Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Do all you guys wear helmets?

I mean cause I remember riding from when I was a kid and we never wore helmets. I wore a helmet whan I played Hockey, I wore a helmet whe I was out on the trike but never on a bike. I just don't get it. I know it's not the law here in Korea and most people don't, but is it a law out where you're at? And if I do decide to come home, will I have to wear one? So I might as well get used to it now... Just wondering...

Eric...

It's not the law here, though if you're under 18 it is. But I wear one. One extra bit of safety gear isn't a bad thing. My wife has had a fall or two where the helmet cracked, likely saving her serious injury.

Wow, that's cool about the helmet. Not about the fall though. What caused the fall. Road conditions, off road, just fell?

I always wear a helmet, because i'm not as tough as i was when I was a kid. I also work in an emergency room and see cycling accidents all the time. Helmets definately save peoples lives.

Always!:thumb:...It's the law for youngsters out here. I cracked a helmet once, from back to front after a 24 mph bodyslam on some hardpacked red clay type terrain while offroading. Confirmed my intelligence of wearing a helmet.

Helmet was cracked back to front, suspension ripped out from the inside of the helmet. If it had been my head taking the impact, I'm sure I wouldn't be here right now, then you guys would miss me!:p

:deadhorse::bike2:

I DO WEAR A HELMET !

I always wear one on my road bike, never on my comfort bike.

yes with out a doubt!! everytime i ride. any type of bike. Motorcycle or bicycle. I had a friend who was doing and this is no exageration. 3-5mph on a motorcycle. someone pulled out of a parking spot and bumped into him. he simply fell off of the motorcycle with no increased velocity other than just falling. He hit is head on asphault and died 3 hours later at the emergency room, from head trauma. The docs said that had he been wearing a helmet he wouldnt even had as much as a headache.

Always wear a helmet!!!

BIG LUG

Yep...make sure the kids do too.

Jerry

I wear it on Tuesdays and Saturdays....

Seriously: I wear it all the time when I ride a road; all the time when I ride my fast bike; all the time when I am on the mountain bike; and never when I ride the comfort bike w/ GF on MUP.

However..as a piece of advice to someone who has not ridden a bike in a very long time and who is admittedly out of shape, I suggest wearing the cap. Your reflexes are not what they once were, trust me.

My feeling is that bicycle helmets are too light and flimsy to do any significant good, but that they are also so light and flimsy that they don't pose any significant hazard. Where I live (Seattle), they are required by law for all riders, regardless of age, so I always wear one.

My feeling is that bicycle helmets are too light and flimsy to do any significant good, but that they are also so light and flimsy that they don't pose any significant hazard. Where I live (Seattle), they are required by law for all riders, regardless of age, so I always wear one.

I think they are light and flimsy, but if worn properly, they will help most people most of the time when a head impact is involved. Much better than a baseball hat, or stocking cap. Or just the thin layer of skin that is protecting the skull, which is protecting the brain.

Always, every time. I disagree that bicycle helmets are too light and flimsy to protect your head. For the speeds you will get on a bike, they are fine. Remember, helmets are a disposable item. The styrofoam inside deforms on a hard impact as it slows the deceleration rate of your head ( and your brain) when your head whacks something hard. You are supposed to toss it and get a new one after a hard bump. That goes for all of them. $50 bike helmet or $500 motorcycle helmet. Helmets wont protect you from any possible head injury, but they sure help with the most common ones. I had my life saved twice by wearing a motorcycle helmet. So far all my bicycle crashes have been unspactacular, just scrapes on knees and elbows. If I ever do whack my head on the pavement, or a parked car, or whatever while pedaling to work, I want it wrapped in styrofoam.

My feeling is that bicycle helmets are too light and flimsy to do any significant good, but that they are also so light and flimsy that they don't pose any significant hazard. Where I live (Seattle), they are required by law for all riders, regardless of age, so I always wear one.

I stood on my head after a 30+ mph OTB and walked(rode actually) away with bruises and light road rash because I broke the fall with my helmet-clad noggin and rolled into a soft ditch. The helmet was not so lucky, broke in half and shattered the rear part but my head made it without permanent injury. They seem flimsy, but can handle a serious beating as long as your head is in it, think of it as a double cage with your skull supporting the helmet.

[edit] fixed spelling

The statistics show that they don't help much. But I have been a statistical outlier. I got hit head-on by a car and was knocked out so badly that I don't remember the impact or the ambulance ride. I was wearing an original Bell Biker, which was hot and weight 17 ounces. The liner was crushed. It either saved my life or lessened my injuries. This was in 1982.

