Call me paranoid but I always feel a bit better riding with my helmet on.


at least ever since a good friend was turned into a vegetable from falling and cracking their noggin.

Never wore a helmet but this thread made me look for a helmet to buy and wear ASAP.
Thanks guys.

I am not misrepresenting anyone. Nor am I a bully about demanding everyone wear a helmet. AGAIN I do not like helmet laws. If anyone wants to ride without a helmet thats fine with me. It is not my brain at risk.

OTOH almost all sports have safety equipment, and intelligent people use it. In the case of cycling, the helmet is part of that safety equipment.

Be thankful that the safety nazis are not after cyclist like they are auto drivers. When you buy a new car, everyone probably pays at least $2000 more than necessary because of them.

Calling people stupid for not agreeing with you is bullying.

A high end MIPS helmet is like $300, for something that does very little compared to what's achieved through the combination of seat belts and airbags.

Just because I state my position is not Bullying. A cyclist need not spend $300 on a good helmet.

Further, buying the "high end" of most any product is usually a waste of money. Up to a point you get a better product, but then after that point, you are buying mostly a name or glitz. For instance just what is the advantage of buying a $10,000 bike over a $5,000 bike.

right, so every ****** that wears a helmet is just trying to hide his lack of brains in the first place

"just stating my position"

very mature yeah

I really do not understand why the hate about bicycle helmets. You can buy a cheap one for 20$ or an expensive one for 200+$ they get tested to the same standards. Also with the state that USA healthcare is in with this "Obamacare" thing (I am in Canada so don't understand it) wearing a helmet is probably cheaper than whatever co-pay option you guys do when in a hospital.

There's no hate. Unless you are one of the one of the helmet wearing people who go around calling non helmet wearing people idiots or stupid for not wearing a helmet, I think they pretty much hate people who do not wear a helmet or believe in or share their views.
Its not Obama care, Its "affordable health care act". Its like any other law, or government program, both Republican or Democrat indorsed; translation "rich get richer, poor get poorer".
Oh, and just because you wear a helmet does not mean you will not need to go to the hospital.

Obama care is a purely democrat program. Not one republican voted for it.

The Republicans have had many, many, times to repeal it over the last couple of years and they did not. So if you have the power (and Republicans do) to change it and you do not, it makes it the Republican problem, shame on them for not repealing it.
Oh, and just so you know, it does not matter who's program it is, it is still called the Affordable Health Care Act.

Personally I don't really care if anyone wears a helmet or not. However I wear one as an example to my own kids because my province has a law of anyone under 18 must wear the helmet. Having said this I live in Canada with the universal health care so bumps/scrapes/bruises/minor surgical stitching is fixed at walk in clinics not at a hospital. Hospitals are only for broken bones/head injuries. There has been a movement here to make helmets mandatory for all bicycle riders because everyone must pay for the hospital visit for the cyclist via our taxes. And we want to have them out of hospital quicker to allow more injured people to be treated.

So has anyone proven that non-helmeted cyclists have higher medical costs, or is that just the average person "common sense" conclusion (ie, probably wrong)?

Bicycle helmets are uncomfortable, a hassle, rather ineffective, stupid-looking and on top of that mostly unnecessary; what's not to hate about bicycle helmets? And yes, expensive bicycle helmets are just as ****ty as the cheap versions, in fact they ironically tend to be even a little bit less ****tier, just to demonstrate the gullible mindlessness of your typical foam hat fanboy/girl.

I wish I still had hair.

See, there's rub... Lot's of things are "unnecessary" Handrails, non-slip surface's, stop signs where yield signs would do, winter tires who needs them? Nobody, They don't save you, You just need to take care, and things will work out....

I see you are trying to make a point, but you never actually achieve it. But anyway, all those things are intended to prevent accidents altogether, which would be my preferred approach to bicycle safety. Because, you know, an inch of perforated foam will only do so much. This seems like a no-brainer, bu multitudes of helmeteers start their AHSML testimony basically with "I was doing something fairly risky/preventable/******** on a bicyclye..."

