Hey now... I hang out in this forum just not this thread. I have since first posting this found a slightly old thread in road that covered what I needed to know. I will say this though... if all you guys do is the bickering I've seen in threads that get shunted here, what's the point of the thread? Shouldn't y'all agree to disagree by now?

If only it were that simple.

Ask either side and they can give you a run down of the others' take on it:
The Bare-Head Brigade is bent on banning the world of a valuable piece of safety equipment.
The Nanny Helmetiers are fighting to put a worthless foam hat on every noggin, around the globe (by law, if necessary).

Do you see how neither side can rest nor let their guard down?

Nope.

The use of helmets is one of the most controversial subjects in the forums. Add to that the fact that helmet use spans all types of bicycling, from Road to Mountain to Singlespeed to Vintage to This and to That, if pro-or-con helmet discussions were allowed in other places the entire forum would explode. Helmet threads are allowed elsewhere if they are objective fit or style threads, or how/where to purchase, etc. The reason why this thread lives (along with its predecessors) is because Cyclists are passionate, and are not afraid to "share" their beliefs. The question you had, about a particular model, would probably work better in the Road forum, although moderators would watch it closely to make sure it didn't escalate.

Yes, we should. But we're horrible people, and the moderators are wise to have this place where we can be segregated from the general population. It's the best decision for everyone.

Oh I know all that already, but I was hoping that passion also translated into real knowledge, and yes I knew it was unlikely...

I've owned two Giro helmets, but not that one.

The Hell-met thread is a trip, ain't it?

six

This "malcontent" who is 76 rode a little over 2000 miles this year while wearing a helmet. This was a short year for me since a lot of good days were taken up selling our house and moving to a townhome. Also that mileage was during warm months. For the most part I dont ride for about 5 months of the year. If I cant ride in shorts I dont ride.

What was your mileage this year?

I don't use a bike computer, ryda. I ride five to ten hours per week, which I guess puts me at around 5000 miles per year. So I barely ride at all.

Would it make you feel better if I edited the offending post to read "Despite the number of posts on this subforum, it's populated mostly by malcontents who barely ride bicycles at all."?

Welcome to A&S. It's addictive sort of like getting lots of tattoos. Yeah, each one hurts and is satisfying for a little while. Then the urge to find an empty patch of skin and ink the same thought in a slightly different way returns. The fact that it's gonna hurt is part of the attraction.

OR...the helmet thread is a microcosm very much like our current top two political party situation. Middle ground is the size of a postage stamp and gets more direct sunlight on it than all of the rest of the continent.

joey

Actually there really isnt any middle ground, either you wear a helmet or you dont. Its kinda like a woman cant be kinda pregnant.

I'm not wearing a helmet today. Next race or chance of ice I will, though.

Most of my bike riding is as dangerous as jogging, no need for PPE.

Errrmmm kind've interesting as I am an A&S regular.. here, commuting, C&V and SS/FG are my main haunts.. so am I new here or one of the regular malcontents? And no, I don't open VC or this thread usually because I know what typically goes on in both of these areas.

And you can be middleground, before a recent accident I advocated anyone new or unsteady to get a helmet and wear it. If you had skills I didn't care because in my book gloves were the one true essential.. but even doing everything right and having skills didn't save me from superficial damage in my crash and how/where it happened any old helmet would have saved me from all but a 2" area of minor road rash and about a week of recuperating, and it would have also saved my favorite cycling cap! Now I'm heavily pro helmet.. regardless of skill etc.

...do you wear a helment when moderating the helment thread ? Inquiring minds want to know.

Yes I do 3A!! But at TH tho I have to put on Full Body Armor --

I think there's a lot more middle-grounders here than people think, but they don't cause the emotional responses in others so they don't get responses. I'm a middle-grounder on the issue myself, but my personal choice is to wear a helmet.

I wear a helmet because:

• I had a crash in 1991 unhelmeted where I hit a car that was crossing a mup. My speed was about 10mph. I hit my head on concrete and received a moderate concussion, which is a PITA. I broke several bones and had a separated shoulder, too, but the most memorable injury was the concussion. Those are weird.
• I had a crash in 2003 at about the same speed when I didn't notice an unpainted speed bump in a parking lot , and hit the ground at about the same velocity. My cheap Bell helmet (which broke in the crash btw) meant I had no concussion or the weirdness associated with it.

