well i think that helmet research was spouted by the same crazies that vetoed the "Softride" and oversaw the death of the Sedgeway and of late have claimed Ebike batteries can disrupt certain band waves :) but what do I no :foo:

With no context, it is difficult to know exactly what you are referring to, but the referenced study's method utilized human seated at a computer, completing various tests of cognition and reaction. There was another study, 14 years earlier, that dealt with cricketers.

Yeah, I am continually amazed at the logical fallacies employed to suggest that helmets work. "Look, my helmet is destroyed, therefore it must have saved my life." "I once crashed, and was only knocked out for a little while, obviously my helmet saved my life." In both cases, one could tell the same anecdotes with reference to a baseball hat, or a cycling cap, or even a particular haircut.

Cycling helmets are almost exactly like religion. Some people desperately need to believe that something located over their head is watching over them, and will protect them from the evil that abounds. No evidence can be found to support that belief, and it can't really even be logically defended as a hypothesis, but neither will matter to them until it is too late.

Here is a link to the PDF, since the formatting of the OP was such a mess.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/article...BCN-12-759.pdf

Not to be too dismissive, but the journal is a minor one at best, and the authors of the study are based in Iran.

A "study" of only 20 subjects, for any length of time, is statistically insignificant.

Helmet Cognitive Function thread merged with Helmet Thread 2 thread.

Sorry for going off topic. It is in fact a multifaceted subject. I am confused as to what the real topic is other than to gather information on helmet use.

If the topic is "What Are Your Helmet Wearing Habits?", then, before 2007, on my bicycle never, and after 2007, always...

He was suggesting a helmet reduces the possibility.

No need to apologize you aren't off topic when his diatribe was about wearing super heavy helmets (not bicycle helmets) while using a computer. Something people aren't doing. It is like a thread on condom use while just making breakfast (as in non-sexual context) completely irrelevant and doesn't prove much one way or the other as he intended.

I had a grand idea for a helmet discussion but unfortunately, it's already been discussed seemingly to ad infinitum. Luckily, I checked around first so, I'll just drop this in here.

First and foremost, I don't care if you do or don't wear a helmet and, dependant upon my mood, may or may not debate about it. Whatever you do is ultimately on you.

Now, I'm directing this to a specific group of helmet wearers. What I want to know is, if you were previously a helmet naysayer and now wear one, what changed your mind? When was that moment you were absolutely certain that helmet advocates might just know what they were talking about?

For me, it took a bounce off the curb to the back of a helmet for me to realize a helmet's value. I'll get to that, but first some nutshelled history for context.

I had ridden some sort of bicycle off and on for most of my life. Only when I was a messenger back in the early 2000s did I wear a helmet because it was required. After I either quit or was fired, I don't remember, I went back to riding sans helmet. While without a helmet, I had never suffered a significant bump to my head. I've been bumped, bruised, sprained and road-rashed nearly everywhere else though and even dislocated my shoulder once as an adolescent attempting a stupid bike trick. We built alot of ramps. Also, as a kid, I often rode trails on BMX bikes, motorcycles, minibikes and even three-wheelers. Remember those? Never bumped my head when I crashed.

I'm 57, by the way, and my helmet epiphany happened about 5 years ago during the time I was working as a bike mechanic at a small local shop. Wearing a helmet when you ride wasn't required to work there or anything like that but a few of the folks there used to nag me alot and I was starting to listen. So, one day I decided to go buy one just to quieten both them and that little voice in my head. I was still unconvinced, however, but I had to listen to that little voice. It seemed to find sound reason in my friend's naggings.

Fast forward maybe a month. I was out riding and weaving through some slow moving traffic on a double lane one-way street on my fixed gear. As I was going between two cars towards the curb, I pulled a fancy sideways skid for speed adjustment and direction but mostly style... then suddenly ran out of talent. Not even sure what went wrong because I had pulled this move successfully before. Both of my tires caught traction sideways, the momentum shifted and I was pitched off. I wound up on my back, bouncing the back of my helmet off the curb. I felt it. That's when I knew. It's the only thing I'm certain of about that incident.

I calmly gathered myself and my pride from the asphalt, walked to the sidewalk, pulled off my helmet and kissed it. Then after quelling the concerns of witnesses, 'Are you ok?' 'Yeah, I'm good.', I remounted first helmet then bike and rode off.

The helmet was undamaged, albeit scored from the hit. So, one may think the hit was insignificant. But for me, there is no doubt I would have at least been knocked unconscious from that curb bounce had my head not been protected by the helmet. And luckily, the vehicles were sparsely spaced and moving slow enough to stop before running my ass over. So, that was a teaching moment I lived to learn from.

And what I learned is this: If you ride long enough, you will bump your head. So get a helmet on it! Was that inner voice warning me that my bump was coming? If so, it begs the question, 'How did it know?'. But I'll let you folks ponder or scoff at the philisophical implications of the timing with the whole incident, whether it be coincidental or a foreshadowing. Regardless of any of that, today, I won't ride without a helmet.

"Are you stupid for wearing a helmet, or are you stupid for not wearing a helmet: Argue within" seems to be the basis for the topic at this point.

This is just Dem VS Rep / Vax vs No-Vax / Ford vs Chevy remixed with bike helmets.
Read through here and I am impressed with the need to argue and shoot down everyone else. Tribalism is a hell of a drug!

