On Wednesday 6/12 at 4pm Light & Motion will be joining us here in the shop to demo some of their newest products. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Light & Motion they are a company based in Monterey, CA that build fantastic lights for biking, diving and other sports. The lights are not only designed in Monterey but built there too! Their products are extremely well made and a favorite of ours here at Broadway Bicycle. If you’re in the area stop by and join us for the demo!
Posted on June 10th, 2013 by Broadway Bicycle School
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Broadway Bicycle School’s Door3 Gallery is proud to announce a special event in conjunction with our next Opening …..
Let’s Draw Together! Seriously, bring a sketch pad and some pencils/charcoal for a rare opportunity to make art in the bike shop! This month we feature artists of the weekly Monday Night Drawing Group at the Democracy Center in Harvard Square. Focusing on the figure, they spend several hours drawing from life. This is a cherished activity among most drawers and one that we’d like to share.
Friday, June 14th
7-9pm
Drawing starts at 7:30
Treats and wine provided. Model with unusual props and ambiance are included!
Helmets are no joke. In a crash – they cushion impact, preventing a great deal of personal injury when worn properly. They help reduce the risk inherent in riding a bicycle in an unpredictable environment. But really how do helmets get safety certified? I was forwarded this great article that covers a lot of ground in addressing the current state of …. the Bicycle Helmet.
In Senseless, a lot of questions are brought up regarding the myriad options available to the consumer seeking to purchase a new helmet and what we are really getting with that price tag.
It’s so true. Someone comes into our shop looking to get a helmet. First thing I usually say is ” They all pass the same safety rating”. So what guides the consumer in their decision process and Really — Why aren’t there helmets that are designed above and beyond that baseline established by the government! Helmets are all different colors, styles, shapes and have variations in fit – but really they all do the same thing.
Here’s an interesting video explaining the basics of how helmets are constructed.
Helmet design and innovation focuses on performance during use – not safety. By being lighter weight, having increased ventilation and comfort in fit – helmets provide small advantages to the performance oriented cyclist while still passing the minimum safety ratings. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was tasked by Congress with the development of a U.S. Government standard for bicycle helmets, and began to do so in 1994 with final draft approval in 1998. So all helmets sold in the United States after 1999 must meet this standard. The CPSC is not the only mandate in town. The ASTM standard is still in active development. It is a voluntary standard and was never the law of the land in the US. It is self-certifying, so a manufacturer can put a sticker in their helmets stating that they meet the ASTM standard without independent certification. Otherwise the lab tests required are very similar. They primarily test for a catastrophic impact due to linear acceleration – which at the time meant a skull fracture or brain trauma resulting in serious disability if not death.
As the understanding of brain injury has developed over the past few decades – the damages from less severe impacts have been understood to have long and short term effects. Concussions are a result of rotational acceleration in the braincase with serious implications. Modern helmets are not designed to handle concussions – and it is debatable whether helmets are capable of mitigating rotational acceleration.
However there are engineers coming up with possible solutions. By 2008 one design, the MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) system was conceived. It contained a low-friction slip plate between the head and EPS (Expanded PolyStyrene) liner. On impact, the helmet rotates independent of the MIPS liner, absorbing some rotational acceleration. This is not the only design innovation addressing rotational acceleration in helmets. However the difficulty in implementing it in current helmet design is at an impasse because of the unchanging 1999 Safety Standards and a lack of consumer education and demand.
Change is slow – so far concussion-resistent designs are popping up in equestrian and snowboarding helmets with a few bike helmets on the market…
Helmets are no joke. In a crash – they cushion impact, preventing a great deal of personal injury when worn properly. They help reduce the risk inherent in riding a bicycle in an unpredictable environment. But really how do helmets get safety certified? I was forwarded this great article that covers a lot of ground in addressing the current state of …. the Bicycle Helmet.
