scarabeoguy

No you don't need to wear a helmet and why not enjoy the feel of cool air rushing through your hair.................................except for that one time when you hit your head and the blood clot and .....OH yes death.

But hey at least you enjoyed your self!!!!!!!!!!

pacificaslim

Once upon a time, a man would have said all that and meant it and the others would have nodded approvingly.
Now people say it sarcastically and then go worry their little selves to sleep.
What have we become?

John C. Ratliff

aikigreg,

I would be interested in whether either of your friends reported their accidents to either the police, or went to a hospital?

John

altozwei

Greg will probably get back to you on this, but in the meantime you can read about one of the incidents here:

https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl?num=1261439224

gavtatu

i routinely wear helmet and gloves.
i`ve just brought my first pair of clipless pedals, now wondering what other protective gear i can buy, lol!

aikigreg

Yes to both, thankfully.

Spinninngrinnin

Let's see, May 1971. Crossing intersection and had contact with speeding/weaving vehicle...50 yards before first bounce off road. What caused concussion was contact with car's right side A-pillar, was totally limp when impacting road. Very fortunate as was not wearing helmet (weren't sold back then unless you count the TdF leather skullcaps). Now, won't ride without one...more cars on roads, driving faster with more distracted drivers (cell phones, texting, etc...). Have worn helmet when riding (DF or recumbent) since about 1976 and don't plan to push my luck.

Tom Bombadil

I'm not convinced I need to wear a helmet. I ride a RANS Stratus on flat, dirt rail trails, typically at speeds of 10 to 12 mph. No cars, no asphalt, no turns, no hills, almost never go over 15 mph. Use platform pedals so my feet come free easily. Low bottom bracket so I can get my feet to the ground very fast.

However I always ride with a helmet, find them comfortable to wear, and see almost no down side to using one.

BlazingPedals

Ground speed has no bearing on needing a helmet. Helmets are designed to protect your skull from impact with the ground due to falling from 4-5 feet; or about head height when you're on an upright. Impact with the ground is based on acceleration due to gravity, which is purely a vertical force. Mind you, I'm not arguing that you 'need' a helmet; it's just that ground speed isn't a factor. In general I'd agree that being lower lessens the need for protection. But my head is 2 feet up even when I'm on my lowracers. That's still high enough to hurt if I flop hard!

VegasTriker

I doubt if this thread will change the minds of those who simply don't want to wear a helmet. For many decades I rode without one and never worried about it. I had some serious bike accidents that could have resulted in brain damage except for good (dumb?) luck. Maybe the attitude of invincibility wears off as we get older. I now ALWAYS wear a helmet, even on a trike. Maybe it will make a difference, maybe not. It's not uncomfortable and I can afford to replace it as needed. The one time I turned turtle on a trike, I wasn't wearing it and it made me realize it might be worthwhile to use one while riding the trike. I know you can hit the ground really hard, even on a recumbent just 2 feet off the ground. I had a hematoma that covered my entire thigh and lower side from crashing my Linear LWB. It was an experience I would rather not repeat, hence the trike.

2manybikes

I've seen two tadpole trikes roll over in fast corners. I got to see one from the riders point of view.

LWB_guy

Bicycling - safer than water skiing.

Tom Bombadil

I guarantee that I run a higher risk of falling onto hard concrete from walking on Wisconsin's icy sidewalks and parking lots than I do from riding on my Stratus. My parking lot has a slight slope that is really treacherous with ice on it, which is pretty much everyday this time of year. Over the past 3 years I have slipped and fallen a couple of times on the ice. I've taken to using a hiking stick with the metal point exposed on the worst days, jamming that metal point into the ice.

Jay D

Interesting, but I'm curious if helmet wearing is a contributing factor to the low fatality rate of cycling in these these figures.

aenlaasu

Well, my husband does have an SUV, but finding a kayak and trailer might be a bit trickier for us to rig a replay. Not to mention, I'm not entirely certain of my odds of finding another spot in a ditch free of stones and/or nettles in Sweden...

Granted, there are no nettles now, but no way I'm going to go for a ride and then roll in the snow with -10 F temps. That would be almost as bad as nettles!

crazybikerchick

Sadly it seems the people who are easily spooked into believing that bike riding is dangerous will likely continue to think bike riding is dangerous anyway. When you don't wear a helmet these people just think you are on a suicide mission, when they likely have more of a chance of head injury doing other activities they don't perceive as dangerous.

JanMM

No problem.....I'll settle for the image in my mind that came with reading about your accident.

Maybe a Reality TV producer could be talked into staging a reenactment of the event? That would be Must-See Television!

BlazingPedals

My father fell off a ladder last year. He has Parkinson's, and was falling a lot anyway. He'd been told to stay off his ladder, but obviously he didn't listen. Nobody saw him do it and he didn't tell anybody until his physical state deteriorated terribly and we found the fall had resulted in two brain clots, which required surgery. His speech centers were affected, permanently; now he's only able to mumble, and often can't find the words he wants.

This discussion has made me realize that one of my old retired-but-still-good helmets would be perfect for him, and next time I see him I'm going to give him a couple of them. I've got a snitload of them, after all! It's a little like closing the barn door after the horse has gotten out; but maybe I can help prevent him from doing more damage the next time he falls.

zonatandem

A 'bent puts you at about the right height of a big trucks bumper . . . or maybe you'll just not ever crash??!
There are those that have crashed and those that will crash. Hey you decide and take your chances.
Have worn a parachute on someflights, but never had to test it.
Have tested helmet several times on bikes . . . avoided squashed braincells/concussions. Cheap insurance!

LWB_guy

BlazingPedals, sorry to hear about your dad.

JanMM

I've wasted a lot of money on a bunch of helmets starting about 1976. Have yet to "use" one. (Sound of rapping on hollow wooden body part.)
Guess I'll keep on throwing my money away.

evblazer

When I was a kid we road on our 12 speed schwins with street clothes and that was it. Fell a few times like when I used too big of a stick to try and snap in my spokes at too low of a speed. Never hurt though. In college I had a bike and no helmet though I hardly ever rode it. Stopped riding and years later for some reason I got a helmet with my new bike and just wore it.
Since then I've sliden out on sandy or gravel covered roads, slipped on ice, gotten hit by beer bottles (usually with beer left)/slushies/soda cans(open and closed)/basketballs/iceballs, headbutted the door of a passing car (pass me too close will yah!), hit hundreds of tree branches and more practically used it to mount my helmet light which I really love to have in addition to the one on the boom. I was glad to be wearing eye protection with all that incoming love I got although perhaps it was because of the helmet eh

jawnn

I don't wear a helmet because I sweat too much even in the winter.

closetbiker

Were you looking over your shoulder as, or before, you signaled? Is it possible that you may have drifted left as you signaled that turn? It's pretty normal to drift left if you look over your left shoulder. It takes a bit of skill to continue to ride straight while looking over your shoulder. I'll assume you didn't hear a vehicle approaching from behind you.

Is it possible the driver drifted into the bike lane (if you were in the bike lane) when you were hit? That happens too. Not much you can do about that if your visibility is good.

gustav531

Do all of you also wear a helmet when walking? When walking around traffic?