an addendum
There was also a helmet made out of rigid foam - without a covering. This one would protect against a bash but tended to 'grab' the pavement at the point of impact - thus adding 'whip-like' trauma to the others. It did not slide....
Thankfully, most all of these are in the past. Modern technology in helmet use is much better than the time-line stuff available in 1983. Please save those hairnets, skid-lids, etc for display only!
Ken Sanford
Kensington, MD
> For information about bicycle helmest, I commend http://www.bhsi.org to you; I
> think it covers everything except history rather definitively.
>
> History (within time-line):
> I know of two true protective helmets before the Bell Biker. One by MSR
> (Mountain Safety Research), and featured a web suspension. The other,
> Bailen, was Australian. I was sent an MSR to evaluate about 1973; it came
> out within a year. I think that the Bell Biker came out after 1975, but
> not sure.
>
> The Skid-Lid was not a protective helmet. Hair-nets and Skid-lids offered
> nothing except abrasion resistance.
>
> The primary function of a helmet is to absorb shock, slowing the head's
> deceleration. In practice, this requires rigid foam. A good helmet will
> reduce the impact of the brain against the skull, which is what causes
> concussions. 600g --> skull fracture; 300g --> concussion.
>
> I was told that Skid-lid declared bankruptcy immediately after the ANSI
> Z90.1 standard was adopted for rating bike helmets. There was no way in
> Hades that the Skid-Lid or other soft helmets of the era would pass this
> "drop" test. Bankruptcy protected the owners from litigation from those
> harmed by trusting the helmets. The ANSI process had been going on for
> several years, and it was already common knowledge that the S-L was
> useless for the intended purpose.
>
> I have a Cinelli or Kucharik, a Skid-Lid, and several other "real"
> helmets. I am missing an MSR, if anyone has a spare.
>
> thanks,
>
> harvey sachs.
> mcLean Va