Recumbent - Helmet, yes or no?

Since I started riding my bikeE about a year ago, I've started to forgo wearing my helmet. I ride civilly on mostly country roads with very little traffic. My reasoning is that since an end over is such an unlikely event, I don't see much benefit in risk reduction wearing a helmet. I prefer a baseball cap with a nice visor/brim to help me see better. I'd appreciate hearing your comments, especially if a helmet has actually saved you from serious injury.

I have crackes a helmet in a crash before. Better the helmet thaan my head. Aso have witnessed the same thing happen to numerous people with varying degrees of severity. Wear the helmet for those in case of events, better safe than sorry.

I second the motion on the helment use.

But, it is funny thing, I'm recovering from crashing my bike and breaking my leg. Why does everyone ask me if I was wearing a helmet? Do they make leg helmets? <grin>

If you go down hard at speed, your head is still vunerable, even on a bent, on which an "endo" is unlikely. A crash can slam your head onto the pavement, curb, tree, car, whatever - and it won't take much of a slam to crack your skull - only 12 pounds, I've read. That's where a helmet can perhaps spare you from a lifetime vegetative state. If strapping a piece of padded plastic to my head will give me that edge, I'll do it whenever I ride because an "it'll-never-happen-to-me" attitude is not going to do that for you.

Honestly, I simply don't get why some riders don't want to "bother" with helmets. I've crashed three times on my bent - it can happen no matter how little traffic there is or how safely you ride. Though none of the incidents resulted in head contact, it does cause me to ponder the consequences of such a scenario if it had and without helmet. I shudder to think about it, more so for my wife and child and their future without me...

The general approach seems to be "Head or brains are cheap, every body has one, but helmets are ( 1 expensive 2 hot 3 sweaty 4 dorky 5 etc). I have fallen on three occasions over
20yrs and had significant helmet damage on two of these. Concussions have cumulative cognitive defects. Minor short term memory malfunction so you don't remember new things as well, not good if you still face yrs of education or have a job with some intellect required. Personality changes, never for the better. 2-5% decrements in whatever IQ is. People may seem "OK" after head injury that is "minor" but subtle changes occur. This completely ignores major neurosurgical disasters, I am only talking about run of the mill head bounces with transient loss of consciousness, maybe scalp lac or abrasions. Minor aspects such as an ED visit for such will set you back the cost of a Trek 5700, plus a car to drive it around in if you are admitted to the hospital. Steve

Quit trying to BS yourself. Wear the helmet.

I too gave up the helmet for a while. i would always wear it on the trails to avoid rock or tree damage but then when we would go on rides through the city at night, I would go without. One night, I was on my way out the door and said to myself, this is idiotic, I really should wear my helmet. i went back and got it. About 20 minutes into the ride, I was in an empty parking lot with no cars and I was jumping some obstacles when my rear wheel caught one and my face hit the pavement before I could get my hands off of the bars. I cracked some teeth and nearly ripped my eye out of my head, but I suffered no concussion or such trauma due to the decision to put on that helmet. I was going fast enough that I honestly think it would have killed me.
While you may not be jumping anything or the roads may not be crowded, have you ever had a front tire blow on you on a descent? It can get a little squirly. How about a dog run out in front of you? There are too many variables and unknowns. Wear it!

...

i'm an upright rider, (cuz i've no money for a recumbent) but i wanted to get a word in anyway :)

i've broken two helmets, (probably saved from a very long hospital visit in both cases) and neither was from an endo.

in both of those crashes, my bike went over sideways, hard and fast.

thought i'd pass on a warning, as well... one thing i'm told about bikes (such as BikeE) with small front wheels is that they have more difficulty rolling over the top of things like potholes, large sticks, walnuts, and that things that wouldn't knock a 26 inch wheel out from under you might knock a 20 inch wheel out from under you.

