[Kalel]

In cycling not wearing a helmet seems to be frowned upon. I do not wear a helmet. I did try to wear a helmet on a couple rides but did not like it at all. The helmet I wore was well vented and light. But I feel more free without a helmet and riding without a helmet I fear is one of those things that lawmakers are going to eventually axe.

I understand the safety benefits of wearing a helmet...but I would probably be more safe wearing a bullet proof vest each day as well. I also wonder if wearing a helmet gives people a bit of a false sense of security making them feel less vulnerable to cars or crashing...hence leading them to take more risks on the road.

 

[den bakker]

amazingly this has not been touched upon in this forum before.

Well not for a week or something like that at least. Probably the only topic with more posts than the quality of trek bikes.

 

[aclinjury]

hmm considering that the most serious injury is a head injury, and that head injuries are one of the main cause of death (or at the minumum serious consequences).. then I would have to say a helmet has to be worn.

Having said that, I do see you point of "false sense of safety". After all, a bicycle helmet is barely more than styrofoam lid. Bicycle helmets are not like motorcycle helments. And if you were hit by a car, and that car is going above 40 mph, well chances are if you survived, it has to do more with luck then helmet.

When it comes to colliding with cars, the idea is to avoid it in the first place, and not have to reply on the helmet. That means you have to be visible to everyone around you. So based on this notion, I'm going to say that wearing a bright high visibility vest more important wearing a helmet. Guys will make a big effin stink on a group ride if you don't wear a helmet,.. but yet many of these same guys will frown upon wearing a hi-viz vest, something that has a high chance of actually saving their lives.

But I can see it. Some anti-vest dude will now ask me to poast statistics to back up my claim, of course.

 

[RJP Diver]

I also wonder if wearing a helmet gives people a bit of a false sense of security making them feel less vulnerable to cars or crashing...hence leading them to take more risks on the road.

Any person who believes that is just as silly (dare I say, idiotic) as the person who thinks that not wearing a helmet is a good idea.

Modern helmets are relatively inexpensive, relatively easy to find one that fits, and relatively cool looking. Decent ones are well-ventilated and very comfortable. My Specialized Prevail is actually more comfortable and cooler (temp-wise and style-wise) than wearing no helmet. In short, I can think of no realistic downside to wearing one and nothing but upside to wearing one.

 

[BostonG]

Hmmmm, bullet proof vest eh?

The OP does not need a helmet...he's Superman after all. So let's discuss something else, hows 'bout listening to music while riding?

My prediction: Creaky will be here very soon to chime in with "helmets cramp my style".

 

[SauronHimself]

In cycling not wearing a helmet seems to be frowned upon. I do not wear a helmet. I did try to wear a helmet on a couple rides but did not like it at all. The helmet I wore was well vented and light. But I feel more free without a helmet and riding without a helmet I fear is one of those things that lawmakers are going to eventually axe.

I understand the safety benefits of wearing a helmet...but I would probably be more safe wearing a bullet proof vest each day as well. I also wonder if wearing a helmet gives people a bit of a false sense of security making them feel less vulnerable to cars or crashing...hence leading them to take more risks on the road.

Your reference to wearing a bulletproof vest is a red herring. Several steps have to occur for someone to shoot you, yet the only step required to make a helmet useful is simply getting on the bike. I foresee a Darwin Award in your future.

 

[joeyb1000]

I usually don't wear one when riding alone (getting a little tired of unsolicited comments from passers-by). I never ride without one when in a group.

 

[Jay Strongbow]

I don't wave to people without helmets.

 

[Bill2]

In cycling not wearing a helmet seems to be frowned upon. I do not wear a helmet. I did try to wear a helmet on a couple rides but did not like it at all. The helmet I wore was well vented and light. But I feel more free without a helmet and riding without a helmet I fear is one of those things that lawmakers are going to eventually axe.

I understand the safety benefits of wearing a helmet...but I would probably be more safe wearing a bullet proof vest each day as well.

Careful, this might end up in Politics Only

 

[Sisophous]

If you understood what happens when you suffer a head injury you would wear the helmet. Cutting open your skull with an electric saw and sucking out fluids (blood) to relieve pressure after suffering a head injury is not so nice. And sometimes you never fully recover.

I do take off my helmet and ride without it when I am riding very slowly in a park and no cars are around. But I ride very slowly without a helmet. I would never, ever consider riding without a helmet on the roads or at speed.

 

[exracer]

amazingly this has not been touched upon in this forum before.

Well not for a week or something like that at least. Probably the only topic with more posts than the quality of trek bikes.

Don't forget the Compact crank vs the Standard crank threads or some variation like "Which do ride? Compact or...."
That one seems to keep popping up also.

 

[scottma]

I had a pretty good crash in October. Landed flat on my back, back of my head slammed into the pavement. I broke 3 bones in my back, bruised rib cage, and inured my left quad. I'm fine now and have been riding again since January.

My head is fine thanks to my helmet. No concussion, or any other head injury. I didn't even see stars when I hit the pavement.

