Whether you are a bicycling enthusiast or love to skateboard, you will need the proper helmet to ensure that you are properly protected. You may not realize it but there are differences between skateboard helmets and bicycle helmets.
Each one is unique as they both serve a different purpose and level of protection. In this post, I will be going over the different details of each helmet to ensure that you will have the right helmet for the right job.
What are the main differences between a skateboarding helmet and a bike helmet?
To a lot of people, when they are shopping for a new helmet they see no difference between them. But, in reality, you want to make sure that you are buying the best helmet that will properly protect your head.
Here are some of the main and important difference between these two different helmets
Difference in safety standards
There are different helmet safety standards for each specific type of hemet to ensure that they provide adequate protection.
The traditional skate helmet usually meets the ASTM F1492 or CPSC safety standards while biking helmets must meet the CPSC or EN1078 (this is internationally).
Impact Protection
Bike helmets are made to have a single impact protection while skate helmets can withstand being hit with a hard impact multiple times without losing their protective barrier. The reason being that after a harder impact with the bike helmet the foam doesn’t hold its shape as does the skate helmet.
If you have a significant impact with a bike helmet, it’s best to replace it as it no longer holds its shape and is not as effective as before the impact.
Design
A skate helmet is not as aerodynamic as a biking helmet. The reason being for the bike helmet being more aerodynamic is because of the different terrains that a biker will encounter on the trail.
Whether you are mountain biking going high speed down a rocky hill or on a smooth surface, the bike helmet is created specifically for these type of situations.
Some bike helmets have visors on the front to help keep the sun out of your eyes while a skating helmet never has a visor as you can easily wear sunglasses with them. A road bike helmet generally does not have a visor while a mountain bike helmet does.
How much coverage they offer
Most skate-style helmets provide coverage for the top and back of your head since skaters typically fall backwards and hit the back of their head more often than other areas. Bike helmets depend on the type of riding that you will be doing.
Like if you are just bicycling on a road, you will probably have a helmet that just covers the top of your head like road bike helmets. Then other bike helmets such as mountain bike helmets can have coverage for not only the top of your head but also protect all the ways down to the lower part of the back of the head.
Some like BMX full-face helmets is a type of helmet that offers protection all around your head and even for your chin for those that off road cyclists that ride dirt bikes and such.
This is why it is so important to know the key differences between the different styles of helmets so you can make an informed decision on the suitable helmet for your particular sport.
Outer Shell
Skate helmets tend to have a stiffer and sturdier outer shell which also means that it is a thicker hard shell. A bike helmet usually has a lighter weight shell made of a thin plastic (usually polycarbonate). By the biking helmet being more lightweight, this helps you to bicycle at faster speeds.
Air Ventilation
Skater helmets typically offer a very small amount of ventilation holes while, depending of what style of biking helmet for different sports, bike helmets offer lots of ventilation holes to keep your head cool while biking.
Helmet Q & A’s
Can I use bike helmet for skating? It is not recommended to wear a bike helmet while skating because a bike helmet is made for high speed impacts, and may not provide the same amount of protection as a skating helmet.
Should kids wear skate helmets on bikes? Yes, skate helmets are very safe to wear while bicycling.
What kind of helmet should you wear when skating? When skating you should where a skating helmet like the pro-tec classic skate helmet.
Can you wear skateboard helmet to mountain bike? Yes, you can safely use a skateboard helmet while mountain biking if it meats cpsc standards.
What age should you not wear a bike helmet? It is recommended that you should always wear a helmet while biking to help prevent head injuries regardless of your age.
Do I really need to wear a bike helmet? Yes, it is very important to wear a helmet while on a bike to help prevent brain injuries.
Can you wear a hat under a bike helmet? No, it is not a good idea to wear a hat under a bike helmet because it causes the helmet to not fit properly.
Are black bike helmets hotter? Yes, black helmets are hotter because dark colors absorb heat more than lighter colored helmets.
Does helmet color matter? Yes, research shows that bright colored helmets are safer because you can see them better at night than a darker colored helmet.
What is the best color for a bike helmet? Yellow or orange are the best colors to wear because they can be seen easier than dark colors.
So you can see that there are many different types of helmets and special helmets for different purposes. It’s always a good idea to wear the proper protective gear whether you are a skater or a mountain bike rider to help protect you from serious injuries.
Whether you are a biker or a skater, it is always the best choice to protect one of your most valuable parts of your body, your head. Just think, that is where you brain is and if you have too serious of a crash, you are more than likely going to hit it on something.
While wearing a helmet cannot guarantee that you will not have severe injuries, you will still be at a much higher risk not wearing a helmet.
I hope that you have found this post on bike helmet vs skate helmet helpful! If you did, be sure to share with some fellow bikers or skaters!