So while it probably won't save my life again, I'll wear it. I don't find that it's burdensome to wear. If you don't wear one, I don't think you're crazy. It's up to you.

I always wear a helmet, because i'm not as tough as i was when I was a kid. I also work in an emergency room and see cycling accidents all the time. Helmets definately save peoples lives.


Donning flame retardant suit....

This is the problem, lots of people credit helmets for far more then the helmet actually does. I had one bike accident, ER doc said without the helmet I would have been dead. There is one problem with that, the helmet protects the back and top of the head, I landed on my face (I have the pictures to prove this), the helmet was not visibly damaged, but my face sure was. :twitchy:

There is no proof that helmets accomplish anything in the majority of bicycle accidents other then lighten the riders wallet, before the event. The test for a helmet is to put it on a specified weight, and drop the weight from a specified height. Maybe in a clipless 0MPH fall the helmet would protect your head fully, but outside of that, nobody really knows and that includes ER medical professionals.

The only way to fully test the effectiveness of a helmet in a collision, is to repeat the event with and without a helmet and compare the injuries. If the helmet wearing rider has less injuries it can be attributed to the helmet, but the events must otherwise be identical. There are ways of less effectively testing this using a crash test dummy and known data from car crash testing, but the helmet industry doesn't want to do this type of testing, because they are afraid that it will prove their product is ineffective in most crashes.

Having said all this, even though not required by law, I wear one anyway, modern helmets are light and easy to use, so why not.

Always.

I wear mine, it's not required but a little extra protection on my most valuable asset is a plus in my book.

I don't think it would do a whole bunch in a direct concentrated impact, but the type of crash where you wipe out and your head does a glancing blow off the pavement (probably more likely to have this type of crash vs a head on with a mini van) I'd bet it would do great. Remember when you are looking at a helmet and deem it to be flimsy or insubstantial, this isn't a football helmet designed to take multiple blows. It's a one and done disposable item. Never ever reuse a bicycle helmet that has sustained an impact or otherwise had it's structural integrity compromised.

:deadhorse:

What did the poor horse do to deserve being repeatedly smacked in the junk with a 2x4?

Here locally, the City of Dallas has a bicycle helmet law. None of the suburbs do for adults, though some do for kids. But because I started riding some in Dallas, I got a helmet, and now pretty much use it all the time.

I never used one as a kid, and don't think they existed. Of course, we never used seat belts when I was a kid, either. On the other hand, I rode my bike a mile to school, and felt like that was a long ways, and I drive more every day than my dad drove in a week (in his car, at least). So it's hard to compare.

On most organized rides, they'll want you to wear a helmet.

I mean cause I remember riding from when I was a kid and we never wore helmets. I wore a helmet whan I played Hockey, I wore a helmet whe I was out on the trike but never on a bike. I just don't get it. I know it's not the law here in Korea and most people don't, but is it a law out where you're at? And if I do decide to come home, will I have to wear one? So I might as well get used to it now... Just wondering...

Eric...

Given that massive head trauma/brain damage can easily happen in moderate/low speed crashes, I see no reason not to wear a helmet. I mean, I think it depends on who you are and what you do. I'm an academic, have been all my life. Brain damage would ruin my career, my hobbies, and my life. If you're not too bothered (I dunno what you do professionally) about brain damage, skip the helmet imo. Just extra weight then.

A little slide show, including the helmet damage from my crash last May. Yeah, I wear one.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/crash/th_DSCF0001-1.jpg (http://s122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/crash/?action=view&current=c5b0207d.pbw)

Click the pic for the slide show.

We are more aware of the dangers that have always been there. Plus there are more drivers per mile of road, and they drive faster (and probably worse) than before. Thus a helmet is a good idea, even though statistics don't prove it.

Despite what the wogsters of the world may think, helmets do provide protection for your skull and they do save lives. I always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle or motorcycle.

i always wear my helmet... but, i've almost always have managed to catch myself in a fall. so not certain how effective the helmet is...



What did the poor horse do to deserve being repeatedly smacked in the junk with a 2x4?

it is a dead horse, as in "beating a dead horse"

The comment about a passing glance is good. The same year I got hit by a car, I tried to push my friend riding next to me, and I put too much force on my own handlebar and forced myself down. My head hit the pavement, and it HURT! I'm sure I would have survived without a helmet, but it would have hurt more, and I would have bled. So no regrets for wearing a helmet!

