Tom Adams wrote: True the Skid Lid and Brancale didn't have a sophisitcated design, but please raise your hands if your neck still aches from holding up your head with a solid lead Bell Biker attached to it---.
So true. My safety details-conscious United pilot uncle saw to it that when he bought a Bell Biker right at the introduction, that I got one as well. They were just as Tom described. All of a sudden I had neck pains which had theretofore been unknown to me. Ever. Later I tried the Skid Lid and enjoyed the lighter side, but felt uneasy about the lack of safety. Eventually returned to my old standby: the CCM hockey helmet-- used a cooler white one. They were size-adjustable by the 2 screws that were on each temple area. Figured if Red Berensen could get body-checked into the boards at 25-30 mph, they must be worth their salt. Fortunately I never was able to test the hypothesis.
Speaking of hockey helmets, Eddy Merckx also endorsed the KIWI K25. It was a "modified for cycling" hockey helmet, a hard shell and fairly solid-topped (no holes for us follicularly challenged) one sold near the end or out of the CR timeline.
Ken Wehrenberg, Hermann, MO