[Closed] No helmet?

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHHHH!

Go away.

wont someone think of the. . . . . .

Rofl Harris 😆

Were they using flats or SPDs ?

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Flats lol.

Lycra, baggies or a clever mix of both?
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😆

What tires would be best for a 29er with a rear mounted childseat travelling on a city path full of horse dung?

Saw a man and a young child in a car earlier on the road, the kid was on a small chair mounted on the back seat of the car. Neither of them had helmets...

I had the entire family of three on one bike at the weekend, with not a whiff of polystyrene between us.

It were lovely, it were.

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Tsk! Some people ,not a life jacket in sight. [img] [/img]

Fasthaggis - thats some contraption. Yours?

That trailer looks an awesome way of scaring the shit out of your kid, where do I get one? 😀

and also covering your kid in shit..

well what happens is you get a mummy mtb and a daddy mtb and when they really love each other ......

Thats not a trailer its a wheelchair AND the kid has a flag pole impalled in its head. Still, good to see the parents are having fun...Sadistic b*stards!

lol

awesome ride!

At least they have helmets on

TandemJeremy - Member
At least they have helmets on

Quoted for posterity.

All I know is that in my 20 odd years of mountain biking I've had 2 major crashes, and witnessed 3 more, and all of those ended with crushed helmets. God knows what would have happened if we had made the individualist choice of not wearing safety gear.

Its a free country, and those that choose not to are entitled to their choice.

Just as I am entitled to think of them as selfish idiots.

Am I entitled to go "meh meh meh meh meh mmmmeeeeeehhhhhhhhh"?

Apparently, yes

But

Why?

Excellent.

Meh meh meh meh meh mmmmeeeeeehhhhhhhhh.

Why?

Cos the argument's been done a million times and sometimes trying to urinate on it to put it out seems a better option than trying to convince people that it's not a black-and-white issue 🙂

AndyRT - Member

All I know is that in my 20 odd years of mountain biking I've had 2 major crashes, and witnessed 3 more, and all of those ended with crushed helmets. God knows what would have happened if we had made the individualist choice of not wearing safety gear.

Indeed - only god knows cos no one living does. you might not have had the accident at all, the helmet may have reduced injury,the helmet may have made no difference at all, the helmet might have increased injury. these are the possible options.

My advice to you would be - stop crashing. Not wearing helmets makes you less likely to crash ( well its one possible explanation for the lack of evidence of helmets stopping injury in population studies)

If you are really interested have search on here. too many long threads debate this. It saddens me that people think helmets are needed all the time. cycling is safe pursuit.

This is a reasonably rational look at the topic

http://www.ctc.org.uk/desktopdefault.aspx?tabid=4688

That baggy Lycra is the funniest thing I've seen today at least since the nigella video

Indulge me.

What is so ambiguous upon providing limited protection for your skull in the likely event of an off when mucking about on mountain bikes, let alone low hanging branches.

I'm under no illusion upon cycle helmets providing life assurance in a big stack, but getting older and more aware of consequences(not forgetting responsibilities to your immediate family). I don't fall off a lot, but now and again the karma bank makes a withdrawal my body can't cash, and that's fine by me, because risk is part of the reward. I just think bouncing off a tree, or smearing myself into Tarmac are 2 things I'd personally prefer to do whilst wearing something able to limit gravel rash or a permanent dent in the shape of an oak tree.

I apply the same logic to motorbiking, and in that universe there's a saying:
Cheap head, cheap lid.

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It's not only pussies that wear helmets you know 😀

[img] http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTEN3E3Er1v3u7iB2rBN0sHSggqjQl8RQ94OO7jzBfZESXeJNFahQ [/img]

No helmet?

I expect these to be the next must have accessory at trailcentres all around the UK..

[b]"Indulge me.

