There certainly wasn't any "hate" just a request that topics be kept in their proper place, especially topics that are contentious and unrelated to the subject of a particular sub-forum. 'Paramount' described the discussion in the helmet thread as a 'swamp' but apparently still wanted to keep only one side of the discussion here. In practice that doesn't usually work - once one side starts going on and on about something the other side feels a need to be heard as well. There have already been hundreds (prob. thousands in all) of pages back and forth on the helmet topic over in A&S - there's no need to have it proliferating to other sub-forums so they can all become 'swamps.'

I hammered it into my kids to always were a helmet so much that they enjoy wearing their helmets so much that they'll wear then for hours inside the house. My son at four is a die hard helmet rocker as sometime I have to tell him to take it off at the table eatting meals. I catch him quite a bit fully decked out in his race duds. These are pretty funny to say the least...
Eatting lunch

Playing some games on the computer

Taking a break and watching TV with his younger sister

The hard day of a kid racer

As an experienced cyclist and consumer..I wear my helmet with my vintage De Rosa despite the fact it is not period correct. Better?

Bought my daughter her first decent bike helmet this afternoon, and ordered two for my youngest sons at the LBS. I asked my wife to go to the LBS and pick one out for herself as well. Last week we had finally given up on the freebies that a local hospital gave us when the kids were younger. I've always insisted that they wear helmets on bikes and scooters. I had been researching bike helmets for the past few days but worried about plunking down all of that money at once. Today, it became a priority.

I hadn't been riding regularly since I had meniscus surgery on my knee in March, but today I decided that I had to get out before it was too hot to ride. I need to start building back up to my commute. I wasn't planning to go far and didn't really have a route in mind other than to start down the Fox River Trail here in Appleton. Shortly after I left my neighborhood and entered the trail, I saw someone down on the trail and people gathered around him. Then I became aware of the siren in the distance. As I approached, one person was talking on a phone, another had gloves on and was holding a first aid kit.

The man on the ground wasn't moving. Nearest the cross street there was a wheel, then some of his hair, a man in his late 30's or 40's, his bike missing the front wheel, and his handlebar bag, all in a line stretching 30 feet. Blood pooled under his head and his eyes were slightly open but fixed, and he wasn't moving. The person in gloves said he had a pulse. The firefighters arrived first, stabalized his head, intubated him and began rescue breathing with a bag valve mask. The paramedics arrived next and added oxygen and a heart monitor, then put him on a back board. Shortly before moving him, one of the firefighters began compressions. That is when I began crying. I walked over to the bike bag when one of the firefighters began checking through it. He had no ID in his bag, 2 bibles, and some tools in a side pocket. I wondered if he was on his way home from an early morning bible study class. Soon, a police officer arrived and found the man's cell phone in the bag. They were not taking him to the nearest hospital, but to an area trauma center that has a helicopter.

It took me a while to collect myself after the rescue squad pulled away. I lingered while the firefighters picked up their belongings. The other bystanders asked the officer if he needed anything from them. He told them they could go. I knew what had happened. The front quick release was loose, and when he crossed the crown of the street the wheel came off. He must have been moving fairly fast, but we all know it doesn't take a lot of speed to go down hard when the front wheel looses traction, and he suddenly didn't have a front wheel. He wasn't wearing cleats so when the fork hit the ground there was nothing slowing his flight over the handlebars striking his head on the blacktop trail. Even with a helmet, that would have resulted in some serious injuries. And I began to think about what I was carrying. No wallet, no first aid, no ID. Just my cell phone. I always wear the helmet. And I thought about my wife's decades old helmet, my kids not having helmets, and none of them knowing how to do an ABC quick check. And I rode the short distance back home to reflect, and to make the purchase I had been procrastinating on. Tomorrow, my kids get a bike check clinic from me so they know more than to check their tires for air before they ride. They will wait to ride for a few days until the LBS gets their helmets we ordered. My wife and daughter get a road riding lesson as well. Meanwhile, I'll be wondering who the man is, and praying for him and his family.

Wearing a helmet while riding a bike seems related to C&V bikes to me... Are you prepared to argue that wearing a helmet while riding isn't a good idea? Is it somehow unsafe to wear a helmet? Or is because we all look goofy wearing helmets?

Here in the C&V sub-forum, we tend to be friendly and welcoming to all kinds of subject matter, even when slightly off topic.

I have only browsed the forum for the last few months without posting, but I'll bite on this one. This forum was started for cyclists of all types, wether young or old, new bike or old bike, and we will never agree on all topics. The one thing we all have in common is the love for riding. This topic belongs on this sub forum and all others, if merely to remind us of how life can be, regardless of what we choose to ride.
Recently my wife lost control right in front of me and I had no time to react, running over her rear tire with my front tire. We both went down and she broke her wrist, and of course we both had all the fun road rash. After all was done I noticed there were several scratches on my helmet but never even realized I had hit my head.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you who have had to deal with or are dealing with any injuries sustained out there while trying to enjoy a great passion.
Sal

What Helmet do you wear with your Classic Vintage Ride? Any cool pics of some vintage Helmuts?

And I appreciate the thought.

I have a vintage Bell Biker that I still wear some times, generally when it's 20 degrees below freezing and I'm wearing several layers of hat - the foam pads have long ago packed it in. I guess you could say it has more scope for imagination.
I also have a vintage Bell V1-Pro that I keep around for a different reason. I don't say anything, but point to the gouges right over where my ear was when it slid along the ground one Sunday in September of 1989 or 1990. Somehow the thought of a missing or hamburgered ear bothers them more than something more severe. Maybe it's easier to grasp. Dunno.

