Wore my new helmet for today's morning ride. My neighbor lady says I look like a German soldier.


Now don't go confusing this guy with me -- I admit, he's a lot prettier.



I want to also talk about customer service. New to bicycling, but have ridden motorcycles for decades. So I know the importance of a good helmet. I also know that a good helmet is going to feel a bit "tropical" in the summer no matter what. So even with good venting, it is not going to be as comfortable as a bare head. Anyway -- in the summer months, I will be riding early in the morning and late in the evening -- I won't be riding in the noonday sun, not withstanding mad dogs and Englishmen!

I chose the Bern Watts, over other protective helmets, primarily because of style -- I simply do not like looking like a spaceship has landed on my head. I did a lot of online comparisons of different models and chose this one for its protection and lts least dorky-looking appearance.

Most all of the bern thin-shell helmets have an adjustment system in the headliner with an adjustment knob that sticks out low in the back from underneath the hard shell.

I bought the XXL/XXXL size which is supposed to accommodate a head size up to 24 3/8". My head is exactly 24". I found my new helmet to be too snug, even with the adjustment knob fully opened, so I set about to try to loosen things up a bit. I was able to make minor improvements so that the helmet now fits snug, but not too snug as before. However, as the adjustment mechanism takes up a small amount of room, I began to think that maybe I would just cut into the fabric and remove it. But before I went to such drastic measures, I decided to call Bern and see what they could suggest. Now comes the reason I have given this purchase 5 stars on the Amazon site. Their customer service is outstanding. I talked at length to a nice lady named Deb. (That's how I found out that all of their models now have the adjustment knob.) Anyway, she promised me she would go check out their warehouse and see if they might just have a similar headliner (but one that is an older style minus the new adjustment knob). It has some kind of Velcro adjustment. She found one, called me back for my address, and it is on the way.

This is a very well-made helmet. My only caution if you buy a Bern would be to measure your head correctly and then buy the next size up. If you head approaches the size limit, you can always call them and see if they have more of the old style headliners in stock.

I've never worn a helmet, i grew up in a rural area and it just wasn't much of a concern growing up. now that i ride in the city I'm terrified to not wear a helmet, but i don't have one yet. It's legal for me to not wear a helmet, and it seems to be about a 50/50 split as to people who do and do not wear a helmet. My question is this, Is their any merit to the horror stories i hear about wearing helmets? Most notably the stories about someone getting their spinal column damaged at the neck? i plan on buying one ASAP anyway. I also understand that it is important that they fit properly and you position them correctly. Any advice to give a newbie to urban cycling?

There are many different opinions about helmets. Expensive ones, cheap ones, hard to fit, easy to fit, etc. Go to your favorite bike shop, or even department store, and try a couple on.

I'm not sure about cervical spine injuries.

It is quite possible that accidents that would have caused a head injury PLUS a cervical spine injury no longer cause head injuries, so the cervical spine injuries remain as a consequence.

I too grew up in the country and never wore a helmet. I started wearing a helmet several years ago when I got in to road biking. I once crashed at over 20 MPH and hit my head on a steel post. I'm fortunate I only suffered a concussion in addition to the usual road rash to the arms and legs. Had I not been wearing a helmet, I'm certain I would have sustained a skull fracture. I recommend you google helmets to find a good quality helmet. Purchase one at a LBS where they can help you with a proper fit. I personally would not purchase a helmet at a department store, but that is just my opinion.

I'm not sure what being in the country has to do with it. The worst hit I ever took to my head while riding was when I wrecked on a single track trail and hot my head hard on a root. Sure was glad I had a helmet!

i don't ride without one.

With any safety device there is probably some scenario in which it is possible to envision the device working against you rather than for you. This is true even of seatbelts in a car. (Because I might drive my car off a bridge and sink and drown because I can't undo the belt, or some similar scenario). Almost always it is the case that wearing a device like a helmet comes down to mitigating the more likely risks at the expense of what are hopefully some truly unlikely scenarios. (I and my friends have been in a few car wrecks, but never have any of us ever driven into the water).

It may perhaps be possible to find the odd case in which a helmet has caused injury rather than defended against one, but I cannot think of an actual incident like that off the top of my head. I am convinced such cases are rare enough to be close enough for all practical purposes to being non-existent.

I live in a small city with some pretty good sized hills. We can get up a lot of speed going down these hills. There are parked cars and kids playing in the street and dogs running about and cross streets, and trees at the sides of some streets. So I wear a helmet! Usually. I'll admit to sometimes going without one, but almost always I wear one.