What is so ambiguous upon providing limited protection for your skull in the likely event of an off when mucking about on mountain bikes, let alone low hanging branches".
[/b]
Uh? were you trying to sound intelligent? 😕

edited

"[i]What is so ambiguous upon providing limited protection for your skull in the likely event of an off when mucking about on mountain bikes, let alone low hanging branches.[/i]"

Well, the OP was talking about the road, not mucking about on mountain bikes. The likelihood of various scenarios differ quite markedly between the two. The sort of mountain biking that most people on here would indulge in of a weekend is the sort of stuff where you've got a pretty high risk of getting into an incident where a helmet is designed to provide benefit. An experienced and cautious cyclist on a rural road, on the other hand, probably has negligible risk of most incidents; the most significant perhaps is being wiped out from behind by a car travelling at high speed, where a helmet is likely to be well outside its designed parameters. Equally, for a family jaunt round some quiet fire roads there's probably less risk of a fall than there is whilst, say, jogging.

There are less obvious factors as well. There is evidence to suggest not only that (for whatever reason, and the cause/effect may go either way) unhelmeted riders may be less likely to have an accident, but - perhaps more significantly - that motorists are more likely to give unhelmeted riders more room, thus reducing the likelihood of an accident. (And I'm sure we'd agree that avoiding an incident is preferable to being involved in an incident which is of a severity and nature at which a helmet makes a substantive difference to the outcome. (Remember that for any incident which is too minor or too severe for that to be the case, there's no safety benefit to wearing a helmet - the thing of course is that those boundaries are virtually impossible to identify accurately.)

There are numerous peripheral things not related to personal safety: such as whether you think helmets propagate the perception of cycling being more dangerous than it really is; whether you find a helmet a bit of an annoyance; whether you're implicitly going to accuse all Sikhs of having a cheap head. Trivial in isolation, but they add up. Personally I find the rare occasions I ride without a lid are more pleasing because of it - in no small part, cycling's about freedom.

(And yes, I always wear one for 'proper' off-road rides. And always for commuting. And usually for weekend road rides - sometimes for slow rides on dry summer roads I indulge in a bare head. But very rarely for popping to the shops, for touring, or for family pootles round fire roads. Yes, there's always the outside chance I'll find myself in an accident where I wasn't wearing a helmet, could have worn a helmet, and the helmet would have made a real difference... but that combination seems far more likely to arise when I'm not on a bicycle than when I am.)

On which note, I'm going to go to bed, and try not to trip on the stairs and bang my head on the wall whilst doing so 😉

There are less obvious factors as well. There is evidence to suggest not only that (for whatever reason, and the cause/effect may go either way) unhelmeted riders may be less likely to have an accident, but - perhaps more significantly - that motorists are more likely to give unhelmeted riders more room, thus reducing the likelihood of an accident

I did read a study about that a while back. Seems slightly bizare in a way think, the car driver mindset of "he's wearing lycra and helmet so must be a good cyclist, he won't mind if i brush past him and nearly knock him off then"..

Didn't know this topic had been done mucgh before which it sounds like it has going by the responses! It just got to me when i saw it.. the child doesn't have a choice.

Fair enough. I have actually stopped riding a road bike, although I really enjoyed it, simply because I was having far to many near death experiences from cars, and also I got really bored of having stuff lobbed at me, such as bottles and more of a concern; beer cans from passing vehicles 😯

But if I were to ride on quiet country lanes, I would probably wear a helmet out of pure habit. TBH a high speed road ride crash will hurt more than an off road one I think, but I'm not sure full body armour suits road rider chic

What is so ambiguous upon providing limited protection for your skull in the [i]likely[/i] event of an off when mucking about on mountain bikes, let alone low hanging branches.

Bez said all that needs saying, but I'll just add: why [i]likely[/i]? In 20 years of MTBing, I've not once damaged my head or my helmet.

You really are not trying hard enough ...I am disappointed

iain1775 - Member
That baggy Lycra is the funniest thing I've seen today at least since the nigella video

What Nigella video>?

