I'm not trying to debate helmet use, so please continue to use the sticky thread for that. I'm just interested in quantifying how dogmatic or relaxed people are about them.

I've been leaving off the helmet lately when going for lunch, and it has finally been noticed by my co-workers, who both agreed that I should wear it ALL THE TIME. I don't think I have it in me to rationally defend not wearing one. The only positive reason is I just don't feel like it. But I can rationalize it a little bit by feeling that my traffic skills greatly diminish my probability of getting into an accident in the first place. In fact, I'm aware of feeling a little rebellious about getting lectured about wearing a helmet by people who know at most the basics of riding a bike in traffic and have never done it extensively, if at all. I guess I'm really rebelling at the perception among the general public that bike safety begins and ends with helmet use. I feel it basically comes down to risk analysis, and if I think the risk is not sufficient to warrant overcoming my not wanting to wear it, then who are non-bike commuters to tell me otherwise? Other bike commuters, I will give more respect to their arguments.

Do I sound like I'm debating helmet use? Sorry, guess I just had to sound off a bit. I should add that I always wear one on my commute and other rides longer than a few blocks, and I always wear one around my kids, because kids really are at a greater risk of crashes and thus do have a greater need for head protection.

The only time I don't wear a helmet is when riding a couple of quiet isolated paths or along the beach boardwalk or in my own local neighborhood when riding my cruiser to the quicky mart.

The latter is perhaps the most dangerous situation as I encounter motor traffic going to that quicky mart.

I had to vote never. I only wear a lid when I am required by some event, or if I think riding conditions hold an increased risk of me falling down and going boom - like some winter commutes. Conditions may be a factor, traffic is never a factor.

almost never. I started out wearing one all the time but it was too hot and I didn't like it.

Always! I spent good money for it, it's comfortable and I don't even know I have it on. If you knew when that accident is going to happen you could schedule your helmet wearing for that day, but it don't work that way.

On a plane in a train on a boat crossing a moat......while using the loo, shaving, showering, driving a car, and on and on

Seriously, all the time.

...and if I think the risk is not sufficient to warrant overcoming my not wanting to wear it, then who are non-bike commuters to tell me otherwise?
It is immaterial if the self appointed nannies are bicyclists. Who are bike commuters or safety nannies to tell you otherwise? Just another bunch of meddlers in someone else's beeswax.

I wear my helmet all the time except for a few routine "short trips": from campus to the post office or to a nearby lunch place, anywhere within campus, from my house to the convenience store.

My reasoning is that these trips do not take me on any high-speed roads at all. Motor traffic is light and never above 20 mph. The reasons I wear my helmet in the first place are: (a) I think the danger of an accident involving a motor vehicle could result in a serious head injury, or (b) when riding in a fast paceline or race I believe the likelihood of a wipeout or collision with another rider is fairly high. I don't believe that riding a bike around town is dangerous enough to warrant helmet use when agressive, high-speed motor vehicles aren't around. Nevertheless, I've made wearing a helmet my habit over the past 3 years, so I tend to err on the side of caution.

Actually I only wear my helmet when riding.

Some thoughts for the OP. When it comes to negelecting the helmet during lunch you might want to consider that a fair pop of the drivers out there might be a bit rushed at lunch time and less careful. Also do you have a lock that you use at lunch to lock the bike? One of the secondary benefits I get from a helemt is I put it on my front wheel when stoping. That won't stop a real thief, but it will be enough to give me the time to stop a grab and run. I don;t want to sound like a helmet Nazi, in fact some have been pissing me off so much recently I've been thinking of going out without just to make a statement. But the other side is many of the places/situations that many seem to think safe seem to me the best place wo wear a helmet. Those quiet MUPs are often the very place where the normal bike skills help the least and crashes are mild enough that a helmet will be adequate protection.

But the other side is many of the places/situations that many seem to think safe seem to me the best place wo wear a helmet. Those quiet MUPs are often the very place where the normal bike skills help the least and crashes are mild enough that a helmet will be adequate protection.

