Touring - Poll: Do you wear a helmet on tour?

We were having the Great Helmet Debate again at the bike shop the other day and someone mentioned that they where a helemet except when touring. Over the years, I myself have worn, and foregone, a helmet on a various bike rides but have always worn one when touring. I'm curious how many people tour with a helmet, how many don't and how many bring one but don't always wear it.

Please limit your participation in this thread and this poll to whether or not you wear a helmet. Please, no judging or criticizing of others for wearing or not wearing helmets. I'd like to get the most accurate response from people and I think assuring folks that there will be no lectures on safety will help.

Thanks!

I said always, but on an oppressive climb in oppressive heat in the middle of nowhere, I'll ditch the helmet for the ride up.

Won't leave home without it.

When I spend a full day riding in the heat, I really appreciate my 'venty' helmet because it keeps most of the sun off my skull and out of my eyes while still allowing lots of wind to cool my skull. But because of the big front vents, some light does get through in certain spots more than others and gives me a bit of a stripy tan across my upper forehead.

I always wear a helmet ... tour or no tour.

BTW - it is illegal in some countries (i.e. Australia) to ride without a helmet.

BTW - it is illegal in some countries (i.e. Australia) to ride without a helmet.

I got really annoyed when it became law here and thought it would be a major hassle, however am now so used to riding with one that I feel naked without it, and would wear one anywhere....

And there is no beating around the bush and warnings from the cops here....("Please put your helmet on Sir") - it's an instant fine.

I got really annoyed when it became law here and thought it would be a major hassle, however am now so used to riding with one that I feel naked without it, and would wear one anywhere....

And there is no beating around the bush and warnings from the cops here....("Please put your helmet on Sir") - it's an instant fine.


EVERYONE over there kept reminding me about that "instant fine" thing!

It was OK with me too because I always wear my helmet anyway ... but my riding partner over there wasn't used to wearing a helmet on a regular basis, and kept heading off to make quick trips into town to pick up a few grocery items or something without his helmet ... and then turning around at the edge of camp to get it, just in case.

We say if there is something into the head, it is necessary to wear it … I have one, but I do not use it :)

I work in the oil and gas industry, and accidents are like blowouts. No one wakes up thinking they are going to have one that day.

Yesterday it was 100+ in my part of Texas when I headed out, but I still kept it on for my 25 mile evening ride on the roads. I'm looking for a more venty model, maybe even a Giro Atmos, to replace the one I have.

I find the best coolant is to wear a cool max type of "doo rag" under the helmet, and periodically take it off, pour a little water on it, and put it back on.

You only wear armor if you have something to protect. Think about it.

said always, but on an oppressive climb in oppressive heat in the middle of nowhere, I'll ditch the helmet for the ride up.

Yeah, I notice that whenever I'm riding up hill, especially a steep oppressive climb, there is never any car traffic or other riders or rodents or deer crossing the road or pot holes or cracks in the pavement or errant rocks or debris or sand or log trucks.

NOt a judgment or critcism (just being witty)... personally, I feel that a situation where I am mentally and physically stressed (like uphills) is the type of situation where I am most likely to have an error in judgment and take a spill -- or someone else around me would cause a wreck

If I may mount the soapbox and state:

"Everyone should wear a helmet, no one plans to have an accident. That's why we call them accidents and not 'on purposes'.

In a country where we all pay for each others health care (I'm referring to Canada here), I believe they should be mandatory. If you want to scrabble your brain and pay for your own long term care that's great. As long as I'm paying for your care, I'll tell you to wear the damn helmet."

Stokell has stepped down from the soapbox and left the building.

If the law requires it, I wear one. If I feel the situation is riskier than normal (riding in the snow is one example), I wear one - the rest of the time, a ball cap suits me fine. Been helmetless for over 40 years, not a veg, not an organ donor, still have a pretty (ugly) face.

If I may mount the soapbox and state:

"Everyone should wear a helmet, no one plans to have an accident. That's why we call them accidents and not 'on purposes'.

In a country where we all pay for each others health care (I'm referring to Canada here), I believe they should be mandatory. If you want to scrabble your brain and pay for your own long term care that's great. As long as I'm paying for your care, I'll tell you to wear the damn helmet."

Stokell has stepped down from the soapbox and left the building.

