# Helmet color and heat: White vs Black?



## RJP Diver

In theory, a white helmet should be cooler temperature-wise than a black helmet when riding in the sun. Any practical experience suggesting whether white helmets are actually cooler?


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## robdamanii

I don't notice any difference between my white Lazer and black one. Black one has more vents, so actually feels cooler.


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## Oxtox

RJP Diver said:


> In theory, a white helmet should be cooler temperature-wise than a black helmet when riding in the sun. Any practical experience suggesting whether white helmets are actually cooler?


have had white, silver, black...they're all the same. didn't notice white being any 'cooler'...


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## JCavilia

As yyou say, in theory the black should be warmer. It has to absorb more energy. In practice, the space between the shell and the head, mostly filled with a very good insulator, and ortherwise allowing pretty free air movement, reduces the actual heat impact on the head to a negligable, perhaps immeasurably small, amount.

If you ride in traffic and care about being visible, lighter colors probably are significantly better.


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## tihsepa

I have a silver and a black. No difference.


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## onespeed

*The old all black helmets were not good.*

The newer models have so much airflow it doesnt matter what color they are. 

Had a friend back in early 1990's when I was a messenger. This guy was an animal. We called him robo-rider. He got a new Giro (back then) - the one LeMond was using in all black. Those helmets had only vents on top of the helmet and even then it was only like 3 straight ones going back. 

We were out on a weekend ride up near Ramona and he overheated on the windless climb up 76 out of Jamul. The helmet was the reason he overheated climbing out of El Cajon - I think it was 85 or so out there. No Shade on the climb and all dust and rocks on the road. 

Nothing would have happened if we had the trailer with us.


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## icsloppl

White reflects, black absorbs. Pretty strait forward.


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## nOOky

Buy two identical helmets, one black, one white. Place a thermometer on the surface where your melon would contact the helmet pad. Record the temperature while traveling in a range from 0 to 25 mph in 1 mph increments, and report back your findings. Make sure the ambient temperature is the same for each etc. blah blah blah. I bet you a dollar the readings come out purty darn close.


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## woodys737

icsloppl said:


> White reflects, black absorbs. Pretty strait forward.


+1 FWIW, here in Phoenix people either coat their roofs (if flat/not tile) with white or silver elastomer type product to reflect energy to keep the surface cooler. I've had both and the white is noticeably, significantly, measurably cooler. 

I've had black, white, and silver helmets and have not noticed a difference though


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## Oxtox

icsloppl said:


> White reflects, black absorbs. Pretty strait forward.


while your observation is correct, the color difference doesn't impart much effect when there's a ventilated, insulated material surrounding your head.

I don't even notice much difference between white and black jerseys.


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## limba

The black helmet will be warmer when you touch the outside, the inside core temp won't be any hotter than a light colored helmet. That's what I read when I was thinking about buying a black helmet (Aeon on sale) and it doesn't seem any hotter than my white helmets.


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## JCavilia

icsloppl said:


> White reflects, black absorbs. Pretty strait forward.


Not really that straightforward at all, since there is no quantification in your statement. It's a (true) premise, but not a conclusion with respect to the significant question. As engineers say, "if you don't know it in numbers, you don't know it." 

First quantification point is that this is not a binary function. White doesn't reflect all radiation, nor does black absorb all. More, but how much more? 

Second point is you gotta find out how much more the black shell is actually heated by its extra absorbtion of radiation. It's not usually standing still, but rather has a 15-20 mph airstream flowing over it. Does that airflow carry away most of the extra energy, so the black shell is not much hotter than the white?

Third point is that heating of the shell may or may not affect energy level in a significant way where it matters -- at the noggin -- due to the insulation and airflow in between. How much of that extra heat absorbed by the black shell gets to the head?


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## RJP Diver

OK - so then maybe the question is: Which is cooler from an AESTHETICS standpoint?

:thumbsup:


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## Oxtox

RJP Diver said:


> OK - so then maybe the question is: Which is cooler from an AESTHETICS standpoint?
> 
> ]


black makes your butt look smaller...


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## RJP Diver

Oxtox said:


> black makes your butt look smaller...


I'm gonna need a longer strap...


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## JCavilia

RJP Diver said:


> OK - so then maybe the question is: Which is cooler from an AESTHETICS standpoint?


Multicolor with some white.








For visibility in traffic, any light color will be better than black, in most situations. (Same goes for shirts/jerseys. My personal rule is shorts should only be black, and only shorts should be black - well, maybe shoes, too).


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## Blackbeerthepirate

Oxtox said:


> while your observation is correct, the color difference doesn't impart much effect when there's a ventilated, insulated material surrounding your head.
> 
> I don't even notice much difference between white and black jerseys.


