Schwinn makes good bikes and good bike helmets. A famous name in American manufacturing circles, Schwinn has been producing bikes since 1895. In a test of kids' bike helmets by "Consumer Reports" in 2009, the Schwinn Thrasher was chosen as a Best Buy. In addition to the Thrasher, another Schwinn bike helmet, the Intercept, was highly rated by the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute. The Thrasher and Intercept models are available for youths and adults.
Helmets And Safety
If you ride a bike, you should wear a helmet. Head injuries accounted for more than 63 percent of bike fatalities in 2009. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 630 cyclists died from accidents in 2009. While 74 of the people who died were 14 or younger, the good news was that this number was down 58 percent from 2000, perhaps because of the increased use of helmets since 2000. Still, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, roughly half of the emergency treatments for the 500,000 or so injured cyclists in 2007 involved kids younger than the age of 16.
Schwinn Thrasher
In addition to the Best Buy youth model, Schwinn makes a Thrasher model for adults that draws rave reviews from cyclists. The Thrasher Adult Micro Bicycle Helmet features 21 flow vents, a built-in visor, easy to adjust webbing for a comfortable fit and moisture-wicking pads to keep your head dry. Unlike most consumer goods, the notion that "you get what you pay for" generally isn't true for bike helmets. Safe and perfectly functional bike helmets sell for $200 and for $20. Schwinn bike helmets are inexpensively priced -- the adult Thresher model costs about $24 as of March 2011.
Schwinn Intercept
The Intercept model for adults and youths features a visor that snaps on and off, a dual-fit adjustment system, 10 flow vents and strap adjusters. The adult model sells for about $25 and the youth model for about $17 as of March 2011.
Considerations
The Bike Helmet Safety Commission recommends that consumers should buy a helmet that meets the Consumer Protection Safety Commission's standard, fits you well and has a round and smooth exterior so that the helmet won't snag on anything. The Thresher and Intercept have smooth exteriors that won't snap. They also meet the CPSC standards for safety, as do virtually all bike helmets. As BHSI testing of helmets reveals, "The higher-priced helmets have big flaps, but no verifiable advantage in impact performance."
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