crhilton

1. Balance.
2. Braking force.
3. Pedaling force.
4. Planning (AKA "defensive driving")
5. Tire selection
6. Route selection (partially under your control -- sometimes there's only one route)

Thousands does sound absurd. But there's a lot of stuff that's under your control that's really important.

crhilton

I've actually seen this. It was hard not to break into laughter until after we'd passed each other.

martl

True. As in almost any other situation, not only while cycling.

Can you explain to me why, at cycling, it is considered to be 'common sense', 'rational', while at other situation it would be considered plain silly to wear a helmet?

closetbiker

I would say that it's been put away in the closet along with all my other broken promises and shattered dreams.

mikeybikes

How dare you make rational comparisons. This is a thread about helmets.

martl

You really think wearing a helmet is the one deciding factor whether you make it home from a ride on a bike or on a stretcher?
I ride my bike daily in a metropole of 1.5Mio people, been doing so for the last 20odd years. My experience is different.

twobadfish

And flame ******ant pants.

Monster Pete

A good point. Wearing a helmet and body armour while walking down the street will give you protection in case you trip on a loose bit of pavement, but nobody does so. It's a matter of weighing up level of protection (of which bicycle helmets are inconclusive) against percieved risk. No comparison can really be drawn with things like car seatbelts, which have conclusive evidence to prove their effectiveness.

All a bicycle helmet can ever really do is protect the top of your head against minor knocks and scrapes, which you can pick up elsewhere by banging your head on an open cupboard door in the kitchen, for example. It should be up to the individual rider to decide whether or not to wear one.

htimmer

I'm was glad to read that the author of this thread faired well for wearing his helmet. When I started riding a steady 16 -18 Mph my thought of hitting the ground made me want a helmet to hit the ground instead of my head. (Unless I do a face-plant) BTW. My wife gave me a Skateboard helmet to wear. Ha ha

TurbineBlade

Actually, there is at least *some evidence that this isn't always true. Read about compensatory behavior of motorists in the other thread.

Try to bear in mind that both you and I actually wear helmets when riding.

iforgotmename

MNBikeguy

When you kids advance to the type of extreme cycling that I do, you'll want this type of protection. I also wear it in the shower, and at all times when in the proximity of my brother in law. You can't be too careful...

rando

yes.

rando

This is what I've come to believe about helmets: they're a hysterical reaction to a problem that largely doesn't exist (for my style of riding). I don't need one. I ride my bike slowly. away from cars. It's just not that dangerous.

CB HI

Are you sure?
I heard the same type of claims when the styrofoam only helmets were being sold. Can YOU tell me why you cannot buy one anymore?

Well let me clue you in since the helmet manufacturers will not. When those styrofoam only helmets contacted the ground, they stuck to the asphalt and jerked you head hard. That often resulted in neck strains and even spinal cord injuries at the neck. Those styrofoam only helmets were causing more injuries than they prevented for any cyclist that actually rode at a decent speed. When the helmet manufacturers realized what was happening, they quietly put the plastic skim coating on current helmets and offered free helmet exchanges for any helmet that was in an accident. Nice of them to give a free helmet away, so they could collect the potential legal evidence against them.

Helmet manufacturers could make much safer helmets for cyclist, but they would loose too much profit in doing so. It is cheaper for them to just stick with the substandard standards on the books today.

So, think about a spill while riding at 25 mph and even your modern helmet catches on the asphalt rather than skidding; are you really safer in that situation with the helmet on?

In that case your safest action is to tuck your head in, keep your helmet/head off the ground and use the rest of your body (mostly butt) for the skid.

twobadfish

CB HI, unless you are suggesting that helmets truly add to the risk of cycling, then yes I'm sure the answer will always be yes.

No matter what action you say you should take when you fall, adding a helmet to the equation will ALWAYS add to the safety of the rider, regardless of how measurable that amount is.

And the whole 'automobiles drive more aggressively around cyclists when they see them with helmets on' is about as substantial as the claims about the instances people would have been better off in a crash without a seatbelt on.

How is this not common sense? Strap material around your skull, head is more protected. That's about as simple as it gets.

frymaster

whoa! where did you get that sentiment? all i did was call you on some gross hyperbole and now you're super defensive and misrepresenting my statement. you have no idea what i think about helmets or helmet laws. sheesh.

also: no one cares about your personal experience. it's called an "anecdote".

CB HI

I give you a very specific example of when helmets did make cyclist less safe, you choose to put your head in the sand and just repeat the mantra "common sense".

CB HI

Seems like it is time for the Mods to just attach this thread to the end of the helmet sticky.

twobadfish

No, you gave me an incredible exception to the rule.

CB HI

Almost all bicycle helmets were made that way during that period of time; hardly the "incredible exception" you claim.

twobadfish

So we're talking about how it used to be? Because if that's not how it is now, nor has it been that way for some time. Then your example remains an exception.

CB HI

So show me the government mandated test that proves the skid problem has been eliminated rather than just reduced.

All the safety test have ever have done is show that a helmet might help you in a soft fall to the top of your head with no speed.

But feel free to keep your head in the sand.

closetbiker

... even if a helmet absorbs a lot of energy in an impact, this benefit might be cancelled out by the helmet making the impact more likely in the first place...

... if helmets do work, why is this proving so difficult to see?

twobadfish

And feel free to continue advocating that wearing a helmet is less safe than not wearing a helmet.



Literally one of the dumbest arguments I have _ever_ engaged in. Hands down.

*orders flame ******ant pants*