Road Cycling - Anyone have a "Im not wearing a helmet story"?

I know I must have looked like an idiot today when I went on a group ride without a helmet. The route is lightly traveled and my thoughts were that I can't hear what is going on around me as well as without one. The wind whistling around the helmet is very distracting to me. The other thing is that I shelled out a lot of money for a bike and am short on funds. Anyone here have a real life story while not wearing a helmet? I probably need to get a good dose of reality so I will wake up and get one.

sure i have one... my friend and i were riding one day through the park when we were younger and she hit something going down a hill and fell...i tried to stop because there was no way to get around her and i hit her...well my head hit the ground a bunch and once everything stopped i took off my helmet and it had a whole bunch of gouges(sp?) in it which looked like they came from either my chainrings or hers. point being, if i didnt have a helmet i would have sliced my head open...if you are really that low on funds just to go wal-mart and get a really cheap one until you can afford a better one....they all work.

A week before our wedding my wife an I were riding on some seriously steep dirt trails through an pine plantation. We came across some deep tyre tracks in dry clay that had been dug up by the bulldozers during winter. The undulating surface caused my wife to bounce around and lose clear vision of the track. I could see what was happening a shouted for her to slow down, she didn't. She hit a tree trunk laying across the track inside the ruts, and flew over the bars like Superman, landing solidly on her right shoulder, head and chest. The helmet took most of the impact but she was able to get up (stop crying) and ride back to the car. I can't imagine what would have happened without the helmet. This helmet debate is getting old. If your local laws say wear a helmet then do so. If you like the idea of eating through a straw, while someone else wipes your chin because you dribble everywhere, then don't wear one.

CHEERS.

Mark

Ok this is what I can put together from what happened to me:

It was the summer of 1994 and I had a peugeot marsailles (spelling) roadbike. I was coming home from Grand Haven, MI to Spring Lake MI, neighboring towns, connected by two bridges that met in a 'T'. I was with a friend who was going north on US 31 and I was taking the right out of the T (east) onto M-104. The 'T' is acually sideways
....^
....|
us 31 north
....|
....|---- -m104-->'
....|

I actually don't remember making the right turn off US31 northbound bridge to the M-104 eastbound bridge. I woke up in the hospital.

The M-104 bridge continues down to a bikepath. A road crossing the path didn't have an exactly smooth transition, just a minor bump where the road was laid.

What I suspect that happened is that I was hauling downhill, gleefully pedaling for all I was worth, and I hit the bump which jarred the bike enough to throw me/and or knock my front tire off.

I must have gone head first over the bar, the bike's frame was bent and the front tire dislodged. Luckily for me a registered nurse who knew me stopped since M-104 is the main street in Spring Lake. She didn't even recognize me, because lacerations on my chin had caused so much blood, when she found out who I was she though I was going to die on the spot, since she couldn't recognize me.

I suffered a major concussion and my face was messed up pretty bad from asphalt burns. I still have faint faint scars that you can see but only if I point them out. I also lost a tooth and had to get root canals in two others to keep them in.

Now I really don't know what happened to cause the accident, someone could have pulled out in front of me, though with the heavy traffic I would doubt they could have done that and left without someone reporting it, so i figure it was just a case of too much speed downhill combined with a bump near the bottom.

That is what caused me to get my current trek mountain bike, (I was already using my old huffy mbt at college in ann arbor, my peugeot was only for me to use during the summer at home since I didn't have anywhere to keep it at school besides outside).