Someone crashed and busted through their helmet and thinks that it saved their bacon? Maybe, maybe not... Who cares?
Someone crashed and bonked their head without a helmet and was fine? Great... Who cares?

If someone feels the need to wear a helmet or not wear a helmet, why do people feel the need to not only care, but to judge them?

Personally, if I went down hard enough to crush my helmet, I would be of the opinion that the helmet saved my life or at very least kept me from brain damage.

Me personally, if my bum is on the saddle, I got a brain bucket. got no clue how many people I see riding without helmets, because I don't care lol.
My daughter hopped on a bike when she was younger and after about a minute fell. Cracked her skull and has ~75% hearing loss afterwards.
I figure it this way... What do I have to lose? I am as careful as I can be, but crap happens. I have gone down twice, bounced my head off metal railing one crash and bounced my head off concrete the second crash.
Was fine the first one, concussion on the second. Helmet saved me from, at minimum, a nasty headache on the first crash and possibly worse the second.
Can I prove it? No, obviously. But I don't feel the need to push my luck because [insert reason for hating helmets here].

Yeah, that's all well and good but you never answered my questions. I suspect you may have glossed over this part: What I want to know is, if you were previously a helmet naysayer and now wear one, what changed your mind? When was that moment you were absolutely certain that helmet advocates might just know what they were talking about?

No worries, if that's the case, but I'm less interested in reading the benefits of helmet usage and more into the thought processes of how someone came to wear one, knowing with absolute certainty that it was necessary. It sounds as if you have just always known.

Just trying to introduce a new facet into this already much discussed topic. But mostly, I was just sharing. So, there's that.

I was never a naysayer or a helmet purist. I had no opinion. I didn't ride until a couple years ago, and when I started riding I just bought a helmet.

Also, the part where I talked about how my child cracked her skull and lost most of her hearing in one ear and then I went on to talk about how I don't want to push my luck. You could safely infer that was about the time I decided that stuff was important.

What about those of us that are interested in knowing why you won't mind hitting the pavement at 27mph or better with your skull and having the skin shredded? Not to mention the potential brain damage that might leave you a vegetable.

Whether it saves lives or not, I'd rather have whatever protection it does give me. Up until 2010 I rode without a helmet. But before then I was only doing leisurely rides. After 2008, I started riding hard and fast regularly. So I knew I wanted both a helmet, and gloves. The gloves so if I did wrongly stretch my arms out to catch my fall, that I wouldn't skin my palms down to the bone on the pavement.

Yeah, I caught that but wasn't sure if that was it. It would have certainly woke me up.

Poor girl though. It makes me wonder if I ever hit my head when learning to ride. I don't think so. It just goes to show that we're all on our own timeline. My head went decades without incident and your daughter cracks her skull as a child from an inexperienced fall. I assume she was just learning?

Right on though, thanks.

Why who? Me?

Well you seemed interested in knowing why we like to wear our helmets. I thought it only fair that since you ask in your previous post, you should also state why you don't want to wear a helmet.

However I realize that might not be a accurate representation of your thoughts on the subject. And possibly you've already posted them here in this thread. However I don't feel obligated in a lengthy thread that I don't come into very often to read back through all the new posts.

So that's why I ask. To me a helmet is just extra protection. And since I did crash after 58 years of cycling without any major injury, I have to wonder whether my skull would have had the 11 major fractures that my helmet had. Instead of just the minor inline fracture and shattered eye orbits.

I am a helmet purist and IMO only a fool rides without.

I thought so but wasn't sure because... why would someone ask why I don't wear a helmet when I so clearly stated that I did? Weird right?
I also inferred that I wore a helmet here.
And I really don't see how you could have misunderstood the following.
I detect a slight bit of attitude with your posts. You feeling okay over there? I could post a picture of me wearing a helmet if it'll make you feel better but I really hope that's not necessary.

Geesh.

I actually started wearing a helmet in 2007 because every time I rode through the local state park the ranger would stop me, check my park pass, and then drive on. Helmets are not mandatory for adults in Texas. He did admit after a few times that if I was wearing a helmet he could recognize me and would not have to stop me and check my park pass. We gotta choose our battles and for me it was easy to just start wearing a helmet regularly. Whats really odd is that now days I wear a helmet, and a reflective vest, and a flashing light on my tail. Ha Who Knew. Guess I am not the rebel I thought I was...

I was looking over the poll results above and found the last one intriguing. Just to be facetious, I wonder what 18% of 500 voters would consider conditions serious enough to warrant application of a helmet. Hailstorms? Are some of them fearful of falling jet engines? I could see the need to wear one if they often spin past airports. Don't think the helmet would do much good though... but okay. Or having a fear of falling hammers, so they stop and don the helmet before riding past construction site scaffolding. Better hope no one drops a sledgehammer.

I was once riding by an electric company worker up on the pole and jokingly yelled up to him, 'Hey, don't drop anything!' To which he promptly countered, 'What are you worried about? You have a helmet on.' Hah! Touche, electricity man!

If you've ever did any serious mountain biking you may want to wear a helmet.

I knew there were logical reasons where one might feel the need to wear one. But like I stated, I was being facetious. Just makin' jokes, man. But thanks for the clarification.

Thanks for the synopsis. Like I said, I didn't read back to any of your previous posts in this thread.

You shouldn't infer any attitude in written text on forums. We aren't all poet's. So we don't always realize what vibe our printed words are giving off. You probably are inferring things I never ever imagined or intended.