Agree 100%. If you are gonna wear a helmet, wear it, if you don't want to, don't, but don't half arse it with the delusion that riding a MUP or just going around the block is any safer than dancing with cars on a 55mph arterial.

I have to admit that I wear a helmet on my commute mainly to give the know-it-all motorists that I see one less bit of cycling advice that they need to give me (in addition to: get off the road, move over, ride against traffic, where you are riding is illegal, get out of my lane, go the speed limit, etc.). Same goes for most recreational rides but on short trips to various stores, I usually don't bother. It's one less thing to possibly get stolen.

I honestly have never worn a helmet.

i wear my helmet every single time i ride. if i forget it (and i have), i turn around and go back and get it. even if it made no difference at all, i dont want my parents to have to stand around my coffin and moan "if ooonly she had worn her helllllmmeettt!" even though i am getting forgetful in my old age, i still like my brain and want to protect it to the best of my ability within the framework of my daily activities.

When I first got into cycling as an adult, I purchased a helmet because I was seeing many riders with them when I went mountain biking. I knew that my bike handling skills would keep me safe at all time when I was not bouncing over rocks.
I started wearing the helmet on my commute to work so that I could get used to the feeling of having an overgrown mushroom above me. Three days after buying the helmet I decided to go a different way to work and ended up flying over my handlebars because I was going too fast for the terrain. I landed squarely on my head.

That afternoon, I purchased a new helmet from the LBS and have worn one almost every time after that (I am sure that I have forgot a couple of times...) just because...

Wow -- an almost absolute bi-polar distribution. Looks like you either wear one, all the time, or never wear one, unless absolutely forced.

I wonder if a poll about seat belts in cars would turn out the same - I bet it would. There's no middle ground ...

Wow -- an almost absolute bi-polar distribution. Looks like you either wear one, all the time, or never wear one, unless absolutely forced.
Well... not quite for me :) As I mentioned above, I've done so for several years, having made a conscious decision to start wearing my helmet. Despite the habit, I don't enjoy it and love it whenever I can do a brief relaxed ride without the helmet. I appreciate the safety benefits, own a comfortable helmet, and think I sets a good example for other riders... but I still feel that in some kind of car-free cyclist utopia, there would be little risk of severe head injuries, and thus little need for helmets (exceptions made for racing and MTBing).

When the kids can't see me, I don't wear a helmet. The only time they can't see me at either end of the trip is when I take a quick jaunt around the neighborhood when I know they're parked somewhere else. I know that the short trips don't mean anything, 'cause 95% of all accidents happen in the driveway, or wherever, but, what the heck, sue me. In 15 yrs or so I'll have a discussion w/ them about risk evaluation, but until then, they will never even think of biking sans lid.

Butt on bike = helmet on head.

My helmet is in another state. And the shell is cracked. So even if I had it here, it's probably compromised. But I don't have it here, and I can't afford to buy another helmet, so, despite my preferences, I've been riding without one. If I had a helmet, I'd wear it every time I ride.

My helmet is in another state. And the shell is cracked. So even if I had it here, it's probably compromised. But I don't have it here, and I can't afford to buy another helmet, so, despite my preferences, I've been riding without one. If I had a helmet, I'd wear it every time I ride.

Forgive me, but why don't you just go out an buy another one? They ain't exactly expensive, my Bell Citi retails for like $35 and I got mine for $25. If cash is an issue, I'll buy you one myself. I don't wear one, but I see no good reason why someone who wants to wear one should have to ride without one.

Despite what may seem like an anti-helmet attitude, I wear a helmet most of the time...so I voted 75%.

Forgive me, but why don't you just go out an buy another one? They ain't exactly expensive, my Bell Citi retails for like $35 and I got mine for $25. If cash is an issue, I'll buy you one myself. I don't wear one, but I see no good reason why someone who wants to wear one should have to ride without one.Ehh, first pay rent so I don't get evicted, then buy food so I don't starve, then pay electricity so they don't shut me off. If anything is left over....

I am hoping to have enough this month to get a helmet. It hasn't been that big an issue, because all my bikes are off the road for various repairs, but then my boss loaned me his bike, and now it's an issue. The plan was buy seat post, buy saddle, buy helmet and lock, bujy lights.** Now it's buy helmet.

