[Closed] Riding a mtb without a helmet

No helmet, no ride for me. Hell, after tearing a 10 stitch size hole in my knee after forgetting my left knee pad and thinking it’ll be ok, I won’t ride off road without them either!

I'll occasionally ride on road without a helmet, but I'm never without one off-road. Smacked into too many low branches and rocks in my time.

Lol I knew this would happen, please only comment if you ride without one

on the road, no helmet

offroad, helmet

Sometimes... but only on really hot days on the local lanes.

Sometimes in winter when i want a wooly hat on ! but needs to be proper chilly for that.

You do realise

So please just answer if you do ride without one, [b]why do you choose not to wear one,[/b]

This is the helmet debate don't you?

Occasionally very much a cx bimbler so no jumps etc. Pretty much never wear one on the cx bike off road, for Surrey hills, swinley etc. Not sure anyone we bump into cares, they look more surprised to see a cx Bike on the trails.

I don’t wear one on road unless compulsory so I’m used to not wearing one

Like you, forgot the lid at Glentress on a couple of occasions... I did ride but changed Blacks for easy bits of Red and Blues.. easier trails and wound the speed right in.

Often ride a Fatbike sans-lid.. it just "depends" on a number of things.

I love ‘only respond if you agree with me’ threads.

never used to

they weren't even a thing when we used to do sick to the power of rad stunts and big air on a raleigh grifter as a kid - helmet wouldn't stop broken collar bones, nor painfully bruised knees due to kneeing the handlebars when the useless sturmey archer slipped out of gear.

never wore one when I was a roadie (were'nt really a thing then either, although the cheap shaped polystyrene ones were just becoming popular, but you still had to put a cover on them to make them look better and keep UV off) - and wouldn't have stopped me needing face sewing back together either after an off on a sandy corner

never wore one when I live in Holland (and tbh, probably wouldn't now either if I ever moved back)

wear one now that I do XC/Marathon/Tour - helps fend off overhanging tree branches

I don't drive 50 miles to ride a bike though - so when I forget, the dilemma is "shall I leave my bike outside for 30 seconds, or take it back in?"

No

Popping to the shops on mainly cycle path- no lid

Anywhere else- lid

I have done in the past, but gave up after coming off, landing on my head, and feeling extremely weird for the rest of the day.

Height of stupidity IMO.

On long climbs on hot days I'll usually take mine off. Always on for descents though, no matter how easy, such is my (lack of) ability.

Did most of CYB at full whack earlier this year before realising I'd left it back on top of the car. Wondered why I was getting so many looks, thought it was because of the awesomeness of my riding. 🙂

So, normally, I wear one, because I clearly can't tell the difference anyhow.

The only times I've ever hit my head on an overhanging branch are when I've been wearing a helmet.  Didn't wear a helmet for ages, and really didn't understand why so many people seemed to be having problems, you just duck - don't you know where your head stops?

Not when you're wearing a helmet you don't. there's an inch plus on top, plus you lose sight of the branch quicker due to the peak.

Don't wear one commuting in London (very central commute only, no high speed will they/won't they junctions). Wear one off road almost all of the time. Doesn't bother me if I realise half way up the hill I've forgotten it: "oh, that's why it feels so free and fresh and pleasant!"  I'll just tell myself  to back off on the descents, then realise I'm doing no such thing :-/

they're pretty vital for night riding on twisty trails, unless you're going to tape a light to your head.

No helmet, no ride for me, road or MTB. I turned up for a group MTB ride having forgotten to bring one once and was lucky that someone had a spare - had they not, I would have turned around and gone home again.

The only time I ever ride without would be on an away-from-traffic sustrans sort of route, but otherwise I wouldn't consider it. Partly because it just feels "weird", partly because of safety, but mostly because I ride a lot with kids (my own and other people's) and it's much easier to adopt a black and white policy rather than have shades of grey. For my own kids, I've never once had a "awww, do I have to wear it today?" argument, because they know that helmets are something you wear on your bike and they wouldn't consider riding without one. When I see kids riding trail centres without one, I have to bite my lip to stop me berating the "responsible" adult, but generally I'll just wince and look the other way because it ain't my responsibility.

ps. Responding specifically because OP insisted that he only wants to hear one side of a long-running argument.

Similar story - I did my first ever a ride on Dartmoor a few years ago, a bit pressed for time so drove to a handy start point.  Climbed up a steep, rocky, wet lane covered in slippy, baby head sized rocks then spent a happy hour bimbling round on the open moor feeling a great sense of freedom and peace & quiet I wasn't used to.