I think helmets shoud be used/I dont think it should be the Law/and in 60 plus years of bikeing I used my new helmet once./Kenneth

in 10th grade we had a egg drop contest from 3 stories..only a few eggs survived and one was only in a Styrofoam cube. I was very impressed at the absorbtive power of a helmet.

I landed on my head once doing a jump on a mtb, my head was the only thing that didn't hurt and the helmet was cracked.

Even with these experiances i am not sure how well once would fare in a headon collision with a car ( i assume the helemt makes little difference), but even if I fall down the protection of my head from road rash alone is worth it.

Despite what the wogsters of the world may think, helmets do provide protection for your skull and they do save lives. I always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle or motorcycle.

I never said they didn't help at all, but a lot of pro-helmet people, who know nothing about the dynamics and physics of a bicycle crash, state whenever a bicycle crash happens, "the helmet saved your life", even when the part of you head protected was not impacted in the crash.

Look at this photo, http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r269/wogsterphoto/Personal/IMG_4703.jpg, can you tell what part of my head I landed on, uh yeah, the one NOT protected by the helmet I was wearing at the time.

can you tell what part of my head I landed on, uh yeah, the one NOT protected by the helmet I was wearing at the time.






:eek:



daaam,......you got knocked the f'ck out on that one.



Me?.....I always wear a helmet. If the higher authorities think I should wear one, who am I to refute their wisdom. Besides, I got a real perdy red, white, and blue Rudy Project helmet I like to show off. :D




ummm......sorry 'bout your spill, man

can you tell what part of my head I landed on, uh yeah, the one NOT protected by the helmet I was wearing at the time.

Ah, I see the confusion: you're not clear on what a regular bicycle helmet is supposed to do.

A regular bike helmet is not designed to prevent facial injuries. I would think it should be obvious to most people that since the helmet doesn't provide any structure in front of your face, that it isn't designed to prevent these types of non-life threatening injuries. If you want to prevent facial injuries, you need to wear a full-face helmet.

What a typical bike helmet is designed to do is to prevent, or at least mitigate, catastrophic injuries to the skull and brain. In the accident pictured above, did you fracture your skull? Were you in a coma for any length of time? Did you experience bleeding inside your brain? If not, you might want to give at least a little credit to your helmet and consider the possibility that it operated exactly as it was designed...

If I'm out on the bike the helmet is on. I was doored once. Hit the ground rather hard. Road rash, cuts and bruises and a big deep dented spot on the helmet. Thankfully that was all that was dented.

Here in NYC it's the law for children under 14 ( I think) to wear helmets. It surprises me when I see kids out with their parents and no one wears them.

Some of this debate reminds me of a contoverial issue in my youth.

See, I still remember when most hockey players didn't wear a helmet, and I'm about 5 years too young to remember when the goalies didn't wear masks. Point is, I def remember the HP's saying helmets did them no good, messed up their sightlines, and/or were useless. Story goes, the goalies said pretty much the same thing about the mask back in their day.

I just leave it to all ya all's imagination on where I am going with this.....:D

I always wear a coconut cap now, but never did when I was a kid... when my brother and I were just starting out in biking about 14 years ago we never wore coconut caps. On a whim we decided to get them because we were hearing about how they helped protect people in falls. About two months after our purchase my brother fell off his MTB going down a small rocky embankment onto a bike path. He landed forehead first and cracked that sucker from front to back. We picked up a new one for him the same day, but we always wore our caps after that, no exceptions, and still do.

V

I mountain biked for probably 10 years without ever wearing a helmet. It was the typical "that is gae" childish mentality. I recently purchased a 09' Giro Atmos helmet and it should arrive tomorrow. Helmets definitely save lives, and most of the helmets look pretty decent now too (like my atmos). I'm watching the Tour of Flanders as I write this, and I certainly would not want to take a digger on a road bike going 20+ mph.

I never wore a helmet until I started doing group rides last year. It is a requirement for all of the group rides and races around here. Now I would not ride without one.

Thanks guys, It's interesting to see the difference in opinions. What I find funny is all the guys ramping on about how useless they are but then adding that "but I wear one anyways". Might just go out later this week and get one.

Cheers,

Eric...

its not death that worries me, its having my 70+ year old parents, spending the rest of their lives changing my diapers and feeding their son, who now resembles unpicked broccoli.

helmets are light and if fitted properly very unobtrusive. theyre cheap insurance, compared to the financial and emotional repercussions, of a serious head injury. one coma per child is enough for parents and ive already cashed in my chit.

light and flimsy? huh, theyre supposed to break up, so your head wont.

btw, as laurent fignon if he wishes he wore a helmet.

edit: and theyve saved my arse 3 times.

