I noticed there were a lotta people on these forums from Seattle and just had a few questions.

1) What LBS do you go to?
2) Ever hear of someone getting fined for riding helmet-less?

1. recycled cycles or performance in the u-district, or veloce velo, rei, performance when i'm back home on the eastside
2. no

Recycled Cycles is usually great and right by my house.

Sometimes they do ****ty work because they are used to piss-poor college kids basically saying, "Make it spin, I don't care if it's safe."

They do much better if you know what you want.

Velo Bike Shop is on my commute home so I stop by there periodically.

I have friends that work at Gregg's Greenlake and Performance, so I visit those occasionally too.

Wright Bros in Fremont is great too. They have a co-op you can join; all you can use bio-oil and every tool under the sun.

Recycled Cycles most of the time. REI on occasion.

I go to Hello Bicycle when Im in beacon hill, Recycled Cycles when Im in the U Dist., Elliott Bay Bike Shop when Im downtown, and Velo when Im on Capitol Hill. I'd like to check out Montlake Bicycles, and 20/20 sometime soon.

Ive never gotten a ticket for riding without a helmet, and Ive passed cops several times.

Montlake has a lot of money stuff and some good mountain bikes. Actually, they have a fairly diverse bike selection considering the size of the shop. Their service is spotty though. I think they help customers based on how much money they think they'll get out of them.

I feel like I've been to 20/20, but I don't remember when.

I like Counterbalance too, but I'm never around either of their shops.

It's probably also worth mentioning that I'm a boring commuter type who primarily rides his geared bike with a helmet, so my ideal shop may differ from yours.

Ah k. I'm in the UDistrict so pretty much just in the middle of everything it seems. I'll check some of those places out. Thanks muchos.

Me and 2 buddys of mine are going to Recycled Cycles today if you feel like meeting up if you need any help with anything. PM me if you like. Im looking for different clips today

I'd love to, but today's such a ****ty day. 2 midterms tomorrow morning that I should actually be studying for right now hah.

I agree with everyone about recycled, and the used parts bins are nice. R+E cycles near cowen park is great too. they are definitely more pricey but everybody there seems to be genuinely interested in helping you out. I live down near that end of the ave, so I've had them order parts for me before (VERY fast service).

they also seem to have events sometimes... I think there was fat tire beer sampling and hotdogs once? I drool over the rodriguez track build they have in the window whenever I go by.

Velo on Capitol Hill has friendly Staff.
R + E is great.

A kid at my work has been fined 3 times for not wearing a helmet.
Depends on the cop, I think.

Helmet laws sometimes have an age stipulation. Here in Oregon it's 16yrs and under are legally required to wear helmets. You might wanna check it out.

Furthermore...as someone who has survived being hit by a car on two separate occasions, both 100% motorists' fault...the second of which got me an ambulance ride and an overnight hospital stay...wear a damned helmet.

well in vancouver, washington you're required to wear a helmet.
i've been stopped once by a cop and he just gave me a warning.

you shoudl still wear a helmet.

I know they're required by law in Seattle and that I really should, but I just dislike wearing them.

Is anyone going to the Critical Mass tommorow in Seattle

Someone once told me, in relation to riding motorcycles, if you ever find yourself getting too comfortable riding a motorcycle, that you feel like you don't need to wear protective gear you should strip down naked, run and to a Pete Rose dive on the pavement. And that won't be anything near to what would really happen if you ate it on a motorcycle.

I think the same analogy applies to cycling. The average person can sprint 9 miles an hour...sprint and dive headfirst on to pavement. Then wear a helmet.

But enough preaching...maybe you should ask why you don't like to wear a helmet. Is it because it's uncomfortable? You don't like the way it looks? In the grand scheme of things...you should spend whatever money it takes on a helment you like to wear. If it's a $125 helmet...trust me, it's worth it.

I would assume people prefer to not wear helmets not only because they don't like the way it looks or feel, but they may also believe that it obscures their vision to some degree and while it protects them from accident it increases their chances of being in one as they are less aware when they wear one. Also they may not like having to carry it with them when they get off the bike. It is nice to not have a bunch of crap with you when you get where you are going.

[I heard that] statistically speaking, cyclists wearing helmets get in accidents with cars more frequently than those not wearing helmets..

BUT

the reason is that drivers feel like cyclists who "appear more safe" need less room to breathe than those not wearing helmets. I have NO sources to back this up, but the concept stuck with me.

I wear a helmet, but I realize that if I was driving a car and saw someone without a helmet who looked like they were just pissing around on the street, I'd consider them to be less aware of the danger of riding in traffic. Anyone have thoughts on this?

I think this is incredibly subjective. Yes, maybe some drivers do give more breathing room to lid-less bikers but it certainly isn't a hard and fast rule that all motorists abide by.

More importantly-

I would say 95%+ of car/bike crashes are not with cars that saw the cyclist well before they hit him/her. Arguing about how much room cars give you when they see you is a moot point because you can't guarantee the car who hits you ever saw you before you were rolling across their hood or being thrown to the pavement!

God, anti-helmet arguments are always just absolutely hilarious. "You're more aware when you don't have that safety net." "Drivers give more room to someone who appears unsafe."

It's as ridiculous as saying, "I started smoking because I appreciate the robust and full-bodied taste of the fine Turkish and Domestic tobacco blend of Camel cigarettes." You know you only want to look "cool"...

Anyways, Seattle. All I can say after spending some time in that town is: Boy, I'd sure want some gears.

That's laughable....whoever makes that claim isn't wearing their helmet correctly.

Yeah I had a very hard time getting up hills when I started riding fixed. Im still on 46x17 gi but I can do most of the hills now that I couldnt do before. San Fransisco riders impress me way more, those hills are gnarly!

Going to critical mass? this would be my first time.
Helmet? cool or not coo, I do (one less thing to worry about)

Really, 3 times? Man that's bizarre, I've really never heard of anyone getting a ticket. I defiantly never have and I've been by tons of cops with no issues.

I live on the Hill so usually Velo or Recycled, haven't been to 20/20 but kinda want to go.

The helmet debate is silly though, you're not going to convince anyone who rides with out a helmet. They will either change from a personal experience and someone else's close to them, or they won't. It's their life, they can live it how they choose.

I went over to Montlake, didn't find what I was looking for, headed to Recycled and got back at 515