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Yeah maybe it is. But all I can see it TJ dribbling on again. He's sending me blind.
SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP
Argggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
... and frankly threads drift away from the OP to jucier debates anyway, such is life ... teej's points were pretty relevant. Them riding bikes sans lids is probably better than them not riding bikes at all.
😳
I really tried quite hard not to make pro / anti helmet points.
Thanks again to those who understood the point - it was really intended as advice to the OP in relation to his question.
RealMan,
whether your being silly on the way to the shops or not is irelavent. I've never properly crashed my road bike, but I still wear a lid when out on a ride (poping arroud town excepted for no good reason).
I have however through no (real) fault of my own -
a) sliped on an oil patch on a dead straight bit of road. One minute coasting allong, next im sliding down the road on my head.
b) had an SPD moment mid junction and mashed my helmet into the kerb. One minute slowing down as the car in front has miss judged and is stoping to let another car through, the next the driver is asking if im ok and I'm sat wonderign what the fejk just happened.
So you dont have to be doing anything sily to have a crash, and no ammount of 'mad rad core to the max dude' bike 'skilz' would have saved me from those (oil slicks happen, spd's sometimes just dont release)
TJ,
Maybe neither time a helmet (wasn't wearing one the first time) saved me from 'serious head injury', but being rational I'd rather potential write off £40 of helmet (an E2 on giro crash replacement) the second time than spend the day with the kind of headache incident 'a' gave me!
Still dont know why i dont wear one when poping to the shops or into town, although I do wear the pisspot and if the only bike available is the BMX? Maybe its an image thing, or maybe I associate the BMX with crashing?
BigDummy - you're probably correct but my sentiments are with PeterPoddy on this.
TJ - I really tried quite hard not to make pro / anti helmet points.
So why mention stats???
Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! aaaaannnnddddd relax 🙂
God help me but for once, I thought that TJ was actually being reasonable. His stat (admittely a crap one) was I believe intended to make the point that crashes that a helmet would be beneficial in are still quite uncommon and to consider that against the negatives that stopping cycling would mean) - as explained by BD (last post page 1)
OP:
cant decide if i should give up and let them go without wearing one
I think that TJ was answering that.
Realman, as above, most of my bad helmet trashing crashes were things that I had no control over (chain slipping, feet slipping off pedals, etc) so don't kid yourself that accidents can't happen when JRA.
I feel a bit queasy having defended TJ though...
wackoak - to give some context? To try to show that the risks are low so to ask the question whether it was worth the argument with the kids?
I damm well wish I had actually given proper stats tho 😳 *makes note to self*
err if they are minors then they must wear them I think. If they refuse, then disable their bikes. (parental responsibility))
Then offer to buy them any helmet they want absolutely no expense spared as long as they wear the damn thing (value of their lives are beyond mere £)
Show them Danny Mcaskill videos (helmet worn by cool person).
Show them pictures of smashed skulls or a video of brain surgery (consequences).
thisisnotaspoon,
Yes, I agree, there could be an oil spil, or my spds could just decide to hold on a little tighter then usual. Or I could get hit by lightning, or attacked by a bear. Like I said, I understand the risks, and have come to the conclusion that the disadvantages of wearing a helmet outweigh the advantages of wearing a helmet, as the times when you actually need it are few and far between.
Besides, I'm a teenager. I'm invincible.
Here is another point - Have the kids had cycle training? say you won't nag them about helmets if they get trained up to a high standard - active rather than passive safety?
TJ - all valid points and in the end I suppose it does come down to personal choice. I'll concede that the risks are probably very, very low but I'd still rather wear one and hope that any kids I have (god forbid) would wear one also.
To be honest I saw your name in a helmet thread and thought "uh oh, here we go..."
edit: Cycle training is an ace idea.
Responds to lame reasons for going helmet-less:
1. ruins your hair (I have bad hair anyway and it covers it up)
2. cant really wear a hat (eh? Buff?)
3. can get too hot (nope, mine had great vents and a sweat brow)
4. look stupid (helmetless riders look [b]really[/b] stupid these days)
5. youve got to leave it... (strap to my bag with its straps)
I don't mind if you don't wear one, just don't ride with me unless you are wearing one. It will ruin my image 😀
If by cycle training you mean that cycling proficiency thing that schools offer, I wouldnt really bother. All it teaches you is to stick your arm out to indicate, and how to emergency brake. If you take your kids out riding with you, they will learn much more on 1 or 2 rides then they will on weeks of the cycling proficiency course.
Responses to your lame Responds to lame reasons for going helmet-less:
1. ruins your hair (I have bad hair anyway and it covers it up) - Most teenagers wont be in that situation..
2. cant really wear a hat (eh? Buff?) - Try wearing a buff to a party, college, etc..
