Helmets and Lights. How to protect your melon, and lights for night riding

Robbe Smith
September 11, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

In today’s send I’m going to talk about how you can protect your most important part(your head). I will also cover lights and why riding at night is awesome.

Helmets, MIPS, SPIN, Wavecell?

Choosing a helmet can be a little overwhelming. There are lots of different options to choose from. Do you go with a full face or half shell? Will one helmet protect my head better than the next option? Hopefully it will make a little more sense after you read this.

My life would be very different if I wasn’t wearing a good helmet on a particular day. I had a nasty wreck, and my helmet was destroyed saving my head. Helmets are meant to take one good hit and then they are done. If you have any cracks or dents, your helmet should be replaced immediately.

When shopping for a helmet, go with whichever one is the most comfortable. Go to your local bike shop to try on different options. Once you find the best option, buy it from them. Don’t go home and order on-line to save a few bucks.

Should you be shopping for a full face or half shell. For me that depends on where and what I am riding. Most of my trail riding is done in a half shell, and all of my downhill is done in a full face. When I am riding downhill I’m riding faster, and I am doing higher risk things like drops, jumps etc. I love riding that type of stuff, and I want to be sure my head is protected should I go down. Generally speaking when I am trail riding I am not exposed to as much risk, so I wear a half shell.

Not all full face helmets are created equal. Some are full downhill rated, while others are only rated for enduro riding. If it doesn’t say specifically that it’s downhill rated, assume it isn’t. This is especially important if you are considering a convertible helmet that can be both a full face and a half shell.

A convertible helmet is a great option if you want one to do everything. A convertible helmet has a removable chinbar. When the chinbar is removed, the helmet is a half shell. I just started using one of these for certain rides. For rides where I want both it’s awesome. At this time it won’t replace my fixed chinbar full face helmet.

Most helmets sold today at the average bike shop will have some form of additional protection built in. There are three different safety features built into the helmet. I believe two of the three can be licensed for use by any helmet manufacturer. The three are SPIN, MIPS and Wavecell. They all work on the same basic principal. They allow the helmet to move independent of your head helping prevent head and neck injuries. I have used Wavecell and MIPS. Both are great, but I like the fit of my MIPS helmets more than my Wavecell helmets. That said, I will always wear a helmet with one of the above systems anytime I ride.

Bike I’m Eyeing: Banshee Phantom

Here’s why…..this is an under the radar company that been around for 20 years. They make solid aluminum frames that look awesome, and ride great. Check out the Loamwolf write up on it.

Banshee Phantom

Lights: what you need to ride at night

This time of year as the days get shorter it’s a good idea to think about lights. Riding at night is a great way to get in an after work ride when its dark at the end of the day. If you think riding during the day is fun, you will love it at night. It makes old trails new again when you see and ride them with lights. You also see the woods through a new lens too. There are lots of nocturnal animals out in the woods at night!

Bike lights come in two basic forms. Ones with the battery built into main body of the lgiht, and ones that have a wire that runs to an external battery. Both have pros and cons.

Wireless lights are great for several reasons. You can mount them anywhere. You don’t need to worry about where to put the battery or wire. There are lots of really bright options. out there. As great as they are, then do have some downsides. They can be heavy. Adding a heavy light to your helmet is no good. Since the battery is built in it can be small. A smaller battery equals a shorter run time.

Wired lights can be great too. Wired lights are usually brighter than their wireless counterparts. With an external battery they usually have a longer run time. Both of those features add weight to the setup. You can run a wired light on your helmet which is lither than a wireless light, but you need to figure out how to deal with the battery. If I do this I will keep the battery in my hydration pack or in a jersey back pocket,

As far a lights I run one on my helmet and one on my bars. If I had to choose one or the other I would go with the helmet light. There are lots of times on a ride where I am looking to where I am going, not necessarily the direction my bars are pointed.

My current setup is opposite of what I would recommend. I have a wireless light that I run on my bars because it’s too heavy for my head. I purchased it based on run time rather than weight. I have a small wired light for my helmet. The battery is light enough, and it has a long cable. When these lights die I will upgrade. I have highlighted some good options below.