I met a ranger and chatted for a while.   As I rode off he said "Well at least it looks like you have a decent bike" which I thought was an odd thing to say.

I hurtled back down the rocky lane to the car, falling off twice, and when I opened the boot I found my helmet sat there.   Oops

I always wear my helmet off road, but I can definitely see the attraction of not wearing one.

Cheers for the replies from the guys who don't wear one

I know all the reasons to wear one, which are mentioned in every helmet debate and people have decided to mention them on this thread even though i asked them not to

I'm purely interested in the people who choose not to wear one, their reasons why, the reactions they receive from other riders etc....

Would like to gauge if they are a small minority or if it is more wide spread than i think it is

Reason why i don't want people who wear one to comment or start turning this into a helmet debate is i would like to encourage as many non helmet wears to comment and if this starts turning into a helmet debate (which it has, i should of known better!!) it does put some non helmet wears off commenting

Been speaking to roadies too (im also one) and the helmet debate is quite fierce with them and some non wearers have said they have not commented due to the arguments/debates getting out of hand

So again, please only comment if you don't wear a helmet and why you decided not to wear one and how you are received by other riders when out

No helmet, no ride for me. Hell, after tearing a 10 stitch size hole in my knee after forgetting my left knee pad and thinking it’ll be ok, I won’t ride off road without them either!

I tore a 12 stitch sized hole in my knee 3 weeks ago when wearing kneepads! Iv also torn my cruciate knee ligaments while wearing different knee pads.

Protection reduces the risk a bit but doesn't eliminate it. I wear helmet and knee pads still but if I turn up somewhere accidently without them it doesn't stop me riding. As mentioned just go a bit slower.

Not all riding is the same.

I used to chuck myself down rocky Welsh hillsides as fast as I could; used to jump on ski lifts and chase people down a mountain; used to find the steepest, rockiest, most technical daftness I could; used to be a yoof for whom charging around everywhere at full tilt was what came naturally. Helmet for all of those? Yes please.

These days cycling is a very blurred activity for me. If I'm going out on the MTB with the intention of letting rip on a descent or two (or riding off-road at night) then I'll wear a helmet. But I do that far less than I used to and these days I'm mostly just riding bridleways between cafes, in which case sometimes I do and quite often I don't.

Essentially I'm fine with taking it easy without a helmet and I'm fine with wearing one if I want to risk losing control in the interests of some downhill fun. In my mind (which is key here) there's more difference between those two approaches to the superficially homogeneous activity of "cycling" than there is between going walking/hiking and going for a hike on wheels—in the same way that most people would see more similarity between going to the shops by car or by foot than they would between going to the shops by car and rally racing. No-one fits a roll cage and puts on fireproof overalls and a full face helmet to go and get some milk, even if they bought a Subaru Impreza to do it in.

Whether I take protective gear is determined by the level of risk I choose, not by whether or not there's a bicycle between my legs.

So again, please only comment if you don’t wear a helmet and why you decided not to wear one and how you are received by other riders when out

I'm still going to ignore that as the reasons I do are partly what your asking about.

Helmets are great defence against people nagging you to wear a helmet and I pretty much always ride off road with other people.  In the city for a long while i didn't on the brompton when wearing normal clothes but did commuting in kit.  Now I've stopped in the city whatever I'm wearing and no longer always wear one on the road bike.

The reason I do off road is largely for protection from overhanging branches but I;ve wondered, as commented above, whether the reason i hit my head is because I;m wearing it.   However, same reason I wear glasses it does mean you can put your head down and barge through bushes that might otherwise scratch your scalp.

When I've fixed my bike in the garage and ride it up and down the street to check its working well I don't wear a helmet.

Popping to the shops on mainly cycle path- no lid

Anywhere else- lid

+1, See Bez's comment for more detail.

My OH doesn't wear one because she's too cool for school, despite the fact she managed to crash twice last time she went out on a sustrans path..............

Yes, as above, I will ride a MTB without a helmet if the level of risk is low. This will be muddy field type stuff or cycle paths or going out with my kids (who always wear helmets - they can make their own choice when adult but until then I'm responsible). I commuted for years in London without a helmet and used to often get taken to task by colleagues about this as they strapped on their own helmets then proceeded to stuff earphones in and turn their ipods up to full blast....I guess we all have different attitudes to risk!

I don't wear one when I go riding in the local thicket with my dog. (Occasional event these days, but used to be daily).