3. can get too hot (nope, mine had great vents and a sweat brow) - So does mine (notice the [u]can[/u]) but not everyones does, and on really hot days, no helmet is as cool (temperature) as no helmet.
4. look stupid (helmetless riders look really stupid these days) - Not according to teenagers
5. youve got to leave it... (strap to my bag with its straps) - Looks stupid, and is annoying.
Ta Wackoack.
I actually felt, for a while when I started riding again atr 18, that my invincibility would be punctured if I wore the helmet, like that it only worked if I believed in it. 🙄
I quite like the argument, if your that uncool you have to wory about it then why bother? Worked at my school, I was mocked for turning up in a jumper (i'd rather not be 'cool' in winter, thanks) guess what everyone was wearing the next week? Suddenly jumpers were cool, and the afro i have in place of everyone else's spikey hair with half a tub of gel is the new target. Now curly hair ia apparnely in, and im cool 😎
Who actualy see's you to juge cool-ness when cyclign anyway?
And I actualy think helmets are cool, I NEED one of those Bern ones!
Ok I'm going to say this in really simple terms so you can all understand.
I agree with almost everything youre saying, because I'm a cyclist (I have lycra tops I think are cool)
However, NO NORMAL TEENAGER WILL AGREE with a word youre saying. And thats the point.
Here is a perfect example.
[img] 
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[img] 
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1. Lycra top, padded lycra shorts, helmet, mitts, velcro cleated shoes.
2. Skinny jeans, smoking fags, stupid hair, stupid shoes.
Which do you think the majority of teenagers will say is cooler?
Tell them that Duffy doesn't wear one. She's not very cool, so that might persuade them.
If that fails, photoshop one onto a picture of Dizzee Rascal.
I've got 2 teenage sons that ride........long list of injuries (mainly from the local jump spot) arms, collar bones, jaw etc. If you ride hard you need a helmet.
I love A&E!
He posed a simple question: How to get his kids to wear one.
As others have said, that's not what he asked.
Kids riding bikes (with or without helmets) are likely to stay fit and healthy longer than those that don't, and I'd guess they're also more likely to keep riding into adulthood. The health benefits of riding a bike far outweigh the risks of riding a bike without wearing one.
Remember, we're talking about riding a bike to school here, not attempting a flair off a wall or Pinning your Gnarl to the Max. Normal riding in normal clothes that is stylish and cool.
[img] 
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[url= http://www.bikebeauty.org/english/ ]Beauty And The Bike[/url]
It's also wise to wear a helmet when banging your head against a brick wall.
Remember, we're talking about riding a bike to school here, not attempting a flair off a wall or Pinning your Gnarl to the Max. Normal riding in normal clothes that is stylish and cool.
Yes, exactly.
Odannyboy if you're determined to force the issue z1ppy was nearly there. The alternatives should be wear it to school or I will accompany you to school and be waiting for you at the days end. 👿 Physcological warfare will be required to win and you must be implacable.
Get them to talk about the pros and cons, if it all goes badly wrong while riding point out that dribbling and being fed through a straw is not a very cool look either. If you can work in double incontinence as well this will gain bonus points on the cringe scale. 😀
The alternatives should be wear it to school or I will accompany you to school and be waiting for you at the days end. Physcological warfare will be required to win and you must be implacable.
Of my mates and people I know at college and from my old school, its the ones with the parents like that who turn out to be druggies/criminals etc.
Try and force your kids into stuff and it wont work, and they will rebel harder. Tell them if they ever start smoking you will kick them out, and most likely, they will start smoking.
Get them to talk about the pros and cons, if it all goes badly wrong while riding point out that dribbling and being fed through a straw is not a very cool look either. If you can work in double incontinence as well this will gain bonus points on the cringe scale.
That's a great way to convince them that cycling is dangerous and getting them to stop.
[i]if it all goes badly wrong while riding point out that dribbling and being fed through a straw is not a very cool look either[/i]
I don't have kids, but I am deeply sceptical that this would have any impact on me now, nevermind when I was in my teens. Don't they just say "I'd rather burn out than fade away. Just turn my life suppoprt off" or something?
Your kids are going to do many dangerous things in the next few years, you can't stop them without stifling them, so just make sure that they know the facts, and let them get on with it. It's not actually about the helmet, the more you push, the more likely they are to stop cycling, which would be a bad thing.
I'm a helmet wearer BTW. My helmet is very 'cool', but like every other cyclist who wears one, I look like a gimp to any non-cyclists, it's just a fact of life.
I don't have kids, but I am deeply sceptical that this would have any impact on me now, nevermind when I was in my teens. Don't they just say "I'd rather burn out than fade away. Just turn my life suppoprt off" or something?
I'm sure it'll work just fine. After all, we tell kids that smoking will give them cancer, drinking will kill their brain cells and liver, and junk food will make them fat. I don't know any teenagers who smoke, drink or eat crap.