Southern California - The Helmet Appreciation Thread

its highly overrated.

ppl think they're supermen with that Styrofoam thjing on...

Hi,

They might make you feel like Superman. :rolleyes:

I spent many years riding without a helmet and now many more years with a helmet. Either way, I always felt like a human being who could get killed on a bike if I wasn't careful. The odds of crashing ALWAYS catch up to you if you ride a lot. Stuff happens --eventually. If I wear a helmet, stuff might not kill me.

BTW, I've seen first-hand many injuries that people have suffered riding with and without helmets. Trying to keep someone calm -- or worse seeing someone unconscious -- and trying to stop the bleeding from a head injury is something that still makes me shiver when I think about it. I won't make anyone wear a helmet, but I won't ride with someone who doesn't.

Can you tell I feel strongly about this? IMHO, anyone who tries to justify not wearing a helmet because of dubious statistics is just trying to rationalize their decision.

Last, statistics are irrelevant when, for whatever reason, your head hits the pavement at high speed.

bombing down from rose valley helmetless with the wind through your hair is one of the best feelings ever.

Bad memory from my childhood:

what a head looks like after it has hit the edge of a curb.

40 or so years later, I always wear a helmet when I ride.

bombing down from rose valley helmetless with the wind through your hair is one of the best feelings ever.

So is mainlining (I'm told)... doesn't mean I want to do it.

bombing down from rose valley helmetless with the wind through your hair is one of the best feelings ever.So is coming out of surgery with a morphine drip.

i bet you guys think you get the same feeling with these clever quips.

There - I'm both an idiot and a slow learner. :D Now, don't bug me when you see me without "the hat".

There - I'm both an idiot and a slow learner. :D Now, don't bug me when you see me without "the hat".

It's all good Jimmy New Hampshire. ;)

But seriously, I'll never preach it... there are plenty of things I do that other people would consider "high risk". We all draw the line in different places for different things. And I'm the first to admit that where I draw those lines aren't always consistent.

i bet you guys think you get the same feeling with these clever quips.

Your disdain for most of us here seems to assume that we hold the same disdain for you. This is not the case. My "quip" was not meant to be clever, merely an illustration as to why I prefer wearing helmets.

4.5 years of undergrad plus 2 years of grad school cost a lot more than the few helmets I own. $100 every couple years is the least I can do to protect my investment.

I wear helmets sometimes, but never when taking a bath.

I wear helmets sometimes, but never when taking a bath.then how do you wash your helmet?

I saw at least a couple of idiots speeding down the backside of GP yesterday (lots of sand, gravel and potholes) with out helmets.

We all draw the line in different places for different things.

Precisely Vance! I wish there were more people thinking like you. You seem to be a really cool guy. Hope I'll meet you some day on a BF ride. Say "hi" - I'm easy to identify. ;)

Precisely Vance! I wish there were more people thinking like you. You seem to be a really cool guy. Hope I'll meet you some day on a BF ride. Say "hi" - I'm easy to identify. ;)

Jimmy, I wish you'd wear a helmet. I've only met you once (very nice man, you are), and I too understand that folks draw their own lines on what risks they will take. But, I can tell you, my head still hurts today from the hit I took on Saturday. It really does only take once and if you survive, you will understand why so many people urge you and others who don't wear helmets to do so.

The doctor in the ER told me that the number one injury she treats in cycling related accidents is a shattered or broken elbow, and the number one injury that she cannot treat in cycling related accidents is a head injury...and that's because she sees more of those injuries in cases where the cyclist was not wearing a helmet and cannot be treated because he/she does not survive.

Helmets are useless if a car decides to slam your ass at 50mph. For regular face-planting falls they work wonders.

You know, a lot of these fatal bike/car collisions are fatal because of the secondary impact, not getting hit by the car itself. It's what happens when a car throws you into a pole, abutment, another car, etc. A lot of times a person would have been able to make a full recovery if not for traumatic brain injury. Arms, legs, and ribs heal. Even massive organ damage can be prevented from being fatal with emergency care. Brains don't heal as well. If I were to get hit by a car and killed while wearing a helmet, oh well, I guess. Not much you can do about it. I think that's a lot better than being in a much less severe crash while not wearing a helmet and surviving with massive brain damage. It's easy to damage your head, even in a 15mph crash that probably wouldn't kill you. And everyone deals with a nasty face plant at least once. Death and paralysis are things we have to worry about while biking. If I can prevent living the rest of my life with a 2nd grade reading level and getting confused when I try to tie my shoes, I will. I like my brain. I risk the rest by getting on a bike, and that's bad as.s enough for me.

