i am a new biker - and just curious - maybe a stupid question. i am in california and when i checked online it says that bike helmet are required for a person under 18 years of age. if you do wear them what's the best one to have? any input ? appreciate it.

Bike helmets are only designed to protect you from the impact of losing balance and falling over. They are not designed or medically recognized as offering any protection from crashes whatsoever and are only specifically suggested/required when cycling over walking or running because the public would never agree to wear them while walking or running.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Schwartz said the following in his expert testimony which led to the passing of a mandatory helmet law in Ontario:
"I have no concrete suggestions for improving helmets. It is always a compromise. You could make a helmet that would be far more efficient or far more likely to cushion the impact, but it would be bigger and heavier, and if you made it big enough and heavy enough nobody would wear it. There is always a tradeoff between size and convenience and effectiveness. Right now we are at some sort of level of convenience that still provides protection."
"There is excellent evidence in the medical literature that shows helmets will mitigate the effects of falling off your bicycle and striking your head. They are designed to reduce the G-force administered to the brain when the head strikes the ground and they are likely effective if the person falls from the height the head is at when a person is cycling. If a cyclist is accelerated by a car, swept up on the hood of the vehicle, to a speed of, say, 40 or 50 kilometres per hour, then the helmet will not work and will not prevent a severe or even fatal head injury. So I think everybody should wear helmets but should have a realistic expectation about what they can or cannot do."

Considering the epidemic of heart disease in America your decision to cycle is perhaps the safest choice you will ever make, but be careful. There's no shortcut for gaining experience and, unlike the steel cage interceding in your first car accident, an inch of styrofoam isn't going to do beans for your first bike accident.

That being said I personally wear a helmet (Bell Metro) sometimes, but not always, because I think it's better than a hat for mounting lights, earmuffs, etc and less likely to get caught in a gust of wind. I also believe that if you are a new biker then you should wear one because you are more likely to fall over until you have more experience balancing on two wheels.

Adults are not legally required to wear helmets in CA. 99% of cyclist, do however, because they're smarter than the law...

No need to spend a ton of bucks on helmets if you're just a casual rider. Just make sure it has the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Council) sticker on them.

Considering that those same cyclists don't wear helmets when driving or walking down the block I have to wonder whether smarts has anything to do with it or if they even know what the CPSC certification tests for.

Helmets make you safer, no doubt about it, but the kind of danger they protect from is not one that concerns me. Call me a fool, but I do not wrap my head in styrofoam when I sleep even though I got a minor concussion a few years ago when I fell out of bed; Do you?

I don't know what things are like in California, but there is a similar law here in Alberta and it is indeed enforced, i've known several young cyclists who have been ticketed because of it.

The best one to have is the one that you enjoy wearing the most. Go find ones you like the look of, and that are comfortable.

Personally, I also like the ones with a back of the head strap system, that system helps make the helmet a bit more secure, and can help reduce pressure points. I would make a personal recommendation to look at helmets that have this feature, many do.

But as SesameCrunch points out, the only critical indicator you really need is acknowledgment that the helmet is certified by your national standard.

Of course a neurosurgeon is gonna tell you to not wear a helmet, he needs you to help buy his yacht. I don't care what all those wordy scientists say. I'd rather have an inch of good styrofoam protect my head in a fall than try to be scientific and see how my head fares when it hits bare concrete unprotected.
I'm very happy with my Limar 550. It keeps me cool and the price is right. A good cheap Bell Helmet is a great way to go too.
Ernest

Not to be presumptuous, but I believe the critical indicator is to protect your head and the fact of the matter is that it's not physically possible to make a helmet that can protect your head in a cycling specific collision while remaining light, aerodynamic, and well ventilated.

Don't fool yourself, all nationally certified standards for cycling helmets make the same compromises: they're light, aerodynamic, and well ventilated enough for cyclists to wear them, but they only protect against falling over whiled stopped. So while they are excellent for walking to the corner store or avoiding a ticket in Alberta, if you want something to protect you from the additional dangers of cycling you'll need something else.

