I thought I was going to get odd looks when I wore my helmet at my gf's place on campus. No one cared, so fashion statement was out. However, even with weird looks and constant ribbings, I would still wear my lid.

Better to have my lid for the time I skid than leave it off 'cause others would scoff...or something like that.

Riding in the rain tonight, I was having a great 'ol time, of course paying attention to traffic, but also paying more attention to the splashing water than I should have and didn't notice that the rain had weighted down some branches by the side of the road. Got a good start when they brushed over the top of my helmet and was glad it wasn't my scalp. Ouch.

So, the helmet is to protect my stupid, inattentive brain.

Page one of this thread had a link to a recent BBC news story about a University of Bath study that suggests wearing a cycling helmet INCREASES your risk of a traffic accident - drivers allow less room to cyclists who wear helmets than they do to cyclists who don't.

Fine. What's New York City got to do with the bicycling experience in 90 percent of the world?

Gee, you'd think that in the absence of brakes, a billion Chinese might wear helmets to hedge their bets.

Alas, they almost universally don't.

And while Europe is geographically larger than the United States, it has something like 60 million more cars than the U.S., and helmet use among bicyclists there is negligible.

I think the debate there would generally touch upon what constitutes a braking a mechanism, and not the validity of a braking mechanism. Otherwise we'd see people favoring brakeless SS bikes w/ freewheel cogs and calling *those* folks a bunch of nancified so-and-sos.

As a side note, I'm glad my fixie-ridin' fiancee not only believes in helmets, but also having a traditional hand-operated front brake for panic stops. The real trick is getting her to carry spare tubes, some sort of pump, and doing safety checks semi-regularly...

Wow, that resonates with me in a BIG way. I was totally anti-helmets. I felt that car drivers had a responsibilty to keep us safe and we shouldn't validate their lack of consideration by wearing helmets. I also bought into the "some accidents I don't wanna survive" theory.

Since becoming a father I've changed that view. i wear a helmet ALL the time I'm on my bike. Apart from the fact that it's the law and I don't wanna get fined (I previously am from England where this doesn't apply), I think it's important.

I know that if a bus hits me I'm probably f**ked, but for minor or indirect collisions it's an essential precaution.

But then, hey, we're all adults. Do as thou will.

I started this discussion in the Dirt Rag Forums and got treated like a dangerous subversive. I was interested in my own change of heart and just wanted to know what other people's views/experiences were.

Guess you get a more informed velo-addict here.

I regularly debate the worthiness of a helmet.

I never used to wear one. But some colleagues told me I should and I put mine on.

I'm dubious as to its value--mostly because I can't get the straps perfectly adjusted. It will move when I fall. Also, it seems to come up high on the forehead. I'm unconvinced the helmet will protect it when I fall.

The other issue is that I don't go that fast. Most I go downhill is 25, usually I'm going 15 to 17 mph.

So, do I go without it and enjoy the fresh air going through my hair? Or put it on and hope I'm protected? Bottom line--I need a new helmet.

I appreciate this thread. I definitely see value in the helmet--if it doesn't move when I fall and it protects my forehead. If I get a new one, though, I want to be able to put on a rain cap on it or hat underneath it. I hope I can make that work.

I hate to reiterate my point but...the way people drive here is a problem. At least where I live, drivers are for the most part TOTALLY OBLIVIOUS to cyclists. That is until they're stuck behind you for 20 seconds. And drivers are rude/oblivious to pedestrians, too.

I've been to Europe, not China, and there are lots more modes of transportation that are seen as valid: walking, biking, mopeds, tiny cars; and people there accept that they have a right to the road. NOT SO HERE. Not to mention public transpoprt--there just isn't as much of a 'car culture'.

I think it gets so heated because helmet wearers feel dorky and hot (I do), and non-wearers feel a bit disgusted by our over-protective litigious society (it is a rather rebellious stand, I think, which I admire a bit, but I wouldn't risk my safety that way). So we're both defensive about the positions we've chosen.

No bad vibes, looks like a great day for riding here, after several yucky wet ones

Nice to reply without quoting the rest of my statements.

The point about NYC is the "apples to apples" statement. I just want to break it down so it's clear:
A. I do not live in China or Europe.
B. I live in NYC.
C. I have access to bicycling safety statistics and my own personal knowledge about NYC traffic because I live in NYC.
D. Using information from China has no relevance to my environment. Being Chinese, having lived in China, having biked in China, I know this as a fact... that bicycling there is different from here.
E. I base my judgement to use a helmet on relevant information, aka the information on NYC biking.
F. Given these arguments, I choose to wear a helmet.