You know, the more people come on here complaining others aren't wearing helmets and calling them dumb/stupid etc, the more I side with TJ, and the less I wear mine.

sorry to offend

Oh for goodness sake, can't believe this has come up again already. Wear one, don't wear one. No one should care except the individual and those that care about him/her. Make your own decision, based on evidence, personal dynamic risk assessment or just what looks cool, and stop trying to make other people's decisions either way. By all means share why you make your decision, but don't be surprised that others think different.

agreed, hence apology

You know, the more people come on here complaining others aren't wearing helmets and calling them dumb/stupid etc, the more I side with TJ, and the less I wear mine.

[i]In 20 years of MTBing, I've not once damaged my head or my helmet.

[/i]

Uh-oh, you've done it now...

🙂

I find not thinking for yourself and making your own choice just as dumb/stupid.

I am thinking for myself. I'm thinking some halfwit who has a blinkered viewpoint is blathering on and on and on and he has no idea at all. If I don't want to wear a lid, I won't. And it's not anybody else's flipping business!

I'm not going to reply, Oh! I just did Damn! Who am I talking to? OOOooooh, that's an interesting question...now where is the off switch [ ]

I get sick and tired of the same old "you must wear a helmet" bullshit.

What about gloves? Why does nobody mention GLOVES?
Why?
Well, becasue what's the first thing you do when you crash?
You put your bloody hand out!

And what about eye protection? Why does nobody go on about GLASSES?
Why?
Because if something gets in your eye and you're blinking trying to get rid of it or you can't see where you're going, you're more likely to crash in the first place!

But nobody EVER complains about that do they? No. It's HELMET drone HELMET jabber HELMET waffle HELMET preach HELMET bullshit HELMET I'm better than you HELMETHELMETHELMETHELMETHELMET and it's old and, binkered, and uninformed and boring.

What about gloves? Why does nobody mention GLOVES?
Why?
Well, becasue what's the first thing you do when you crash?
You put your bloody hand out!

And what about eye protection? Why does nobody go on about GLASSES?
Why?
Because if something gets in your eye and you're blinking trying to get rid of it or you can't see where you're going, you're more likely to crash in the first place!

not doing too well at the "thinking for yourself" are you?

does that feel better?

If it matters, which it doesn't, maybe this lengthy debate is all because we care?

Surely this is a simple outlet for the general consensus of opinion, and the natural instinct to preserve some sense of protection from the unforeseen imbalance or momentary misjudgment.

Its the same on a motorbike, surely. I always become concerned and annoyed when I see someone riding a 1000cc sports bike in flipflops!

I know they have the right to make that choice, and they may never fall off, and I hope they don't. But the more that do, will eventually have a cumulative effect upon the rest of us.

It's already happening. How many new trail sites are disappearing due to liabilities becoming prime cause to refuse entry to private land. With the potential for vast areas of forests becoming privately owned, this should occupy our thoughts more often. When has a single action not been a trigger for a further event? Everything is interconnected.

If you ride in protective clothing in the inherently random environment we all seemingly enjoy, sending out (apparently unsubstantiated) safety concious visual messages tells all the other users of the land that you take your own, and potentially their safety seriously.

[img] [/img]

What?

Is it time to act out the 'to helmet or not to helmet' fight yet again already?

not doing too well at the "thinking for yourself" are you

A lot better than you are, sunshine. It's called a different point of view, and it's obvioulsy working because you disagree with it. NOT thinking for myself would be agreeing with your incorrect viewpoint..!
Eh?

No it isn't.
I don't wear gloves and crash way more than most.

most people have 2 eyes, blinking allows you to see just fine with the other.

You're arging the toss for the sake of it and trying to sound clever and it's not working. My wife won't wear glasses and I've had to stop and dig her eye out more than once. You know what I mean.

I've had to stop and dig her eye out more than once.

What the?

If it matters, which it doesn't, maybe this lengthy debate is all because we care?

Its the same on a motorbike

It's already happening. How many new trail sites are disappearing due to liabilities becoming prime cause to refuse entry to private land.

When has a single action not been a trigger for a further event? Everything is interconnected.

If you ride in protective clothing in the inherently random environment we all seemingly enjoy, sending out (apparently unsubstantiated) safety concious visual messages tells all the other users of the land that you take your own, and potentially their safety seriously.