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. I will probably be making more of an effort to wear the helmet now. I only wonder how I got through my childhood and adolescent years in the 50's and 60's when there was no thought of wearing a helmet even for the wacky things we did with our bikes. We want to live in a germ free, risk free, safe world. I have a friend who was killed by a drive by shooter while waiting for the bus. If I really wanted to be safe, I'd never leave the house. Even then, you could fall down the stairs without your helmet on. Most falls for elderly like me happen in the shower. Should we wear helmets while showering too? Life really is a crap shoot, IMHO. HypnoBassMan, hope you are recovering nicely.

religiosly, wear your helmet!!!! been domed (sp) since 1979 (bell biker) never had significant "incident" on any of my bikes until 1999 A/D inter-10 where the age 87 female stated " i had my signals on". the police stated that looking at the helmet, i would have "been removed in a different manner" . i was saved by a helmet 20 years later!!
you can spin safe, but you'll NEVER know about the orientation of your road "sharers" ...
Wear Your Helmet!
tom

Normally, I try to stay out of helmet arguements, but here I go. Todays helmets are lightweight, cool, and fit like a dream. There don't seem to be many excuses for not wearing one.

I've personally broke 2 helmets during crashes and would have hated to see what my head would have looked like without wearing a helmet.

The original poster appeared to be looking for validation or confirmation for not wearing a helmet, so even he must have doubts about going bare-headed.

If one wears a helmet and never needs it, so what? But if that downhill crash comes along and the helmet is home in the closet...

I'll start wearing a helmet when Lance Armstrong does....oh, he does? Okay, then when Jan Ullrich does....oh, he does too? how about Joseba Beloki? Hmmmm....these guys must know something.......

Seriously, though, last time I rode a bike without a helmet was about 10 years ago.

Ok let me put in terms you can better understand regarding helmet use.

It only takes a impact to your head at 10 mph to kill you. Most of the time when you crash your body as it is heading towards the ground it is going faster then that. Notice I said most of the time, not all.

So let me ask you this:

Do you want to re-learn the alphabet, or how to walk, eat & tie your shoes again? If not then, WEAR YOUR DAMN HELMET!!!

I can't stress this enough!

Here is my take on those that for what ever reason, none of the reasons are good enough or legitimate to me, for those that absolutley refuse to wear helmets:

1. They are being very selfish. How? You may ask. Well not if but when they crash, if they are not killed but do suffer head injuries, they will be a burden on their family because they will require constant care.

Most people who suffer serious head injuries never fully recover and require some kind of care for the rest of their lives.

2. For those that do not wear a helmet and crash suffer a impact to the head and are killed by it, to me it is a way of thinning out the population of someone who was not itelligent enough to use a helmet. Hopefully this person has not had any off-spring and the lack of intelligence ends with him or her.

Bottom line folks wear your helmets. No matter how long or short your ride is, at what speed you may be riding at or where you ride is taking place.

In my LBS in the area they have the helmets on display there is a helmet that had been through a crash while the person was wearing it. In other words that person crashed. On the left side of the helmet just above where the persons left ear would be if he or she was wearing it is a piece of the helmet. It is only being held in place by the thin plastic shell cover that helmets are now made with and a little bit of the polysterene.

Below the helmet there is a sign that simply says: CRASHED AT MPH: Results of crash, broken collar bone and broken hip. But this person is alive today because the helmet did its job.

Had that person not been wearing that helmet he or she would have been killed. he or she may not have walked away from the crash but that person did make a full recovery and is riding today.

I'll be riding the boardwalk in Ocean City this weekend, but I'll be wearing my helmet. I'll also wear shoes and not let anyone ride on my handlebars. Thanks for all your replies.

I wear one, started when I had to "set an example" for my daughter. Now it does not bother me to wear it. I only ride for recreation also, if I hit 20 MPH it is downhill with the wind. I have a taken a spill or two, never hit my head, have not hurt a helmet (other than dropping it when putting on or off). But I think, I got it, why not take that one extra little step. I also wear a head wrap under mine which obsorbes more sweat and makes it even more comfortable to wear.

I always wear a helmet, and when I took a fall at 40+ mph, 15 yrs ago, it probably saved my life, cracked the helmet, and shattered my elbow, which required pins and wire to reconstruct the elbow. Please wear your helmet...

Watching the Tour De France shoudl be enough to persuade anyone to wear a helmet, regardless of how good they think they are.

I too, forego helmet use on a bent. I see it as one of the few real advantages that bents have (the other being comfort of course). Certainly it is still possible to crack your head, but the much lower risk of header type crashes warrants it for me.

Dave

I too will admit to foregoing the helmet but don't do as I do, do whatever feels right for you.

You know, each time I've gone down it was unexpected. Nobody say's "I think I'll do an endo today, so where''d I put that helmet?"


