It is amazing how many riders wear their helmets improperly. But being a seasoned mountain biker, you don't have this problem, right? Your head doesn't swim in the basket of your helmet? You don't tilt your helmet way back so as not to mess up that fabulous coiffure? Your straps are in the right place and snugged up perfectly? Okay, for those of you who do have trouble accessorizing your heads, the MBA gang wants to give you the down and dirty on how to properly adjust your helmet, the most important piece of cycling equipment you own.
V-Strap: The side straps on your helmet should form a nice V around the ear with the tension adjuster snug below the ear lobe. The front strap will keep the front of the helmet in place while the rear strap prevents the helmet from falling over your eyes. Common mistakes are having one strap too loose, or completely messing up the fit either by pulling the back of the helmet down or pulling the rear strap over the ear.
Head wrap: Most modern helmets have some sort of skull cradle on the back to keep the helmet in place on even the roughest rides. This should fit snugly just under the base of the skull, centered evenly with equal tension from each side strap. A common fitting mistake is having the strap too high or too loose, not utilizing the stabilizing benefits.
Take a good look: This is the most common fitment problem of all time. Too many riders tilt the front of their helmet up. Guess what? If you crash on your forehead it's gonna hurt like you weren't even wearing a helmet.
Burn it up: After cutting your chin strap down in length, take a match and burn the end to prevent fraying. The chin strap buckle should be centered snugly under your chin. A common mistake is a chin strap that's too loose and dangles under the chin, even when buckled
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