So take it from me, I'm pretty fearless when it comes to biking and I still ,when just commuting, don't always wear a helmet, yeah it's stupid, I do trust myself to ride but of course I can't control other people. When I do get my new bike (which some of you are helping me by answering my newbie questions since it's been so long since I've gotten one), it will be faster then the one I have now and I will defintely get a helmet too.

i find the "helmet dilema" to be pretty interesting. i always wear one, primarily b/c i'd feel like a complete moron if i didn't wear one and got hurt(which surely would happen) or worse. people would go: were you wearing a helmet, and i'd go: no, and they'd go: why weren't you wearing a helmet etc etc. i just think it would get boring and tedious. so to avoid all that, i wear a helmet.
that said, while talking about this once w/ someone (who doesn't wear a helmet all the time): i asked him why and he said he just doesn't like wearing it. i said, well, i don't love mine either but cmon, cost v. bennefit, right? and he made the point that the bicycle is the most common means of transportation to work throughout the world (i didn't verify this, but even if walking is more popular, i bet cycling is a close second) and it's probably very likely that the vast majority of those people don't wear helmets. but they survive. he thought that the horror stories were rare examples and the odds were with him, and for him cost of helmet outweighed bennefit of helmet so he didn't wear one. to him i say: good for you.
NOTE: i didn't used to wear a helmet all the time. i did get into a crash (i got doored by a cab passenger while doing about 20; i hit the door so hard i bent it backwards the way it's not supposed to go and broke it) and my head was fine. so i count myself lucky. you just never know.
lastly, if you want a helmet but funds don't permit, take the other poster's advice and get a cheap one at target or sportmart or whatever. just so long as it passes the minimum specifications, it'll be fine. i'm kind of a retro grouch, but i really like when i see roadies wearing old, hardly vented, all white helmets that couldn't have cost more than 3 bucks at a garage sale. it's especially effective if they're very strong riders.

dan

To me, not wearing a helmet feels like not wearing a seatbelt. I can just feel my head smacking the concrete or going through the window. I feel naked without a helmet.

The other thing is that I shelled out a lot of money for a bike and am short on funds. Anyone here have a real life story while not wearing a helmet?

Maybe should have bought a slightly cheaper bike and spent the difference on a helmet?

At least your bike will look good while you're in a coma.

Well, I drove one Sat morning to our weekly pack ride and realized I forgot my helmet. I felt naked and insecure from just the thought of not having any head protection. I drove back home. The following Sat on the ride people were talking about a spill a week ago which brought down about a dozen or so riders.

I always wear a helmet, but just last weekend I had ridden to the bar to meet up with a friend. We decided to head over to another bar, and since he was driving (not drinking) I just chucked my panniers and helmet in his truck and left my bike locked up at the first one. Well, at the end of the night he dropped me back off at my bike, and I was a mile or so down the road when I realized I didn't have my helmet on. I'd left it in his car. It was also about this time that I realized I wasn't riding very straight, and was a little more tipsy than I thought. Even with being as dumb as I had been, I had enough sense to get off my bike and walk it the rest of the way home. I am really glad I did, too.

Just look at it this way. If there is anything in your head worth protecting, then wear a helmet and protect it! If not, well, no big loss I guess.........

I know I must have looked like an idiot today when I went on a group ride without a helmet. The route is lightly traveled and my thoughts were that I can't hear what is going on around me as well as without one. The wind whistling around the helmet is very distracting to me. The other thing is that I shelled out a lot of money for a bike and am short on funds. Anyone here have a real life story while not wearing a helmet? I probably need to get a good dose of reality so I will wake up and get one.
The one time I wasnt wearing my helmet the cops busted me $50 .$50 wasted!!!!

I would've put my head through the side window of a Lexus...instead my helmet spidered the window and bounced off...letting my arm and shoulder go through.

I endo'd once and my head went sliding before my body pitched over.
Try taking your barehead, run as fast as you can, now dive head first into pavement and slide. Then compare medical costs and pain and suffering vs. cost of helmet.

You notice a lot of stories here are from people getting into accidents WITH a helmet and are alive today to tell their tale. You wonder how many people right now are dead/in a coma because they didn't have a helmet and aren't here to tell their story.

Moral of the story? Protect your noggin.

If it's a choice between riding and not riding, ride.

If it's a choice between spending a pittance on a helmet, http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/03/50/11/85/0003501185643_500X500.jpg Walmart.com (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?cat=4178&dept=4125&product_id=2138976&path=0%3A4125%3A4178%3A4184%3A5306) $17.42, and buying medicine for your child, buy the medicine for your child.