And one of my pet peeves is catching parents out with their children. The will have the child in a helmet and maybe even knee and elbow pads, while they have no protection at all. I try to point out their error in teaching the child that its ok to say one thing and do another.

pointy head--

How do you do an endo on a recumbent?

I agree, it is best for children to wear helmets when they are out riding, since they don't have really good judgement based on years of riding experience.


I think there is an over emphasis on safety here, like if you wear a helmet you will be OK.
Now you are free to operate the bike in a reckless manner, speeding through turns,
raising the hair on pedestrian's backs, Jumping curbs, etc etc. In the end, if you really, really want to be safe, why not just never go out?

I've been riding for 40 years since I was 16 and have had a couple of scraped knees. That's it. I avoid hazardous trails, I avoid crowded streets and bike paths. I'm not riding the Tour de France.

I believe in personal choice. I don't smoke, but I don't tell anyone not to.

In the end, wearing a helmet is really a matter of personal choice, regardless of the safety benifits. But like I said, if I really wanted to be safe, I'd just stay home.

Riding a bike can be a dangerous thing to do, with or without a helmet.

Well, I've only ridden a recumbent one time, and that was just around a parking lot at a LBS. I would imagine hitting a storm grate that would suck the front wheel in would do it.

And I don't think that years of biking experience will prevent the stupid driver from hitting me or such. Sure, we all take risks in doing any activity, but I just think that not wearing one is taking an unnecessary risk. But whatever turns your crank...

I mostly ride uprights and wear a helmet 99.9% of the time. But this emphasis on wearing helmets has gotten way out of hand.

If the helmet nazis really wanted to reduced head injury deaths, they could save far more people by requiring all occupants of motor vehicles to wear helmets. In one year, that would save more head injury deaths than all the cyclists ever saved by helmets since they were invented.

Dave

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30068&perpage=15&pagenumber=3



Originally posted by izgod
Since I started riding my bikeE about a year ago, I've started to forgo wearing my helmet. I ride civilly on mostly country roads with very little traffic. My reasoning is that since an end over is such an unlikely event, I don't see much benefit in risk reduction wearing a helmet. I prefer a baseball cap with a nice visor/brim to help me see better. I'd appreciate hearing your comments, especially if a helmet has actually saved you from serious injury.

Well, I have some opinions on helmets. I've ridden without them in early life, and had one spill in grade school that really began a lifetime of migraine headaches; hit my head and face, and the right temple area. Later, I went for many, many years without an accident that led to a head injury. But after becoming a member of the safety profession some twenty-five years ago, and raising two boys, I decided helmets were a must (the previous times were times really before helmets too--my first helmet was a yellow skidlite).

Last year's accident was another story. I've said this on other threads, but the doc said if I had been unlucky that day, and not worn my helmet, I would have lived. I've enclosed a photo of the helmet. I was confused and semi-conscious for an hour after the accident, and have no memory of the accident itself. I also have no memory of that hour, when I was picked up and taken to the hospital. I woke up in the ER after the MRI.

Concerning recumbants, I've rode many on test rides, and may soon be able to report more as I have money down on a Rans Stratus. My overall impression is that yes, they are safer. The fall distance is lower. But there's still the forward speed, and the possibility of hitting a bumper, curb, or other obstruction. It only takes one time...I've elected to continue to wear a helmet, and will do so even on a recumbant.

One thing that concerned me about SWB recumbants was hitting a curb at high speed. To my way of looking at it, this may be more potentially damaging than on a regular bicycle. The bike would essentially stop, and the cyclist would be thrown forward. On a regular bicycle, it is possible to roll out of this. But in this scenario, it is possible for a recumbant cyclist to be thrown directly onto his/her face, head by rotating on the pedals. At least, that's my analysis of the biomechanics of this situation. Here, a helmet would definately do some good. This is also why I've elected a LWB recumbant.

John

As someone that has been hit by a car on an upright, I've always been concerned about that with respect to recumbents. On an upright, the cyclist usually goes over the car (in my crash I went over, the bike went under). On my recumbent, I'm not so sure that I wouldn't have went under as well.

Any bent riders out there been hit by a car that can report of this?

Dave

Originally posted by hayneda
If the helmet nazis really wanted to reduced head injury deaths, they could save far more people by requiring all occupants of motor vehicles to wear helmets. In one year, that would save more head injury deaths than all the cyclists ever saved by helmets since they were invented.

Interesting point, I've never thought about wearing a helmet in a car but it's probably even more of a risk reducing factor in that situation than on a bike!

