[Closed] Cycle helmets

was discussing this the other night with a mate.

We both agree that "pootling/commuting" neither of us wear helmets (in London or bimbling to the pub) but he would wear one if he was hooning around on his road bike. I dont go road riding so have no opinion.

I do wear one when cycle touring.

And we both wear one when off road.

Tell them to P!ss off its your head and only you can decide how you want to protect it, do not let the numpties tell you what to do.FWIW I wear a helmet commuting

commuting to work on a on/off road route-no helmet
offroad-helmet

feel naked without it offroad, and can't abide it commuting.....odd ❓

Do you need to? - no - there is no law. Is it wise? - depends. Just because your colleagues will laugh that is no reason not to wear one.
A dozen or so cyclist died from head injuries each year and 350 - 500 got serious head injuries.

Do you object to wearing one?

Is this a whole can of worms - yes

It's pretty stupid, but I don't wear a helmet to commute - most of it is on a proper off road cycle path though.

I do wear a helmet when 'going for a ride' on the road though.

i do
a couple of years ago i highsided fairly spectacularly. broken arm and head first collision with pavement. sore head, but reckon the helmet saved me from worse.

I do sometimes, but sometimes i wear a high viz yellow bobble hat, which I believe makes me look attractive to ladies...oh yes, it does.

always wear one, doesn't matter if I'm out for 15mins or 5hours, for road or off road

it's not always going to be you that makes the mistake that means you need a helmet, especially if you're doing a rush hour commute, seen too many near misses (and even a smashed windscreen and poorly looking cyclist) to consider not wearing one.

Entirely a matter of choice, but if you've got a helmet anyway I can't see much reason to leave it at home while you ride to work.

I very rarely ride without one, off-road, part-road, long road or short road.

What you got to lose?

I wear one if riding to work. Going to the shops 'round the corner - not usually. It won't do much if you're hit by a car. It does stop that horrid discomfort you get when you fall off and clang your head on things though. I found it useful when parking up at work as one of the bike sheds has a low roof that I invariably smacked my head against after kneeling down to lock the bike. Whilst I hit the roof sooner with the hat on it doesn't hurt as much.

The newer helmets do produce a nice draft over your head with the venting. That's nice on a warm day.

Wear mine on/off road all the time. Commute is on fairly fast roads. I sometimes don't bother for a 2 minute ride to the shop but feel silly for it as the bad accidents always happen when you're not expecting it.

I don't even sit on my bike without a helmet properly fastened on my head. You are certainly good enough to avoid crashing, what about the others? On Monday my wife, fully qualified cycle trainer, was crashed into by a young lad. Landed on her kneen, elbows and forehead. The only injury-free part is her head, her Giro in the bin though.

Entirely a matter of choice, but if you've got a helmet anyway I can't see much reason to leave it at home while you ride to work.

+1
I always wear a helmet. My worst crash in 15+ years mountain biking/biking was on a canal towpath in the wet going to work - sideways off and head sideswipe into a 3x3 piece of wood that was part of a bridge. A trip to A&E and concussion, but nothing worse. I was wearing my helmet.

Hairy - it used to be that if you return a Giro to the distributer, they will replace it at half the rrp. Ask at your local Giro-dealing LBS. Go rake in the bin and get the helmet out

It's not half but it's a reasonable discount - £32.50 for a new Hex.

,will it make me a target,for merryment amongst my collegues.

Jeezus, how old are you, 12?

i wear a helmet at all times on the bike with the following logic

1. off-road i consider the chances of me falling off are increased and whilst i accept that a helmet wont help if i fall on my ar5e, i think it will if i fall on my head
2. on road i consider the chances of falling off are much less, however if i do then i'll almost certainly hit something very hard indeed and if it's going to on be my head, i'd like some padding
3. i have no interest in what anyone thinks of my appearance.
4. my helmet is fits perfectly and is comfortable, cool and light - no downsides

I was pretty happy I was wearing a helmet when some neds dropped half a brick on my head as I cycled under a bridge a couple of years ago!

Are you that sad that you base your decisions on what friends might think??

I always wear a helmet for my commute. Half asleep = worst crashes I've had! It's 7 - 14 miles each way on road / cycle path with some very fast bits, like through the clyde tunnel footpath though.

