So you're saying all of us helmet-wearers are like giant pedaling PENISES!?

:roflmao:

That's what my wife keeps telling me. :D I guess she should know...

Ah, the bliss of marriage...like riding without a helmet!

;)

Or, depending on the circumstances (and positions), wear a helmet when head banging activity is anticipated in bed.

Is your headboard made of concrete and are you at risk for falling several feet down onto it, most likely at a speed of more than several mph?

I'm usually a helmet wearer... about 95% of the time.
But there are times that I'm just riding down to the corner store, and the OP is right...
It feels like I'm 10 years old again, and I'm riding my ol' Stingray down to the creek to catch crayfish.

Oh me, oh my! :rolleyes:

I think I found the secret to get everyone worked up...

Throw the words "naked" and "helmet" together and watch the feathers fly!

Now how about some those of you who follow "politics", and don't forget the "religion" issues.






/runs for the hills/

:D

Yes, because that is how I make it with the old lady. :rolleyes:

Several feet? OMG!
I have the coordination of a drunk person while walking. Should I wear a helmet then? I am far more likely to fall due to my bad ankle than tipping over from a dead stop.

You do realize you are posting this drivel to someone who wears a helmet 99% of the time don't you?
It is my opinion that you safety nannies are ludicrous at best. That and this argument is obscenely silly.

In summary, this saturday I will take a banana up into the mountains, throw the peel off to the side, and ride helmet less. :p

Preventable head injuries aren't trivial, and naked preventable head injuries are obscene.
Everyone should sleep on mattresses on the floor and wear helmets (in bed) ..............and have thick carpeting on the floor................................................................................

OooOoOOO! ...and padded walls. :p
I tend to walk into them as well.
<-- klutz

I switched to clips BECAUSE of playing in traffic. IMHO it's seriously dangerous to ride in traffic with platforms. I switched right after a ride one day when I wound up at the front of a line of cars at a stoplight, it was raining pretty hard, and there was a truck right behind me. When the light changed, I lost my footing on the platforms TWICE due to the wet sneakers on the pedals. Nothing like almost falling, and losing your momentum, in front of an F350 that's accelerating.

Right that minute I decided to go clipless.

BTW, OP, put your mirror on your helmet, and you'll never forget it again. Once in a while I start out without my helmet (maybe 3 or 4 times a year max) but I get about 50 feet, go to check my mirror (habit) and no mirror. I go back and get my helmet.

+1

I've never used anything but flat platform style pedals. I've taken to using basic rectangle metal pedals with the teeth - they fit nicely into the treads on a pair of comfy skateboard shoes. I just stick the bolt on reflectors on one side only, so the pedal is always at a slight angle when at rest. The benefit is that when I stomp a foot down on the pedal without looking, it's always at the right angle to flip up against my shoe, and I have the reflective surface pointing behind me.

As to helmets - this has been covered many times here on BF. My understanding is they provide a benefit should you fall over (the vertical factor of the impact) however I'm under no delusion that a few inches of cooler foam will do any good against vehicular impacts, or anything at a decent speed. Most times I don't bother unless I happen to remember.
I'm more of a cycling glove advocate, having ripped my palms open during a wipe out many more times than I've ever hit my head. I didn't have them this morning and THAT made me feel naked.

I can trip and fall when walking to the coffee shop, and my head has over 6 feet of travel to make it to the concrete. Should I wear a helmet when walking around?
I can accidentally suck in a lungful of water while swimming, should I always wear a snorkel while swimming, to reduce this risk?

If you spend your life worrying about what could happen, and how to protect yourself from all these "might be" situations, you'll never go out and enjoy anything.

:D

Dang, I rememer that...and that rope we used to swing across the creek, around the other side and back.

:D

Guess nowadays, you'd need a helmet for that... :p

But since I spend so much time on the road in traffic, now, it's common practice. (Today I put the bike in the trunk :eek: and dropped the car off for my son when he comes off the bus. The ride home without a helmet was...nice...maybe 2 miles or so.)

Hey, I'm a guy whose helmet saved his life, or at least, kept me from permanent brain damage. I believe in them, in general, and wear it. (Pete Fagerlin might argue I still got brain damage. :D )

You cur! :mad: :mad: :mad:

I think your are wrong on people wishing that they had a nice helmet. In other countries, ie Japan, Korea, And European states people use bicycles for transportation normally. Men ride to work in their business suits without worry because of full chaincases, women ride in designer heels and skirts, and old women pile on the groceries. Not a cycling glove in the lot. I think businessmen can afford helmets and if your have a LV bag in your basket your can scrape up some cash for a helmet. It is very unlikely to hurt your head in a crash in a society that treats bicycle transportation with respect.