Otherwise, go to a store and buy a perfectly good, certified, cheap helmet and then ride.

When I begin riding again about two years ago, I didn't wear a helmet. I figured since I wasn't racing or riding traffic, I didn't need one.

After about two weeks, I was negotiating an tricky, descending trail, with multiple switchbacks. I was going too fast for a curve, went off the trail, did an over-ender, and flew through the air, barely missing at least two trees with my unprotected noggin.

As soon as I was able to gather my wits, check my bike, and re-mount, I rode directly to the LBS and purchased a good, but inexpensive helmet. The Trek Vapor is highly recommended by both Bicycling and Consumer's Report and is only about $50. The Giro Gila was also highly recommended by Consumer's Reports and is about $75.

Which is cheaper, $50 now or catastrophic, perhaps fatal injuries later?

Another topic really, but don't shop at Walmart. They are evil. www.walmartsucks.com It may be a good price for a helmet, but there a lot of other "costs" to society caused by Walmart that need to be factored in.

Back on topic - I was commuting through the west side of Chicago last fall and a block ahead of me I see a helmetless guy riding toward me cross the street, tries to hop the curb, falls, and I see his head bounce off the sidewalk. I stop to check on him and he says he's fine. He sees that I'm wearing a helmet and says "I sure could have used one of those things you got on your head". I ask him a couple more times if he's ok and then continue on. A guess of the percentage of people riding on the west side of Chicago without helmets: 90%+.


If it's a choice between riding and not riding, ride.

If it's a choice between spending a pittance on a helmet, http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/03/50/11/85/0003501185643_500X500.jpg Walmart.com (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?cat=4178&dept=4125&product_id=2138976&path=0%3A4125%3A4178%3A4184%3A5306) $17.42, and buying medicine for your child, buy the medicine for your child.

Otherwise, go to a store and buy a perfectly good, certified, cheap helmet and then ride.

I know I must have looked like an idiot today when I went on a group ride without a helmet. The route is lightly traveled and my thoughts were that I can't hear what is going on around me as well as without one. The wind whistling around the helmet is very distracting to me. The other thing is that I shelled out a lot of money for a bike and am short on funds. Anyone here have a real life story while not wearing a helmet? I probably need to get a good dose of reality so I will wake up and get one.

True Story. I always wear my helmet, but on this one day, really, only this one time, I decided to not where one and... you guessed it... I end up crashing. Across the road at the bottom of a hill was a downed wire that was about 3 to 4 feet high in the middle of the road. Wham... what the? ... caught like a fish in a net. Luckily for me it broke from the house and I didn't get the full force that I could have. As I lay there on the boiling hot blacktop alls I could think was; "no helmet, I'm such an idiot".
Don't make the same mistake... protect that brainbox.

True Story. I always wear my helmet, but on this one day, really, only this one time, I decided to not where one and... you guessed it... I end up crashing.

For me, statistically speaking, I am less likely to crash while wearing a helmet than I am if I wasn't. I will have to say that 95% of the time that I decide to take a quick spin to see if some adjustment I've done works out or just to try something while leaving my helmet behind, I've crashed. This is not to say that I don't crash while wearing a helmet but it seems like the certainty of crashing while not wearing one is much higher for me than if I were wearing one. This is also a reason why I carry a mobile phone with me on rides. Having one with me almost gurantees that someone will never want to call me while leaving it at home often results in the opposite happening. :(

About three weeks after I got my road bike, I rode into town to get a train up to the big city. Going down the main street towards the train station, there's a bike path on the sidewalk (up a curb of course). I saw a side road, and decided to hop up onto the path. Big mistake: there was a tiny 1 inch curb across the side road, my 23mm tyres were no match for it. Scraped up my hands and leg, but managed to keep my head clear of the asphalt. Then I bought a helmet.