Reason being, I didn't consider it MTBing, but 'taking the dog out' - flat tracks, nothing remotely dangerous. Fell off once, but that was into a river and the helmet wouldn't have kept me dry 😀 )

I know all the reasons to wear one, which are mentioned in every helmet debate

As, ad infinitum are the reasons not to.

There is no reason for or against at all that hasn't been cited, at least twice, in every helmet thread. In those same threads is it abundantly clear who does and who does not wear a helmet. It is also clear that you can't have a thread about helmets that won't attract an argument from both sides, even if your thread was as innocuous as "ohhh new helmet".

If you aren't trying to troll just go read any of the hundreds of threads already on the topic.

I thought everyone who had ever put a leg over a bike without a helmet on was either dead or in a persistent vegetative state and so unable to respond to threads like this?

On really hot days on really long basic climbs, I'll hang the lid on the bars and bimble up without it, but 99% of the time I'm wearing it if I'm on the bike.

I wear a helmet for MTB but on the very rare occasion I have forgotten it, I'll still ride but take things a bit more cautiously.

Commuting - helmet

Ride to the market / bakery - no helmet

Share-bike - no helmet

I never wear a helmet on road or off road (I don't own one).

I don't wear one because I don't feel it is necessary for the riding I do (road, gravel and easy off road).  The only times I have fallen off (or been knocked off on the road) I have never hit my head because I go into a roll automatically (possibly due to riding bikes from age of 4 and riding BMX for 10 years where falling off was fairly commonplace)

Worst accident (car knocked me off) involved smashing up finger and needing 3 operations and still have a middle finger that doesn't bend.

My observations when riding are that I am probably in less than 1% of people who don't wear a helmet.  I think making them mandatory would be a complete waste of time based on the fact vast majority wear them already.

I don't quite get this thread. OP, are you trying to convince yourself or others as to the benefits/risks of riding without a helmet? If you want to ride without, go ahead - noone will stop you (unless the race / facility you are riding at mandates them). It's free choice and I would fully support it remaining this way.

Would like to gauge if they are a small minority or if it is more wide spread than i think it is

I can only give feedback based on my own experience from many years of riding, but from my own observation of other riders, I'd break it down as follows:

- "Proper" MTB riders (either trail centre or natural trails): Virtually 100%. It's so uncommon to see that it would be something of a novelty to see an unhelmeted rider, tbh
- Casual MTB - much more variation. I've seen kids in trainers and jeans riding without helmets on red routes. The one consistent factor is that they always seem to be bloody awful riders and rarely stray more than 500yds from the car park.
- Road - Much more variation here, but younger riders seem more or less 100% while older riders are more likely to ride without.
- Offroad "sustrans" sort of riding - Probably 50/50 with adults, but the majority of kids seem to get helmeted these days
- Kids pulling wheelies in traffic - Virtually all are unhelmeted. *sigh*

I don't always wear one.  Depends on the circumstances and how I judge the risk.

Off road where I'm racing about on techy stuff - yes

Pootle to the pub / shop or that sort of thing then no.

I don't care what others think or say, judgement of risk is a personal thing.

Yes, I am happy to ride any bike sans thin layer of polystyrene. If the terrain looks really technical then I'll slow down a bit and really focus on the line to take.

If the terrain looks really technical then I’ll slow down a bit 

Sounds boring

Went out once without bothering to put my helmet on since was just giving the bike a quick test after after doing some gear tweeking.  Momentary lapse of concentration resulted in crash time and got a nice cut which the helmet would have saved me from. After that if offroad always wear one. Mostly on road as well although if just going to shops and stuff dont always wear one.

If the terrain looks really technical then I’ll slow down a bit 

Sounds boring

................

Went out once without bothering to put my helmet on since was just giving the bike a quick test after after doing some gear tweeking.  Momentary lapse of concentration resulted in crash time and got a nice cut which the helmet would have saved me from. After that if offroad always wear one. Mostly on road as well although if just going to shops and stuff dont always wear one.

getting some good input? (hopefully no posters harmed by that comment aimed at the OP)

don’t want this thread to descend into the normal helmet debate type threads

Where's the bloody fun in that?

About once a year I set off for a ride and realize that it's unusually breezy because I forgot my helmet. I just keep riding and take it easy on the descent. I never wear a helmet for commuting (which I use an MTB for, but I guess that's not what you meant), but that's an easy 2.5 mile cruise on back streets and bike lanes. If I take someone out for a picnic ride, I don't bother with a helmet. For proper MTB riding, I always wear a helmet, except when I don't.