Just a reminder that I want people to be completely honest about thier helmet use habits here and that I think the best way to ensure this level of honesty is if people know that there won't be any soapboxing about why people should wear helmets, or shouldn't have to wear helmets.

I absolutely respect your opinion but would appreciate, as mentioned in the parent thread, if people just limited thier participation to this thread to the poll itself.

I think that when you are crawling up a hill, on a loaded bike you are really at greater risk of crashing. generally winded goiing slow and perhaps weaving a bit your balance is not the best it ever is. And I read years ago that its not the forward speed that creates the greatest risk for head injusy but the distance you head is above the ground. the height that your head is in a bicycle is high enough for a fall to kill you. Hence I almost always wear a helmet.

I'm looking for a more venty model, maybe even a Giro Atmos, to replace the one I have.
.

Get a white helmet. Whatever you do, don't buy a black Atmos!

I have one, but I do not use it :)

Helmet or head or both?

I wear my helmet even after adjusting my brakes, followed up by a ride around the block in order to check out my work.

I wear my helmet even after adjusting my brakes, followed up by a ride around the block in order to check out my work.

After wrenching on my bike I wear full body armour for the test ride...not to mention getting all my insurance paperwork, will, etc. in order.

chips. can't say i wear my helmet while adjusting my brakes. maybe steel meshed gloves would be a good idea. know of someone who lost a tip of his finger to it's chainrings. ah. my ride around the block is usually a mile or two. maybe didn't wear a helmet when the ride was 100 feet.

I wear my helmet even after adjusting my brakes, followed up by a ride around the block in order to check out my work.

Wearing a helmet after adjusting my brakes would have been smart thing for me to have done way back when. In the year 16 B.H. (16 years before I started wearing a helmet), I had the nastiest crash of my life after "fixing" my brakes. I tested my new skill by bombing down a hill, and discovered that I had done a much better job adjusting the front than the back brake. I went over the handlebars and hit the concrete hard. The bicycle crashed on my back. My hands and arms were badly scraped. My head was fine, but it was only luck that my noggin survived!

In retrospect, it's amazing that I rode another 16 years before getting a helmet. On the other hand, I cannot remember seeing anyone wearing a bicycle helmet prior to 1985.

Helmets are mandatory on most (if not all) supported tours.

know of someone who lost a tip of his finger to it's chainrings.

damn, them fixed gear bikes...

I've seen a helmet after it hit the road, and was glad it had been surrounding my skull! I wear a helmet on the local bike path even!

I said always, but on an oppressive climb in oppressive heat in the middle of nowhere, I'll ditch the helmet for the ride up.

I was doing that too a couple of years ago. Then I decided, what the hell? Why where the helmet at all? So that's what I did for a few days. But then I realized I'd feel like a real ass if I died in a collision with my helmet strapped to my rear rack, so I've been wearing it ever since. Truth to tell, the tour was in the UK, where a fair number (but less than half of the people) weren't wearing helmets at all. I think I let the peer group subtly influence my thinking. Henceforth, the helmet stays on.

Yeah, I notice that whenever I'm riding up hill, especially a steep oppressive climb, there is never any car traffic or other riders or rodents or deer crossing the road or pot holes or cracks in the pavement or errant rocks or debris or sand or log trucks.

NOt a judgment or critcism (just being witty)... personally, I feel that a situation where I am mentally and physically stressed (like uphills) is the type of situation where I am most likely to have an error in judgment and take a spill -- or someone else around me would cause a wreck

Which is why I said in the middle of nowhere. I'm thinking of between Nucla and Gateway Colorado on a Divide Road going up Columbine Pass and west of Gateway, CO heading up the LaSals (in July no less). When climbing at single digit speeds, I'm confident I can safely avoid any rascally squirrels, deer or potholes. If I can't avoid a squirrel or pothole at 5mph, you're free to confiscate my bicycle.

Always. I have slammed my head into the ground, trees, limbs, rocks, etc. too many times to even consider not wearing one. I have all my broken helmets (3) on hooks in the bike room to remind me.

i always wear a helmet. period.

a few years ago my daughter asked me when she could stop using a helmet (here in japan, no one wears them except bike weanies; certainly none of her friends). i told here she could stop as soon as her head got harder than the road or a car.

i like cycling and i like alpine climbing. both are dangerous, cycling every bit as much as climbing. how many "close calls" have we all had. any number? how far will your luck hold?