I had a friend that died on a motorcycle. He was doing about 10MPH. He hit some sand, the bike shot out and he hit his head on the curb. His girlfriend, wearing a helmet, was unhurt.

My brother died on his motorbike and he WAS wearing his helmet. When your time is up its up...A helmet will help you in a crash but dont expect it to be a life saver all the time.

The incident that convinced me the value of wearing a helmet and eyewear was the gravel truck.

Tooling along one of our lovely secondary road. For some bizarre reason, one side has a nice wide 12' shoulder, the other nada. So I'm riding the shoulder against traffic (a no-no but better than being in the lane with the speed limit at 65).

Big old dump truck come rumbling along, hits a bump at a pretty good clip. Now these guys are suppose to tarp thier loads. Yeah, right.....

Out the top of the truck comes a shower of gravel, 1"-2" size. Took a couple of hits, left some good size welts and a nice cut in my chin.

But I stayed upright and maintained control.

if im just riding to the store or something i dont usually wear a helmet but if im goin for a ride like 10 miles or more i deffinately wear one, ive had a couple of run ins where ive almost gotten hit, thank god i havn't

I hate to be a poop stirer, well not really, but I don't wear a helmet, never have, I got one at a second hand store this winter which I intend to wear on pay rides so that I don't get so many mean looks and lectures. To me it is a matter of personal choice I will respect anyone who wears a helmet, and I would like to be respected as well, if I wanted to be preached at I would go to church. I don't beleive that bicycling is an inherently dangerous activity and I've had more accedents in cars, some serious, then I have had on a bike. and blah blah blah, now let the flames begin

if im just riding to the store or something i dont usually wear a helmet but if im goin for a ride like 10 miles or more i deffinately wear one, ive had a couple of run ins where ive almost gotten hit, thank god i havn't

Whether you choose to wear a helmet or not is... well... your choice. However, you might want to be consistant about it. Distance is not a factour when determining the chance of an accident.

I had a friend that died on a motorcycle. He was doing about 10MPH. He hit some sand, the bike shot out and he hit his head on the curb. His girlfriend, wearing a helmet, was unhurt.

This is EXACTLY what happened to my ex-husband. He was not wearing a helmet and was killed, his lady friend had a helmet on and was unhurt.

All over the planet, there are people with head injuries who can't even read this post. Some of them might get to see it, but won't remember it, a minute from now. My friend Heidy is one of those people.

Doctors can perform miracles in surgery. You might rely on them one day. But had Andrei Kivilev actually lived last spring, after sustaining a massive head injury, and extensive swelling in his brain, his wife and family would probably have spent the rest of their lives feeding him, dressing him, and taking him to bike races in a wheelchair.

There's worse stuff than dying, after an accident like that. There's worse stuff than getting 105 instead of Ultegra, so you can protect your life as you know it. You'd have money left over for good bib shorts, too. At least.

Good luck, friend.
RIP, Kivi.

Sometimes I wear one of my 7 helmets, and sometimes I don't. When I choose not to wear the helmet, I always wear a ballcap, which is alot hotter than the helmet would be.... I just get tired of wearing them sometimes I suppose. I have wrecked before (6 or 7 yrs. ago) and actually busted the side of the helmet I was wearing.... All in all it's a good habit to wear one. I sometimes see the Pro's during the Tour De France w/o them though. Ever notice? I don't ride on the roads, unless they're covered in gravel or grass. I don't always make my Kid's wear their helmets, but everyone's heard of the person who just fell over & happened to hit a curb. I wonder if these stories are all linked in someway. Kinda like a joke everyone's heard. Better not to take a chance I suppose...

