I’ve been paying attention to the TJ helmet argument and I’m interested to see how the arguments stack up.

So how about a straw poll as follows:-

1) How many times have you experienced a cycling incident where your were wearing a helmet and the helmet was damaged but you weren’t?
2) How many times have you received a blow to the head while cycling where neither you nor your helmet suffered any damage?
3) How many times have you been involved in a cycling incident where your helmet has harmed you regardless of whether it protected you or not?
4) What percentage of your cycling time is ridden without wearing a helmet

Just to kick off

1) 3
2) Too many to quantify
3) None
4) 100%

1) Loads but I hadnt hit my head. Silly question.
2) Too many to quantify
3) NONE
4) 0%

I’m impressed – you never wear a helmet, yet you’ve damaged one 3 times!

How can 4 be 100% and 1 be 3?

1) never
2)never
3)never
4) about 50% – but I cycle everywhere and have a series of old railway lines to use on the whole.

1)5
2) several
3) 1. The plastic bit which hugs the head cut me in one crash.
4)10%

1) Once, although I might have knocked myself out. So I suppose I was a bit damaged.
2) A few. Not loads, but I ride too much like a wuss to fall off loads.
3) Never.
4) Pretty much zero, apart from the odd buzz up the road to see if something’s working.

1)once, and it was a biggy!
2)nothing major, the odd clipped head on a branch
3)never
4)always when riding off road

1) 2
2) Countless
3) None
4) 0% (do you mean ridden “without” a helmet?)

1) Lots! maybe 10 or so!
2) Even more but that is only non-visible damage to my helmet.
3) Never
4) Never

1) 2
2) Loads
3) Never
4) <1%

1 – never
2 – never
3 – never
4 – 80%

1) 3
2) Too many to quantify
3) None
4) 0%

1) 3 serious (helmet replacement required)
-a. broken car windscreen, broken bike, chipped spine, head ok.
-b. head on collision with tree, cracked vertibra, head ok.
-c. more minor dent in helmet, head ok.
2) Tree branches and the like? Lots
3) None
4) Approx 3%

Just the other week – slipped of a log ride, helmet skidded off tree which saved my face from hitting it. (Lots of witnesses on the Tunnel Hill ride will attest to this!)
Haven’t read the other thread, but as TJ does different riding to the majority of us, are his arguements relevant?

1)3
2)loads (including crashes in the piss pot here***)
3)YES! *
4)98% **

*Whilst writing off a Xen a bit of rock went up between the helmet any my ear cutting my ear. Arguably without the helmet it may have gone in my head and been mroe seriosu, but it is still a helmet related injury 🙂

**as above, allowance made for fettling, car park weelies, and forgettign it on the commute occasionaly.

***i’d considder them less disposable than XC lids, so i’m not counting the helmet as damaged in the incident.

1) 3 (2 needed new helmets)
2) Many
3) the chin strap nipped me behind the ear if that counts!
4) 0%

I insist my kids wear a helmet whenever they’re on their bikes. My youngest is 2 and a half and wears his helmet whilst on his push-along trike! 😀

1- loads
2- none
3- none
4- 100%

Note to self : Write out 100 times I must read my own posts before replying to them! Doh!

Early doors I know, but that really does seem to back up my experience to date, which is that wearing a helmet seems to be a good idea. Whereas not wearing one on a high percentage of occasions whilst riding does seem to indicate that the individual concerned is not someone I want to be around.

Keep it coming

1) 4
2) Thousands- low hanging branches too many to count on every ride, distance / perception not my thing
3) None
4) None

1 – none
2 – A fair few
3 – once, possibly
4 – 60%. I commute without a helmet, burn me for I have sinned.

1) 0
2) 2 excluding the odd branch hit
3) 0
4) less than 3% ridden without a helmet.

To me, wearing a helmet whilst out cycling is as normal and instinctive as wearing a seatbelt when driving.

1) 0 but 2 x friends with me bad accident = sacrificial helmet situation.
2) a few
3) never
4) <1% only pootle to shop if I’ve forgotten to bring my lid home (home is variable).

1) 2
2) Many
3) 1, but only at very low speed and the buckle broke before any real harm was done (branch,helmet hooked up)
4) 100%

What exactly are you trying to prove, G?

– three,
– loads,
– none,
– 100%.

1. A few.
2. Loads.
3. A few.
4. I wear a helmet 99.99999% of of the time.

1 – 2 requiring new helmets. 1 I am certain would have been serious wihout a helmet
2 – ??? Loads of branch incidents I guess
3 – I nipped my girls chin with the buckle once if that counts?
4 – Almost never ride without a helmet

1. None.
2. Branches and stuff, many.
3. None.
4. 60% (no helmet for road riding)

aracer – Member
What exactly are you trying to prove, G?

Just trying to see if TJ’s general thrust is supported by actual experience on here. For example I’ve never come across anyone who has been injured by their helmet, apart from superficially. I have come across two who have pretty much certainly lost their lives due to not wearing one, (OK OK it was the impact with large hard things that actually killed them, not the absence of a helmet, but one struck the back of his head on a rock, and the other had major skull damage from hitting a windscreen).
I also know from my own experience that the wearing of a lid does certainly without any doubt in my mind save me on a fairly regular basis from everything from minor bumps and scrapes through to less regular heavy impacts. So I just can’t understand where all this research and evidence that is being quoted is coming from. TJ is normally lucid and well argued on most things, so I have to give his views credence, but honestly hand on heart I just can’t see this one, and it appears that is borne out by those on this forum to a great extent.

1. 0 (after bang #2, I replaced the helmet though it only appeared scuffed)
2. 2
3. 0
4. 0 (Always wear one, except when testing a repair/build in my cul-de-sac)

So I just can’t understand where all this research and evidence that is being quoted is coming from.

Probably from studies rather more scientific than this one.

1) 1
2) 0
3) 0
4) 10% don’t always wear one to commute

1) How many times have you experienced a cycling incident where your were wearing a helmet and the helmet was damaged but you weren’t?
–
Once.
–
–
2) How many times have you received a blow to the head while cycling where neither you nor your helmet suffered any damage?
–
Lots
–
–
3) How many times have you been involved in a cycling incident where your helmet has harmed you regardless of whether it protected you or not?
–
–
Never
–
–
4) What percentage of your cycling time is ridden without wearing a helmet
–
–
60%.

No doubt this will be turned into some spurious ‘statistic’ to prove that we all bang our heads and we all wear helmets and we’re all still here therefore helmets must be the reason for our continued existence.

My take on it; we trash a lot of helmets but we don’t injure ourselves because
CYCLING ISN’T DANGEROUS.

1) Twice
2) Lots
3) 1 – Nose cut off by peak, 5 operations
4) 3%

1) 4 times
2) No idea, lots when DHIng.
3) None
4) 0%

1) 3

2) Loads

3) Never

4) Always wear one.

Cycling isn’t dangerous, it’s the things that stop you cycling which do the damage.

IGMC

1)2, once i surly would not be here now
2)??
3)None
4)100%

Don’t be stupid ware you helmets…

I know a guy that was killed by not wearing a helmet

Has anyone read question 4 properly?

Some of the answers people are making seem a little contradictory.

Sorry I did mean to put 0% i never ride with out a helmat…