any helmet. If the presence of a helmet reduces your caution at all, it's probably worse than not wearing one. The statistics tell us that this happens as often as not (to pedal cyclists).

If the helmet makes drivers act differently around you, that's not in your control.

Bottom line is, the helmet only protects you if you don't do anything while wearing it that you wouldn't do if you weren't wearing one.
 
FWIW, when I crushed that bike helmet that saved my life, I was doing something very normal, but on a new type of bike. I got surprised by what happened. Ignorant, but not exactly stupid. It's the definition of accident. Other helmets I have used up, I was riding doing stupid shit and knew it, but not that time.

But I couldn't agree more, that putting on protection does not mean you can do stupid shit more than you already do.

I only meant that putting on any helmet beats doing stupid shit with a bare head. DOT half shell helmet would be better than a bike helmet for anything above 35 mph. But if you ride around daydreaming or even worse trusting cars, you'll enjoy that contact with a car.
 
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