Anyway, thanks, very kind of you.

I gotta say, I haven't ridden without a helmet since the seventies. It was an unusual feeling at first, although I grew up riding without one until the safety nannies started spinning their evil webs of deceit... :lol:





** I didn't follow the plan, sad to say. Instead of seat post and saddle, I bought brakeset, crankset, and shifters. :lol: Anybody know how that goes?

Then the boss loaned me his bike, making the helmet an issue to be resolved as soon as this starving and soon-to-graduate student can raise some more cash.

Ehh, first pay rent so I don't get evicted, then buy food so I don't starve, then pay electricity so they don't shut me off. If anything is left over....

I am hoping to have enough this month to get a helmet. It hasn't been that big an issue, because all my bikes are off the road for various repairs, but then my boss loaned me his bike, and now it's an issue. The plan was buy seat post, buy saddle, buy helmet and lock, bujy lights.** Now it's buy helmet.

Anyway, thanks, very kind of you.

I gotta say, I haven't ridden without a helmet since the seventies. It was an unusual feeling at first, although I grew up riding without one until the safety nannies started spinning their evil webs of deceit... :lol:

** I didn't follow the plan, sad to say. Instead of seat post and saddle, I bought brakeset, crankset, and shifters. :lol: Anybody know how that goes?

Then the boss loaned me his bike, making the helmet an issue to be resolved as soon as this starving and soon-to-graduate student can raise some more cash.

I was serious, I'll buy you one. PM me your shipping info - Bell Citi should tide you over until you can get something you like better (Citi is one of the helmets that Consumer Reports recommends), unless you have a large head that requires something else. Seriously, nobody who feels the need to ride with a helmet should have to ride without one, nor any other safety equipment. We've all been there...or at least I have, at one time or another...helping folks out when you can is one of them things we should ALL do when we have the means. It's like the pay it forward thing, ya know? ;)

Based on large part upon my experiences as a firefighter, EMT and paramedic in my youth, I wear a helmet 100% of the time when bike riding and a seatbelt 100% of the time when in a car. I insist that my children do the same or any child left in my care. Otherwise, I assume that other responsible adults make their own choices and are prepared to accept the consequences of those choices.

I was serious, I'll buy you one. PM me your shipping info - Bell Citi should tide you over until you can get something you like better (Citi is one of the helmets that Consumer Reports recommends), unless you have a large head that requires something else. Seriously, nobody who feels the need to ride with a helmet should have to ride without one, nor any other safety equipment. We've all been there...or at least I have, at one time or another...helping folks out when you can is one of them things we should ALL do when we have the means. It's like the pay it forward thing, ya know? ;)
Hah!! My *nice* helmet is a Bell Citi ;) A very generous gesture, chipcom.

Kudos for the good deed!!!! I hope the helmet karma returns to you by ensuring that your helmet never sees action :beer:

Never. At 10 mph, What's the point?

Hey! A billion Chinese — and no Lycra or helmets? They must all have DUIs!

Don't give me the "there's no car traffic" nonsense. Shanghai and Amsterdam are lousy with autos. Same situation.

http://www.velorution.biz/images/Velorution%20-%20Chinese%20commuters.jpg

I wear it about 90% of the time these days. When I was riding regularly 7+ years ago, I never wore one. What's changed is this piece of my skull that's no longer there. It's purely psychological, but I find it nerve-wracking to ride a bike much farther than 3 or 4 blocks helmetless and with a hole in my head. :eek: I've come to really like my helmet mirror and being able to put a blinkie on the back of it, so it's not completely a bummer. If my skull was in it's original condition, I'm sure I wouldn't be wearing it as much.

only when mountain biking.

I had to vote never. ......... traffic is never a factor.


You must be the worlds best bicyclist. You are a master of bicycle skills, unmatched by any other human on earth. :rolleyes: :p

You must be the worlds best bicyclist. You are a master of bicycle skills, unmatched by any other human on earth. :rolleyes: :p

Perhaps if you quoted what I wrote, rather than spinning like some Inquirer reporter...

