Does anyone make an infant/toddler bicycle helmet that is smaller than 18.5"/47 cm? I have a toddler who is quite small for her age (last head circumference measured was 17.5").
If not, what is acceptable to do for a small toddler in a trailer?
Thanks!
This one seems to be available as small as 18" in diameter.
We had the opposite problem BTW, when my son was a toddler his head was too big for a toddler’s helmet!
:smack:
That’s circumference of course, not diameter
IIRC, infant and toddler (as well as children’s) helmets come with extra padding that you put in to customize the fit if the helmet’s slightly large. I bought mine at a sporting goods store, with child in tow, and had the very athletic looking man in the biking department fit it on him. I expect he knows more about fitting helmets than I do.
Heh! What’s pi between friends? 
Thanks for the reply. Do you have any idea if ProRider is a legit brand? I’ve never heard of them.
When you were shopping for your big boy’s helmet, did you find that most kid helmets with similar specs fit similarly and ran true to specs? Or is it worth making the little one try on all the models?
Actually, I’ve found that most bike shop employees are young males who have very little expertise with tiny kids. As a semi-competent cyclist and mom, I seem to have more knowledge about riding with infants (which scares me, because I’m certainly no expert)! I once met a terrifically helpful woman in a bike shop in a crunchy-granola town where lots of people commute on bikes, but that was long ago and far away.
It was my impression that the low end of the size range (for example, the typical 18.5" of Bell and Giro) was what you’d get if you used all the pads provided with the helmet, but I could most certainly be wrong.
I never heard of ProRider either but the link claims the helmet meets various Snell standards…if you are concerned you could look into that claim and what it really means. The price seems about right (meaning not excessively cheap). If they were selling it for 10 bucks I might worry.
In answer to your second question I do remember there was quite a bit of trying on at multiple stores before we finally bought one. So it is tedious but probably worthwhile. Also different models probably have different types and amounts of the extra padding WhyNot mentions, so it might help to actually physically test at least a few.
Ah, yes. I live in a crunchy-granola college town where there’s more bike riders than cars. And there’s lots of cars. The massive bunchiness of the clerk’s quads and an absolutely architectural gastrocnemius gave him away as an avid bicyclist. Me? I haven’t been on a bike in literally 16 years. We’re in different boats here. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Sounds like a nice place to live. 
Thanks for the replies. I may try some of the helmets on to see exactly what the padding can do.