But if I was on a road and a truck hit me doing 50mph, I don't think a helmet would make much of a difference . . .

tractor

Your position and point are well taken.

I would consider middle ground being using a helmet in some conditions and not others. In everyday commuting I go helmet free, because I'm not that fast a commuter. Prefer a casual pace. When I go mountain biking or go out to speed downhill for the fun of it I always wear a helmet, because that's a good bit more dangerous than my slow daily commute.

Hell, there's even a "middle ground" in saying "I've decided to wear a helmet for my own reasons. Your decision and your own reasons are your business and nobody else's."

The only "extremes" in this thread are the people who say no one should wear a helmet (which is pretty much a figment of certain poster's imaginations) and the people who say everyone should wear a helmet and anyone who doesn't is an idiot who obviously isn't bright enough to be allowed to make his own decisions.

So frankly, there's a vast middle ground composed of almost everybody, and a handful of extremist helmet Nazis who keep the debate going.

...nttawwt.

six

And how do you lable the anti helmet posters here

"Imaginary"

This seems like a fun thread... I'm in!

Living in the Netherlands, where everyone rides a bike (well, almost everyone), wearing a helmet on a (normal, commuter) bike seems simply ridiculous. You do see people doing it, admittedly, but they are on-par with people wearing tinfoil hats, tbh.

On a road bike used for actual speedier travel, you see it a lot more.

Personally, I very much doubt how much they help. The (little, I admit) research on the subject I've read suggests that it protects you from non-serious injury (scrapes and bruises), while not really helping against serious injury (brain trauma, skull fractures).

There is no law requiring helmets on a bike (yet). Thankfully.

In comparison, we have (legally) 2 types of mopeds in the Netherlands. The first version ("Snorfiets") is allowed to go a maximum of 25kph, rides in the bicycle lane and does not require a helmet. The second (bromfiets) can go 45kph, rides in the car lane (not allowed on motorways) and does require a helmet. A motorcycle helmet to be precise. A bicycle helmet is not allowed. (Of course, motorcycles require a motorcycle helmet as well)

If we look at bicycles, normal commuters rarely exceed 25kph. Road bikes used for racing/exercise will easily exceed 30kph (consistently) and possibly much more. So, would it then make sense to require a helmet for road bikes? And if so, should it be a bicycle helmet, or a motorcycle helmet?

Where does one draw the line?

I'll play!

Or not. Morbid curiosity aside, I have the odd feeling of being an agnostic wayfarer caught up in the midst of warring religious crusaders. I wear the helmet I want to, when I want to. I don't wear my helmet when I don't want to. I believe by default that you all should have the same choices. Pretty simple. Would that all cyclists chose to ride on and allow other to do as they were wont.

I do find all of the little tilted Quixotes in this thread to be quite comical. Thanks for that folks!

While the helmet nutters, both pro and con, continue about their merry way; I do wish to comment on the following:



Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Where is the thread in which helmet design, materials and fitment may be discussed intelligently? Witnessing some of those clown hats masquerading as cranial protection I can readily understand any aversion to donning one. Admittedly I am no expert, but a plastic and polystyrene yarmulke perched atop the noggin and secured by a one-size-fits-all internal harness will protect me from... what? I fear marketing has run roughshod over the engineers in this arena.

Having raced cars, motorcycles and bicycles at various times in my life, I believe I understand to some degree what a helmet is and what it is not. For cycling I chose a Bell Intersect in basic black. It is fitted to my head in the same way my auto and motorcycle helmets were. Snug all around, leaving precious little 'rattle room' for bouncing around inside in the case of an impact. But that is me, when I choose to wear a lid.

I'm Leno BTW, from the DFW area in Texas. Being that I am 56 years old, over 200 pounds and a cycling commuter; it seems odd that I pass up the more apropos forums and drop my first post here. Oh well, guess I'm just shy like that.

So, heya everybody!