What helmet should I wear on my CityCoco (fat wheel scooter)
We recommend wearing a helmet, and if you are riding your scooter on public roads in the UK, it is a legal requirement.
We don't sell helmets ourselves because we believe the best place to purchase one is in a physical store, where you can try on various helmets and get the correct fit with the help of a sales assistant.
However, we are often asked for recommendations, so here are a few of our thoughts below.
Full face or modular?
Full-face helmets are the traditional motorcycle helmets and generally offer better protection. In contrast, with modular helmets, the bottom flips up (like the photo in this article). This sacrifices some protection but also makes it much easier to communicate and stops you from having to take your helmet on and off for quick interactions (such as popping into a shop). Many Citycoco owners use their scooters for brief interactions, so a modular helmet makes sense.
Price and protection are not particularly related
An expensive helmet will not necessarily give you the best protection. The best measure of the varying quality of helmets is the UK government's SHARP rating system. Helmets are rated out of five stars based on their performance on various tests. Often comparatively cheap helmets are top performers. For instance, one of our favourite full-face helmets, the HJC C70, scores five stars and is relatively inexpensive at £105.
Colour
This is often overlooked, but a significant cause of crashes is car drivers not seeing you. Choosing a highly visible colour can help to prevent this. In a few trials, white has been the most visible colour (which feels slightly counterintuitive), and bright colours also do pretty well. Black, whilst looking cool, often performs the worst.
Just tell me which one to buy!
Fit and personal preference are essential, but you could probably do much worse than the full-face HJC C70 (£105) or the modular Caberg Duke II (£112), both SHARP five-star rated at the cheaper end. However, we strongly recommend trying them on before purchasing in a store - different brands fit different head shapes better!
We don't sell helmets ourselves because we believe the best place to purchase one is in a physical store, where you can try on various helmets and get the correct fit with the help of a sales assistant.
However, we are often asked for recommendations, so here are a few of our thoughts below.
Full face or modular?
Full-face helmets are the traditional motorcycle helmets and generally offer better protection. In contrast, with modular helmets, the bottom flips up (like the photo in this article). This sacrifices some protection but also makes it much easier to communicate and stops you from having to take your helmet on and off for quick interactions (such as popping into a shop). Many Citycoco owners use their scooters for brief interactions, so a modular helmet makes sense.
Price and protection are not particularly related
An expensive helmet will not necessarily give you the best protection. The best measure of the varying quality of helmets is the UK government's SHARP rating system. Helmets are rated out of five stars based on their performance on various tests. Often comparatively cheap helmets are top performers. For instance, one of our favourite full-face helmets, the HJC C70, scores five stars and is relatively inexpensive at £105.
Colour
This is often overlooked, but a significant cause of crashes is car drivers not seeing you. Choosing a highly visible colour can help to prevent this. In a few trials, white has been the most visible colour (which feels slightly counterintuitive), and bright colours also do pretty well. Black, whilst looking cool, often performs the worst.
Just tell me which one to buy!
Fit and personal preference are essential, but you could probably do much worse than the full-face HJC C70 (£105) or the modular Caberg Duke II (£112), both SHARP five-star rated at the cheaper end. However, we strongly recommend trying them on before purchasing in a store - different brands fit different head shapes better!