I had to vote never. I only wear a lid when I am required by some event, or if I think riding conditions hold an increased risk of me falling down and going boom - like some winter commutes. Conditions may be a factor, traffic is never a factor.

Translated for the dimwitted - conditions may influence my decision on wearing or not wearing a helmet but traffic does not. You obviously think traffic is a factor...does the presence of traffic scare you?

Always. (But I've learned how to wash it effectively! ;) )

I voted always. I never ride with out it, no matter how short or ling the ride is.

It is nice to see that more people ride with then with out. At least according to the poll.

When I commuted to work on Friday I saw approximately 30 cyclists. Only one was wearing a helmet (not me).

Oh, chipcom, now you've done it. You'll never make "A&S grump" status now!

But seriously, good for you.

Many local bike groups or social service agencies have programs to give away free bike helmets. It's often to kids, but I think sometimes to adults too. Anyone who wants one but can't afford one should make some inquiries to such places.

I just purchased a bike this January, after being without one for at least the last 20 years. I'm enjoying riding again, but I wasn't using a helmet. Then, I was riding after a heavy rain one day and I got into some thick, loose mud which tossed me. I landed primarily on my left wrist, which got sprained, but also bumped my head noticeably on the pavement, but not hard enough to cause any injury -- not even an abrasion. It was a hard enough bump, however, to wake me up to the need for a helmet. So I ordered a Bell Metropolis helmet from rei.com and have been wearing it 100% of my riding time ever since.

No matter how good a rider you are, you are constantly dealing with unknown factors. Riding in traffic leaves you exposed to drivers which are a severe hazard to you in another car, much less on a bicycle. Broken bones will eventually heal, but a severe concussion is life-threatening.

That teen-aged girl chatting on her cell phone isn't looking out for you.

WEAR YOUR HELMET 100% OF THE TIME. PERIOD. END OF STORY.

I never used to wear one until I started commuting to work recently. I also started using a helmet mounted mirror so I feel lost without it. I will bomb the neighborhood without it, but if I'm going out on busy roads the lid goes on. I figure on a low impact there will be no pain at all, and on a REAL HIGH impact it won't hurt for long!

Its just a habit i picked up when i started riding.

roughstuff

Speaking of a helmet-mounted mirror, that's another advantage of a helmet! I prefer to use a mirror, and for years used a bar-mounted one. But when I got a second bike, I realized that a helmet-mounted mirror would be more convenient than buying and installing a second bar-mounted mirror. Now I have a mirror with me all the time, no matter what bike I'm on, as long as I've got my helmet on. And it's all the more incentive to wear the helmet, especially on the bike w/o the bar mirror.

Oh, chipcom, now you've done it. You'll never make "A&S grump" status now!

But seriously, good for you.

Many local bike groups or social service agencies have programs to give away free bike helmets. It's often to kids, but I think sometimes to adults too. Anyone who wants one but can't afford one should make some inquiries to such places.

At least once a year in Sioux City there is a safety fair of some kind. I always volunteer for it. At a lot of these fairs there are free bike helmets provided by an insurance company, through a grant that someone provides or donated by a store.

It's hard for me to estimate, but I generally decide based on the ride. I've been riding since I was just a wee lad and was taught without training wheels... In over twenty years of riding I've never smacked my head on the ground from a bicycle accident. With or without a helmet.

That having been said whenever I'm going to be road cycling I wear a helmet. Given an impact with a larger vehicle the best it's going to do is strain my brains through the little ventalated holes. The cars and trucks don't give me cause to wear the helmet - if I was afraid of them, I'd have full body armour! :p

A lot of the pavement in Ottawa is so full of pot-holes and sink-holes I'm concerned with the kind of impact that might occur should my bicycle decided to pitch me after hitting one unexpectedly.

If I'm just going for a cruise down one of the paved NCC trails (which is most of the time) I don't bother with the helmet, since there's a 20kph speed restriction and plenty of pedestrian traffic to slow me down from even reaching that, I'm quite comfortable without a lid.