I hate to be a poop stirer, well not really, but I don't wear a helmet, never have, I got one at a second hand store this winter which I intend to wear on pay rides so that I don't get so many mean looks and lectures. To me it is a matter of personal choice I will respect anyone who wears a helmet, and I would like to be respected as well, if I wanted to be preached at I would go to church. I don't beleive that bicycling is an inherently dangerous activity and I've had more accedents in cars, some serious, then I have had on a bike. and blah blah blah, now let the flames begin

gattm99
I have NO problem with your position as long as you have "Do Not Resuscitate" tattooed on enough body parts that at least one will be legible after your accident. Perhaps on your forehead, buttocks, and one foot? The cost of your poor, misinformed and foolish decision should not be passed on to the rest of us. Your potential stay in the ICU, brain surgery, rehab and 40+ years of someone changing the Veggie Boy's diaper and reading a Barney book to you every night is expensive, and all too common. Medical science can keep you alive, but it can't restore dead spinal cord tissue or brain cells.

Kansas has a no-helmet law for motorcyclists and Kansas pays to keep plenty of former bikers on life support and in the Kansas State Home for Macho ex-Bikers Who Now Eat, Breathe, and Crap Through Tubes in Larned. So, I really truly support your decision to risk your life. Could you be so kind as to support my decision to support your decision by carrying a notarized DNR on you at all times?

See no flames, just sarcasim :)

exactly

The scariest thing about not wearing a helmet isn't dying from an accident, it's suffering a brain injury. I can give you an example of a person I know who had one.

The fellow was in his car going about 30 MPH when his car slid on ice sideways into another car. In the impact, he hit his head on the drivers side window (the window did not break). He was unconscious for only a few minutes and spent the next four days in intensive care barely conscious from the morphine pain killer. From looking at him, you could not tell he had an injury. No broken bones, no fractured skull, no bruises. Only one very small cut.

After he was moved out of intensive care into a room, his mother had to stay with him round the clock so he would not go wandering off. Every 20 minutes he would ask what happened and why was he in the hospital. He had no memory of the previous two months of his life and could not remember anything for more than a few minutes. It's like your computer crashing before you save the file. He could not walk around the hospital ward without getting lost.

It took several months for him to recover his short term memory to the point he could function on his own and drive a car again. He actually was lucky. Many people who have similar head injuries never recover fully. They have varying degrees of short term memory problems. They sometimes can get with extensive use of a day planner but must keep detailed notes of everything. That's assuming you can function at all.

I met another man who had a head injury at work. He was a VP of a construction company. He now works menial jobs and has to keep a set of directions with him on how to get home. He cannot even find his way to his apartment from the bus stop without a map, let alone drive a car. He claimed his accident left him unable to feel any emotions.

Although these are not cycling injuries, certainly cyclists are not immune from this type of injury. It's true that no helmet will prevent death or injury in any accident. There is no safety precaution that will make you immune from any accident. But if you have ever known a person who suffered a brain injury, you'll give second thoughts to riding without a helmet.

I sometimes see the Pro's during the Tour De France w/o them though. Ever notice?.

All pro riders in Europe are required to wear a helmet. The only exception is only during the final climb of a mountain top finish.

And you ain't no pro.

Back in my MTB days I was on a deeply rutted single track and at high speed I took a roller...unfortunately I realized while I was in the air that the trail was curving to the left underneath me as I flew straight. I know it was my bad to make the jump without knowing the terrain (back then I was young and fearless). Nevertheless, I ended up off the trail trying to brake furiously. My brakes couldn't slow me quickly enough and I ended up flying into a rock lined (man-made?) creek. Upon impact I broke my computer, left brake lever, rear DR, and bent the bottom bracket. The only damage to me (besides bruises, whiplash, etc.) was a broken left pinkie, and a gashed eyebrow that needed a half-dozen stitches. The plastic shell on my helmet split where impacted and the foam was dented!

They say that one should replce their helmets every few years due to general breakdown of the materials. I end up replacing my helmets due to other reasons for the breakdowns...

I can buy a new helmet but I have yet to see any stores around me where I can pick up a new head.

Here are the reasons for the last two times I ended up having to replace my helmet...

http://journals.neebu.net/khuon/archives/2001_04.html

http://journals.neebu.net/khuon/archives/2002_10.html

The worse thing someone can do I harass someone that dosent want to wear a helmet. On hill days I may not wear a helmet to stay cool and I hate when people give me **** about it. ITS MY LIFE!