"So I think everybody should wear helmets but should have a realistic expectation about what they can or cannot do." -Dr. Michael Schwartz, Neurosurgeon

I'm sorry for being contentious, but I'd just hate to see anyone be a victim of misinformation. If you want to protect your head in bicycle collision then I implore you, wear a motorcycle helmet if you are willing.

The suggestion is simply made to ensure that the buyer actually gets the helmets that will protect against falling over while stopped, as opposed to one that will not even do that. I don't believe that its likely shops will be carrying helmets that don't even work to a standard, but it could happen. I was suggesting features to look for in a helmet, not whether or not one should wear one.

Neither do I make an attempt to fool myself. I know precisely the level of protection helmets are capable of providing, as that information is readily available.

I did not mention the effectiveness of helmets or dispute whether or not one should wear one besides the fact that there can be fines for not doing so in certain circumstances. I don't usually mention it at all, because its a good way to spark personal opinions into a good flame war.

So, yes, you are being presumptuous. But thanks.

+1 To you for being polite, effective, and accurate.

thanks everyone for the input. better be safe. i sure will get myself one and the one that Big e mentioned looks nice (and the price too).

vic

Two years ago, I went endo over the handlebars of a mtb, flew about 8 ft in the air, and landed on my head. The impact was enough to compress and fracture my neckbone. I had no other injuries other than some scrapes on my face. I don't even recall getting a bump on my forehead where I landed (all 190lbs of me). If I had not been wearing my helmet, I suspect my skull would have cracked open also.

OTOH, without the benefit of any protection, you suffered a concussion from merely falling out of your bed.

And you argue that helmets don't do any good?

I think the concussion was more serious than originally diagnosed.

In Australia, it is compulsory to wear an approved helmet while cycling.

The mere word "helmet" in a thread title is often enough to spark a endless debate... so at BV forums, the word "hermet" is now often used instead!

Obviously the chances of falling over are increased if one is purposely navigating difficult terrain for sport (that's what makes it sporty). I would wear a helmet in that case just as I would wear a helmet if I "tight rope walked" to the store on the curb, but I generally don't like to put myself in danger just for the sake of sport or fun.

Regarding my helmet wearing habits in my bed or on my bicycle, I'd rather not discuss them for legal reasons, but I respect your opinion and simply wanted to point out the facts regarding helmets: what they are designed to do and how they are viewed by the experts who are called upon to advocate them.

There are also statistics showing that a helmet in certain cases can increases chances of injury, no?

With respect (I mean that) that is irrelevant and a bit silly.

I don't wear a helmet except very rarely if I am cycling in a very risky place, but it is mad to suggest that it would not be of advantage to be wearing a helmet if one was involved in many bike crashes.

I tell you what - let's do an experiment in which I hit you on the head using a hammer and moderate force. We can do it twice - once with a helmet on and once without and see which you think did you less damage.

Of course it is obvious that a foam helmet will not save you in every circumstance, but it will in many others. It is the same with the much tougher motorcycle helmets. Cyclists only rarely achieve great speed on their bikes and many crash at sub twenty miles an hour and strike their heads on roads or much worse, on kerbs, but these falls can be life changing for some of them. It would be a huge advantage to have something that would absorb some or part of that energy rather than the full force being applied to a bony enclosure a few mm thick which contains everything that makes you who you are. Landing on your head at twelve miles an hour could give you serious brain damage. It just depends how you fall and you really can't control that much, no matter how agile you are. This is especially true if your bike is unexpectedly nudged or hit full on by something else on the road. You'll have no time to react.

Like I said at the start - I don't usually wear a helmet, frankly, because I feel like a dick wearing one. However, when I said once to someone that I felt foolish in one, he said, 'Helmets are a bit unfashionable, but not as unfashionable as brain damage.'

By the way - I know two people who have serious trauma induced brain damage. One was punched and fell over and knocked his head on the ground and the other fell a few feet (about six) off a ladder and struck his head on a low wall. Neither of them can work and you know why immediately on meeting them. I also know someone who suffered severe personality problems after being knocked out in a game of rugby and come to think of it, my own father has suffered epilepsy for 72 years since he was kicked in the head in a game of football at the age of fourteen. His fits started the day after his accident. The effects on all of these people have been catastrophic although the last two much less so than the others. It doesn't need your brain to be all over the road to change your life completely.

