While waiting for my local lbs to open yesterday I started counting the number of cyclest I saw, nine, yes nine guys riding around all NOT wearing helmets.

None of them looked like the type that would be on this forum and most looked like they were in the 20-40 year old range. Over half of the bikes looked too small for the riders and there was one guy riding a girls bike with a rack on the back and large white wall tires. ALL were riding on the sidewalk, and all were riding like it was their mode of transportation.

I always wear my helmet, but that is me, I also slow down when I get up to about 21 -23-mph as I don't FEEL safe. To each his own.


wll

Better to be anything, than an obnoxious, smug Jack Donkey (without a clue about risk analysis) proselytlizing for a "safety device" of far more emotional value (for the clueless) than any proven significint risk reduction value or significint risk reduction capability for the public.

That sounds almost like the bike I used as my mode of transportation
for my years in VT. A few thousand through ice and snow, sleet etc...
This post makes me realize my theory that I am not a 'cyclist', just
a person who uses a bike for transportation. Big difference, it appears.
Is there a FAQ anywhere about what one needs to buy if they want to
become a real cyclist ?

It would be more logical to preach for never riding a bicycle since you never know when something unpleasant might happen.

yeah, screw the helmet, you wouldn't need the helmet if you weren't on the bike in the first place. bikes are dangerous.

yes.

Having experienced both, I would much rather suffer the lofty insights and chastising from
expert internet bikers over the computer than those of a bigfoot truck full of angry rednecks in
real life. Sidewalk riding is not only good, it shows you to be a rider who can adapt on the fly
and not bound by boorish and ponderous zealotry spewn from others.

Way to totally exaggerate my position beyond any semblance of similarity to what I actually posted.

Life involves risk. You'll be safer staying in bed all day every day than doing anything else. If that's your choice, go for it. I don't think anyone here needs to explain why they choose to live in the world, or ride a bike.

Reasonable people know that some things they do involve a higher level of risk, or a more specific risk (such as increased chance of heart disease, or head injury, or whatever), than other things they might do. Reasonable people know, too, that they can take certain preventive actions to mitigate (not eliminate) that risk, such as eating more healthfully or wearing a helmet when they ride a bike. Other equally reasonable people, knowing both the risks and the benefits, might choose one way or the other whether to take such preventive action.

What is unreasonable is to claim that either the risks or the benefits don't exist, or to paint the people who choose differently than you do as idiots or zealots. Riding a bike involves risks. Wearing a helmet can mitigate that risk.

I did a two day tour in New Jersey about three weeks ago, and almost every cyclist I saw was helmetless. And this in a state trying to ban quick release wheels because they MIGHT fail if not secured properly!

Yes, you never know when an accident or some other situation that puts your head at risk will happen - anywhere, no matter what you are doing...but it is up to the individual to make their own risk mitigation decisions in whatever endeavor they engage in. After 40+ years of riding bicycles in traffic, I don't find it that risky.

I love posting this pic when dimwits spout this nonsense.

Which is ironic, since posting such nonsense is an indication that their brains are already pretty damaged!

Why is it that no one is allowed to post an opinion on guns or helmets without being labeled an idiot?

Why can't we occasionally agree to disagree?

Some wear helmets, some do not. Here, it is only against the law if you are 12 or under. Most of the people I know wear helmets, most of the people I see riding do not. I know idiots in both categories. Does anyone here really think someone is going to read your post, have an epiphany, and post back, "OMG! I never looked at it that way! I see the light! I am a ginormous prick! Thank you for pointing it out! I will immediately start/stop wearing a helmet!"

That is all. Carry on.

One would wish we could, but we have people saying idiotic things while at the same time calling other people idiots.

Maybe staying in bed is riskier than you think. Maybe riding a bike is less risky than you think. Wouldn't a reasonable person try to learn and understand the likelyhood of something happening before making pronouncements about it?

Who says that in riding a bike a person is taking a larger risk of a head injury than someone walking or driving? Who says my personal risk is greater or lesser than the accuser?

In, The Book of Risks, by Larry Laudan, he writes,

Virtually everything is risky so to try avoid risk, should we be reduced to total inactivity? Ponder this; hundreds of thousands of Americans are injured each year on their beds and another hundred thousand or so are injured by the clothing seriously enough to require emergency medical treatment.