Helmet color doesn't seem to make any difference to me. Love my black Sweep, but light and dark jerseys seem to make a big difference to me. I also wear some white Tri Flys when it's going to be steamy. That seems to make a huge difference too.


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## ZoSoSwiM

My white/silver Giro helmet doesn't feel any cooler than my black helmet.. 

However my white full face motorcycle helmet feels a lot cooler than any black helmets I've worn.


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## Oxtox

JCavilia said:


> Multicolor with some white.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> For visibility in traffic, any light color will be better than black, in most situations. (Same goes for shirts/jerseys. My personal rule is shorts should only be black, and only shorts should be black - well, maybe shoes, too).


black socks, too.


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## carveitup

onespeed said:


> The newer models have so much airflow it doesnt matter what color they are.
> 
> Had a friend back in early 1990's when I was a messenger. This guy was an animal. We called him robo-rider. He got a new Giro (back then) - the one LeMond was using in all black. Those helmets had only vents on top of the helmet and even then it was only like 3 straight ones going back.
> 
> We were out on a weekend ride up near Ramona and he overheated on the windless climb up 76 out of Jamul. The helmet was the reason he overheated climbing out of El Cajon - I think it was 85 or so out there. No Shade on the climb and all dust and rocks on the road.
> 
> Nothing would have happened if we had the trailer with us.


I used the have a Giro Air Attack SC like the one in your picture (except the Tequila Sunrise paint job). Cracked it right down the middle when I crashed in North Carolina mountain biking. Those helmets were hotter due to the lack of vents, not the colour (as you said).

When sitting in the sun, a black helmet will be hotter on the outside. When moving, I suspect the airflow would make the difference in temperature significantly smaller.

That said, the temp inside of the helmet isn't going to be too different. Closed cell foam is quite a good insulator and should insulate your head from the additional heat on the surface of the helmet. Since no insulator is 100% effective, it won't stop ALL the heat from getting to your head, but I imagine it stops enough to make the difference unnoticeable.


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## zyzbot

RJP Diver said:


> In theory, a white helmet should be cooler temperature-wise than a black helmet when riding in the sun. Any practical experience suggesting whether white helmets are actually cooler?



Red is faster.


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## DaveG

*answer*



RJP Diver said:


> In theory, a white helmet should be cooler temperature-wise than a black helmet when riding in the sun. Any practical experience suggesting whether white helmets are actually cooler?


It is probably true that at other that at rest there is really no difference with air cooling and inch of foam there. However, to me a white or lighter helmet just "feels" cooler. It’s all psychological but that still counts. Plus you get better visibility


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## BostonG

The last 2 helmets I got were both in white. I did think it may keep me a bit cooler but after reading through this am now doubting that it does. The other reason I got white though is that it is more visible to motorists (I think). 

For a helmet, I think white looks better. Don’t get me started on white bibs though.


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## Sylint

icsloppl said:


> White reflects, black absorbs. Pretty strait forward.


no..not really. The surface of the helmet might be hotter, but due to the insulating foam, plus the airflow the difference inside the helmet is negligible at best.

I've had black, silver and white to me, the Silver felt the hottest due to "meh" ventilation with the black one feeling the coolest with the most airflow, but the white one usually gets worn the most because of how it fits.


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## JCavilia

*Black socks*



Oxtox said:


> black socks, too.


Tres gauche. Mon dieu! 

Socks must be white, or light grey with tiny discreet logos.


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## JCavilia

BostonG said:


> The last 2 helmets I got were both in white. I did think it may keep me a bit cooler but after reading through this am now doubting that it does. *The other reason I got white though is that it is more visible to motorists (I think). *For a helmet, I think white looks better. Don’t get me started on white bibs though.


I think so, too. I'm pretty damn sure of it, actually, just from my own observation of other cyclists.

White cycling shorts should be illegal.


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## looigi

White helmets are more aero, laterally stiffer, but less vertically compliant than black helmets.


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## Blue CheeseHead

icsloppl said:


> White reflects, black absorbs. Pretty strait forward.


...except for the foam (which insulates) and the vents.

My black helmet is less of an issue than black bibbs.


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## Blue CheeseHead

JCavilia said:


> Multicolor with some white.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> For visibility in traffic, any light color will be better than black, in most situations. (Same goes for shirts/jerseys. My personal rule is shorts should only be black, and only shorts should be black - well, maybe shoes, too).


Silver or grey may be worse than black. It's all about contrast with the surroundings.


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## JCavilia

Blue CheeseHead said:


> Silver or grey may be worse than black. It's all about contrast with the surroundings.


