Do you wear a helmet

timmywex

never did, never will, dont even have one

ash h

I wear the whole time when im dh'in but then again nearly everyone does.
When im street riding or bmx'in i dont.If i had a p**spot i probably would though.

Quigs Snr

I won't leave home without mine. A lot of my club don't wear them on training spins and I think its daft, they have to wear them in races so they should wear them in training if for no other reason than to get used to it, especially considering that we would routinely exceed 70kph on downhills.

At any rate, they improve your chances of surviving the average fall. Go to any bike race and there is every chance you will be in a crash, if you land on your head you could die, its as simple as that. The risks are too high not to. I cracked a helmet once, standing on a very steep climb with my weight too far forward causing the back wheel under pressure to slip on the wet ground, which put me enough off balance for me to go straight down right on the top of my head, I was only doing about 4mph, walking pace, at the time, the helmet was a write off and I had the headache from hell, but I am convinced I would be dead or a vegetable (more so than I am now anyway !) if I wasn't wearing my helmet that day. I am so used to the helmet now that I would feel naked without it.

I am only a recent convert though. Did not get my first helmet till 2 years ago, same reasons as most people, didn't want to look like a spanner, well wearing lycra doesn't make you look cool, I have never seen anyone look cool in spandex shorts, a helmet and glasses if anything disguise you even more, so I would argue that they make you look better (in that no-one will actually recognise you !)

murphm45

I always do and can't understand why people don't (vanity seems to only reason i can find, but i'm willing to listen to others).

I crashed a bike a few months ago, which could have been a lot worse had i not had a helmet on. Hasn't been a pleasant few months but i'm sure relative to being in a box it paradise!!!

(It's not my intention to offend anyone but if i did sorry)

dub_skav

Had whip-lash(strained neck mussels) for about 2 weeks.

Your whiplash/strained neck muscles would probably have been worse wearing a helmet, given that the torsional effect on your spine would have been increased by the added radius of the helmet.

It is for that reason that I do not wear a helmet. I keep my chin to my chest if I crash and roll to my shoulders or arms and my head has never come into contact with the ground, wouldn't be so sure if I had a helmet on that I could keep its extra width away from the ground.

I have crashed a number of times - not in the past few years since my cycle craft has improved - and my head has never come in contact with the ground. This includes writing off a motorbike (I was of course wearing a helmet) where I was catapulted over the car in front of me and landed on the road. Rolling to my shoulders meant that my helmet didn't touch the ground and there was not a scratch on it.

Civilian_Target

murphm45 wrote:

I always do and can't understand why people don't (vanity seems to only reason i can find, but i'm willing to listen to others)

http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/digest/helmet_research.html

rubadub

murphm45 wrote:

I always do and can't understand why people don't (vanity seems to only reason i can find, but i'm willing to listen to others).

Read any of the threads here, plenty of reasons given. I imagine there are 1000's of situations that you put yourself in and could have protective clothing but do not bother.

murphm45 wrote:

(It's not my intention to offend anyone but if i did sorry)

I found it a little offensive, not as bad as some other comments though.

rubadub

ThOnda wrote:

There is only one study - ONE! - that says that cyclist wearing a helmet is being overtaken by cars in closer distance.

Oh, only one, may as well totally ignore it so, how many does there have to be before you will allow it to be mentioned.

ThOnda wrote:

So, what's the point about this discussion?

if you bothered to read the thread you would see plenty of people are completely ignorant as to why people choose not to wear a helmet. People are completely ingorant to any reasons why it could in fact endanger them. Some reasons are theorized (e.g. invincibility syndrome, similar to SUV drivers), and some replies have confirmed my thoughts on this issue, people saying they are more wary without a helmet, so I expect they will cycle safer. There are studies showing increases in head injuries when mandatory helmets are brought in. Some cannot understand how this could possibly happen so people give a reasoned hypothesis as to why.

ThOnda wrote:

Helmet could and should reduce stress to your head (brain) when your head hits something hard, mainly due to some accident or fall.

Yes, this goes for any situation. I cannot understand people who will not leave the house without a helmet when cycling yet do not wear it in other situations. If they are that safety concious I would expect they go to all sorts of safety measures. Doesnt anybody have colleagues who hurt themselves in other ways????
I know a guy who crashed on his bike broke both arms, (didnt come close to hitting his head), he thinks I am crazy to even get on a bike. I asked him if he had fallen would he bother walking again? Some here seem so wary I am surprised they cycle at all.

311

I don't know what it is ,but I have far more respect for cyclists that wear helmets ,when I'm driving.

If I see someone not wearing a helmet ,I think muppet.