Anxiety about risks of life is a bit like hypochondria. In both, the fear or anxiety feeds on partial information.

Risks are almost always a matter of probabilities rather than certainties. Nothing is without risk. Some actions are riskier than others.

We need to measure the magnitude of the risks in question.

Risk management requires 2 things; a modicum of common sense and information about character and magnitude of the risks we may be running.

The media has a habit of picking 2 or 3 risks every season to publicize while downplaying others. It is not so much that they dishonestly state the dangers associated with the “in” risk as that they fail to set that risk into context.

Unless someone can tell you what level of risk is associated with a given activity, then they have no business telling you it is risky to begin with.

How much risk should I be willing to run? This is a an individual choice based on your own beliefs.

There is generally a huge discrepancy between the true magnitude of a risk and a lay persons perception of it.

We chronically tend to minimize or under estimate the size of common risks. There is a reverse tendency to exaggerate the size of rare or unusual ones. By doing this we end up protecting ourselves against unlikely perils while failing to take precautions against those most likely to do us in.

When I'm riding I generally treat it as a faster version of walking. The hardest hit on my head in fact came while walking. Slipped on some ice and was actually airpborne for a split second. If I was a racer or rode like one I'd probably wear a helmet. I do wear one while mtbing. Even in those situations I have no confidence that a helmet would save my life. That hunk of styrofoam is only going to help prevent concussions. Any hit to the head that could cause major trauma without a helmet is going to break the helmet and cause major trauma anyway. There is a small small chance it would make a difference but it would be about the same as wearing a helmet while walking.If your truly worried about head trauma, I'd say use a DOT specified motorcyle helmet. Make sure it's specified as such as some non DOT motorcycle helmets aren't much better than bicycle helmets.

But, but, a DOT motorcycle helmet, would be hot, and heavy, and wouldn't make me look like a racer and make me feel like I was one of the cool, smart kids!

Does it have the integrated VTAS optics? The ability to lock on to cars with a turn of your head and blast them with sidewinders or sparrows would be kewl.

'Y know what I saw more of than I ever have before, while I was in London? Pollution masks on cyclists.



I'd never wear one, but I'd never tell those who do (or don't) that they're crazy to wear one (or not).

After all, what's the greater threat? Just how effective are the devices used to protect against the threat? Who am I to pass judgement on others?

Amen to that.

My climbing helmet works pretty good for that, too.

Someone upthread made the comment that if they were truly effective, motorcycle riders could wear bike helmets. That's true in part, just remember that a motorcycle crash at 45 mph has 4x the energy of a bicycle crash at 22.5 mph, and 16x the energy of a bike crash at 11 mph. Speed kills. (not that that fact stops me from doing 40+ on a downhill - but I won't claim that's safe) Bike helmets really aren't that great against impacts, however - you can't wear them while rock climbing with the Mazamas, or other outdoor groups. Climbing helmets have a much higher safety rating against blunt force impact. Of course, they also don't dissipate heat well.

A couple months ago I was zipping down the street on my way to the FedEx store, and a car cut me off on the way into the parking lot. I hollered at them to watch where they were going, and the woman in the passenger seat yelled "Get a helmet!" I asked her how a helmet would help if they broadside me with their car. She was quiet for about 5 seconds before again squawking "Get a helmet!"
Realizing I may as well have been talking to a brick wall, I rode away and ran my errands.

So, okay. I reread the stuff I wrote and the responses to it. I should've used better manners. Even though I feel strongly about using a helmet and lights for my commute for reasons of my own, there's no need for me to offend or make others feel trammeled on by my views. I should've been more respecful of others' decisions and their reasoning. I shouldn't have been so loose with my language. Nobody needs my permission to ride the way they want to. I hope everybody who was put off by my posts will accept this statement in the conciliatory spirit in which it is intended.

I was drunk at the time, if it matters.

thats a wonderfully mature stance keith. no offence taken, and your character is to be admired.

So can a baseball cap to some insignificant degree. The hard evidence (not emotional anecdotes)that helmets can significantly reduce the general public's bicycling risk any better than nothing at all has yet to be demonstrated in any reasonable manner.