Originally Posted by
surgeonstone
But here is something to consider. As our head is "hurtling" to the ground, Our brain is gearing up to protect this head, we curl into a ball, our shoulders are wide enough to protect us from contact with the ground and all of these survival mechanisms are altered with strapping on a helmet. Our " head "(+helmut) is now larger, increasing the likelihood of head(+helmut) contact that otherwise may not have occurred. So is it really helping us or is it perhaps not so clear at all and in fact , may be hurting us.
I rode on a team once that advocated practicing crashing on a grass field. Without practicing crashing, those without crash or tumbing experiene wouldn't curl up and take it on the shoulder even without a helmet on. Racers that have practice/are used to crashing can crash with a helmet just fine.