Helmets are useless if a car decides to slam your ass at 50mph. For regular face-planting falls they work wonders.

You know, a lot of these fatal bike/car collisions are fatal because of the secondary impact, not getting hit by the car itself. It's what happens when a car throws you into a pole, abutment, another car, etc. A lot of times a person would have been able to make a full recovery if not for traumatic brain injury. Arms, legs, and ribs heal. Even massive organ damage can be prevented from being fatal with emergency care. Brains don't heal as well. If I were to get hit by a car and killed while wearing a helmet, oh well, I guess. Not much you can do about it. I think that's a lot better than being in a much less severe crash while not wearing a helmet and surviving with massive brain damage. It's easy to damage your head, even in a 15mph crash that probably wouldn't kill you. And everyone deals with a nasty face plant at least once. Death and paralysis are things we have to worry about while biking. If I can prevent living the rest of my life with a 2nd grade reading level and getting confused when I try to tie my shoes, I will. I like my brain. I risk the rest by getting on a bike, and that's bad as.s enough for me.

Mine is about 8 years old. Maybe it's time to replace it? It's getting pretty funky inside anyway. I see PB has the Eclipse on sale.

Sheldon



Yeah that's the question I always grapple with...My Havoc is five years old, but I have never crashed it, store it out of the sun and keep it clean. Giro says every three years, but they are in the helmet selling game.

Hmmmmm...my "back-up" Giro Exodus is now 10 ...:D

if shattered elbows are the main injury, then you better stock up on colored elbow pads to match your lycra. better get some linebacker shoulder pads to put under them so you dont separate your shoulder
after hitting a paint stripe. what about some shin guards so your spds or whatever dont eat into your leg when you accidentally clip out. etc etc etc.

4.5 years of undergrad plus 2 years of grad school cost a lot more than the few helmets I own. $100 every couple years is the least I can do to protect my investment.

+1 4 yrs undergrad, 3.5 years (virtually 4) grad.

I saw at least a couple of idiots speeding down the backside of GP yesterday (lots of sand, gravel and potholes) with out helmets.I swear I wasn't one of them. :D

I swear I wasn't one of them. :D




I was...:D

Helmets saved me on road & mountain bikes (and even Motorcycles) several times. In NC effective Jan. 1st, there is a stricter motorcyle helmet law...those cheap plastic helmets are no longer allowed.

They rule. I have 2 friends who have met the pavement and cracked their helmets which probably saved them from more serious injury...

I need to get a new one soon too, my current one is almost 2 years old.

I need to get a new one soon too, my current one is almost 2 years old.




How do you decide when to buy a new helmet?

When it starts to smell really, really bad. :D

The foam padding on my Giro has started to deteriorate after about a year. Not sure how much longer it will last.

I, for one, understand both sides of the helmet 'issue'.

I long for the halcyon days of my youth, when I'd hop on my bmx bike and meet my friends at a vacant lot, make a jump out of plywood, then put it at the bottom of a huge hill. I remember learning how to endo by sticking my foot between the tire and fork. I remember learning how to bunnyhop up curbs...and not quite making it...

All without a farking helmet.

I freely admit that helmets suck, and I would rather not wear one.

However, now that I'm older, (arguably) wiser, more aware of my own mortality, and both cynical and untrusting of others, I wear a helmet.

I have little faith in my bike, tires, mechanics, inertia, debris, potholes, cars, trees, dogs, wind, rain, oil, sand, or anything else to assume for one second that I'm safe from head injury due to my own bike handling expertise.

I can heal from a broken wrist...but turning into a drooling vegetable is no way to live. Totally unfair to those who love me.

When it starts to smell really, really bad. :D

The foam padding on my Giro has started to deteriorate after about a year. Not sure how much longer it will last.


Dude! I'm serious!

(and just call Giro...they'll send you some new pads) :p;)

I've been starting the search for a new lid. I'm basing my choice on the usual items plus recommendations I found online about trying to find a more rounded shape. (this eliminates snag points that could catch on the cement.)

Boy, this is tough! So far, looked at the Xen (not many colors avail....), Rift..not sure about fit...next up is the Ghisallo.

Sheldon

How do you decide when to buy a new helmet?

What Dave said. :lol:

Actually most helmet companies recommend replacing them every 2-3 years due to the polystyrene (t3h foam) breaking down from exposure to sweat and oil from your head.