Oh, chipcom, now you've done it. You'll never make "A&S grump" status now!

But seriously, good for you.

Many local bike groups or social service agencies have programs to give away free bike helmets. It's often to kids, but I think sometimes to adults too. Anyone who wants one but can't afford one should make some inquiries to such places.

Thanks John, but actually I should aplogize to BO for making my offer in public - in hindsight it was probably rude. But despite my lack of social sensitivity, just because I do not choose to wear a helmet does not mean that everyone should make the sames choices as I do. Just as someone should not be 'required' to wear a helmet, those that choose to wear helmets should not have barriers, economic or otherwise, that prevent them from doing so.

So here's my challenge to the safety nannies and helmet manufactures - if you truly believe that helmets save lives, step up and ensure that everyone who wants a helmet has access to one, no matter what their circumstances may be, rather than passing out organ donor cards and making the almighty buck. Instead of arguing and trying to force your will via laws on hard heads like me, provide something of value to all those other folks who do agree with you.

The cars and trucks don't give me cause to wear the helmet - if I was afraid of them, I'd have full body armour! :p

:beer:

FordSlowerer make take exception to your arrogance!

I voted occasionally since I only wear it whenever I am on the bike outdoors.

depends how you measure.

i probably wear a helmet 40 out of 60 minutes on a bike. if i am riding to class, i don't. i have a five block ride to campus, and lots of riding across campus. i don't want to hassle with carrying a helmet to class, or mess with locking it up.

mile for mile, i wear it 90% of the time. biking to class represents a significant portion of time on the bike, but not miles. i always wear a helmet if i am riding for a work out.

my rule of thumb is if i am wearing cycling shoes, i wear a helmet. if i am wearing flat shoes (class), then the helmet stays behind.

I voted occasionally since I only wear it whenever I am on the bike outdoors.

Not to sound like a smartass, or ignorant, or whatever...but...

You cycle indoors? Where?!

I voted all the time, well at least while riding:D

About the only time I don't is after cleaning the chain and doing the run through the gears, which is usually just a couple of circles along my street, that's usually because the lid is in the house at the time, and the bike is out front, and I don't want to leave it there, while I go grab the lid. Thinking of leaving the lid on the handlebars, then I have it all the time.

In my twenties I never wore a helmet. In grade school I made ash trays from my Dad. My first car had no seat belts. Times have changed, sometimes for the better.
With my helmet on I don't get sunburnt up top (that hurts!) and have a place for my lights at night.

Thanks John, but actually I should aplogize to BO for making my offer in public - in hindsight it was probably rude. But despite my lack of social sensitivity, just because I do not choose to wear a helmet does not mean that everyone should make the sames choices as I do. Just as someone should not be 'required' to wear a helmet, those that choose to wear helmets should not have barriers, economic or otherwise, that prevent them from doing so.

So here's my challenge to the safety nannies and helmet manufactures - if you truly believe that helmets save lives, step up and ensure that everyone who wants a helmet has access to one, no matter what their circumstances may be, rather than passing out organ donor cards and making the almighty buck. Instead of arguing and trying to force your will via laws on hard heads like me, provide something of value to all those other folks who do agree with you.

I don't think you have to apologize. I think anybody with the means to provide should do it whenever the opportunity presents. Maybe you could pm blue order and see? If I were used to riding with a helmet, and then found myself in a position where I didn't have one, but still have to ride, and was more comfortable with one, I would be looking everywhere for one. Pride is a silly thing. Being uncomfortable riding can lead to danger. But that's only my 2 cents.

As often as I ride my bike.

Voted 100% of the time. Same as Roughstuff, I've just always worn one. It feels weird to be on a bike without one. I insist that my kids wear theirs, so I'm trying to set a good example.

As a practical matter, I use the helmet as a "bowl" for my gloves, glasses, computer, ID, and keys between locking up in the parking garage and coming up to the office.

I've also recently gotten my first nice helmet, a Bell Sweep. Much more comfortable than the Costco-bought one I had before. Better venting. Plus it's red, so it makes the bike go faster.