I find many commuters in America have sports cycling so ingrained in their thoughts that they are unable to ride to work in street clothes. I hop on my bike an go, but i do realize traffic is dangerous so I wear a helmet in it.

I am returning to Japan this August on a Fulbright Grant and can't wait to just bop around town without a care. For now it is still hopping on the bike but I have to assert my right to be on the road on a daily basis. But most drivers are nice, its the few that aren't that can ruin your day. In my opinion forget the clipless and other bike gear unless you commute as part of a training program. If you just want to go to work, then just go.

cur?

That's what I do now. But as someone else mentioned, I DO wear the gloves because guess what breaks your fall when (if) you go down? Yep, your hands. Instinct makes you stick out your hands and point your head away from danger (if you're sliding on the road chances are you are not pressing your head into the ground).

Anywho, I did not feel naked this morning. Had my gloves on.

That being said, I will still wear the helmet when conditions warrant. On a longer weekend ride, in the winter (when chances of falling are greater) etc.

+1


It's a better rational than the lame-duck "darwin" arguments of the safety nannies on this forum.

seeing my buddy's road rash face after he woke up 3 days after being run off the road by an 18-wheeler got me to wear a helmet. he would've been dead without his helmet. helmets don't bother me and i think it would be a weak way to go out if it was preventable by wearing one. it's basically wearing a setbelt. you can ride for a long time without wearing one but if you don't have it on when you need it, yer screwed.

I have never worn a helmet on my 4 mile backroad commute. However I went through a phase when I started riding last year where I wanted all the gear including a helmet (MTB, road), gloves, and spandex. I felt like it helped me when the going got tough and offered some protection as well.

Now a year later and a lot stronger I'm swinging back the other way. Instead of tights and a riding shirt I'll usually commute in a T-shirt and whatever shorts I have on (until fall at least). On my road bike I don't even don spandex unless I'll be riding for a least a couple hours. My Look style pedals and road shoes are getting replaced with SPDs and recessed cleat treking shoes. I can see myself losing the helmet for casual cross country mountain biking soon (though glasses will always be a must). I used to eat powerbars and gell packs and mix accelerade in my bottles. Now I only do this if I'm going more that 40mi on the road. I'm really appreciating simpler bikes with less gears and highly compatible componentry.

I ride bikes because I like too and I like simplicity. Fitness is a nice bonus. I'm not seeing any monetary benefit as I've bought 3 bikes in the last year and spent hundreds and hundres of dollars on parts and accessories.

I'm getting a hankering to get more simple... aka build a onespeed or possibly a 3 speed (don't want internal hub though)... don't know enough yet so it's somewhere in the future.

Your monetary benefits will come next year unless you continue to buy three bikes per year. Once you stop buying the bikes, it's just gizmos and doodads that you will be shelling out for, CAR INSURANCE though is forever.

I like simplicity, complexity, and everything in between. Currently I have a hankering to build a fixed gear from a SOMA frame this winter.

Really? Should I wear a helmet when I run to work? Would you? There aren't sidewalks spanning the entire distance between home/work, so I deal with traffic in much the same way as on a bike - intersections, roadsides, etc. I've been nearly sideswiped, nearly broadsided, and nearly left/right hooked by autos while running just as I have while cycling. I also travel over 10+ miles/hour (5:45-6:00/mile pace for about 30-40 minutes), so I'm running at comparable speeds to quite a few cyclists I see. In fact, I occasionally pass some bicyclists when I'm going up hills (they smoke me on the downhill :)). But, believe me, you're not gonna get me to wear a helmet while running because I find the idea ridiculous.

But, to paraphrase you, a somewhat leisurely bicycle ride without a helmet is foolhardy nonsense. Thus, using your logic, running a similar pace, to the same destination should also necessitate a helmet, yet I don't hear outcry for runners to wear helmets. In fact, I find this apparent inconsistency of standards between runners and cyclists unusual because biped transportation is much more prevalent than cycling...there should be a pedestrian helmet law! [note sarcasm here]

The fact remains that a helmet may adequately protect you from a head injury if you crash your bike and only your mass determines the force of impact. If an auto hits you at speed, that helmet is very likely inadequate protection against the applied forces.

I hesitate to get into this thread again...

Its a shame the "helmet debate" ever reached the fever pitch and the entrenched viewpoints for which it has become famous. This is far more a reflection of society than it is on the true requirement or effectiveness of bike helmets.

All we need to know is that helmets are available to minimise the risk of incurring certain types of head injuries while cyclling. This may or may not save your brain function or life according to exact circumstances and it is provided for you to use at your discretion*


Ed

*unless mandated by law.