I know its really true that anyone who disagrees with you is stupid

I wish i was clever enough to have worked this out and then said it so publicly to show my genius

Natural selection. Sounds like a plan obelix

I would be surprised though if they based that decision on the proxy measure of helmet wearing. I think it much more likely that they base their decision on what they see on the roads and in the media.

And part of what they see on the roads is that people can’t cycle in everyday clothes and instead require high-viz, Lycra, special shoes and helmets. It’s clearly not something that normal people do.

And what they see in the media is comments exactly like the one above suggesting that cycling is so incredibly dangerous that it should legally require head protection at all times and anyone who thinks otherwise has a low IQ and is less evolved. 🙄

It was regarding the irony of having to force those people dumb enough to not want to wear helmets to protect what little grey matter they have.

Or made a concious decision based on their own assessment of risk…

And part of what they see on the roads is that people can’t cycle in everyday clothes and instead require high-viz, Lycra, special shoes and helmets. It’s clearly not something that normal people do.

& you still don’t have any evidence that this is the case.
How do you know it is helmets and not the road environment? You don’t, instead you are hypothesising based on a predisposition to not like helmets

& you don’t have any evidence that it isn’t the case. It would be surprising if there wasn’t a subconscious effect.

… Not if the helmets are a symptom rather than a cause.

I do 10-15hrs recreational cycling each week without a helmet. A mixture of mtb, road and BMX. If helmets were compulsory I wouldn’t.

No amount of middle aged middle class cyclists arguing and sharing tales of injury will change this FACT.

I do 10-15hrs recreational cycling each week without a helmet. A mixture of mtb, road and BMX. If helmets were compulsory I wouldn’t.

You’d give up cycling if helmets were made compulsory?

No. but I wouldn’t cycle nearly as much.

Might as well buy a motorbike if I had to wear a stupid helmet

You’d give up cycling if helmets were made compulsory?

I would.

Actually I wouldn’t. I just wouldn’t wear one. It’s not like I’d get arrested.

Such keyboard hatred. Were you lot slamming your fist on the table while using the other to type?

Just for clarity, I often go lid-less, on-road and off. My comment was merely regarding a post I saw which I found humorous. It’s a good skill in life to be able to see humour when it’s there, even if it doesn’t align with your dogma. Just sayin’.

Starts with an insulting dig- tick
Blames others- tick
Back pedals – tick
Ends with another dig – tick
Sandwiches complete retraction of previously stated position in post – TICK

It’s not like I’d get arrested

True. Just fined.

Yeah right. Like they’ve nothing better to do.

Sounds to me like someone’s never been fined for a cycling offence nevermind arrested.

Some here have. 😉

Pigface – Member
Didn’t they make helmet wearing compulsory in Australia and kids cycling dropped dramatically? *

It certainly did. It was/is a bloody stupid law.

When it came in there were heaps of people, mainly working men riding to work. (If you ever watch ‘Delinquents’ with Kylie starring, you’ll get the idea)

Overnight because of rigorous enforcement, they disappeared from the roads and started driving their cars to work instead.

I was one of them. Like most I used to wear a broad rimmed hat to keep the sun off me. There’s a pretty high risk of skin cancer for fair skinned people, and there wasn’t any Factor 50 around then. The greater risk was the cancer than a fall IMO.

I bought a helmet and tried to continue riding to work. It was bloody awful, I was sweating in it like a pig, my head was overheating and I was getting sunburned. I stopped riding to work.

It did mean I had to become a creature of the night to get my cycling fix, so I became very creative with my lighting setups – motorbike headlamps and huge lead acid batteries, but very limiting.

Helmets did improve with better venting, but in reality, they don’t look like they offer any protective cover than my old hairnet racing helmet, and better sunscreen made daytime riding ok. But by that time the damage was done, and the only cyclists on the road in Oz were the enthusiasts, not the commuters.

Now my head is devoid of hair, I happily wear a helmet – it keeps the woodpeckers off.

But look at a cycle helmet from a non cyclists viewpoint. Can you imagine a more dorky looking thing to perch on your head? And then you have to pay “How much? !!! ” for a decent one.

Helmets suck, basically.

I’m sure my neighbour would stop cycling to work if she had to wear a helmet. She does has a job that means her hair has to look good (yes, this is a sexist world). Helmet hair isn’t an option for her.

Thing is, it’s not about you lot. You’re all mad keen cyclists, wearing a plastic hat isn’t going to put you off – and like with funny padded shorts, wearing a helmet is all part of the “getting dressed up to ride a bike” thing which lots of people enjoy.

It’s about the reluctant cyclists. The tubby bloke who really should go for a cycle along the canal instead of sitting in front of the telly. The commuter who thinks she should cycle for the sake of the environment, but the car is easier.

For them, wearing a plastic hat is a turn off. It turns them from a normal person into a cyclist, and we all know what normal people think of cyclists. You don’t want to be one of them. Your mates will laugh at your silly hat, and real cyclists will sneer because you’re too slow.

I know it’s a hard attitude to understand if you’re a keen cyclist, but we don’t really need more keen cyclists, we really need more normal people on bikes.

This, everything else is preaching to the converted IMHO.

Debating cycle helmets is a mug’s game, and I’m not going there, but I think it’s time we started talking about protective headgear for pedestrians and motorists. Many people die or suffer life changing injuries, and if they save one life, helmets for peds and motorists have to be a good idea.