I wear mine 90% of the time... but sometimes, on nice sunny days I like to feel the breeze in my hair...

I also sometimes find that most helmets are so hot that you risk more from a heatstroke (which in turn could lead to a bad accident) than an unlikely broken skull.

And about the comment by Stokel about health care, it costs much more to revive someone in a coma than to have a funeral ;)

Sorry Tofu that your thread turned a bit political here...

Sorry Tofu that your thread turned a bit political here...

that's why it's called The Great Helmet Debate around the shop. people just can't resist. besides, this is the internet, if we can't all get our two cents in, we might just explode!

Helmets are mandatory on most (if not all) supported tours.


And almost all randonneuring events too.

Stokel, I've seen your itinerary. I'm having a hard time believing you are paying much of my health care!

I have one of the original Bell helmets, not anti helmet, but I rarely wear it. I carried it in my bags with me while cycling through Quebec and New Brunswick, recently, because they have helmet laws. Though nobody stopped me. I might wear it if it was wet. Generally the touring I do is not anywhere as dangerous as the commuting, there are just long hours of it. I think the time in the saddle is the big factor as far as accidents are concerned, sooner or later something goes wrong.

The real question here is whether there is something specifically about touring that requires a helmet, as in the original biopic. Those who constitute the anti helmet ranks have several arguments (which I am noting not advancing):

1) Helmets discourage cycling which is a greater risk to health (note well Stokel) than the dangers of helmetless cycling. If this were true it would sorta argue for helmet use while touring, since tourist have presumably crossed the Rubicon of participating in cycling, In other words this part of the argument does not really suggest that helmet use is dangerous, rather that public policy may have un-intended consequences.

2) Helmets are not helpful in reducing the damage of accidents. There is some serious evidence to this effect, and if one believed it, why would touring change anything? Possibly there are certain segments of tours, like wild rides down mountains that might argue for "real" helmet use.

3) There is the view that helmets lead to unsafe cycling (and cage driving) practices by sponsoring a sense of invulnerability, even possibly in those aware of the "fact". I subscribe to this argument. I don't see this as variable relative to touring.

Remember, it's scary out there.

Helmet or head or both?

Helmet .... but some time the head too ....

As several people have pointed out - the statistical chance of a serous or fatal accident occurring to you is something like one serious accident every half million miles.

Balance this on the fact that Million Mile Freddy has never had a serious accident.

So, there's no particular reason to wear a helmet but surely there's always the chance that you can plop over at a stop sign and you'd feel pretty stupid whapping your head against a gutter and spending your tour in a hospital.

Personally I prefer not to wear a helmet on tours but I always have since I generally had my kids with me and wanted to set a good example. And since then I've usually ridden in heavy traffic areas and I'd just as soon have a helmet on if I'm going to catch a rear view mirror in the back of the head.

I fell three times just last weekend! :) Once into the wet mud in the forest (which hurt a great deal considering it was a "soft" landing), later into a hedge, and finally, into a stone wall. The latter two were on climbs, and both times my chain came off as I switched into the granny gear. (Adjusted now.)

I wear my helmet always. It was mandatory for club rides in Canada. Here, my new club has no rules about helmets. It's all "personal choice", which is funny considering all the moaning and whinging about "the Nanny State". Only about 50% of riders wear a helmet. I still wear mine all the time.

<edited to add: I fall a lot more since I started using SPD than previously. That being said, I had two catastrophic fall-offs as a kid. I think I would have been much smarter had I been wearing a helmet during those incidents.>

If touring was a competitive sport I would wear a helmet too. And it probably is a competitive, or extreme sport, for some. While I think that I move along at a good pace on a bike, I have occasionally been passed by runners, spinting to cross a road or something. I don't wear a helmet running either.

I never wear a helmet in front of my kids (and I respect all those who feel the reverse) because I don't want them to believe that safety comes from not thinking for yourself, cookie cutter solutions, or from the inside of a box.