So if you look at my example, it's pretty clear why touting how Europeans and Chinese don't wear helmets is pretty pointless in my environment.

Also, your second statement as to "hedging with a helmet" is not a correct logical conclusion. It has been observed that people, when given the choice, will not always make the logical decision. For example, low income earners in America of certain demographics would rather eat fast food than healthy food, even if the price and convenience were the same. You would think that given the choice between a quick, healthy meal at the same price as a quick, unhealthy meal, people would choose the one that will not result in a heart attack and 50 lbs. down the line. That isn't so.

To conclude, while I agree with your implications that the actual helmet is not the most important safety device and that if this were an ideal world, the driving culture and the road systems would protect bicyclists, sadly America is not at that point yet. So I would still wear a helmet in the USA. In the Netherlands, maybe I wouldn't. In China, I would wear body armor because the drivers are so bad.

I work in an ICU. I see a lot of traumatic brain injuries--most from car and motorcycle, but a number of bicycle accidents as well. Many of these folks don't make it and the ones who do often have a lifetime of profound impairments and handicaps. Unless I were to see rock solid evidence that helmets cause more harm than good, I am going to assume that helmets absorb at least some of the shock to the skull and are therefore worth it. I often wish I could take people to work with me and show them what it looks like to be in a car wreck without a seatbelt or to crash a motorcycle without a helmet. I don't like wearing a helmet--I like the feeling of the wind and having one less thing to lock up or take with me, but there is no way I'll ride without one.

Then I can only conclude that bicyclists in China are utterly reckless and nonchalant when it comes to their own safety. Because, after all, the drivers are so bad ...

But wait — self-preservation is a primal impulse (fast-food analogies notwithstanding), so isn't it possible that vast swaths of the globe contain people who have done their own benefit analysis and arrived at different conclusions? NYC is fascinating, and all, but the OP is asking about a residential ride on a mountainbike in central Florida.

My boss told a co-worker he could no longer sit on his exercise ball because it's "non-standard equipment" and could leave the company liable for "injuries" sustained in a non-ergonomic environment. Is there a sense in which Americans are overprotective and occasionally paternalistic when it comes to their perceived well-being? Wouldn't this debate about helmets seem peculiar to the average Dutchwoman?

a.) yes
b.) yes
c.) yes

I am an avid mountain biker (Santa Cruz Juliana = LOVE), roadie and commuter. I can't believe you have see a single mountain biker wearing a helmet. I don't think I have see but one true mountain biker NOT wearing a helmet.

In Anchorage Alaska, a guy was recently hit while crossing a crosswalk by a right turning car. His family says he normally ALWAYS wears a helmet, he didn't this time and it was the one time he got hit. He continues to be in a vegatative state, severe head injuries. The right turning vehicle wasn't going very fast, it is reported the driver was at a full stop before turning into the crosswalk and hitting the guy.

It only takes 1 time.

A bonk on the head can do major damage, weither it's at slow speeds, fast speeds or not. Do some internet research on head injuries and you will figure it out. Best to be protected, why take chances??

I think you had a type but meant, "I can't believe you have not seen miuntain bikers wearing helmets". And I am shocked as well, but they really do not wear them in my area at all. I only see the hard core roadies wearing them. It is why I posed the question in the first place. I was shocked to see almost no one ever wearing a helmet. But then again, here in Florida more people do not wear helmets on motorcycles than do as well. Seems too risky to me as well.

I worked in a level one trauma center, and more times than not the motorcycle riders without helmets involved in significant accidents did not make it. The whole argument here in Florida is a person is more prone to paralysis with a helmet due to the bouncing effect a helmet may create. These people contested that they would rather be dead than paralysed and won. Hence, no helmet law for adults in Florida.

I've decieded to wear a helmet. Thanks for all your input.

The survey is much more in favor of helmet use vs no helmet use. I am actually even surprised to see how overwhelming the helmet use response has been.

Thank you all.

Question...anyone wear anything under their helmet to help absorb sweat?

Exactly. A residential ride in central Florida is not like NYC and not like China or Europe. That's why the points about China and Europe are irrelevant in giving a recommendation to the OP.

