oldmanbike profile

Whatever. I've said my bit. If you found my use of quotation marks confusing, please accept my apologies.

Niels, what he actually said was that if you choose a helmet purely based on fit, without worrying about safety features, you'll be far better off. And I said that's lazy and irresponsible advice that will increase rider concussions.

If you think that a perfectly fitting pre-MIPS TLD A1 will do a better job of reducing concussion risk than a properly sized Kali Interceptor, Kali Maya 2.0, Leatt DBX 2.0 or 3.0, or other modern designs, that's your right. Pointing out that it's bad advice and explaining why is mine. Football helmets seem fairly fucking snug and that doesn't seem to have solved their concussion problem exactly.

There are still plenty of helmets on the market that do literally nothing to reduce concussion risk. All they're designed to do is to keep you from fracturing your skull in a massive impact. They're not trying to protect you from concussions.

On the other hand, there are helmets out now from companies like Kali and Leatt who have a multi-year track record of demonstrated commitment to concussion safety. They're the innovators who've been relentlessly pushing the industry forward while the big players preferred to milk MIPS for as long as they could instead.

"Ignore the technology, buy whatever fits" might have been clever advice 5 years ago. Not any more.

I wish I could. But that doesn't mean that it's sound advice to assume that none of it helps. Do you think there is empirical data proving that full-face helmets are safer for DH? Knee pads? Gloves? Not as far as I know. How about closed toe shoes? No science, just claims and bluster, so go hit A-Line in your flip flops?

Where the data ends, judgment has to take over. My judgment tells me that MIPS is unlikely to provide much real-world benefit, but that other innovations--rounder shells, smaller shells, dual-density foam, breakaway visors and accessory mounts, and the new generation of slip-plane cushioning (Kali's LDL, Leatt Turbines, Super MIPS, Bontrager Wavecel)--likely provide a significant concussion-reduction benefit. Reasonable minds can differ. Maybe the benefit of dual-shell designs like Super MIPS and 6D justifies the added size and mass. Maybe MIPS alone works.

But just throwing up your hands and saying, "they're bickering, there's no data, so you should ignore everything but fit" is very bad advice.

I agree that, until the industry gets its shit together and adopts new standards, we're all fumbling in the dark. It's bananas that didn't happen like 3 years ago. But it's irresponsible to tell readers to ignore the promising developments of the past couple years and so just buy whatever fits.

Since my own concussion several years ago I've put a fair bit of effort into understanding helmet safety, and I believe Dave's suggestion to ignore recent technological developments and just buy whatever helmet fits is lazy, bad advice that will result in more readers getting concussions.

Agree with some of what you say, but have a couple responses.

- it's unlikely that rotational forces are the only head-impact forces that cause concussions. A straight-on impact could still bounce your brain against your skull. That's why softer shells and cushioning tech like the safest helmets use (Leatt's turbines, for example) are important too.

- rounder, smoother shells do matter. (All things being equal, smaller and lighter shells matter too.) That is being addressed in MTB helmets. Just compare the rounded shape of newer Kali and POC helmets with the edgy shape of a Fox Flux, or all the pointy-in-back designs popular 5 years ago.

- break-away visors and accessory mounts for lights and cameras matter, too. Probably a lot. Magnets obviously are not the only way to make something breakaway. Many newer designs address this.

- we all know that no helmet can prevent every concussion. No helmet can prevent a no-impact concussion. But safer helmets can prevent a lot more concussions.

I share the MIPS skepticism folks are expressing here, but I think the any-helmet-that-fits view is nuts. The stuff that Kali, Leatt, and 6D (and the super MIPS in Bell's convertible fullface) are doing with helmets is real and promising. If we all keep wearing helmets with rad colors that do nothing to reduce concussion risk until the mythical day when updated certification and reliable public test data arrive, we're going to suffer a hell of a lot of unnecessary concussions. Don't be an idiot, get a Kali Maya 2.0 or a Leatt DBX 2.0, either under $100, and go ride.

Shame on MIPS. The problem with grippy headforms skewing rotational-force test data has been obvious for years. But they've chosen to keep right on ignoring it, year after year. Do they care about reducing concussions, or just about maximizing their profits?

Spectacularly bad advice.