Welcome to the world of cycling. .
...The couple tumbles I've had, the helmet cracked . It would have been my head.. Even with a helmet, once I had a slight headache. What harm comes from saving yourself from most falls. Minor falls being the most common. Besides, my helmet is color co-ordinated with my clubs colors.
I'd wear a helmet. You never know what jurisdiction you might pass thru which requires helmets. Some for all ages. With time, they will feel so common, you'll not realize you have it on. See the link below.
..
Helmet Laws for Bicycle Riders
https://www.bhsi.org/mandator.htm

I might get one of these. I think they look better than the usual sort. Having said that I have a perfectly good one anyway, but I look like a mushroom when wearing it. Still - better than being a drooling eejit I suppose

I used to wear a helmet all the time, when I went mountain biking, as I crashed quite often. Never actually hit my head though, except once, when I broke my arm. I faceplanted in spectacular style, but didn't hit the top of my head which the helmet protected...

Anyway, after a 10 year hiatus, I got back into cycling, now mostly on the road. I went without a helmet for a few months, but eventually when my hat got blown off too many times I decided to look into helmets. It's amazing how far the technology has progressed in 10 years - of course they're still just styrofoam, but now they're comfortable!

I bought a Bell Venture: https://www.bellbikehelmets.com/produ...l.asp?prodID=9

The ErgoDial fitting system is brilliant, for the first time I have a helmet that fits properly, and it looks cooler than the top of the range helmets 10 years ago. I don't know how much protection it offers, and I don't intend to find out - but then I never intended to find out how useful seatbelts are either.

Pithy, yet effective

...
...
...
...
...

I suppose one's views of helmet-wearing is influenced by the type of riding one does.

Most of my rides are pretty "sporty", so I can't see not wearing a helmet at all. On most rides, my max speed is in the 40's (mph) due to some downhill portion. I've exceeded 50 mph a few times (whee!). I am simply not man enough to ride those speeds on asphalt without a helmet. I've even thought of wearing elbow and knee pads sometimes 'cause the thought of skin rash under those circumstances is a little off-putting, to say the least.

Yeah, when I'm just puttering to the store around the corner, I sometimes go without.

Most of my riding is just puttering and with a few exceptions, I try to keep out of the traffic. My absolute worst and most dangerous riding is on narrow roads with fast traffic. I hate those situations and try and avoid them when possible. I always ride with a helmet if I am exposed to fast traffic, but to be honest, with sixty and seventy mile an hour car traffic a foam helmet or any helmet would not save you if you were struck, or fell of in front of something.

We should have more bike paths like the Dutch have.

No doubt, falling over is very very dangerous and I have nothing but respect for anyone that takes this danger seriously enough to wear an appropriate helmet at the pub, climbing ladders, playing rugby, playing football, cycling, showering, or sleeping.

However, given the sparsity of helmets in most of these activities I can only conclude that the vast vast majority of cycle helmet wearing individuals don't take this danger seriously at all and have, instead, been duped out of their own autonomy as victims of ignorance/misinformation.

The only thing I consider more tragic than a disabling injury is being too powerless to make decisions regarding such injuries. While being on your death bed is tragic, being stuck on life support with no way to control your own destiny is downright tortuous and inhumane. Maybe the whole world is engaging in reckless self-endangerment by not wearing styrofoam helmets 24/7, but not only is it better to die with liberty than live enslaved to lies, it's a god damn human right.

Very doubtful. You skull is much much stronger than a flimsy piece of styrofoam. Bike helmets are supposed to keep your brains from scrambling, not your skull from cracking, by gradually slowing you down as the styrofoam compresses.

So if your helmet cracked instead of squashed then not only did it not protect your skull from being cracked, but it also failed to protect your brain as intended. A cracked helmet is like a popped airbag: defective, and judging by the number of "life saving" cracked helmet stories I read there seem to be an awful lot of defective helmets out there. In fact, because of all these defective helmets out there it's been suggested that there's something wrong with the typical government testing methodologies for bike helmets. Unfortunately, as you can see in this thread, most of the helmet proponents care more about the approval sticker than safety; So faulty helmets continue to get certified and helmet wearers cheated.

