Cycling has been suffering a crisis every since the use of a helmet became compulsory. This crisis is rooted in the simple fact that cycling peaked aesthetically with the cycling cap perched casually deliberate atop a sweaty cranium. It was only after mandatory helmet dictum spread its tentacles into all UCI-sanctioned races in 2003 that helmet manufacturers began taking helmet design seriously.
To be clear, I am a helmet advocate. I never leave home without mine, and no Cyclist shall ever be allowed to start a Cogal without perching one on their noggin. But I do this in the knowledge that I look less Fantastic that if I were rolling out in a classic cotton Cycling Cap.
Specialized was the first to make inroads into building a stylish helmet with the Sub-Six. The fact that every other helmet was a hollowed-out bowling ball didn’t matter very much because no one wore them outside Belgium, and even there, they were permitted to wear the second-coolest piece of headgear, the Hairnet. Giro made some inroads with their Air Attack series, but progress was generally at a standstill until the hardshell became mandatory after the tragic death of Andrey Kivilev in Paris-Nice in 2003.
The issue of the helmet has also been compounded by the fact that most continental Pros had no clue how to wear a helmet, given that they spent most of their lives not wearing one. When asked to, they often suffered from Toad Head and other anomalies commonly encountered when violating the Three-Point System.
Helmets are a necessary evil which are improving in style, but they are all uglier than the hallowed Cycling Cap. When wearing a helmet, keep the following points in mind.
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Is this about helmets or chapeaus? I'll just wear both and call it a day.
Taylor Phinney - absolute, pure freaking class!!!!
Commuting one day on my MTB, shorts with baggy legs.
Stood up to accelerate from a set of lights, leg of shorts gets caught on the left bar as my left gun heads down.
Bad outcome. Broken clavicle, broken helmet. Head intact.
$10 head = $10 helmet.
@rastuscat
Moral of the story? Perhaps Rule #18 shouldn't always be taken literally.
Lycra on the road bike, on the cross bike, on the mtb., on the couch, in the pool....
Im a rule 18 violator cause I ride my MTB in Lycra. Wouldnt do it any other way.
If I had a mtb., I would also. I don't need my shorts snagging on precariously positioned plants protruding preposterously...
Ain't nobody got time fo' that!
It was a Boreas. I've since worn out an Atmos. Think my current one is an Ionos. Pretty sure they are Greek Islands.
When the helmet laws were introduced in NZ (New Zealand) the number of people cycling (not cyclists, just bike riders) dropped significantly. It's a public health issue as it discourages those who look for excuses to not ride.
I'd rather it was a personal choice issue. I'd always wear it out cycling, but maybe not while riding in the park with my kids.
I know this is a very debatable opinion, but I don't like being told what to do.
Text speak, trucker hats, and enhanced x-rays, this has really hit the bottom.
@Buck Rogers
Further evidence of my amazing computer savviness here: It only took me 48 hours to figure out how to post the photo of dear ol'Ludo's helmet with the useless whateverthefuckitis back visor!
Jaysus, Ludo looks like he should be carrying a club and killing mammoths with a spear, or by hand.