We wanted a helmet that’s safe and looks cool, and that took longer to find than you would think. We’ve landed on Thousand, and the first order lands with us on Monday.
Why Thousand
Most helmets look like sporting equipment, so they end up living in the shed with the pump and the puncture kit, and you ride down to the shops without one. A helmet you like the look of is a helmet you will wear, and that’s most of the reason we picked these. They are built around vintage motorcycle shapes, and the details underneath are the ones that matter on a school run.
The Heritage 2.0
This is the adult one, and it is the helmet most of you will be after. It is certified to AS/NZS 2063, the Australian Standard.
The PopLock is the clever bit. A small plug in the back of the shell pops out, so you can thread your bike lock straight through the helmet and leave it hanging with the bike instead of carrying it round the shops.
The buckle is magnetic and closes with one hand, which you’ll appreciate the first time you do it holding a scooter. The dial at the back tightens it to fit, there is a low visor built into the shell, and version 2.0 added more venting and new padding.
Sizes are small (54-57cm), medium (57-59cm) and large (59-62cm). Measure around your head about 2cm above your eyebrows, and if you’re between sizes take the bigger one and bring it in with the dial.
There is a magnetic tail light made for it too, sold separately. You can never be too lit up, and your bike’s own rear light sits low at the back, so a second one up on your helmet puts a light right at the eye line of somebody in a car. 40 lumens, three modes, USB-C, and about five hours on a charge.
The Jr. range
There are two of them, and they are different helmets rather than one helmet in two sizes. The Toddler fits 45-49cm and weighs 220g, and the Kids fits 49-53cm and weighs 390g.
Both use the same magnetic buckle as the adult helmet, and if you have ever caught a kid’s neck in a plastic clip you’ll know why that matters. Both have the dial at the back, so they adjust as your child grows.
Both come with a sheet of reflective stickers, which sounds like a gimmick until you watch a four-year-old spend twenty minutes decorating one and then refuse to take it off.
Lifetime guarantee
This one is worth knowing about. Every Thousand helmet has a lifetime guarantee, so if you damage it in an accident they’ll replace it, and if a Heritage is stolen while it was locked to your bike through the PopLock they’ll replace that too.
Helmets are meant to be replaced after any decent knock and plenty of people don’t, because it’s another chunk of money at a bad time. This sorts that out.
20% off with any bike, until the end of spring
Buy a bike and you’ll need helmets, usually more than one of them. So until 30 November, anything Thousand is 20% off when you buy it alongside a bike, and that includes the tail light. The discount comes off in the cart on its own, so there is no code to enter. Order over the weekend and it will go out on Monday, once the stock is here.
Have a look in accessories, or at the bikes if you’re still deciding.