Anyway, I liked the Biker a lot better than the disposable hat I wear now, but things move along, don't they.

cool townes van zandt book

Qualified opinion - I am a life long dirt bike (motorcycle) racer, life member of the American Motorcycle Association, many times regional expert champion, 1993 USA AMA national champion. I have known a few people who were seriously injured and a couple that were killed off-road. But on the street, that is another story, I've been a paul bearer at friend's funerals too many times. So I stopped riding street motorcycles many years ago as my wife worried about me every time I left the house. Out of respect for her and contemplating the numerous funerals we attended which gave her the right to be worried, I will not ride a street motorcycle. Simply said, idiots in cars were killing my friends and trying to kill me on a regular basis. But I now am again an avid bicyclist and ride all the time on my Vintage Paramounts. Please, always wear your helmet.

Does anyone still wear the leather hairnet helmet?


Here is Greg Lemond during the 1989 TDF with the aerodynamic helmet that is reputed to have contributed to his win:

Greg Lemond, Tour De France 1989 by Numerius, on Flickr

Here's Martin Vinnicombe sporting an early Cinelli hardtop:

Martin Vinnicombe by Numerius, on Flickr


Graeme Obree with an early aerodynamic helmet.

Graeme Obree by Numerius, on Flickr

Frankly, I like the look of modern helmets better than the older, sort-of-converted-hockey-helmet or the TDF aerodynamic/time trial variety.

I wear a Bontrager but there are these:
https://www.amazon.com/Giro-Reverb-He...=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

Wearing a helmet is just automatic for me. Between bicycling, street motorcuycles and motocross racing since 1973 a helmet is a part of my life. I would never venture out on the job site withoug my helmet and safety vest and I won't go even 1" on a bicycle or motorcycle. I use the time wear values we use with motorcycle helmets for how long I keep a helmet, UV, sweat and time break down the polycarbonates and other materials various helmets are manufactured with. One accident with a helmet strike is all one gets motorcycle or bicycle, no exceptions. Does it cost me more money, yes, not going to try and argue that trivial fact. It is trivial compared to the cost of caring for a TBI patient, even if it is just very short term.

I hope we get to keep this thread in C&V, understand why the mods move or close so many helmet threads, with all the hot talk and name calling. C&V seems mature enough to discuss this rationally. Ride safe!

Bill

Bear in mind that the protective properties of helmets degrade with time, shock, heat or UV exposure. A helmet should be replaced for any of these reasons.
Now, on topic: I have one of these in my "museum"

I'll just add that even with a helmet, don't expect to escape serious head and facial trauma every time. I work in an E.R. that treats lots of patients with trauma from bike accidents. Bicycle helmets, unlike motorcycle helmets, don't come down far enough on the head to protect the base of the skull; they don't protect the front of the face; and they don't protect the sides of the neck. Can it help? Sure, and around heavy traffic I'll wear one but I also know that 'back in the day' I wiped out a number of times without one and never had any head injuries.

scotjonscot....My Best wishes for your friend's brother, your friend, and yourself. I hope things turn out for the good.

Ignore all the posters who didn't have the decency to offer up a bit of sympathy or empathy your way. I've been reading CV for quite a while and am shocked by some of the responses. In no way did I see any such implication in your post about preaching the gospel of always wearing a helmet while riding. You stated your personal position on the issue and wished the rest of us safe riding. I thank you for your thoughtfulness in doing so.

I certainly wouldn't call someone's misfortune "crap". When I read the OP, my first reaction was how sad that someone was badly injured. The issue of wearing/not wearing a helmet never entered my mind until I read further posts. Maybe too much time discussing/reading about helmets elsewhere caused disgruntled requests to move this thread.

Frankly, wearing a helmet or not wearing a helmet is a personal choice, and the OP wasn't preaching wearing or not wearing one. I'm glad it was posted here. I don't have the time to read everything that gets posted on this website.

I ride a vintage bike, but wear a modern helmet.

Update on my sister, all is well, big smile, warm sunshine. Marconi Beach, Wellfleet, MA



Scott

Oh....that X Ray makes me wince. And shiver in my seat. Glad she's OK.

scot, sorry about your friend's brother.

scott, that xray looks exactly like a marine mammal. and some people still can't embrace evolution.?.

i have owned a motorcycle helmet, which i wore. but i've never owned a bike helmet, nor have i ever worn one. every once in a while someone will yell something about a helmet, ususally from a passing truck. seattle cops used to say things on occasion,. one made me dismount and walk my bike. that probably made his day. cops don't say anything any more, which i appreciate. we recently voted for a mayor that rides, and i think that has something to do with it, for the helmet is just one more hurdle to riding. and yes, i understand most of you believe it's an important hurdle.

personally though, i think forearm pads and mouth pieces are more instrumental and effective. though i do like the idea of wearing the motocross helmet while eating cereal and watching tv.

This pic was taken about 1984. Alan Super Record. Bell Biker (?) helmet. Note all the boardwalk bicyclists- none wearing a helmet.

You were ahead of you time! On another note, that bike had some major steep geometry, to my eye! Or was it just the angle or the camera in relation to the bicycle?

Best wishes to all the unfortunate injured.

I always wear one.

My personal pet peeve is parents who make their kids wear one and then don't put one on themselves. Even very young children are pretty adept at connecting dots, you know.