My workmates all think it's very funny that I ride my bike to work and they s**** about it behind my back. Fell off on ice once and arrived at work with concussion and a strained shoulder and they laughed about that for months. I have a good s**** at the fact that they're almost all overweight and the last six pack any of them saw was washing down a curry! 🙂

Always wear a helmet.
3 weeks ago a colleague at work had an accident in Harrogate.
He was cycling past queing traffic on Leeds road when a prat in a Golf decided to do a U turn to avoid the traffic.
His helmet is in pieces from where he hit the windscreen, but other than that he is alive.

I have also had too many silly falls and near misses where a curb stone or rock could have put a nice dent in my head.

Bottom line is if you cycle without a helmet you have not properly assessed the risks.

Are you that sad that you base your decisions on what friends might think??

As opposed to the opinions of complete strangers on an internet forum. 🙂

I always wear one, offroad or on.

I do a lot of road miles on my commute and I figure I'd be daft not to as any protection has to be a good thing - people do tend to hurtle around the country roads in their 4x4s. Might sound a little OTT but my two young daughters are another two reasons to make sure I remember to put the thing on. My wife's Dad died when she was young and she's very adamant that I should be wearing one - one of the conditions of me getting to ride the amount I do.

Always wear one, just seems a bit pointless not to. Also, the more that wear them the more acceptable it may become to those that don't that they should, seems strange that the coolest kids at our local bike park ie the ones that can do pretty amazing things on their bikes are also very often the only ones wearing helmets

I wear one, no matter how far i have to ride. As some above say i feel naked without it.
The fiancee now wears one after someone at her work was put into a coma after hitting there head on the curb when they were knocked off there bike.

Always wear one, and it's saved me from trips to hospital at least twice. The hardest impact was just a fortnight ago at Swinley forest...I went over the bars so fast, i didn't have time to put my hands down, so landed head first. My 4 month old Giro Athlon is trashed, but wtf, i got up and rode home!
I commute on cyclepaths too and still wear one. Too many deadheads out there, riding with their eyes closed and brains in neutral.

Simple for me bike = helmet... Simple as that.
IF it's for commuting it might even have a purpose for visibility...

Bottom line is if you cycle without a helmet you have not properly assessed the risks.

Don't really want to get into a pro/anti helmet rant. But one person's assessment of the risks may differ from anothers - since it kind of depends what personal emphasis you put on the various risks and outcomes.

I [u]do[/u] wear a helmet when riding, but if someone has assessed the risks and decided not to then fair enough (but if they just don't want to wear one because it messes up their hair or because workmates might laugh then they are an idiot).

Bottom line: asses the risks for yourself and decide if you should wear a helmet (or any other protective gear) - but don't give a crap what your workmates say, it's your safety not theirs.

Using a helmet for off-road seems a lot more clear-cut to me than using it for on-road. The frequency of accidents for road riding is much less in my experience, and there are other factors - if you feel vulnerable you're less likely to ride like a nutjob, and if you look inexperienced then car drivers are more likely to give you room.

Having said that I do tend to wear one on the road unless I'm just pootling to the shop or something.

yes

but if you dont want to thats youre choice

to me its a no brainer, which incidently is how you could end up without one

in summary if you dont want to wear one go ahead and if you are knocked off and killed/ seriously dmaged please do it before you breed, not only will it save your offspring from having to wipe your bum/pull the plug etc
but you will also be increasing the intelligence level in the human gene pool

ton - Member

commuting to work on a on/off road route-no helmet
offroad-helmet

feel naked without it offroad, and can't abide it commuting.....odd

Same here so maybe not all that odd!

I think the reason I hate it for the commute is the peak does my neck in on the road bike.

CHB - Member

Bottom line is if you cycle without a helmet you have not properly assessed the risks.

Rubbish. There are many ways of assessing risk. anyway tell that to all the dutchies that don't wear helmets.

There is no epidemic of cyclists dying because of not wearing helmets. Do you actually know the level of risk? Risks of getting a head injury from some form of cycling are so low as to be infinitesimal. here is some real data on risks. http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1011.html

For example - I mean how gnarly is this trail? Full body armour needed I guess
[img] [/img]

For example - I mean how gnarly is this trail? Full body armour needed I guess

bet if you fell and smacked your head on one of those rocks sticking through the grass a helmet would be very welcome.....

Pook - but how likely is that? That is the key point. I could be struck by lightning, a metorite could land on my head. A giant bunny could leap up and tear my ears off.