Always! And, on two occassions I've put them to good use! Once mountain biking I endo'ed right off the low side of a switch back and more or less stopped my dowhhill progress by smacking my head into a rather large rock. The other, I got my bars wrenched between a city bus stopped on the curb and an interccity coach that decided to attempt to pass while I was over taking the other bus. I woke up stairing at the bottom side of a car's oil pan. Both helmets were happily replaced under their manufacturers "crash replacement" policy. They both did their job by cracking, crushing and absorbing the energy, instead of my skull.

Always....
FWIW:
Professionally, I'm a Life and Health Insurance agent. A helmet is very cheap insurance.

I always wear a helmet. I have broken two helmets in my time.
The first time I was hit by a car, they T-boned me. I slid across 3 lanes and landed in an island that had a cement barrier around it. I only remember the car hitting me and when I slammed my hand down on the hood of the car. I then remember being put into the ambulance. That helmet was toast. My bike frame was bent at a 45 degree angle and the back wheel was a taco. The doctor said that he was amazed that I was able to walk away. He was very surprised because of the way my helmet and bike looked (I had the ambulance take the bike with me.)

The second time was on a mountain bike (I mostly ride road). I was going down hill and had to go over a log and slowed way down. I crashed (going slow now) and fell off the bike. My head slammed (it was hard) into a large rock. It broke my helmet. I had just gotten it 2 weeks prior. I was so mad. The friend I was riding with made me feel better because the hospital bill would have been so much more.

I'll keep deluding myself that the helmet is doing some good and continue wearing one.

where oh where is chipcom when you need him?

I sometimes wear a helmet other times not, same for the motorbike.
It really depends on the conditions and situation.

I've crashed a fair few times over the years, both on pushbikes and motorbikes.
I've never once been seriously injured while NOT wearing a helmet, but have been seriously injured when wearing one.

Part of the problem i've found is if your all kitted up with protection you tend to ride harder and take more risks.
If i go out without a helmet i tend to just cruise and be extremely cautious.


Again though it really depends on the situation.
If i'm nipping out to a mates or to a shop then i'll not bother with a helmet most times.
If on the other hand i'm out for a day ride then i'll also wear a skid lid.


I think it's extremely easy to judge people you see riding without helmets, the problem is unless you know ALL the facts you really have no right to an opinion.
If these are grown adults, then really as a society we have to accept that they HAVE to take a responsibility for their own personal safety so it's really no business of anyone else.

*exceptions are minors and in countries where it's a legal issue.

I've never hit my head but have went off the bike a few times. Wearing a helmet is ones choice but I wear one. Heck I wear it because I think they look cool and someone wearing one looks more professional. I am on executive of local cycling club and I always preach wearing helmets. I know lots of riders who tell the same stories as above about how it saved them medical problems.

i do agree with wog that most docs and people reciting stories of crashs often tell the "helmet saved the life" side when they really don't know. but I do feel that everyone that has landed on their head was glad thay had their helmet.

Always.

+1,000,000 The helmet laws fall into the same category as seat belt laws. While I wear both, it is not my governments business if I don't.



If these are grown adults, then really as a society we have to accept that they HAVE to take a responsibility for their own personal safety so it's really no business of anyone else.

*exceptions are minors and in countries where it's a legal issue.

When I was younger I didn't wear a helmet on my motorcycle, not that I'm older I wear a helmet on my bike. The city has a helmet law, but the county doesn't.

If you are a cager try wearing you bike helmet in the car and you will find you get the right of way more often:lol:

I mean cause I remember riding from when I was a kid and we never wore helmets. I wore a helmet whan I played Hockey, I wore a helmet whe I was out on the trike but never on a bike. I just don't get it. I know it's not the law here in Korea and most people don't, but is it a law out where you're at? And if I do decide to come home, will I have to wear one? So I might as well get used to it now... Just wondering...

Eric...

For me, any inconvenience from wearing a helmet is greatly outweighed by the possible inconvenience of a serious head injury. My father was wearing a helmet on his motorcycle when he was t-boned in an intersection when he was 17. His open face helmet cracked in half - I doubt I ever would have existed if it wasn't for that helmet. Such a scenario is certainly possible with a bike, eh? For $15 a CPSC-rated helmet is cheap insurance.