Avoiding a sweaty helmet

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35dollars
35dollars Posts: 832 Member
(brief pause here to let the UK contingent get their fnaar fnaars out of the way and compose themselves)

OK, so all winter I've been cycling with a skully between my hot bonce and my cold bike helmet. However, back in the dim distant past (ie last year), any cycling at pleasant temperatures left me with a very sweaty head dripping sweat into my eyes, and the contact points of padding in the helmet soaked - to the extent that I had top have the pads replaced under warranty as they're degenerated to such an extent*

So - is this normal, does everyone finish a ride dripping, or is there something that you know and that I don't, that you use to avoid this problem?

(* NB. I am not a refugee from the film Alien, I don't have concentrated acid sweat, just the normal kind)

Replies

  • susanp57
    susanp57 Posts: 409 Member
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    I'm a sweaty girl. I try to wear a Buff under my helmet. I checked and they are sold in the UK. For summer wear you can cut them in half or 3. They don't ravel. They are also lightweight. Google Buffwear.

    My problem is I sweat behind my sunglasses!
  • columbus2015
    columbus2015 Posts: 51 Member
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    I haven't figured out a solution either... nothing worse than putting a slimed up helmet on after a coffee stop on a long ride...
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    I've got a solution, but some people will not like it...

    it sort of involves riding without a helmet, much as I did for the first 25 years or so of my riding career (okay, occasionally in competition i was forced to wear something)... and, you know what, even though I fell off occasionally, I managed to avoid becoming a statistic.

    Feck it, if it's hot enough that something like the Kask Mojito isn't cool enough (it actually feels pretty close to not wearing anything IMO) then I'll take the bloody lid off (or leave it off before setting out).

  • ntnunk
    ntnunk Posts: 936 Member
    edited March 2017
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    As a umm... hair-growth-challenged individual, this is a constant problem for me. Not so much the sweaty helmet, but just sweat dripping in my eyes and sunglasses. Frankly, I still haven't found a good solution. On the trainer, I keep a stack of cheap, goofy-looking 1970s Wilson tennis-style headbands. I generally get about 40 minutes into an interval workout before they are saturated so I just chuck 'em on the floor and grab a fresh one. During outdoor rides, all I can do is wear some kind of beanie, most often a Halo, and pause every so often to ring it out if possible. Not ideal but I can't find anything that works any better.
  • mkenny5
    mkenny5 Posts: 14 Member
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    A buff is a really good way of keeping sweat off your head. Or even a cycling cap though I stick with the buff.
  • 35dollars
    35dollars Posts: 832 Member
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    For those who ride with a buff as a sweat buffer... don't you get an extremely hot head as a result?
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
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    I've been riding with a "Halo" headband for a while. It has a rubber strip to try to guide sweat around the brow.

    It works well on a bike, because the air dries it about as fast as I sweat into it.

    When I run, it often hits saturation and leaks in the front.

    They have a number of different versions: https://store.haloheadband.com

    You can also get them from Amazon.

    (I am not associated with the company.)