I really wish a helemt would fulfill the promise of a significantly safer riding experience, because I spend a lot of time searching for trouble and looking at road surfaces and trafic situations. If I could actually just enjoy the scenery, for the trade of wearing a helmet, it would be really worth while.

i don't see how wearing a helmet would make people feel "safe". I wear mine all the time, and it certainly doesn't make me complacent about being aware of my surroundings, nor does it make me feel i can attempt things i otherwise wouldn't. the reason i wear one and make my daughter wear one is the fact that it may make the difference between ending up in a hospital or a morgue, recovering or being a human vegetable, being able to get back on the bike or needing an expensive ambulance ride.

for those of you who nay say the value of using helmets, let me suggest that you pick up a copy of an annually printed book called "accidents in north american mountaineering". very enlightening reading.

i don't see how wearing a helmet would make people feel "safe".
Not to put too fine a point on it but I've heard people say a thousands times, "I'd NEVER do that ride without a helmet." Exactly what do you believe it means?

I wear a helmet whenever I am riding, whether I go 2 feet or 200 miles. When the wheels go forward my helmet goes on.

I believe every organized tour will require riders to wear helmets.

G

You know, tours where I don't plan to cook, I don't bring my campstove. And tours where I don't expect to have cold weather, I don't bring my fleece. And tours where I may not find a piano, I don't bring my music.

Not to put too fine a point on it but I've heard people say a thousands times, "I'd NEVER do that ride without a helmet." Exactly what do you believe it means?


i'd say it means that they feel safer. maybe safe enough to do that particular ride. maybe the thought of getting a broken arm, rib, or leg doesn't worry some people too much, but getting a broken skull does. i'd consider myself to be one of them. i've had four broken bones(1 clavicle, 2 ribs, 1 knee) in 3 separate sports related accidents. i'm glad my skull was not directly involved in any of them. the last one(last year) put me in the hospital for 6 weeks, for 2 operations. it was about 5 or 6 months before i could get back on my bike, and only next week am i going to go climbing again. i'll be wearing a helmet as always. so will my daughter.

that point i was trying to make is that only an idiot would equate wearing a helmet with ensuring total safety, or as ensuring safety to the point where they could disregard paying attention to the road and traffic and concentrate on the scenery, as the person to whom i was replying whimsically wished.

it's miraculous what modern medicine can cure. but serious head trauma is still way beyond modern science.

i read your other post above, but can't quite figure where you stand on helmets. you personally prefer not to wear a helmet, but want to set a good exmple for your kids? not to put too fine a point on it, but isn't that kind of hypocritical? where's the rationale in that? as a parent, you don't want your kids to injure their brains, but personally you feel that you'll be able to provide for them even in the off chance that your helmetless head were to be thrown violently against a car, curb or road? is your skull really that thick? :rolleyes:

i'd like to reply to peterpan1 too, and hope s/he would reconsider their position.

i understand part of the point you want to make to your kids. "because you're not wearing a helmet you'd better be darned sure of what's going on around you and not make any rash decisions." or something like that.

being mortal, there is nothing that can ensure total safety, but there are hundreds if not thousands of small decisions made on each and every ride that either contribute to greater or lesser safety. are you going to check that your bike is in good condition or just assume it is? put a mirror on your bike or not? if not, are you going to keep your eyes on the road ahead or look behind you before changing lanes? are you going to take a better look at that good looking (pick the gender of your choice) and hope there isn't a stray hubcap or pothole or not? going to use hand signals or not? slow down on a blind downhill curve or not? it just keeps going until you either get back home uninjured or at least alive... or not.

wearing a helmet is another of those decisions. wearing a helmet doesn't make you safe. it makes you safer. don't you want your kids to be safer?

i read your other post above, but can't quite figure where you stand on helmets. you personally prefer not to wear a helmet, but want to set a good exmple for your kids? not to put too fine a point on it, but isn't that kind of hypocritical? where's the rationale in that? as a parent, you don't want your kids to injure their brains, but personally you feel that you'll be able to provide for them even in the off chance that your helmetless head were to be thrown violently against a car, curb or road? is your skull really that thick? :rolleyes:
Look, the statistics are clear - helmets DO NOT make any difference in serious or fatal injury accidents.

That being said, they probably do make a difference in 90% of the "head strike" accidents since the worst you'd normally get from such a accident is a mild concussion.

