Originally Posted by
Leisesturm
I don't think it has been said in this thread, but the very helmets which remain the only kind of "armor" that the majority of cyclists agree is worthwhile, are not much use in an actual collision scenario. This is why the fatality metrics for European cyclists that don't have as rabid an adherence to helmet use are not as bad as one would think. In fact, they remain better than those in the U.S. where helmet use is de riguer.
I think that has more to do with a pervasive bike culture and thus higher bike-awareness among car drivers. But I am fairly well convinced that the actual benefit of a helmet is mostly wishful thinking. I continue to wear a helmet for commuting largely because my wife wants me to, and it's a small enough concession for domestic tranquility. For small errands around town I don't wear a helmet. For trail riding though, I do wear a helmet, and would even without my wife's insistence, just because the whole point of a mtb necessarily entails more risk of crashing, and hitting a head on a rock or something.