[Closed] "you can ride this time but next time you'll need a lid....

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

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

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

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

[i]Ah - so helmets only work at 20 mph?[/i]

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

[i]to find a another group to ride with.[/i]

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. 🙂

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!

I get the feeling you can only ride in a straight line because you have a chip on both shoulders 😉

how did you get the introduction to this chaingang?

IIRC the velodrome staff tell everyone to remove all non essential pieces of kit including visors, I can guarantee you are not the only person to get shouted at, just one of the few to take it personally 😉

disclaimer - haven't read the last page

it's more of just a group of people that ride together, no subs, hence in my mind I'm the only one responsible for me, no one else is liable so I didn't think there would be an issue.

you say that however it could be argued (in court)that anyone organising a group ride has a duty of care to newcomers.

and with judges making comments like [url= http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=5180 ]un-helmeted cyclists who suffer head injuries may not be entitled to full compensation[/url] the club run maybe trying to cover their own back. understandable in the compo culture we have today.

fourbanger - you're Bristol way aren't you?

Which club was it? (Apologies if it's mentioned above and I've missed it).

Appreciate you could just answer 'it's my choice' but why didn't you wear a lid?

(FWIW I'm pro helmet anti compulsion but would never consider not wearing a lid for most of the riding I do - Sat morning chain-gang rides included).

ACTiV Folkestone ride out twice a week on an 'informal ride'. However, no helmet - no ride. We're not H&S Nazis, nor fashion victims. There are novice riders to World Champ silver medalists, but the general census is it's safer to wear one than not, (Trek bikes come with a sticker telling you to wear one).
If you turned up without a helmet then someone would pull an old one out for you to wear.
People who exercise their right to choice are welcome, but if you don't have a lid then we'll see you in the pub after the ride...

you say that however it could be argued (in court)that anyone organising a group ride has a duty of care to newcomers.

In our club we actively stress that you're responsible for your own safety, the club runs are in effect people saying I'm going to x at this pace come along if that suits, although we don't leave people behind on hills and wait for mechanicals it's not the job of the run leader to ensure the safety of all on the ride - nor would somone leading the way at the front be always able to do so anyway. TBH it's not people without helmets who cause stress on club runs but people who can't ride in a group or at a steady tempo who are a pain

Getting slightly on thread our club c400 members has no requirment to wear a helmet on runs or club tt's(quite a few, myself included don't) and this has never been an issue, or even raised on our forum - live and let live.

Stuey01 - Member

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.

the closeness was measured.

but you are correct on other points. I have often thought if i saw a bloke in a wig on a bike i would probably give a wider berth 😉

There have been other studies that have found bicycle riders ride more recklessly, with a false sense of security, when wearing that 'protective' piece of equipment - the helmet.

I think helmets are stupid and I think bike riders look ridiculous and babyish/retarded wearing them. How come car drivers are not wearing helmets? Or pedestrians?

Much rather have the wind in my hair...

Not that long ago, when children played outside because parents didn't believe there was a paedophile on every street, we rode everywhere, we sometimes fell off, we never wore helmets, and none of us ever died..

Helmets are gay.

sparkyspice - Member

If you turned up without a helmet then someone would pull an old one out for you to wear.

that is a seriously stupid attitude. old helmets shold never be used, second hand helmets should never be used, you simply do not know the history of them

Much rather have the wind in my hair...

Me too! Unfortunately my hairiest bits don't include my head...

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.

A helmet is unlikely to prevent that happening since helmets are not designed to prevent that from happening. They have been designed to offer some protection to the head in the event of a low speed crash to the floor. Besides, not all cyclists who are mortally wounded die from head injuries....

The helmet: a stupid piece of headwear that makes you uncomfortable and sweaty and look like a spaz that you will likely never need... and even when you might need it, it offers little in the way of protection.

Tell that to James Cracknell and see if he agrees you ignorant idiot

that is a seriously stupid attitude. old helmets shold never be used, second hand helmets should never be used, you simply do not know the history of them

Don't let common sense get in the way of anecdote and smug superiority TJ.

olympus - Member
Tell that to James Cracknell and see if he agrees you ignorant idiot

Of course Cracknell's accident would probably not have happened if he hadn't been severely deprived of sleep, so whether or not he was wearing a helmet could be seen as irrelevant.

I get the feeling that he keeps banging on about 'wearing a helmet saved my life' to distract from the fact that he shouldn't have been in a position to be hit by the truck anyway, thereby taking the focus away from his idiocy.

that is a seriously stupid attitude. old helmets should never be used, second hand helmets should never be used, [s]you simply do not know the history of them[/s][b] they smell[/b]

I'm not anti or pro helmet but I am amazed by how much protection some people seem to think they provide. It's a couple of hundred grams of polystyrene ffs. If we're talking about normal road/xc lids then they're designed to provide protection against cuts and scrapes in low speed falls.

As such I wear mine when mountain biking but don't bother on my road bike.