Given the epidemics of pollution induced cancer, automobile collision, and heart disease I personally think all this helmet banter is pointless, but for those that seek knowledge 'dems da facts.

I'm not man enough to ride at those speeds on asphalt at all. That's motorcycle territory, which means downright suicidal if not surrounded by a metal cage and murderous if surrounded by one.

LOL - you are still falsely drawing a link between the risk of brain injury in a variety of sedentary activities such as showering and sleeping and that of riding an unstable two wheeled device at likely speeds of 15 - 18 mph. Theses situations bear no comparison whatsoever.

Since force is increased exponentially with increases in speed, slipping in the shower will result in a much lower risk of cerebral injury than crashing a bicycle at 18 miles an hour. In the one case, your head might strike something at 5 feet per second and in the second at 26 fps. Lets round it down and say 25 fps. Five times faster.

Using the formula F=mv2, assuming a person weight of 170 pounds, falling in the shower onto your head might result in an impact of 5fps which translates to

170x25 or 4250 (v2 being 5fps x 5 fps)

Whereas in the second case of a 17mph fall onto the head from a bike it works out rather differently:

170x625 or 106250. (v2 being 25 fps x 25 fps)

The force is 25 times as great.


Therefore, I conclude that it is entirely specious to enter sedentary activities like slipping in the shower or falling out of bed into a discussion of the advisability of wearing a cycling helmet.



Right - I am off to the pub on my bike to meet a nice lady. I will endeavour to keep my speed down to 5 fps since I am not in spite of the above going to walk into a pub looking like Mushroom Man.

It is not I that is drawing the link, but the helmets.

Cycling helmets do not function as designed in the latter case (17mph fall). They fail, crack, as if a parachute tearing apart upon deployment. So the only cases where the helmet can possibly provide any benefit at all are those which are precisely comparable to the aforementioned sedentary activities. If, as you say, it bears no comparison then neither does the cycling helmet provide any benefit for cycling.

I doubt many people would pour 16 oz of steaming hot coffee into a cracked 8 oz styrofoam cup claiming, "at least I wasn't burned by the whole 16 oz". So why do they make these kinds of ridiculous gestures when it comes to their heads? You can't have it both ways, either cycling bears no comparison to the aforementioned sedentary activities and the helmet provides no benefit or it only provides benefit for situations comparable to slipping in the shower which begs the question: why aren't those cyclists wearing helmets while riding also wearing them in the shower?

In my case, rbrian hit the nail on the head: there's no sun or wind in the shower, which are the primary kinds of protection I seek from my bike helmet.

Uhh, right. Guess what modern car bumpers are made of? Styrofoam covered in a layer of plastic.

A helmet that has cracked in the course of an accident has successfully absorbed and dissipated a hell of a lot of impact energy that would have otherwise been applied directly to your skull.

A person I was riding with fell, slid, and hit a guardrail post at probably ~20 MPH or more. His helmet shattered where his head hit the post:



The impact left him with a headache. Do you honestly think he would have been better off (or even no worse off) without the helmet?

Personally, I've been involved in two wrecks in which I would have been in serious trouble had I not been wearing a helmet. I, too, thought helmets were (and looked) pretty dumb when I was young, but I'm over it now, and wear them 98% of the time. There's no doubt that they aren't 100% effective 100% of the time, but they sure help.

I don't post here much at all these days, but this topic took my attention. I won't try to argue my point with long wordy scientific reasonings or bore you with my detailed stories of my accidents, but.....From personal experience from my worst accident, (hit by a car doing 50mph from behind, fract vert, leg and head injuries), my helmet did two things:-

1: If you can imagine me being flung through the air after impact and landing on my head, the helmet saved my skull from cracking like an egg shell, it did the job it was made to do, even though it was shattered into 5 pieces and blood soaked. It didn't protect part of my left ear which was gouged away, plastic surgery is a marvel isn't it?

2: The straps of the helmet sliced part of my scalp to ribbons, right to the bone. I now have some nice scars...if you want some pics......

All in all, I wear a helmet to obey the law here in Oz and to protect my noggin....simple.