View attachment 277581

 

[mpre53]

If you understood what happens when you suffer a head injury you would wear the helmet. Cutting open your skull with an electric saw and sucking out fluids (blood) to relieve pressure after suffering a head injury is not so nice. And sometimes you never fully recover.

I do take off my helmet and ride without it when I am riding very slowly in a park and no cars are around. But I ride very slowly without a helmet. I would never, ever consider riding without a helmet on the roads or at speed.

Funny thing. Not ha-ha funny, but ironic funny. The worst fall I ever had on my bike took place on a cement path between a parking lot and a MUP that I was going to take as a short-cut back home. I couldn't have been going much more than 2-3 mph when it happened. While I was distracted, I drifted off the path onto the grass. When I tried to edge back on, my front wheel hit flush against a very small raised edge of the cement, where the ground had worn away. With all of my weight leaning in that direction, I went over before I had a chance to react, and the first thing that hit the ground was the side of my helmet, above the temple. I cracked the helmet, and probably had a mild concussion, because every time I hit a bump for a few days afterwards, I would feel it in my head.

It's not how fast you're going. It's how far you fall, and what comes into contact with a hard surface first. People kill themselves all the time in 0 mph falls in bathrooms. I had an uncle who died from a subdural hematoma after a slip and fall in the bathtub.

 

[azpeterb]

My brother knew an EMT who used to say that it was very easy for them to respond to calls for bicyclists without helmets who had been in accidents. All they had to do was bring out the body bag...no need for emergency life-saving procedures.

 

[den bakker]

Funny thing. Not ha-ha funny, but ironic funny. The worst fall I ever had on my bike took place on a cement path between a parking lot and a MUP that I was going to take as a short-cut back home. I couldn't have been going much more than 2-3 mph when it happened. While I was distracted, I drifted off the path onto the grass. When I tried to edge back on, my front wheel hit flush against a very small raised edge of the cement, where the ground had worn away. With all of my weight leaning in that direction, I went over before I had a chance to react, and the first thing that hit the ground was the side of my helmet, above the temple. I cracked the helmet, and probably had a mild concussion, because every time I hit a bump for a few days afterwards, I would feel it in my head.

It's not how fast you're going. It's how far you fall, and what comes into contact with a hard surface first. People kill themselves all the time in 0 mph falls in bathrooms. I had an uncle who died from a subdural hematoma after a slip and fall in the bathtub.

do you then wear a helmet in the shower now?
I know it must be difficult to wash the hair but safety first

 

[InfiniteLoop]

Never when riding a city bike (in the U.S. or Europe). I usually do on my road or mtn bikes.

Styro bike helmets only provide limited protection and only at the lower levels of impact. At the levels of impact that cause brain injury they do not appear to provide any protection. This can partially be evidenced by the number of people who've suffered severe brain trauma (and death) while wearing helmets. The helmets didn't do anything for them. If you look at deaths of cyclists not wearing helmets you'll find that at the forces involved a helmet would likely not have saved that person's life. There are a few where someone might have lived with severe brain damage rather than died and a few non-deaths where brain damage might have been slightly minimized, but the overall outcome of helmet vs no helmet appears negligible. In most cases a cracked helmet (given the low impact required to crack them completely) likely represents the wearer avoided a lump on their head.

If helmets provided any significant protection, why are non-helmeted pedestrians not killed at a higher rate than helmeted cyclists? Why do we have any Dutch or Danish left on the planet?

Helmets may keep you from getting some scratches on your head. They will not likely even prevent minor concussions though. Helmet laws have been shown to dramatically reduce cycling where they have been implemented and likely to have thus caused far more loss of year-life than any impact from not wearing helmets. Irrational fear is an amazing weapon.

 

[mpre53]

do you then wear a helmet in the shower now?
I know it must be difficult to wash the hair but safety first

No, because there are non-skid traction strips along the floor. If I could attach some to my tires, I'd feel a lot better riding helmet-less.

 

[Jay Strongbow]

If helmets provided any significant protection, why are non-helmeted pedestrians not killed at a higher rate than helmeted cyclists? Why do we have any Dutch or Danish left on the planet?

Good lord. I'm going to take a wild guess and say walking isn't the same as cycling?
Serioulsy dude, regardless of if helmets protect or not your 'proof' that they don't is really absurd.

 

[Sisophous]

It's not how fast you're going. It's how far you fall, and what comes into contact with a hard surface

There are always exceptions and I agree if you hit a surface hard you can get seriously injured. The only time I ever suffered a concussion in my life came when I was around age 15 and was running up my block when my Labrador Retriever cut in front of me with no warning and I did a complete flip and my head slammed into the asphalt. I was unable to move for 10 seconds and lay in the street with my eyes open. So there are freak things that do happen.

 

[spade2you]

I heard about an article on the interw4b that said that helmets CAUSE more deaths than they prevent. Rethuglicans steal our thoughts and freedoms by making us wear helmets.