Finding a casual bike helmet for my small, flat head

I’ve been having trouble finding a bicycle helmet that fits well. I’ve got a pretty small head, the circumference measurement just barely making it into the Adult Small sizes for some brands and Kids sizes for others. It’s also quite flat in the back (hats and headbands never quite stay put either).

I tried a few brands that didn’t quite work. Some customer service folks and my neighborhood bike shop suggested DIY padding options. I posed the question on Mastodon and Gabrielle Wee suggested I search for Asian-fit helmets.

Interesting! That turned up a bunch of info and turns out, it’s not just a me problem. Here’s a diagram from Karmore Sports:

diagram showing East Asian heads being wider/rounder than European heads which are more oblong

I did some searching but ran into a few obstacles:

Stores in my area don’t carry them.
A lot of online retailers only carried medium to large sizes.
There were a lot of snowboard helmet options but not bicycle.
The bicycle ones were for serious cyclists (definitely not me, I have a one-speed beach cruiser).

A bit of a bummer, but I was able to try some helmets on in person and turns out the ones with the little dial fitter in the back were a great alternative. I tried Smith brand ones and those were comfy, but I ended up with this one from Thousand because I liked the price and the look:

vintage style white bicycle helmet plastic dial on the back of the helmet

See the dial?

Maybe this dial thing is old news, but I’m new to bike helmets and none of the bike stores I talked to recommended it! It made the helmet really snug and it wouldn’t budge. I hope I don’t ever have to test it, but it feels great and I’ve been comfortably riding the last couple days.

So for my fellow flat-headed people, maybe try a helmet with the little dial in the back. 🚲