Keep in mind that it's fairly easy to find stories in which wearing a helmet has saved a life or prevented serious injury. Whereas I cannot at the moment think of a story in which the helmet has caused an injury.

If someone presents a horror story like the type you are worried about, ask them to show you the facts, to show you the story in the news media so that you can get the full picture. I bet they won't be able to show you anything at all, that what they are repeating is unfounded.

Well all i can say is when you are going down is a terrible time to decide you should have worn a helmet! Have had 2 BIG crashes that would have been BAD without them. Would have had to deal with head injury and the injury I sustained!

Helmets are like bears and BIG G U N S . When you come across one in the woods the last thing you want to say to yourself is "why did I leave it at home."

Cheers,
David in Alaska where we have big bears

It depends on your riding style and where you are riding too. If you average 10mph and ride with slow traffic, risk of injury is low. The helmet is probably neutral. Riding fast with fast traffic? A helmet is more beneficial hypothetically.

There's is no right answer. I ride slow on mostly quiet streets. I usually strap a helmet on but if I need to not wear it for some reason (like I just got my hair done) I am not too concerned if I am riding in residential areas. I know where most of the bike collisions happen and I rarely need to travel those routes.

I would like to ask all those who have had a big crash and the helmet saved your "life", what caused the crash in the first place? A helmet is no substitute for good riding skills.

I am new to cycling but have never once gone without a helmet on the 160,000 miles I've put on my motorcycle (touring). You see a LOT of motorcyclists that never wear a helmet in the many states that it is optional. IMO, they are complete idiots -- eventual Darwin candidates.

So I started right off the bat with wearing a helmet on my bicycle, even though at this time I am just riding the neighborhood roads. I don't necessarily worry that I am going to fall off, but I DO worry about the same thing I've always worried about on the motorcycle, and that is the sudden appearance of deer bounding out at you from the woods close by. They can come flying at you so fast, it'll make your head swim. We have a lot of deer here and we see them at the most unexpected times and not just in the woods. Often see three of four running between homes, etc.

Exactly, and helmets might encourage helmet-wearers to take bigger risks such as going faster.

If you gave a 5 year old a superman cape, he might think he's superman and try jumping off the 3rd floor balcony. Good thing as adults we know better - we know that a cape which our favorite comic book hero dons when saving the city doesn't give us invincibility. But still, this mode of thinking may persist. Give an adult a helmet, and he might just ride a bit faster "knowing" that he's safe(r) from head injuries.

Situational awareness and safe practices that help you avoid wrecks are much more important than wearing a helmet.

If you get one, attach a third eye mirror and a rear blinkie. Maybe some reflective tape, and a head light if you ride in the dark. Then you'll have something that could be useful for preventing a crash.

I do not feel that because I wear a helmet, I take greater risks while biking. I have gone down because I didn't unclip in time, because someone took me down, because I lost the rear wheel in a turn, because I overlapped......

What's a big crash?

55mph highway, 9 person paceline at 25mph+ I am #4 , overlapped a wheel, went down left side, slid to center-sat up facing traffic-2 lanes of vehicles coming at me-got up and to side of road PRONTO!!!! Road rash, cracked helmet, bike was fine.

45mph 2 lanes 3 person paceline 4" separations I am #3 , mail truck stopped opposite side delivering mail. Oncoming vehicle passes truck and comes into our lane as we approach mail truck instead of yielding-the law! #1 rider off onto grass, #2 ride wants to go off but mailbox post is there-slams brakes on and stops, I slam #2 -my bike LOCKS on to his and I eject like a James Bond passenger landing on grass to right 10 feet from road, 2 cracking sounds upon landing-C6 and right clavicle, compression of C5-C6-C7, Long Thoracic Nerve Injury, cracked helmet, bike OK.

Had I NOT had a helmet on, maybe no C6 injury. WHY....helmet kept my head higher upon landing than without so cervical vertebrae could not straighten out but I might have sustained a concussion.

25.2mph to 0 when rear wheel was lost going into round-a-bout during a 70.3 triathlon. Down left side at mile 15 of 56, massive left side injuries, cracked helmet, bike OK, got up and finished bike and half marathon bleeding continuously.

I feel the helmets did their thing by preventing concussions and/or brain injury whether landing on pavement or grass but always a question if it caused cervical injuries.