It doesn't mean that any of these things [i]will[/i] happen

The odds on us getting head injuries riding along a track like that are so low I am prepared to accept them. Note the absence of rock gardens and jumps, note the absence of cars and trucks

How do the risks compare with the likelihood of receiving a head injury through driving?

(or more specifically, crashing?)

Lower - have a look at the relative risk data in the link In my post with the picture

Believe it or not, the risk of messing up ones hair by wearing a helmet is a much bigger factor in stopping alot of women riding to work than you might think.

I'd have said road riding was actually MORE deserving of a helmet than off-road, at least when off-road there are some patches that are soft and spongey!

Personally I always wear one unless literally using the bike as a 30 second dart to the end of the road for something, which has happened about twice in my life. I own one so not using it seems stupid.

At my work I'd be the laughing stock if I didn't wear one, all the cyclists here do.

if i ride off road i wear a helmet, if i ride on the road and think i will come off, ice, wet roads then i probably will wear a helmet, If it is hot then i tend not to wear a helmet.

What you have to remember is that the design criteria of a helmet do not include hitting your head on the edge of the pavement at 30+mph. A similar scenario in a road race resulted in the death of the helmet clad rider.

If i am going to crash at 10mph then the helmet is barely within its design envelope and may help. above 20 and the forces are likely to mean the helmet won't make much of a difference, kids have been falling out of trees for thousands of years, the human race is still around the skull is tougher than some give it credit.

Risk assessment - one way I have been trained to assess risk is , person, activity. location

So for the trail above - experienced cyclist - low risk. ambient jeycore lite cycling - low risk. smooth grassy trail traffic free - low risk. Overall risk low - no helmet required

For trail centres - experienced cautious rider rider - low risk, jumping and riding fast towards my limits - high risk, trail centre with rocks and trees to hit - moderate risk - overall risk high. Helmet worn.

Coffeking - depends on the type of off-road. Trail centres I would say the risks were higher, wandering around trails such as in my pic lower than road riding

I was in more danger of injury riding with a helmet at Dalby last weekend than I was riding my bike to work helmetless on Monday.

why wouldnt you wear one!? Especially if you own one......
I dont understand the mentality.

dickydutch - they are awkward and uncomfortable and make your head sweat. I simply don't like wearing one so only wear one when the risks of me hitting my head are more than tiny.

I actually own two helmets - a pisspot and a xc one.

why wouldnt you wear one!? Especially if you own one......

* A study showed that drivers passed helmeted riders more closely than helmetless.
* Wearing a helmet increases the perception that cycling is dangerous. this leads to less people riding, which makes the roads a more dangerous place.
* Helmets make you sweaty and mess up your hair.
* My commute is 3 miles each way, mainly on quiet roads of bike paths.
* I don't want to cart a helmet round the shops, work, meetings, etc.
* Because I understand the risks and choose not to.

miketually - * Wearing a helmet increases the perception that cycling is dangerous. this leads to less people riding, which makes the roads a more dangerous place.

not sure i fully agree with that one.

Mine aren't uncomfortable and/or awkward either?!

I guess it's a case of whatever you're used to.

Out of interest miketually, do you have a link to the study regarding drivers passing riders with helmets more closely. not so I can argue the toss with you - just interested!

 

And, right on cue, the dodgy arguments make an appearance... 🙄

the design criteria of a helmet do not include hitting your head on the edge of the pavement at 30+mph.

Why should they? If a lid was deigned that could protect fully against this it would be as bulky and uncomfortable as a motorbike helmet.

above 20 and the forces are likely to mean the helmet won't make much of a difference,

You don't know that. And unless you're Mystic Meg, you don't know what speed you're going to crash at.

kids have been falling out of trees for thousands of years, the human race is still around the skull is tougher than some give it credit.

You don't have to fracture your skull to sustain a brain injury. An inch of polystyrene is a hell of a lot better at absorbing impacts than a few mm of skin and hair.

Dickydutch:

http://www.helmets.org/walkerstudy.htm

I bearly even notice my helmet is there, in fact the only time I do notice it is when its straps pull out my earphones (when I choose to use them). If you do find it a problem then maybe your helmet is badly fitted or badly designed?

