The day I realized my helmet was two sizes too big

I've been biking to my job at the library downtown for about two years now, and I always thought my helmet felt a little loose but figured it was fine. Then last Tuesday, a guy at a bike shop in Portland stopped me as I was locking up and asked if I knew my helmet was basically a hat. He showed me how it should fit snug on my head without moving around, and I looked like a fool with it wobbling every time I turned my head. Turns out I had bought a medium when I needed a small based on measuring my head circumference properly. It explains why my neck always felt weird after a longer ride and why the straps never felt right no matter how I adjusted them. Has anyone else been wearing their helmet wrong for ages before someone finally called them out on it?

2 comments

2 Comments

stella6142d ago

My cousin's friend runs a bike shop here in town and he spent a solid five minutes telling me my helmet was from 2014 and probably saved me zero energy in a crash. I had bought it at a garage sale for three bucks and thought it was fine because it was barely scuffed. He measured my head and pulled out a size chart that showed my skull fits a child's large, which was humbling to say the least. I wore that thing for two years with the straps dangling like spaghetti straps and never questioned it. Now I check the fit every time I take my bike out and still feel dumb about it.

tyler_hall92d ago

The exact SAME thing happened to me last spring. I was riding home from work and a guy pulled up next to me at a red light and said hey man your helmet is bouncing around your head like a basketball. I had bought a medium from Target because it was on clearance and figured it would be fine. Took me a whole three months of daily rides before a stranger had to tell me my brain bucket was basically a loose lid. My neck soreness went away immediately after I switched to the right size small, so I feel your pain on that one.