Heather, I just like ridding bikes. I’m not on a crusade, I just like peddling. If my choice offends people to the extent I’m not welcome, then I’ll leave them to it. Their club, their rules, no worries. I just wanted to know if I’d overlooked something bigger. The level of aggression here i’m amazed by.

You ain’t seen nothing yet. This topic will bring out the YOU WILL DIE WITHOUT A POLYSTYRENE HAT ON brigade, and there’s no arguing with them.

How can you possibly not expect such a question to become a debate about the merits or lack thereof of helmets. Helmets are stupid. 30 odd years of cycling and I have never landed on my head.

I’ve no interest in a debate either

But I’ve fallen on my head, 20+mph on the road my head was the first thing to hit the concrete road after the wheel folded, totally destroyed a brand new Bell helmet and I was unmarked [on my head]
There’s no way that I would have been unmarked without it, to what extent ????????????
but people do hit their heads

Easy van. Uplink, this is about choice, not if they work or not. If you start on that, this is going only one way.

STW is brilliant.
84/85 posts and the answer was given here.
How many STWers does it take to change a lightbulb?

Uplink, this is about choice, not if they work or not. If you start on that

Eh? – I was replying to van cough cough’s post about not falling on your head and I specifically mentioned that I didn’t know how effective it had been 🙄

Hello? Can I add anything?

Their club their rules however silly they may be 🙂

I would take the marxist ( groucho tendency)line on this one

LOL ^^ how true. But the same answer given many times confirms it.

It’s nice to hear those blokes are obviously sensible intelligent people. Just wear a f**kin helmet and be done with it, if you’re riding a road bike you’ll look like a tart in tight clothes, not having good hair on show will make no difference whatsoever!

Sorry, I’m with the ‘wear one’ camp… sure it’s your choice not to… but it’s my choice not to ride with someone, get to know them and then be forced to assist in scooping their grey-matter off the floor.

It’s all about reasonable precautions… ok, so we all look like tits with plastic on our heads… but as someone has already pointed out, I’d rather look like a tit for a couple of hours while having a laugh than potentially spending the rest of my days in a chair / bed with someone wiping my drool off my shoulder.

Actually not quite that simple with it being a public road and me acting 100% within the law, but who wants to ride where they’re not welcome.

I refuse to ride with anyone not wearing a lid for the simple fact that if they come off then they’ve almost certainly ruined my ride. People who are a bit banged up are generally ok to get themselves home (whether that’s phoning for their missus to pick them up or a gentle pootle), a head injury means waiting for an ambulance/coroner.

EDIT: Plus with helmets being a massive amount better than they were 20 years ago there isn’t really an excuse not to. Too hot/bulky/uncool? Buy a better helmet then! I don’t suffer from overheating with a Catlike Whisper or Kask Graphic on.

And here they are, complete with grey matter spilling out of that unhelmeted head.
Enjoy…

Fishd

It’s all about reasonable precautions…

Indeed it is. However what I think is reasonable and what you do is different.

Do you wear a helmet in the pub? More likely to get a head injury when drinking than when cycling

BTW – its nothing to do with what yo look like – its how pleasant it is to ride bearheaded

schmiken – Member

I refuse to ride with anyone not wearing a lid for the simple fact that if they come off then they’ve almost certainly ruined my ride.

Really? – everytime an unhelmeted rider crashes they get a serious head injury? You must know some headbangers and I must be a ghost

Do you wear a helmet in the pub? More likely to get a head injury when drinking than when cycling

that would be a valid point if you were doing 20mph in the pub 🙄

I’m popping out to the off licence as I think this is going to be a long one.
Anyone fancy anything? Crisps? Nuts?

More likely to get a head injury when drinking than when cycling

can i see the stats for this? Even if true you will be comparing chalk and cheese.

DS I think you might need to buy quite a few cans of bitter for what is coming and a large bar of chocolate to share. I will just have a warm pillow to cuddle and gently weep into please.

Ah – so helmets only work at 20 mph? that will be of interest to the testers who test them at 12.5 mph – and hour for hour drinking gets more head injuries than cycling I should know – I have had a few.

seriously – compulsory drinking helmets would save lives – more than cycle helmets would

I think its a good idea. Lets design a drinking helmet

Ah – so helmets only work at 20 mph?

so where exactly did I say helmets only work at 20 mph ?

Can’t find any obvious ones junkyard but I bet more of us have had a head injury ( cut / bruise or more) from hitting the head when drinking than when cycling.
3 decent cuts and bruises on my head from drinking and falling over, none from cycling

You? Oh you are ruddy tetotal are you not?

I’m with the ‘higher risk of rider on rider collision’ camp and other riders would prefer that you have a little bit more head protection as they don’t want to feel/be held responsibly for you getting knocked out.