The worse thing someone can do I harass someone that dosent want to wear a helmet. On hill days I may not wear a helmet to stay cool and I hate when people give me **** about it. ITS MY LIFE!

You're right and it's a free country, as long as it's YOUR business and not MINE, you can do as you wish.
Just as long as it's not MY business which it is, once you become a burdeon on MY tax money and MY medical insurance premiums when YOU end up being spoon fed for the rest of your life.

Driving with no seat belts? Be my guest.
Machine shop without goggles and hearing protection? Be my guest.
Painting and lining fiberglass without ventilation and filters? Be my guest.
Unprotected one night stands? The list goes on.

My old girlfriend's 8 year old cousin was killed falling off of a bike when she was not wearing a helmet. Fell going about three miles an hour, died three days later. You don't have to be going 40 MPH to get injured on a bike. If you won't wear a helmet for yourself, wear it for your family so they don't have to go through something like that.

I always wear a helmet even on my mountain bike I feel its even more important now I'm on the road. Your head travelling at twenty miles an hour bouncing against tarmac there really is only going to be one winner and it won't be the squidgy thing that used to be your head.

I know I must have looked like an idiot today when I went on a group ride without a helmet. The route is lightly traveled and my thoughts were that I can't hear what is going on around me as well as without one. The wind whistling around the helmet is very distracting to me. The other thing is that I shelled out a lot of money for a bike and am short on funds. Anyone here have a real life story while not wearing a helmet? I probably need to get a good dose of reality so I will wake up and get one.

You didn't look like an idiot, you are an idiot when you don't wear a helmet.. No offense but, your excuses are very lame.. You can't put a price on your life.. If you can afford an expensive bike you could probably afford an helmet.. As far as wind, the helmet I use the Giro Pnuemo, is for one thing very light and has so many vents air flows right through it..(you'll forget its on ur head) You can get them for as low as 109.00 now.. Lance's new helmet is out now and that ones supposed to be better.. Come on man get serious about cycling, and buy a helmet..

The worse thing someone can do I harass someone that dosent want to wear a helmet. On hill days I may not wear a helmet to stay cool and I hate when people give me **** about it. ITS MY LIFE!

Man thats a shame, very selfish.. I know my family particularly my mom, always worries about me cycling becuase its a dangerous sport.. And I realize that, however the least I can do is wear all the safety equipment I can. However minor accidents happen more, and the saftey stuff will come in handy. It would be terrible if someone was to die in cycling, in a little accident just because they were to "cool" or whatever to wear a helmet.. Think about the people who are thinking about you..

The worse thing someone can do I harass someone that dosent want to wear a helmet. On hill days I may not wear a helmet to stay cool and I hate when people give me **** about it. ITS MY LIFE!

The stupid "helmets are too hot" excuse. If pros can wear them during the TDF in July for five to six hours a day, then you can handle it, you big baby.

I'll come right out and say it: YOU'RE IN IDIOT IF YOU DON'T WEAR A HELMET.

What about shin gards and safety glasses? Why not wear steel toe shoes, wrist protectors and a chest plate to protect against being impaled on a tree branch? Without leg armor, a dog could cripple a person. Why take such risks?

What kind of psycho climbs stairs or drives a car 70 mph without a helmet? It's just not worth the risk!

Life is more fun without a net.

I'm certain that if helmets only came in solid black or solid white, there would be a lot fewer people wearing them.

What about shin gards and safety glasses? Why not wear steel toe shoes, wrist protectors and a chest plate to protect against being impaled on a tree branch? Without leg armor, a dog could cripple a person. Why take such risks?

There are some who do ride this way you know...



I'm certain that if helmets only came in solid black or solid white, there would be a lot fewer people wearing them.

My last helmet was solid white. ;)

What kind of psycho climbs stairs or drives a car 70 mph without a helmet? It's just not worth the risk!


