when you buy a cycling helmet you may
like me just assume that it's going to
protect your head because you trust the
brand that You' just bought in which
case you may never actually pay
attention to the little sticker on the
inside of the helmet or on the box that
tells you what safety standard it
conforms to but it is actually a good
idea to know about the safety standards
particularly if you're just about to go
and buy a new helmet now the good news
is that generally speaking even the
cheapest helmets from reputable brands
will meet the right safety standards and
actually a more expensive helmet isn't
necessarily safer in fact it's not it's
just what better ventilated more Arrow
lighter looks cooler yeah maybe not on
everyone the three main standards that
we're going to talk about are the US the
European and the Australian now why
three well they're all ever so slightly
different although all will ensure that
your helmet is actually safe as long
as it fits you correctly now they
actually have quite similar test
protocols although similar only on the
surface perhaps because the differences
between them can actually be significant
enough for a manufacturer to actually
have to change the helmet itself in
order to meet the criteria generally
just by altering the density of the
poyene on the inside of the shell now in
order to do the testing a manufacturer
will send a number of the same helmet to
an accredited test facility where they
will then be tested in various different
ways all of which you will be very glad
that your own head is a long way away
from now so what are these tests then
well first of all You' be particularly
glad to hear impact
testing the helmet is fitted to a fake
head which has sensors in it that
measure force it's then dropped from a
height of about 1.2 to 1.85 M onto a
flat surface and at various different
angles and then this is in order to
mimic the effect of hitting your head on
a curb and I can barely say that wincing
the helmeted fake head is then dropped
onto the edge of an anvil now in all
these different tests the forces
detected inside the fake head mustn't
exceed between 250 and 300 G depending
on what the standard is so 250 in Europe
and Australia and then 300g in the US
then they also test for retention so
essentially a hook is placed under the
edge of the helmet and then a 10 kilo
load is dropped from 25 cm to create a
sudden movement and will the helmet stay
on are by now battered and baguer fake
head or more importantly will it
actually stay on your head in the event
of a crash now similarly the straps are
also subjected to a dynamic yank which
believe it or not is actually the
technical term for this but it is
essentially to find out whether they're
strong enough or whether they will snap
under extreme load and then this one is
particularly interesting in Japan and
only Japan they do a hair oil test so
basically they cover the helmet in white
Vaseline leave it for 24 hours and then
examine it afterwards but I suppose
that's quite a good thing Lloyd's
helmets are all subjected to similar
tests on a daily
basis finally all these tests need to be
carried out at ambient temperatures of
between 17 and 23° and 25% and 75%
humidity but then they all have to be
done again at- 20° so rather you cycling
in that than me and then plus 50° as
well again rather you than me riding in
that but at least you know that even if
you decide to stay in and ride on whift
at least your helmet would be all right
going
out as I said if you look inside your
helmet you will probably see a number of
different stick because broadly speaking
all the tests put helmets through their
Paces but Australia is actually
considered to be the most stringent it
requires lower G's in the impact testing
and then also has a unique load
distribution test where force is applied
in a really small area and because
helmet use is required by law in that
country it really follows that you
absolutely need to make sure that your
lid conforms to those safety standards
if you live there but apart from that
what do you as a consumer actually need
to know well if you are buying a new
helmet you need to make sure have a
cursory look see that it conforms to the
safety standards where you live now in
this case C Supply helmets to the
different territories and so this one
has a European safety sticker in it but
also bear in mind that in order for a
helmet to function it actually has to
fit you and be adjusted
correctly which funny enough we've got
video about oh yeah if you click just up
there I'll take you through to how to
know categor that your helmet is going
to fit you or for a bit of information
about actually how to choose your helmet
with Team Sky garant Thomas you can
click just down there otherwise make
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