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I managed to go OTB at quite a speed yesterday, landed full weight on my head and shoulder.
The helmet is crushed to about 50% of it's original thickness at the point of impact, and 3 of the ribs between the vents are broken.
I've got a sore neck and a small graze, but other than that not even concussion.
Sorry no photo's at the moment as my shoulder didn't fare so well and has bits of bone in the wrong place.
SM
Glad you're ok. good job you were wearing a helmet.
Some companies do a crash replacement.
it,s good to be alive,eh 8)
Crash replacement is £40 + post them the helmet, new helmet of same model is £49.99 less the £5 code at CRC (+quidco 3%). I'm keeping it for the wall of shame.
Strangely enough as well as the shoulder hurting lots,I appear to have developed intermittent earache that stopped when my wife went shopping?
And yes somedays it does feel good to be (still) alive.
SM
An hour and no-ones copme along to say the helmet made no difference blah blah? This is STW yes?
Anyhoo, glad you survived more or less. I think of helmets as a disposable head.
smartmonkey - Member
I appear to have developed intermittent earache that stopped when my wife went shopping?
*s****s*
unklehomered - MemberAn hour and no-ones copme along to say the helmet made no difference blah blah? This is STW yes?
That response is deployed for "it saved my life, definitely, the doctor said so" posts 😛
We rode Glentress on Thursday evening and one of our group lost a front wheel over some roots and then face-planted quite heavily.
Broke his helmet along with a number of facial cuts, blood everywhere. Luckily we could get a car up to the fireroad, so he hadn't to walk far.
Certainly wearing his saved more damage, and tbh I wouldn't ride with anyone who didn't wear one.
Glad to hear you didn't sustain too much damage. Much better a broken helmet than a broken head.
Funnily enough my earache just started when Doris came in from work!
Hope your shoulder feels better soon. Glad you were wearing a helmet.
I always give my broken helmets to schools or friends children aged between about 8 - 12 who take them to their schools for 'show and tell' or school assemblies.
Strange how it splits opinions among the parents. The three main groups are:
a) "See, helmets save your lives. you will wear yours now"
b) "See, bikes are dangerous. Get back on your X-Box"
c) "Yeah, thatz coz u cant ride. My kidz is cool and dunt need that stuf"
Also had to laugh when one of the head mistresses asked me if I could have another one of my 'good' crashes as they had lost the last broken helmet I gave them.
sorry to hear about your stack - mend soon !
glad you were wearing a lid - i do and have had similar impacts - both on a bike and a snowboard - hope the shoulder heals quick
paul
Risk compensation - your helmet made you crash.
Don't thank it, blame it.
Job done 🙂
WorldClassAccident - MemberHope your shoulder feels better soon. Glad you were wearing a helmet.
Not quite up to your standard, but they are talking about putting a pin in it.
SM
The helmet is crushed to about 50% of it's original thickness at the point of impact, and 3 of the ribs between the vents are broken
Bit of helicopter tape, and some spray paint, and it will be ok to sell as previously used.
Glad your ok though.
what sort of lids was it?
(oh and slap wrist for being a falling silly)
Lid was a Giro Hex. Given the angle of impact (head hit first) and the broken bone at the shoulder I'm guessing it made the difference between walking back to the car or going out strapped to a backboard.
SM
I used to destruct helmets on a yearly basis at the very least, this one was from a front tyre that suddenly deflated due to a ripped sidewall on a high speed rocky descent from the Cairnsmore of Fleet in Galloway, immediate head plant into the rock garden, i woke up a while later with a rather sore neck and a headache.
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The helmet probably saved me from being drip fed for the rest of my life, unless the departed TJ would like to argue otherwise.
double bingo!
My helmet from the outside looks fine, but is well damaged on the inside. I landed in packed sand, and when you looked you could see where my head had hit and then a bit further on where the shoulder hit. Apparently the guys 20 yards down the trail heard the thud as I hit the deck.
SM
Cynic-al wins a cuddly toy!......and his name in first place on the T-J helmet debate trophy
😀
Am merely applying some thought to the issue, others should try it.
cynic-al - Memberdouble bingo!
Come back and say that when both your legs don't work properly. It's been 16 years and they haven't got any better in that time.
I didn't say it would have done serious damage, but I learnt fairly early on you don't let someone with a potentialy serious neck injury move, they go out strapped to a back board and can get off it when the doctor says so.
Given the angle of the impact, had I not been wearing the helmet I wouldn't have even considered trying to stand up or walk the 2 miles back to transport.
SM
I think cynic-al was commenting on a long running in-house stw joke regarding the for/against helmet debate that used to be vehemently debated on this forum on a monthly basis with a now banned forum poster (hello T-J), i doubt any malice or illwill was intended with the double bingo call, it's just cynic-all's sense of humour.
😕
My point: AFAIK helmets prevent a narrow range of injuries by stopping the brain moving quite so quickly. I don't think they therefore stop spinal injuries? It's also impossible for a crash victim to know what would have happened to them without one. Of course crash victims feel very strongly about things but they are not the most rational/informed.
I'm just putting forward the other side of the story - helmets are not a panacea - as TJ said there are other factors. It's not "for or against helmets" - just that there's more to it than that.
Cynic-Al makes some good points however I take issue with his saying:
"Crash victims feel very strongly about things but they are not the most rational/informed."
Unless he, Cynic-Al, was present at the time of the accident under question he is demonstrably less informed than the 'crashee'! Therefore to comment on whether or not the helmet functioned as intended and protected the user is nothing more than conjecture and he would do well to remember that.
Peace out.
Cynic-Al,
the helmet is not just to save your brain, in any instance where the head hits and the helmet deforms it acts just like the crush zone of a car, absorbing some of the impact, and reducing the peak force applied. Therefore land on head, helmet crushes and peak load transmitted to spine is significantly lower.
A helmet isn't magic protection, if properly fitted and actually involved in the incident (ie the point of impact) they can help reduce the seriousness of the incident. (although I'm not sure why the hospital were asking if I was wearing a helmet when I'm rocking up with an obviously broken shoulder?)
I suspect we need to take this to another thread, because AFAIK there are some instances involving rotational rather than impact forces where wearing the helmet can cause more trauma to the brain and spine. But that's a risk I'm prepared to take for increased protection from head impact.
SM
Helmets also protect the brain from direct damage where the skull is broken on impact causing the bones (and what you've hit) to injure the soft tissue of the brain.
CGG-a helmet can mitigate injury from an impact strong enough to break a skull?
Therefore to comment on whether or not the helmet functioned as intended and protected the user is nothing more than conjecture and he would do well to remember that.
I've not said the helmet didn't help, just that it's nigh impossible to know how much help it did (beyond the obvious of stopping lacerations eta) - no one recreates the accident and analyses it afterwards, which is what you'd need to do.