EDIT [anecdote removed]

I wear my helmet 75% of the time. That 25% I don’t is local bopping. I wear it for off road and commuting.

I just do, that’s why.

TJ (and others) you probably know my views on risk assessment and appropriate protection but what I was trying discus was someone else trying to impose their view of it on me, not if I should wear one and why/not. I think it may be too late for this but…. Nevermind.
Cue the emotive stories and anecdotal “evidence”.

The local rides round here have a simple rule, if you can keep up you’re in. You soon learn…

… to find a another group to ride with.

One pillow on its way. 😀
I was thinking about ordering a pizza, but 16 bloody quid!!!! I should start a thread about this, it’s outrageous!!!! Pfft!!!

I bet more of us have had a head injury ( cut / bruise or more) from hitting the head when drinking than when cycling.

wonders if that is down to us wearing helmets when cycling and not when drinking

Ps you ***** lightweight, unless you were head butting walls to show how hard you were 😉

Sorry fourbanger – I was taking the piss.

The attitude they showed annoys me – however – their club their rules is not unreasonable – I’d rather ride with folk that are a bit more broad-minded anyway.

I object more if its someone with some authority like employer or whatever that trys to do this.

Interesting Edinburgh council have a rule that if you are cycling on council business you must wear hi viz waistcoat – but no mention of helmet. An interesting view

how comfortable it is to ride bearheaded

Animal welfare groups may disagree.

compulsory drinking helmets

Is that a helmet to wear while compulsorily drinking ?

God ,will you lot stop avoiding the OPs original question, and just tell him straight,he needs to know ,then he can move on.

Mr Fourbanger ,I am sure you are lovely,but it seems that the group you tried to join just didn’t like you.
If it hadn’t been the helmet thing ,it would have been something else.

Now I know this is hard,but it’s probably best if you don’t see them again.

Best of luck

At least 3 mates have broken helmets on our rides in falls.

None of them have suffered head injuries.
None have been injured by wearing a helmet.
All would have almost certainly suffered a more serious injury if they hadn’t been wearing one.

I would choose not to ride with people who don’t wear a helmet.

I ride with two good friends both of which would either not be here or not riding due to falls involving their heads hitting a tree/log headfirst. Both of which in my opinion only Walked away because they had helmets on.

I for one do get annoyed with riders not wearing them at my local trail in Cannock, if a couple of riders were to suffer serious injury then pressure would be put on the forestry commission to close the trails.

This cannot happen

K

Who would have thought a grown adult can make his own choice on whether to wear a lid or not.

Fasthaggis, i’m a nice chap i assure you. I think my lack of expensive kit is making them look way over biked. A really flash lid might just make me look the part enough to be going as quick as I do.
This one time I was at the velodrome wearing my MTb lid. Being a newb I left the peak on and boy did I hear about it. I’d had got less grief for not wearing one!

Who would have thought a grown adult can make his own choice on whether to wear a lid or not.

Who would have thought we have the choice not to ride with them. 🙄

God ,will you lot stop avoiding the OPs original question, and just tell him straight,he needs to know ,then he can move on.

It was in the third post, now shut up, sit back and enjoy the show? Are you one of these insufferable people who talks in the cinema about irrelevant crap? If you’re lucky this will spill over for a bit of breakfast reading. 😀

Can’t be arsed reading the rest of this thread.

No way would I go on a road ride without a helmet. Tis your call though. But I’m taking sides with el club.

I was going to suggest using less garlic to the OP,but never mind.

..and Don Simon,it wasn’t irrelevant crap,I just couldn’t understand why you were wearing a crash hat in the cinema.It was like a Dom Jolly sketch 🙄

motorists have been found to drive faster and/or closer around cyclists wearing helmets. Though they tend to give mnore room to pretty ladies regardless of whether they are wearing helmets…

In a single, oft referenced and seriously flawed study.
The “women” that were given more room were an aging chap in a long blond wig…
All the assessments as to speed and closeness of passes were entirely subjective and the observations of a single test subject (the author).

The findings of this “study” are very questionable.

to find a another group to ride with.

Yes, the crap people did. The ones who wanted to learn and wanted to get better and wanted to race stuck with it.

Dom Joly?

schmiken – Member
I refuse to ride with anyone not wearing a lid for the simple fact that if they come off then they’ve almost certainly ruined my ride.

Really? – everytime an unhelmeted rider crashes they get a serious head injury? You must know some headbangers and I must be a ghost.

They may not get a serious head injury but I’d think that the chances are significantly higher than if they were wearing a helmet. I respect everyone’s right to wear a helmet or not, but if you choose not to, I’ll choose not to ride with you. 🙂