That may be true. I often lament the recent trend in car colors, which has made it significantly more difficult to spot cars at a distance and in poor visibility conditions, compared to a couple decades ago. A majority of cars sold now (upwards of 70-80% by my reckoning) are in what I think of as the "stealth" color families: black, white, grey/silver, or some kind of beige/brown/offwhite. I'd like it better if a lot more of them were red, yellow, or bright green or blue. The feds oughta mandate daytime running lights, front and rear.


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## Mavricks99

wouldn't think it would honestly matter that much but go white.


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## bvber

Sylint said:


> The surface of the helmet might be hotter, but due to the insulating foam, plus the airflow the difference inside the helmet is negligible at best.


+1

Styrofoam is a very good insulator and it is used as thermal insulation in many industrial, architectural, home appliances & ...etc, you name it.

Lighter color shows dirt more if that matters to someone.


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## AndreyT

icsloppl said:


> White reflects, black absorbs. Pretty strait forward.


No. Not entirely accurate. Thermal behavior for an opaque object will depend on three factors: absorptivity, reflectivity and emissivity. You covered reflectivity and absorptivity, but conveniently excluded emissivity. Why?

While in this case we are interested in IR-related properties of the helmet's surface (which are technically unrelated to its color, i.e. its visible spectrum property), it is generally observed that black surfaces display much better IR absorptivity _and_ IR emissivity than white surfaces. In other words, black surfaces generally heat up faster than white surfaces when illuminated by IR, but they also cool down faster once the IR source is gone. This is the reason why black paints or other darkening surface treatments improve cooling of objects shielded from direct sunlight (like car engines).

Granted, when it comes to riding continuously in direct sunlight, the greater absorptivity of black will dominate over its greater emissivity, leading to higher surface temperatures for black helmet (compared to a white one). But in mixed sunlight/shade or shade-dominated riding the picture might change.

Of course, this is all moot since 1) the thickness and insulating properties of helmet material are more than sufficient to completely isolate rider's head from the helmet's outer shell, 2) the behavior is dominated by the air-cooling anyway.


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## early one

Why don't we cyclist have cf helmets?


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## RJP Diver

Bought my 14yo daughter a new bike today. When the dealer said "We're offering 20% off helmets with purchase of a new bike today..." he was a bit surprised when I said "Great, she'll take a men's S-Works Prevail, size medium, in black."


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## velodog

Oxtox said:


> black makes your butt look smaller...


only when your head is up your.........Uh, nevermind.


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## SOME_1_ELSE_1999

rjp diver said:


> bought my 14yo daughter a new bike today. When the dealer said "we're offering 20% off helmets with purchase of a new bike today..." he was a bit surprised when i said "great, she'll take a men's s-works prevail, size medium, in black."


      :thumbsup:


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## brucew

RJP Diver said:


> Bought my 14yo daughter a new bike today. When the dealer said "We're offering 20% off helmets with purchase of a new bike today..." he was a bit surprised when I said "Great, she'll take a men's S-Works Prevail, size medium, in black."


And I'll be she looks darling in it.

Good choice.


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## sbonder

Have both and notice no difference.


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## dcorn

JCavilia said:


> If you ride in traffic and care about being visible, lighter colors probably are significantly better.


This. The heat thing is negligible. Visibility is not. I'm buying a white helmet this time around.


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## Dersnap

If the sun is beating hard on a climb I notice my cleats Sidi's that the black ones mosdef are hotter in the sun. My helmet is white Mavic so I can't comment there though. But I will say also my Gore Xeon Bibs also in white are nicer for climbing. On the Downhill or with a bit of wind I don't notice the heat as much though.


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## dcorn

Shoes and bibs are directly against your skin. My feet get super hot when I play golf because my shoes are black. The styrofoam and air gap means the outer colored shell of your helmet is 2-3 inches away from your head. Doubt that'll make a difference, even when standing still. Plus, don't all helmets have black/grey foam in them anyway?


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## combfilter

nice cf helmet.


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## Bill2

The black helmet will actually keep you cooler. Solar radiation raises the temperature of the helmet shell, creating an upward flowing convection column. The cooler air from below, gently flowing over the surface of your skin, will evaporate perspiration and lower surface temperature.


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## RJP Diver

Bill2 said:


> The black helmet will actually keep you cooler. Solar radiation raises the temperature of the helmet shell, creating an upward flowing convection column. The cooler air from below, gently flowing over the surface of your skin, will evaporate perspiration and lower surface temperature.


But, suppose I am riding backwards on a cloudy day in the southern hemisphere?


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