I have no question that even at 30, something soft between my head and the floor gives my skull a fractionally better chance of surviving intact. If that fraction is small, who cares, its no problem to put a helmet on. I believe that in all but a freak accident a helmet will improve your chances of having reduced injuries. On rough/lumpy surfaces it allows your head to slide/glancing blow off things easier for a start. Anything that reduces your chances of injuries is good.

Bear in mind that in the result of an accident the car driver can (and will) claim the lack of a helmet was contributory negligence on your part. This was recently tested in Court and came down on the side of the driver.

There used to be a great Bell Helmets ad back in the day, which read if you've got a £5 head get a £5 helmet, so to update that to your circumstances, if you've got nothing to protect then don't protect it.

Personally the concept of being swept over the bonnet of a car and spreading my grey matter over their windscreen automatically makes me want to defend what little I've got.

I don't get the "Wearing a helmet increases the perception that cycling is dangerous. this leads to less people riding, which makes the roads a more dangerous place."
And???

Drinking is dangerous, but it hasn't stop people drinking...

Thanks mr agreeable!

I know I shouldn't get drawn into this argument, but i cant help echoing the sentiments of G!! No more responses from me now anyway!

Bear in mind that in the result of an accident the car driver can (and will) claim the lack of a helmet was contributory negligence on your part. This was recently tested in Court and came down on the side of the driver.

That was a loony decision which has yet to be applied in another case. And may never be.

kimbers - in summary if you dont want to wear one go ahead and if you are knocked off and killed/ seriously dmaged please do it before you breed, not only will it save your offspring from having to wipe your bum/pull the plug etc
but you will also be increasing the intelligence level in the human gene pool

Do you also wear a neck brace kimbers? as they are easilly [url= http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=leatt&btnG=Search&meta=cr%3DcountryUK|countryGB ]available now[/url] and breaking your neck is a distinct possibility if you fall onto your head and not uncommon among cyclists, [url= http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENGB314&q=cyclist+breaks+neck&aq=f&oq=&aqi= ]Google news results[/url]. Im getting a Leatt neck brace for DH riding but wont wear one for XC. I also have a spine protector for DH but dont wear it for XC/commuting, should i wear that too? afterall i dont want to spend the rest of my life in a wheel chair. Infact my biggest accident so far involved getting hit by a car and landing on the base of my spine, was that a close call? should i wrap myself in bubble wrap from now on? please Kimbers i must know your opinion!!!

(please dont take offence, that was all supposed to be tounge-in-cheek, im just trying to point out that you cant force people to take action against every concievable risk as breaking your neck is as likely as giving yourself severe brain damage by not wearing a helmet, and yet we dont all go round wearing neck braces)

Mr Agreeable - Member

" Bear in mind that in the result of an accident the car driver can (and will) claim the lack of a helmet was contributory negligence on your part. This was recently tested in Court and came down on the side of the driver. "

That was a loony decision which has yet to be applied in another case. And may never be.

IIRC the judge in summing up said (paraphrased)

"if it could be proven that not wearing a helmet contributed to the injuries then compensation could be reduced" however in that case it was not proven so compensation was not reduced. Indeed it is impossible to say in any accident that wearing a helmet would have reduced injuries so that is never going to happen. this has been tested in courts many times - no neurosurgeon will state that wearing a helmet would have reduced injuries as there simple are too many uncertainties.

[url= http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopModules/Articles/ArticlesView.aspx?TabID=0&ItemID=168&mid=13641 ]CTC position on helmets[/url]

[url= http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=5180 ]CTC analysis of the judgement refferd to above[/url]

Yep I've had some dealings with CTC hierarchy. Ian Warby and his efforts for MTB apart, hand clasped to forehead and **** me! Sum it up fairly well.

Personally I would never quote them in support of an argument about anything at all!!! It weakens your case rather than strenghten it IMHO

In a car I wear a seatbelt. On a bike I wear a helmet. Why waste the NHS's money on a vegetative me?

stato i agree i cant force anyone to wear one i just think they are foolish if they dont

yes i wear spine protection for dh but not for xc or commuting

dont have a neck brace though have considered getting one though have read that tehre is some evidence they transfer crash energy back into your head and increase movement of brain within skull
besides neck braces 200 quid u can get a helmet for a tenner

here is an anecdotal story
[url= http://www.nosacredcows.co.uk/blog/1136/bicycle_accident.html ]journo has a bike crash[/url]

In a car I wear a seatbelt. On a bike I wear a helmet. Why waste the NHS's money on a vegetative me?