I strongly object to those who say things like "helmets save lives". They DO NOT. And saying they do often gives people the idea they are a great deal safer than they actually are and leads them to take more chances then they'd otherwise take.

A whole generation has grown up in the United States believing that a helmet will make a difference in their safety and hence we are seeing people taking absolutely insane risks. Do you REALLY believe that a helmet will protect some guy who is jumping his bicycle 20 feet into the air, if he lands on his head? After all, a helmet is maxed out in a fall-over fall at a dead stop.

Are you unaware that Saul Raisin may NEVER recover from a minor accident? If he hadn't been wearing a helmet he might have been a bit more careful. Moreover the weight and bulk of the helmet MAY have been the CAUSE of his accident and not protective at all. If he wasn't wearing a helmet perhaps he'd have had a great deal more concern about protecting his head in a fall.

Need we mention that serious head injuries from minor falls like this were rare in professional racing until helmets started being mandatory?

The problem as I see it is that the safety freaks have been responsible for the deaths and injuries of a great number of people.

I probably will be chastised for this but here it goes.... I never wore a helmet as a child and I still do not wear one. I have one strapped to the side of my bike to keep people from yelling at me or if I am so drunk that I question my ability to stay on my bike. But long story short I don't wear one and don't think I will.

Cheers,

Coconut

I just like having my helmet on. It makes me feel complete and professional, like all my properly stowed gear and well maintained bike.

roughstuff

Hey, I see absolutely nothing WRONG with wearing a helmet or even advocating the wearing of helmets.

As long as you don't tell people that they're committing suicide or some equivalent if they don't.

Let's remember that 90% of head injuries are in very minor falls and it is LIKELY (vs proven - since because of the rediculous claims about helmets they only TEST them on near fatal energy levels) that a helmet will spread the forces out across a wider area and reduce the injuries that you might otherwise suffer - bumps, bruises and possibly concussion.

They had an argument going on it Canada that manufacturers should actually REDUCE the maximum forces a helmet can handle because already the helmet is stressed too highly for a woman or child's skull strength. If the foam was made softer it would actually improve the effectiveness of the helmet in sub-maximal blows. But it would reduce the maximum absorbed forces to below what an adult male skull could handle.

Curious thing safety - you most often can't beat the thinking brain for safety provisions no matter what you try.

Hey, I see absolutely nothing WRONG with wearing a helmet or even advocating the wearing of helmets.

As long as you don't tell people that they're committing suicide or some equivalent if they don't.



There lies the problem with the great debate...too many people feel the need to claim that those who do not wear helmets as somehow inferior or stupid or crazy or just plain ignorant. Nobody that I know of looks down or berates anyone for wearing a helmet, I don't see why supposedly intelligent people would resort to such nonsense for those of us who use our God-given free will as adults to make our own choices. It seems the issue is as political as any, with all the mud that gets slung about. I admit, I tend to get my dander up when folks start talking smack to me and don't pull any punches in my replies. Don't attack me, I don't have to respond in kind, we all ride, we all have fun. I fail to see why that concept is so unbearable to some.

There lies the problem with the great debate...too many people feel the need to claim that those who do not wear helmets as somehow inferior or stupid or crazy or just plain ignorant. Nobody that I know of looks down or berates anyone for wearing a helmet, I don't see why supposedly intelligent people would resort to such nonsense for those of us who use our God-given free will as adults to make our own choices. It seems the issue is as political as any, with all the mud that gets slung about. I admit, I tend to get my dander up when folks start talking smack to me and don't pull any punches in my replies. Don't attack me, I don't have to respond in kind, we all ride, we all have fun. I fail to see why that concept is so unbearable to some.
Unfortunately, some folk have to be the "hall monitor". I personally, use a helmet, but it's my choice! I can't make it for anyone else. Keep pedalin, Y'all!

is your skull really that thick? :rolleyes:

thanks for taking a civil thread down a notch.

I was just talking to a woman today who is about to do her first tri. She asked me about the best safety item to buy and I told the ONE mandatory safety item I ALWAYS recommend to bike riders - GLOVES.

The one thing that ALWAYS hits when you fall is your hands. Nothing beats a good pair of gloves for warding off a whole hell of a lot of injuries.

People can argue about helmets, clipless pedals, knee pads or whatever, but people who have fallen are unanimous about gloves.