This is a rant. Nothing else. It can be responded to, or ignored. I need to get this sh*t off my chest.

I see people riding with their helmet's hanging on their bars or on their bags. Now, people ride with skid-lids on or not. I respect and have subscribed to both. If you're not plannning ride with a helm, leave it at home.

I have this vision of people crowded around this fallen, unconscious cyclist scratching their heads thinking, "Why didn't they wear a helmet? Look, it's just there. On their bars. Why didn't they wear it? Oooh, they're brain just got on my shoe, ickky."

And don't tell me it's about fashion. Carrying your helmet on your bars is way stupider than carrying it on your head.

In the words of Mr Miyagi, "Karate yes, okay. Karate no, okay. Karate maybe, swish."

That's it

I carry mine on my bars when I'm only going a short distance but already have it with me. For instance, I stopped at the grocery store on the way home. I wore my helmet on the ride from school, but took it off and left it with my bike when as I shopped. Since the ride back is literally 1 to 2 minutes, I didn't bother to put it on.

Not saying all the people you see are just going for short rides, but some probably are.

And gosh, it takes, like, 5 seconds to put it on.

and less than a second to receive a concussion. Not that I'm preaching, I don't wear mine much either, but I agree with the OP, wear em if you've got em, otherwise why not leave em home.

The people who do not wear their helmets for short rides also probably do not fasten their seat belts for short trips. Where is it written nothing tragic can happen close to home?

I do remember many years of cycling without a helmet before anyone ever thought about wearing one. I even suffered a couple of potentially very serious spills that could easily have resulted in brain injury. My first helmet came with some cautionary information about how debillitating and expensive a brain injury can be.

I like wearing a helmet. I know I am better protected and safer. I also have my mirror mounted to the visor on my helmet and would be lost without it.

I wish humans had evolved so that the brain was in the belly where it belongs, lovingly encased beneath protective layers of beer and fat.

Why? Convenience? I find it much more convenient (in the same situation) to put it on my head than have it swinging into my wheel from the bars.

Not really in search of an explanation, you are free to do exactly what you want, just seems a little odd.

Hell yeah

I wear a helmet so my head doesn't bash the cars up too much. It's just common courtesy people, come on.

Erm. So you think your belly would be better protected than the hard shell cranium we have right now?

i think it's what's known as a "joke," operator

ugh. the helmet on the bars thing reminds me of obnoxious 10 year olds. I spent 2 summers doing bike patrol for my local police dept, where my main job was to enforce the bike helmet law. I'd roll up to kids with helmets on their bars and be like yo, no helmet = citation. and they'd be like, but it's right here! yeah, like it's doing any good there.

When I was younger and bmx'ed my friend used to do this all the time, Then one time it came off his bars and somehow managed to make him endo onto his back. Pretty funny. Whenever I see that I cringe. Much easier just not wearing one.

You know, I sometimes go through this inner dialogue when Im just riding my bike a few hundred yards down the street with my helmet hanging from a brake lever. I think, hey, this is gonna be annoying swinging around like it always does, might as wel place it on my head whikle Iride, and while its up there I might as well buckle it so it wont fall off when I look around etc. Basically, it is friggin DESIGNED to go on your head somewhat comfortably, why "carry it" anywhere but on your head.


reminds me of the inventor of the chain whip:
"hmmm.. I need some sort of tool to hold onto a cog tightly.. what could I design to do that? OH WAIT, a chain is SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED to grip onto a cog and turn it, ill use that.

Well I totally failed.

the best one for me lately is the people who take off the helmet or just never wear one to ride the MUP around here.

in my opinion, on a nice sunny day, it is WAY more dangerous than any street and the only place i have ever tangled with a car is in one of it's intersections.

yet most people seem to think, oh i am on a MUP safe away from the cars...

some moroon on rollerblades can make you crash just as hard as a car.

Agreed. I just timed myself - it takes me 3.7 seconds to put my helmet on my head and buckle it. It would take me at least that long to make sure it was seated securely on the stem.

I totally get the appeal of riding without a helmet. Yeah, on rare occasion I just leave the damn thing at home and let it all hang out. It feels good. If you want to take a ride without the helmet, then just leave it at home. I always have visions of these helmet on the stem riders thinking they'll have time to throw it on real quick when that car backs out of the driveway without looking...

in chicago i believe theres a helmet law such that messengers can avoid tickets by putting them on their bags

yeah they're really sticking it to the man by having that helmet bouncing around getting in their way and providing no protection all day.

Seriously whats wrong with the type of moron who would rather have a helmet slapping around all day then just wear it even when its below freezing.

When I was younger my mum would make me wear a helmet. Once I got around the block from my house I would take it off and put it in my bag or on the bars.

These days I almost always wear a helmet. However on some longer rides in the summer it can be really nice to take off the helmet for a little more ventilation and wind in your hair action. The bars are the most conventient place to put it without needing to pull over. I don't think thats what the OPis really talking about though. I never ride anywhere in the city without my lid firmly attached to my head.

I see this all the time. It is truly baffling.

I see this from the high school kids in my neighborhood. I'm guessing that they put them on when they leave the house, take it off once out of mom's sight, and back on again (maybe) when they get to school.

Stupid kids. With their clothes and their hair and their Rock And Roll music!

"Choose life....

Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family, Choose a ****ing big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers."

Yeah, I wear one.

Interesting. Illinois is a no helmet state and I worked for the traffic division for the gov. for a while and never heard this. Could be something new though, not that the cops would enforce it often, if ever.

I actually carry 2 helmets, one for my head and one to protect my stem.



It's a REALLY nice stem.