I’m not entirely sure what the OP is expecting here. People who don’t wear helmets are only going to say it’s because they aren’t expecting to fall off/won’t land on their heads if they do/don’t trust the helmet to provide any meaningful protection. They  are hardly likely to say that they love the sense of wind in their hair so much they are willing to risk almost certain permanent brain damage because of it.

On the road - Always

"Proper" off-road - Again, always

Gravel/canal/easy off-road - 50/50. Why? Partly as I perceive the risk to be lower, partly as there's something quite pleasant about riding along the tracks without a helmet. There's also a factor of how likely my wife will see me as she is less keen on the concept on going without a lid.

One of the main reasons I don't wear a lid for shoppal poppage is to try and demonstrate to others that you don't need to be A Cyclist to use a bike to do a bit of shopping on and that bikes can be used for pottering around instead of cars.

In those same threads is it abundantly clear who does and who does not wear a helmet.

Yet it seems abundantly clear that most people on this thread both do and don't wear a helmet.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yet it seems abundantly clear that most people on this thread both do and don’t wear a helmet.

Yeah my bad, i get it's not binary but my point was rather you can pick any thread with helmet in the title and get to exactly the same conclusion as this thread is going to get to in about 3 pages.

I got to Haldon earlier this year for an after work ride and realised I'd left my helmet at home. I thought "oh well I'm here now I'll just go a bit steadier"

That thinking went out the window pretty much as soon as I'd turned a pedal though. I did the red, blue, and some of the unofficial stuff and quite enjoyed the feel of not wearing a helmet. There were quite a few people about so I was expecting somebody to comment on the lack of helmet but nobody said a word!

Yes, but not if it's "proper" mountain biking (rocks and roots and a relatively high likelihood of an unplanned dismount). For that, I'll always put a lid on.

Rather like Kayla, I'm positively looking for opportunities to ride about generally without one to encourage the notion that riding a bike on a street is a viable and sensible transport solution rather than an extreme sport.

Cheers for the replies guys

So from this thread I have found out quite a few people ride without a helmet, more than I anticipated

Also its interesting to hear the varied

different reasons as to why they dont wear them

Personally I try to always wear one but just wanted the views of non wearers

As for asking for the views of only non helmet wearers, that was done deliberately

I wanted to see how many people couldn't resist posting about why they wear a helmet when I asked them not to

This was to see how defensive people could get when asked not to comment on something and to see how long it took for the first comments to be posted

I now have my answers!

I suspect this post will get some of them to comment again, which is not what I want 😉

The only times I don't wear a helmet on either of my 3 mtbs are:

a) I forget to put it on when commuting to work - very rare.

b) I cycle to the shops on my lunch break - in normal clothes too!

c) In warmer weather on my commute in to work I get too warm so take it off - without stopping - and hang it off my handle bars. If feeling reckless it also hangs over brakelever.

Hardly ever wear one.
Never on road, rarely on mtb, never locally.
Can't stand how they feel or the heat generated from wearing one. and more importantly it's entirely my own choice (unless riding somewhere where helmet use is compulsory)
Exceptions being uplifted DH where I'll wear a fullface, BMX track gate practice fullface (it's compulsory) and if I'm winch and plummetting gnar I'll usually take one with me but only wear it on the descents.
Unusually I wore one yesterday for a fairly tame ride (in company, I put it on for the first descent and rather than be a faffer, just kept it on the whole ride for once) but we were on Ebikes so the heat isn't as much of a problem. still had to undo the strap for every climb though.
I don't really slow down with no helmet on. I just ride smoother. I also ride more playfully without one. I never used to wear one dirt jumping (don't DJ all that often anymore) I wouldn't attempt something (trick or line) if I wasn't 100% sure I could pull it off. For me not wearing a helmet actually ensures commitment and if it's going wrong means you bail in a controlled manner and under your own terms. I've seen too many riders "trying" something all armoured and fullfaced up with no clue of the basics or how it's going to go. Like this idiot.

Ironically I think almost all posts I've ever read from kryton57 are pretty close to the "height of stupidity"
Bez the exact opposite.

There's a gravel/mud towpath near where I live, where I sometimes like to go for a car-free, helmet-free ride. I like to go helmet-free because rides like that feel so much nicer without a lump of smelly polystyrene strapped to my head, and the biggest danger along there is probably falling in the tidal river, which is why I always wear a lifejacket. I also tell anyone I see to do the same - height of stupidity not to - if it saves just one life etc.....

Always a helmet on the trails, i've headbutted a few trees and branches and the helmet seems to help.