To be logically consistent, I would just be as irrelevant if I was making a recommendation to the OP based on my NYC experiences. However, I never made any recommendation to the OP in my posts. I just stated that given the facts about my location, I choose to wear a helmet.

Thank you for seeing my point. I won't lengthen this thread with any additional replies.

Yep, on the bike, under the helmet. Everytime.

Your central point goes unreceived. A residential ride in central Florida may well resemble one in many parts of China or Europe. It will pointedly not resemble one in New York City.

Mountain biking, always. I like to do stupid things sometimes, though why I don't wear pads as well is beyond me...would do me more good. Quote of the day is from Ferngully's Batty: "Oh, this is gonna hurt..!"

Road riding...meh. It's a coin-toss for 15-mile radius, with allowances/exceptions made for weather, full moon, luck meter, impending holidays, and superstition omens. (no puns or humor intended...that's my equation!) Anything "long distance" or that takes me on certain roads gets labeled as "helmet mandatory" because of the way people drive.

I think of the helmet like a seat-belt in a car: I figure it's more likely to do good for me than bad, and so it's worth it. In most cases, modern helmets (with the plethora of holes and angles) seem to keep my head cooler than no helmet, and from mountain biking (where a helmet has saved my head for certain on more than one occasion), it's become instinctual for me to strap the helmet on before every ride.

It really boils down to local law and/or personal preference.

I am the OP.

Went for a 12.5 mile bike ride tonight with my helmet (for the first time). I did not even notice it was on. Granted it wasn't really that far and it was an evening ride.

Will be riding with a helmet from now on.

For the record...Passed quite a few other riders tonight, and non of them had a helmet on.

A helmet to me is more about safety. I wear my helmet 90% of the time since I got more serious into my riding. For me when I ride on the road I 99.9% of the time always wear my helmet. In my area the cagers are aggressive and pricks. Suburban cagers that always drive everywhere and complain about being fat.

Tho what I have experienced while riding on the bike paths/trails/rivines is that you could ride slow without a helmet and the chance of head injury is IMHO less then on the road, in residential streets, or on the sidewalk. Tho I would still wear my helmet whenever I ride for safety reasons. As someone said before and I agree with, concussions you can heal, scrapes while painful you can heal, broken limbs can heal, but if the head takes permenent damage you're screwed.

If the helmet looks goofy too you or something and you want to look more stylish then spring the extra fundage for one of those stylish helmet.

Zero_Enigma

I am not familiar with the word "cager". Does it mean car driver?

My helmet has saved me from pain, and that's good enough for me. Even a small tumble can knock your noggin into the pavement hard. I feel naked riding without one.

On the other hand, the evidence as to whether helmets make cyclists safer is debatable (there is a sticky on that, so I won't go into it here), so I wouldn't force other cyclists to wear one.

One non-safety advantage is that if you are in an accident, your word will likely have more value to the cop, insurance adjuster, etc. Much of the public (acurately or not) equates wearing a helmet with being a safe rider. I'm not saying that's right, just that it is.

Yes. As in driving while trapped in a steel cage.

Here are some real scenes from quiet suburban streets.

I had a friend who rode his motorcycle out of his driveway and went up the street. A woman he had grown up with, who lived 3 doors down from him, did a left turn in front of him, putting him in the hospital for a couple of weeks.

I had one bad accident was in an alley. I came slowly around a corner and suddenly was front wheel to front wheel with a 5 year old on a bike with training wheels on the wrong side of the alley. The kid was okay except for some bruises, but my front fork was bent.

Another time, about two blocks away, I was coasting down a hill, a little girl was riding down the sidewalk a little ahead of me, same speed and direction. Suddenly a car pulled out and stopped, preparing to make a right turn. She was waiting for me as I had right of way I guess. The girl slammed into her car and rolled over the hood. As the witness to the accident, I had to tell the cop that I felt that the child was entirely at fault. The driver was just obeying the law.

Are streets like you ride dangerous? You bet.

Technically, an automobile acts as a Faraday cage, protecting it's occupant's from most of the danger of lightning strike. ;o)

Check out a page in the Commuters forum. Title: What do you commuter guys look like?

I think on page 5 there is a picture of a guy who had a pretty bad bike accident, he's OK but his face is all cut up, and helmet was impacted. Part of his glasses had to be surgically removed from his head.

The story is a few posts after the picture.

Not an environment I'd likely be riding in, but impact is impact.