So--------------I guess you have one vote against helmets, right?

As to being uncomfortable, wrong, once I put my helmet on, it is no hassle, and I totally forget I have it on until I get home and have to take it off. Stupid looking????. Is a football helmet, or a baseball batting helmet "stupid looking"? Would you care to walk up to a 350 pound football player, and tell him he looks stupid with his helmet on?

Remember Jobst Brandt? – Author of “The Bicycle Wheel (isbn 0-9607236-2-5) and a large number of respected technical articles (Google is your friend).

Jobst did not believe in wearing helmets and he, indeed, did not wear them.

However:
When, one day, his 20+ year-old frame broke into two pieces at the headset while entering a fast downhill corner, Jobst hit his head on the ground. Passers-by found him semi-conscious and got help.

He never wrote another informative technical article and had to depend upon the love of his many friends for his care. After four years, Jobst died from his brain injury. --- He would still be with us had he worn a helmet. He would still be writing accurate, sometimes irritating and very useful things about bicycles. I never met him but I still miss him.

A question: Lets say you were going to buy a new computer and had two choices: Both computers were the same, but, one was $ cheaper and shipped loosely in a cardboard box with no padding; the other cost a bit more but was supported by Styrofoam pads. Which would you buy --- I rest my case. ;o)

Joe

BTW: NavSpecWar operatives (Seals) wear helmets anytime they are training, doffing them only during actual missions.

That's pretty interesting, especially from someone with the tag line "Living a fact-based life" Where did you get your facts? Not speculation, but fact he suffered a head injury from a bicycle crash from not wearing a helmet?
Most people on this forum like information from Sheldon Browns website read this:
"Brandt suffered a broken leg in what appears to have been a single-bicycle crash (no witness reports) in January, 2011. He also suffered brain injury. According to one report, this was from a stroke while he was in the hospital, rather than the crash itself -- though he famously did not wear a helmet. He did not post messages after his crash. He died at age 80 in May, 2015. He is sorely missed in discussions of bicycling issues.
This states that at least one report says his brain injury was from a stroke he suffered in the hospital.

I guess the Seal's have little faith in helmets as well since they do not wear them on missions.

2 Piece:


Why do the F**k do you think he had the stroke??!!

Joe

You are clearly a troll and are now on my rather lengthy 'ignore' list.

No Troll, I live a fact based life.
Since you are so challenged, I'll just let you know that LOTS, LOTS and LOTS of people have strokes without being in bicycle accidents and without wearing helmets. You are funny!

Hoping to join the troll list since I do not know why JB may or may not have suffered a stroke at age 76ish. Could you explain how you arrived at the determination that the stroke was indeed caused by a helmetless crash. Be sure to include the process you used to eliminate various age related factors, athroscolortic factors, congenital factors, blood pressure factors, and so on. Also, please include your process for knowing that a helmetless crash is more or less likely to cause a stroke than a helmeted crash, including rotational factors.

Thanks in advance, inquiring minds want to know.

I knew there was a reason I've drifted away from the helmet/troll thread --- JM

Im outa here!

dont let the door hit you on your way out

I was on a solo ride this morning, downtown Roswell in an area frequented by a local group I am contemplating joining. I rolled up beside a roadie type, who looked me over for a few seconds and declared "Put a helmet on, Man".

I'm pretty laid back so I just said,

"Not required on the road, Man."

"Yes it is"

"No it isn't, and you need to start minding your own business now."

At which he rolled off muttering some dire predictions of impending mutilation and death.

It's been about 40,000 miles since the last time that's happened. Not a big deal to me what opinion some random ill-informed person has, but he was wearing the jersey of the local group, or the sponsoring shop! Roswell Bikes. I'm not sure if I'll be joining, depending on what the community relations director has to say.