Yesterday's commute yielded my third cracked helmet. Everything else is unmarred, but it made me wonder how many my fellow commuters have stacked up

So, how many helmets have you all cracked?

0. How many times have you fallen? Did you're crack from falling?

Two.

The first I was in line with the cars on a single lane back street coming up to a roundabout. I was a little close to the car in front of me and when they stopped very quickly I broke my helmet on their back window. I was stunned, and had to pull my forks out so the front wheel would clear the frame, but rode home. The helmet was held together by the velcroed padding. Shouldnt have ridden home.

The second I was again in the lane in a 50kmph zone, but two lanes. I usually was able to do 50 in this zone, so it made sense to take a lane. But a car was turning off ahead of me, so I, along with the other cars, was being held up a little. When it became clear I stood up on the pedals to minimize my affect on the traffic.

The chain slipped, I went down. Broke the back corner of my helmet, broke my collar bone and prolapsed a disc and had sciatic pain for 10 months.

I rode for 4 years in China, but didnt wear a helmet. Now back in Australia where helmets are mandatory.

z

Only one for me so far (summer of 2010). Hopefully I never crack another one, but things do happen.

Not cracked but pretty banged up.

1) 1995. Got stuck between the curb and a bus going downhill with a manhole that was dug out around it. With nowhere to go I slammed the breaks at first but then tried to jump the hole. (I was into mountain biking at the time so jumping that hole seemed doable.) Bad idea since I had lost all my momentum from braking. Went over the handle bars landing face first on the asphalt. Sprained my right arm pretty bad since I never let go the the rear break lever through the flip. The bus stopped and the driver asked if I was OK. I said I was and rode to work not realizing how bad I looked. I had road rash all over my right side from my face to my knee. To this day I have scar tissue on the inside of my right elbow that limits its movement a bit.

2) 2010. Hit a pot hole a few blocks from my house. I knew it was there but forgot about it one afternoon. Stuck my left arm out to signal my turn just as the front wheel got caught in the groove of the pot hole. Lost control of the bike and slammed my chest into the handlebars. Helmet suffered some scuffing as I rolled on the road a few feet. Broke a rib which hurt like hell for two months.

What surprises me is that my worst accidents didn't involve collisions with cars. Back in 1999 I was clipped in a right hook but I never went down but the bike frame was bent just enough to end its life.

I broke my helmet on a really stupid fall crossing a wet pedestrians bridge (my bad for not obeying the 'get off your bike' sign, too), about 2 weeks ago.

I began bleeding and got my eye almost shut close by the swelling. Luckily, it was just a few blocks away from my destination, so as soon as I arrived, they sent me to the ER and were kind as to store my bike. My Aeon helmet actually took most of the hit so I guess it saved my face (and specially my eye) from a much more serious injury. It's still structurally functional I think, so I'm going to keep on using it for now, as it is an expensive helmet (even though it will have to be replaced, eventually). In any case I leave a picture, if anyone has opinions on the condition of the helmet:

1 cracked helmet. Riding in straight line in 2-3" of fluffy snow I hit a sheet of ice under snow. Just enough snow to nullify the studed tire advantage. Boom. My head was ok. My helmet was not.

Two. (Hoping I never get to three ). After being saved from serious head injuries twice by the sacrifice of my helmets, I never ride without one, nor will I allow my kids to.

Three - one fell off the workbench onto the garage floor too many times, the other two were damaged as a result of ill-advised attempts to ride a mountain bike in ways that violate the principles of physics and self-preservation.

Just one to date.

Not a crash, probably just dropped it too many times.



I did sacrifice one helmet to save a nasty head injury but it was more of a sliding scraping thing than an impact and crack.

So that's either one or two depending on your definition.

Zero. I have a bad scuff on one from a fall, that's it.

Just one.

Just one, right outside my house. Luckily, nobody saw it.

Did you know there are multi-impact helmets available now? (example)

Yeah, that's a problem with expensive helmets. You think about how much you spent on it and how much it will cost to replace it and you rationalize continuing to use it. A $20 helmet from a big box you retire and replace without a second thought.

If I was only so lucky.

Zero, but mine has some scrapes on the outside from treebranches.

I've had 3 helmets, bumped head a couple times but never cracked. Mine (Bell Citi) are inexpensive helmets - the expensive ones do not offer any more protection, and not much more comfort.

One, and it was an equestrian helmet during equestrian pursuits. My horse tripped on a cross country course, and I went off over her shoulder, landed on my feet but the forward momentum pushed me forward into a somersault and I planted my noggin into the ground. When I got up, it had cracked like an egg all the way through, held together only by the nylon webbing of the harness system.

My bicycle helmet just fell apart, this time it was as I was getting ready to go home from work. As I snapped the chin strap, I felt a sudden loosening around my head, and several of the straps just disconnected from eachother and the helmet. Since it was a cheap $15 helmet and I'd had it for two years, I sucked it up, and stopped at the LBS on my way home and got one of these:

Zero, but I don't wear one.

I know, I know haha - The helmet has served me well, ventilation is great (as I have long hair) and the crack did not go through, but I'm going to consider buying a cheaper one next time (mayber another Giro).

Zero.

disagree. i have helmets with dozens of air vents bigger than my mouth.

If you value the helmet as a fashion accessory then by all means continue to wear it. Just don't expect it to offer much protection next time.