Thanks for your reply OldTryGuy,
Sounds like you are racing and I would agree you should wear a helmet. But I would venture to guess that the vast majority bicycle riding is not done in a race.
Now lets get down to the simple facts. If any of the accidents you mentioned were done in a car you would have been at fault, called ability to maintain control of your vehicle. Thus what I said, ride a bicycle within your abilities to control it and be aware of your surroundings and you very greatly, reduce the need for a helmet.

I was recently mountain biking. I got flipped off of my bike probably going 25 mph, went head first into a stump. Entire front of my (faceless) helmet was smashed. My safety glasses got pushed into my nose digging a bit of a hole. I got a few scratches on my cheek. Other than that, no injuries on my head. Had I not been wearing a helmet I would NOT have fared so well. Head with no helmet vs. stump... stump wins. I think the helmet in this case absorbed enough of the hit to allow my body to rotate around and pull my head away from the stump. You should have seen the stump though. I was lucky that the stump was partially rotten, which also helped absorb some of the impact.

I was sore for a few days, but I didn't even have a concussion. Was a happy camper.

Went out and bought 2 other helmets immediately. One for the road, one for the trails (which just so happens to be a full face helmet now.)

With that said, I don't wear a helmet on my 3 mile daily commute. But I do wear one when I go out on my road bike (30 miles ish.)

With regards to cost: Higher cost = helmet with more features to make it more comfortable or lighter or better air flow, etc. Safety for all brand name helmets is the same. (Unless you consider the feature that lets the shell slide a few degrees in any direction "safer." I'm not convinced that's useful yet.) At least that's what my LBS told me. You can get a good, brand name helmet for $40.

Actually, no road racing at all. A triathlon might be considered a race, but I am in them just to complete and do my best. The crash in the tri was seeing a 6"-metal cover raised up from the pavement and not being able to avoid at the approaching speed while navigating the tight circle. The others were just a casual Saturday ride with the guys. Nothing intense at the time of the "Oh crap" moments.

One was a dog chased a cat and the cat suddenly darted across the road under my wheel. I went over the bars. The second was a railroad track merged with another on the road and my front wheel lodged in a big gap in the tracks - in a new town while traveling. The third happened in a pace line and the rider in front didn't call out a pothole.

No StanStevens, not trying to start an argument at all.
I just want more information. Seems like everyone comes on here with some kind of accident that if they were not wearing their helmet they could have had, or had worst injuries than they did. I just want to know what caused the crash. My attitude is wear a helmet if you want, but wearing that helmet does not reduce your chances of accidents if you are riding above your abilities to control your vehicle.
Come on here and say " helmets are a must, I never ride without one, cause one time when I was obviously going way to fast for the conditions and I did not have control of my bicycle I wrecked and my head hit something."

I know you weren't trying to start an argument. I just replied with info on my three incidents. In all three cases, I don't they were avoidable.

I also don't disagree with your premise that helmets won't reduce accidents. Accidents often happen from being careless or creating your own hazardous situations.

Wow -- nothing like experience to back up your argument. Glad you are still with us. I hope no long term effects on your spine?

On this issue of "blame", do not overlook critters. They will put you down quickly, and usually it won't be any fault of yours.

Not a lot, the culture in rural areas is just different. Because of the fact that their was very little traffic and lots of grassy areas growing up helmets just didn't seem like they were necessary.

Thanks for the responses, i am going to go a local bike shop next week and see about getting a helmet fitted properly. Don't want to go to a department store because i feel like i will need some advice on the subject while making a purchase decision.

I got a ticket for not wearing a helmet once. Afterward, I jokingly said to a friend, "Yeah yeah, but helmets look dumb! And looking cool is what matters, right??" His response was, "Not as dumb as suffering brain damage when it could have been easily prevented." Obviously this is a little extreme, but it's true. There's no reason for me not to wear a helmet. The potential to spare me horrible injuries or even death is worth the small cost of a helmet.

Also, all helmets sold in the United States have to conform to certain safety regulations. There's no "unsafe" helmet on the market. They all protect you more or less an equal amount, so find the cheapest one and ride with peace of mind.

But remember, just because you're wearing a helmet doesn't mean you're invincible. Always maintain safe and cautious riding habits.

Well, I crashed last weekend, slammed my shoulder, back and head hard into the road. The helmet cracked in multiple spots and saved my knoggin from being left on the ground with the skin from my back. I did not have any issues with my head or neck from wearing it. I dont ride without one and while I heal from my shoulder surgery, I already have a new helmet for when I can get back on the bike.