Bell/Giro gives discounts on a new helmet if you send in your broken helmet. Mebbe i should take a baseball bat to mine... :D

Yeah that's the question I always grapple with...My Havoc is five years old, but I have never crashed it, store it out of the sun and keep it clean. Giro says every three years, but they are in the helmet selling game.

Hmmmmm...my "back-up" Giro Exodus is now 10 ...:D

Hi Alice,

I do every 4 years max. Even if you never take styrofoam outside it will deteriorate. UV and sweat, etc will accelerate the deterioration. Even if that's conservative that comes out to $25 per year for head protection if you buy a $200 helmet. In my book that's cheap insurance.

According to the seemingly credible Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute the effective service life of modern helmets seems to be pretty long. They don't mention UV/ozone/sweat induced foam deterioration as a factor at all.

http://www.helmets.org/replace.htm

Even so, I tend to replace mine every 2-3 years.

At my bicycle museum (my garage), several of my old helmets are on 'display' (hanging from garage ceiling) and they include the skid lid (1979), the Giro Ventoux (1992), Etto (1992 mtb helmet), and a couple of Bells from the 80's..... I should throw them out.

At my bicycle museum (my garage), several of my old helmets are on 'display' (hanging from garage ceiling) and they include the skid lid (1979), the Giro Ventoux (1992), Etto (1992 mtb helmet), and a couple of Bells from the 80's..... I should throw them out.



Why? They probably look cool. I'll bet some bike helmets are already "collectible"

I just threw out an old mushroom shaped Bell, but I have no room for it.

It would be fun to smash up all the old helmets with a hammer. I mean, if they are no longer "safe" why take a chance someone might try to use it? :D

Just checked the manufacture date on the helmet.
Nov 2002.
Purchased in '03 when I cracked the last one.
Listening to all of you I think I need to go helmet shopping.

Question;
I've been using the same helmet for road and Mtb.
Just popping the visor on and off, ( OCP ya know.)
What's the difference between a "road" and "mtb" helmet?

Just .)
What's the difference between a "road" and "mtb" helmet?

Not much...looks to me like the mtb ones are a bit heavier and have a visor.

Sheldon

you are suppose to replace the helmet after a couple of years.
you noobs are basically riding without helmets and you dont know it.

Snell seems to think every five years is good (http://www.smf.org/faqs.html)enough. But the link Indolent posted does sound a bit more relaxed.

Ovo...Toyota would like you to buy a new car after three years, too...:p

you are suppose to replace the helmet after a couple of years.
you noobs are basically riding without helmets and you dont know it.

after three years, doofus.

I've been pricing new components and bits for a new bike I'm building.
Everything is way too expensive, they're only bicycle parts after all.

In the interest of reducing the demand for high end components (and thus the
market price of same) please do not wear helmets on your upcoming rides.

Thanks.

Okay, so I brought my helmet in today to show a coworker/friend of mine how badly cracked it is and the embedded pebble. She was looking at it and suddenly she says, "OMG. And look at the cracks on the inside of the helmet."

It has three cracks, one all the way to the top of the helmet on the inside. :eek:

My head really was protected by my child sized helmet.

Okay, so I brought my helmet in today to show a coworker/friend of mine how badly cracked it is and the embedded pebble. She was looking at it and suddenly she says, "OMG. And look at the cracks on the inside of the helmet."

It has three cracks, one all the way to the top of the helmet on the inside. :eek:

My head really was protected by my child sized helmet.

I think we need to start a "what kind of helmet ME should get" thread or poll...
Like one with a propeller on it...or a mohawk....or.....

I think we need to start a "what kind of helmet ME should get" thread or poll...
Like one with a propeller on it...or a mohawk....or.....

Stylin'

http://treadly.net/assets/radiovka_stanek1.jpg

Ultrasafe

http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/markv.jpg

http://www.cocoon1.com/bh7_closed.JPG

no comment

no comment

I didn't say you could post, Ronjon.

Now put your helmet back on and get back in your box!!!! :mad:

http://jhearst.typepad.com/photos/pictorial/ylohelmet.jpg

http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/images/dress-up/acc/hats/historic/biggles-helmet-big.jpg

http://www.mcphee.com/pixlarge/M5717.jpg

I think I have that one...


http://motorcycles.joropo.co.uk/p/71/images/miller-big-window-elite-auto-dark-welding-helmet-stars-amp-stripes-w-storage-bag.jpg