Lossy

So I was riding my bike to work for the first time since my daughter was born. That was over a month ago. Since the car was down, I said goodbye to the wife and kids and headed off.

The very first turn I take in the parking lot, I go down. Hard. I hit my head pretty hard and the helmet seems to have done nothing. No real marks on it. I think it just doesn't cover the back of ones head.



Any recommendations? I don't want to go naked.

squegeeboo

You could grab a ski/snowboard helmet, although I think it might FUBAR your peripheral vision.

max-a-mill

so your saying you managed to hit your head but not the helmet on the ground??? can we get a play by play on what happened?

i just cracked my second helmet mountainbiking the other week in a nasty crash... i can tell you they do work!

it's not that i don't beleive you, i just don't understand how you can hit you head on the ground but not the helmet.

Lossy

Well the ice managed to make the fall fast enough I cant say exactly what happened. However what I believe happened is the back of the helmet is pointed and the ground may have pushed it out of the way. I had the straps tight, but was wearing a ski mask since it was below freezing.

OR

I may have hit my head against the helmet, but it was not enough to deform the helmet.

I was probably only going 12-14.

A_Str8

They're not foolproof. As you can see by the possibilities you listed, there are a bunch of scenarios where a helpet wouldn't help. They reduce the risk of head injury but don't remove it.

N_C

Since you had a ski mask on it is possible the helmet slipped out of the way because fo the mask being between your head & the helmet. Most if not all helmets recommend against this. I have had personal experience of a helmet slipping because of a headband or something between my helmet & head in the event of a crash, though thankfully when that happened I did not hit my head. Since then I refrain from wearing anything between my helmet & head.

If you are concerned about keeping warm, instead of a ski mask there are helmet covers for winter riding & a face wrap that covers your ears & face but goes around your head, not over it under the helmet.

jeff-o

You'll find that a helmet cover, or even a built-in weather shield as I have described here, will keep your head toasty warm and won't be compromised by wearing thick headwear underneath.

ItsJustMe

That doesn't look NEARLY warm enough for the weather we've been having recently. I'd think at the very least you'd need an ear/face shield like this. I run with full goggles, a PSolar HX balaclava, and a helmet cover, and in the -20*F weather lately, the little strip of skin between my goggles and balaclava (when the balaclava slipped down) got painfully cold in the few minutes before I tucked it back up again.
I think I'd lose my ears with just that helmet mod, and maybe my face too.

JeffS

+

I wear a helmet, but tend to think they're pretty pointless. I think someone truly concerned with protecting their head would be wearing something with some side and rear protection. I see the possibility of hitting the side or rear of my head being hundreds of times (or more) greater than hitting the top - especially on the street. Even with some of the bigger MTB falls I've taken, it's never been on the top of my head.

Come to think of it, both motorcycle wrecks were the side of my head as well.

I think bicycle helmets were a compromise by manufacturers. Big enough to claim protection, small enough that people would still buy them.

acidinmylegs

You could look into the Giro Xen. It's a mountain bike helmet that covers more of the back of your head. Sort of a cross between the Skate helmet that was mentioned above and a normal mountain bike helmet.

max-a-mill

so your saying the helmet hit the ground (doing what a helmet does protecting you noggin) then slipped and then your head hit?

sounds to me like the helmet saved your @ss! how hard would you have hit your mellon if no helmet where there to get knocked out of the way?

protecting the back and sides is good for protcting scrapes but thats not what a helmet is for. it is for cushioning the initial impact between your soft head (and then only the top where your brain is) and a hard object...

The Figment

Try one of those skateboard helmets (You know,one of those x-games looking things) it seems that they are made to cover more of your head,also they are desigened for mulitple falls (how many times would one fall in a halfpipe?) my wife is a klutz and that is what she uses...also the local teenagers don't laugh and point amd mumble comments about the "Giro Geek" plus you can waer one of your favirote ball caps underneth if you need a brim for the sun

JeffS

You should really put some more thought into your theory. Start with where your brain is located, and then think about how easily most bicycle helmets move around on your head.

If you don't think I can access your brain by smacking the side of your head with a moving object, such as a piece of asphault, you are mistaken.

max-a-mill

jeffs i don't know what your trying to say but... if you hit your head on the ground really it's really easy to get hurt pretty bad pretty easy. helmets are there for that not to stop the side of your head from getting scraped up in a crash.

and btw helmets don't move easily if they fit properly...

jeff-o

Well, of course you'd wear a face mask to protect your nose, mouth and ears. But, I've found the helmet to be surprisingly warm. My hair is buzzed quite short, and even in -18C weather my head was quite warm. If I'd worn a skullcap or something underneath it probably would have been too warm. I've got some mylar on the way, the same stuff they use to make emergency blankets, and I may replace the nylon with the mylar to see if I can get the helmet even warmer...

Lossy

I'm saying that because there was a layer in between the helmet and my head it is POSSIBLE that the edge of the helmet hit the ground, absorbing no force, was pushed to the side and allowed my head to hit.

Or, it could have been any number of other things. I'm going to see if I can figure something else out, or I could procrastinate it to the next winter season.

CrosseyedCrickt

so that's why boxers never get brain damage!!
oh wait a minute...
they do

ever think about how getting knocked out works?
yeah...