Why don't you wear a helmet in the car? Surely a lot of car accidents result in head injuries?

In a car I wear a seatbelt. On a bike I wear a helmet. Why waste the NHS's money on a vegetative me?

Why do you not wear a helmet in the car?

Just ordered one of these: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=34183

Will it arrive before I ride home?

I always where a helmet when I get on my bike, road or off-road. I spend probably 10 times more time off-road but have hit my head probably 5 times more often on-road*. For me, I suspect I get more "value" wearing my helmet on the roads rather than mountain biking.

Evey since I found out the polystyrene coating in helmets causes cancer, I've stopped wearing them.

Ever since I discovered that my high vis yellow bobble hat was a babe magnet, I've forsworn Helmets.

more than you do offroad in my opinion.

if you come off, offroad, you will naturally avoid falling on your head.
(i always wear a lid offroad)

same for falling off ON road, BUT

if you get hit by a car, the first point of contact could quite possibly be your Head on the bonnet of the car.
which is much harder to avoid.
its not you falling off you need to worry about. its the other road users.

if you get hit by a car, the first point of contact could quite possibly be your Head on the bonnet of the car

I don't know if there's any better/proper research, but a friend of a friend* looked through all the coroners' reports on bike deaths in an area (think it was Sheffield). In every case, where the cause of death was listed as head injuries the other injuries sustained would more than likely have killed the cyclist.

*the friend is a retired surgeon/consultant who used to be British Cycling's doctor. His friend was also a retired medical man.

So what was the friend of a freinds take then? Pro or anti helmets? If anti may I suggest he pop back to his former employer and straighten them up on demanding that helmets are worn at all BC sanctioned events.

Could I also ask how he managed to extrapolate that outcome from the information given? I think you will find that if the coroner thinks that multiple injuries resulted in the death they put that in their report, if they don't then they are more specific, like Cause of Death = Head Injuries for example.

Yawn @ tandemjeremy. don't get him started on the subject of risk/helmets - he obviously knows it all. either that or he hit his head and can't shut up

G - they would have died of the head injury - hence COD = Head injury. But if they had not had the head injury they would have died a few hours later of massive abdominal trauma or something.

COD on death certificates is often very vague

There are a lot of very anti helmet compulsion doctors and some against helmets themselves

Bomberman - find something wrong in what I have written and note there are actually quite a few on this thread who agree with me.

Numpty

TJ, we all know that the chances of hitting our heads are low. its just that people who choose to wear helmets are covering themselves for that chance. please don't bore us with statistics.

I have no issue with people wearing helmets. I have major issue with people who call me stupid for choosing not to wear one on occasion and people who resort to spurious arguments.

You did note in reply to the OP I wrote

Just because your colleagues will laugh that is no reason not to wear one.

Note I did note quote any statistics but pointed in the direction of a resource for them if people wanted and I corrected inaccurate statements by a couple of people.

Well I commute and have to admit that I used to be of the 'hat less commuter' opinion..

And I have to say that I really don't like wearing them and didn't for many years...I actually started one earlier this year...mainly due to the stick I was gettng for not wearing one from my medical colleagues.

But

The other week I finished my 7 mile jaunt to work avec le helmet ( canal path type stuff) and came a cropper in my works garage...didn't have time to think let alone put my hand out.

My helmet....'saved me' from a very very serious head injury! My neck some 8 weeks later is still stiff as heck, the fall broke my helmet clean in two.

So much for low speed/ low risk assessment strategies!

I don't agree with making helmets mandatory as I believe firmly in a persons right to choose their own level of risk (where that doesn't excessivey put others at risk).
Every time I have banged my head badly enough to care it has usually been on tarmac (either wet or icey, you don't have time to react and get an arm down). I know several other cyclist friends who have trashed helmets in falls. For this reason I am more supportive of wearing helmets than I was 10 years ago.
As for an impact at 30mph being beyond the design limit. So what? Surely it will give you some improved chance of survival?

As someone said on here recentley....

"Only wear a helmet if you think youre going to crash"

I have smashed a helmet on the trails and smashed my head back in the day on the roads which resulted in 2 hours loss of memory.
So I wear one all the time but couldn`t care less if anyone else does or doesnt.

Some people seem very prone to banged heads; I've never banged my head while riding my bike.

A guy locally died of head injuries after falling down the stairs...