I wear one because it might save my noggin' in a really bad situation. I know it won't promise me imortality, but it "Might" help keep me alive. For this reason and to be an example to my Kids, I CHOOSE to wear a helmet. I won't force anyone to bend to my will though. ( Except my Kids, of course.)

I was getting pretty casual about wearing a helmet last summer. Just taking a nice easy ride on my wedgie with no helmet when I hit some mud going around a bent. I was down on the pavement so fast I didn't even unhook my clipless pedals. My arm had some road rash and luckily I only hit my heat lightly although it was bleeding.

Not a week later I came across another guy who had wiped out and was wandering around the bike path in a daze with blood coming from his head.

I'm not that smart but I got the message...wear the helmet.

Somewhere I read it only takes as little as twelve pounds of full impact pressure to fracture your skull. I'd imagine most falls/collisions, regardless whether off a DF or bent, would likely exceed this threshold should you wish to expose your skull to it. A helmet is no guarantee of escaping harm, but it's gotta mitigate the situation a little more in your favor I'd think. I don't intend to risk burdening my family or society in general with the cost of caring for me in a vegetative state just because I didn't think it could happen to me on a bent.

I've been riding for 40 years since I was 16 and have had a couple of scraped knees. That's it. I avoid hazardous trails, I avoid crowded streets and bike paths.

My endo happened after almost 40 years of riding with only minor scrapes. It happened on a deserted side street in the early AM hours and I was only going 18MPH. I was wearing my Bell Ghisallo helmet the impact split the helmet in two something like the pic posted above. It is silly to presume that you are not going to fall on your bike. I was told by my bike mentor (65 years old 50+ years riding) its not if you fall its when.

What could of been death or a very serious concussion became a broken nose, chipped tooth and a fractured wrist. I walked away from it and was riding again in no time

The next time you go out for a ride think of the impact a serious crash would have on those around you, not on whether you get injured or not. It would be silly to put your loved one(s) through that if you could of prevented it with a $30 helmet wouldn't it?

in almost every bike shope i've been in where they have the helmets i always see something similar, as i imagine we all have. and maybe some of us here have provided the item i'm talking about and the story behind it.

i'm talking about the crashed helmet with the piece of paper detailing the story of the crash and the fact that the cyclist lived, suffered no serious head injury and in some cases walked away.

but the one i found most intersting to date is the one i saw in a bike shop in downtown Marshalltown, Ia.

in the side of this helmet is a pretty serious indention, or crater. the story behind this is the cyclist was standing still straddling his or her bike. he or she somehow lost their balance and fell to the side. the person's head hit a rock on the side of the helmet. that's what caused the crater.

this was in the temple area. one of the most sensative areas of the head. people have been killed by being hit there with even a very mild impact.

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. I will probably be making more of an effort to wear the helmet now. I only wonder how I got through my childhood and adolescent years in the 50's and 60's when there was no thought of wearing a helmet even for the wacky things we did with our bikes. We want to live in a germ free, risk free, safe world. I have a friend who was killed by a drive by shooter while waiting for the bus. If I really wanted to be safe, I'd never leave the house. Even then, you could fall down the stairs without your helmet on. Most falls for elderly like me happen in the shower. Should we wear helmets while showering too? Life really is a crap shoot, IMHO. HypnoBassMan, hope you are recovering nicely.

It sure is. And it's hardly an excuse to stop wearing a helmet, buckling a seatbelt, or looking both ways before you cross the road.

I truly want to live a long, healthy life. So I take reasonable precautions in my daily life. That's a far cry from cowering in fear under the bed.

And if you're going to trot off without your helmet, I hope you're fully insured and economically solvent, because I don't want to be paying medical bills for someone whose injuries could have been prevented by a helmet.

And germs keep you healthy, by the way.

I'm not going to say you should wear a helmet but I will tell you what I think about people who don't. Basically if your not wearing a helmet I will assume that you figured you didn't have enough upstairs in the first place to warrent protecting it. It's not about being a safety Nazi or or anything like that, it's just commen sense. Last time I crashed I didn't endo, I hit something and went over sideways, I also flew over a 6' inbankment and landed on my back on a pile of rocks. But I didn't think I hit my head, however for the next few days I kept getting headaches, finally I looked closely at my helmet and noticed a small area at the back that had been stowed in almost to the point of hitting my head.