GW, [url= http://www.home-herb-garden.com/anger.html ]Chill out[/url]

A lot better than you are, sunshine.

It's called a different point of view, and it's obvioulsy working because you disagree with it.
Eh?

NOT thinking for myself would be agreeing with your incorrect viewpoint..!

Maybe you should start, becasue soon you're gonna hurt those hands you know! And yes, I've seen it done. (On a motorbike, but it's the same principal, it was a slow crash) You wanna see the mess a metal watch strap makes when it's pushed up your arm becasue it's not covered.....

Ps. go on a first aid course if you think digging mud out of eyes is the best way to clean them.

Andy - what makes you think I'm angry? are you angry? 8)

I always wear a helmet on my bike and so does my 3 year old. That's my choice and I feel safer with it.

But... 2 years ago Dublin launched its city wide bike scheme like the one in Paris etc - 500 bikes. It has been extremely successful, with 11,000 trips recorded in one day this year. It's been really good for cycling in dublin. Similar schemes in similar sized cities in Australia have had very limited success and the main reason is because Australia has mandatory helmet laws and we don't. People can just hop on a bike here and go.

There have been no serious accidents over the 2 years with well over 1,000,000 trips in Dublin and Dublin city centre is by no means a particularly bike friendly environment.

I and my son will continue wearing our helmets but I can't really argue against the success of the Dublin bike scheme.

Against my instinct to say mandatory helmet wearing, I have to go with personal choice.

[img] [/img]

My helmet makes my invincible 🙂

I wear a helmet, body armour and a spine protector so that I can ride as fast and stupidly as I like and never get hurt.

Curiously I was speaking to a surgeon the other day, of the cranial area, who said he'd only ever operated on people with head injuries from not wearing helmets in cycling accidents, he'd never in his career had to repair a head on a cyclist who had been wearing a helmet. Annecdotal evidence of course, worth the paper it's printed on, but a fascinating fact all the same.

But they all had neck injuries instead (C TJ 1901-2011) 😉

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But they all had neck injuries instead (C TJ 1901-2011)

It's certainly a possibility, that point was raised but the look of derision in his eyes was somewhat offputting!

I don't wear one because this guy looks cool as.

I bet he wouldn't go thirsty in the rainforest either.

[img] http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR4H16s4rlNOFWPwmb9Zuqgt_i88Oe6qHMLq7jUYTwiBjkrmfSUbABmazodlQ [/img]

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any takers?

Curiously I was speaking to a surgeon the other day, of the cranial area, who said he'd only ever operated on people with head injuries from not wearing helmets in cycling accidents, he'd never in his career had to repair a head on a cyclist who had been wearing a helmet. Annecdotal evidence of course, worth the paper it's printed on, but a fascinating fact all the same.

His entire career is spent treating non-helmet wearing cyclist's head injuries? Wow.

I know a retired surgeon, who is also a cyclist and former doctor for the Milk Race and British cycling. A colleague of his looked at the coroner's reports for cycling fatalities and didn't think there was a single one where injuries wouldn't have also killed them, when head injury was the cause of death. Neither wore helmets.

[i]but when I do wear gloves I wear the thinnest I can find and they don't protect my hands (ripping a finger clean off one in a silly little crash is proof enough of this)[/i]

Or, maybe, right, maybe the glove actually worked! You know, without it, that could have been your finger that was ripped off!

Well, it works for the [i]'I would've been killed to death if I hadn't have been wearing a helmet'[/i] argument...

Well i don't really care if the dad is wearing a helmet or not but for goodness sake put one on the child!!

😈

Giro and Bell lose market share to homemade ones in Egypt....

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Comparing a head injury to a finger injury is pretty misguided. If we're doing comparisons then I think only spinal (inc. neck and brain stem) and vital organ injuries are relevant in the same discussion as head injuries.

Or we could just agree that people's right to protect themselves or otherwise is their own decision, whether we like it or not, and move on.