Thats why I use the handrail. And last time I looked, the automobiles chassis was designed to protect the passenger, assuming said passenger was using the proper safety restraints. Then theres that whole thing about defensive driving, driving within ones abilities, obey the posted traffic laws.......




Life is more fun without a net.


Spoken like a true youngster, full of spite and vinegar, believing one is immortal.

What about shin gards and safety glasses? Why not wear steel toe shoes, wrist protectors and a chest plate to protect against being impaled on a tree branch? Without leg armor, a dog could cripple a person. Why take such risks?

What kind of psycho climbs stairs or drives a car 70 mph without a helmet? It's just not worth the risk!

Life is more fun without a net.

I'm certain that if helmets only came in solid black or solid white, there would be a lot fewer people wearing them.

My helmet is solid white.

Your arguments are stupid. All the protective measures you so cutely mentioned are excessive.

As someone else mentioned, your only protection on a bike is a helmet. And before you say it, trust me - I'm a better bike handler than you and I've almost gotten clipped several times.

Thanks for all of the comments. I rode this morning with a helmet and working to become more comfortable with it. I have a cheap Bell helmet which whistles quite a bit but according to Ryan above there are models that will cut down on this factor. I was planning to start using one before I posted this thread but again, I wanted to see what kind of experiences others here have had. Lots of valid points made here. Thanks again.

What about shin gards and safety glasses? Why not wear steel toe shoes, wrist protectors and a chest plate to protect against being impaled on a tree branch? Without leg armor, a dog could cripple a person. Why take such risks?

What kind of psycho climbs stairs or drives a car 70 mph without a helmet? It's just not worth the risk!

Life is more fun without a net.

I'm certain that if helmets only came in solid black or solid white, there would be a lot fewer people wearing them.

Well let me ask you something if you fall hard on your shins, you might be hurt a bit, however if you fall hard on your head you'll probably die.. Many mountain bike riders do ride with full protections.. But I've never seen someone on a road bike crash and land on their shins...

And the Giro Pnuemo is a really great, yeah to some it seems expensiv but keep in mind its always gonna be on your head.. Any helmet with the roc 3 or 4 type system is probably very very comfortable, I know mying has roc-4 and is very comfortable. Also look for a crap load of vents.. Another is the Giro Eclipse pretty cheap and almost like the pnuemo..

Life is more fun without a net.


You want to be 'cool' and kill yourself, get wiped out in a blaze of glory? Go ahead, just don't complain when I laugh my butt off at you cause you got killed falling over and smashing your head against the curb unclipping at 5mph.

And if you think it's just all for the sake of you and you alone, try that argument again when you have children and they tell you it's uncool to ride without a helmet.

Hello whitemax.

As I understand your title, you really wanted to hear stories where people DON'T wear a helmet.

I currently don't wear one riding mostly on sidewalk or quite streets in a suburb of Los Angeles. The reason I don't wear it, is because it's very inconvenient to carry a helmet to where the bicycle is stored, and carry the helmet back every time. I do a lot of walking and carrying a helmet around for only 20 minutes use is very inconvenient.

I am thinking about finding some solution for that, as I really feel uncomfortable riding without it.

Best wishes.

Well, I bought the Wal-Mart helmet! I had a "good" helmet 10 years ago in my mountain bike days, and lost it along the way. This $12.00 hemet looks to be made as well as that older helmet was. I also wanted to see how I did with it before I buy an expensive one.

What's weird is that I wear my helmet every day for my short commute. Here in Wisconsin, home of Harley, no motorbikers wear helmets. Therefore, I feel a bit like a tool. What's weird is that you almost always see serious bicyclists in helmets, but you never see serious motorbikes in them! Well, at least the Harley guys. Riders of jap bikes or BMW's always have nice helmets, but probably good brains to match.

I will say this though, I feel safer on a motorcycle any day than on a bicycle. I rode motocross bikes and mountain bikes, and I was way more prone to crash the bicycle than the motorcycle. The motorbike was more forgiving.

Pat