Helmet or no helmet?

madandybell

Gonna be taking up road riding in the new year and am after a few opinions on wether to wear a helmet or not. Obviousley I know the pros of using a helmet but thought I'd get a few peoples views first.

As a seasoned MTB rider I've never worn one (apart from my short lived down hill phase)

gkerr4

oh no - this could turn into an epic thread.

I have a helmet but generally I don't wear it unless it is dictated by the event (some sportives require one)

there is a lot of discussion about the merits of a helmet, some swear by them, some say they have little to no effect and some add that the act of wearing one might make you more likely to have an accident in the first place as drivers consider you to be 'safer' therefore don't give a much room.

personally I don't find it that comfortable to wear and i am unsold on the benefits so I don't bother.

your choice really

dcab

drag yer head along a cerb at 30 mph and as yerself the question again?

thiscocks

Unless you find all of them really uncomfortable, I can't think of a reason not to wear one... I will sometimes not wear one when it is really hot and Im on a really long ride. Other than that I always wear one. I have no problem with riders who never do though.

kozzo

Simple example.
During the training - overtaking car rolled over the stone (egg sized) that jumped from under the tire like bullit and hit me right on my head at full speed. Without helmet it would be pretty serious head wound occured at ca. 28 mph.
It ended with big "boom" and just big mark on helmet.
I would never imagine accident like this thinking about use of helmet.
I wear it always from this time.

Your head, your choice...

GavH

I have seen several people fall over whislt standing still (any Forces guys on here will understand - standing perfectly still with a thumping hangover is harder than it sounds!!). In each case, they fainted and thus could do nothing to prevent their heads/faces hitting the tarmac first. The sound is quite phenomenal and the damage that can be done quite bad. One guy broke his cheekbone, dislocated his jaw and had some of his front teeth driven up into the roof of his mouth.
If thats what can happen by falling relatively slowly from a standing, stationary position, I don't even want to imagine what kind of damage would be done coming off a bike at 20-30mph (or more).
I would guess (even with my inexperience in this sport) that none of the posters who say 'don't bother with one' have actually ever had a bad spill which resulted in a head injury.

Ricardo H

I personally feel alot safer when on the road and i've got a helmet on, never had a problem getting too hot in summer (well not this year anyway).

Good fit and light weight are the most important things, i use a bell sweep R and most of the time you forget you've got the thing on

neeb

This is my understanding of it.

Bicycle helmets will absorb a certain amount of energy when your head hits the ground. It's true that there are many very high impact crashes where the amount of energy absorbed by the helmet is pretty insignificant compared to the energy of the impact. In these situations you are probably going to be dead whether you are wearing a helmet or not. The statistics that some of the anti-helmet-wearing people come up with are based directly or indirectly on this, i.e. on the fact that a significant proportion of all of the potentially fatal accidents are of this type.

At the other end of the scale, it is clear that a helmet is going to make a big difference to the outcome in lower energy collisions of the type that cause serious concussion and other nasty injuries, and that it might make the difference between serious concussion and permanent injury, or permanent injury and death, if the impact energy is at the level where either could happen. And the thing is that MOST head injuries from cycling are probably in this (relatively) lower energy category, so the likely benefit of wearing a helmet (and even of it saving your life) is increased.

So to say there's no point wearing a helmet is a bit like saying there's no point being immunised against a bunch of tropical diseases before going abroad because there is one disease out there that is always fatal and which the inoculations won't protect you from.

alfablue

Well it has been a few weeks since we have had a helmet debate. I suppose I may as well speed things along a bit...

Firstly, I am very surprised the OP DIDN'T use one for mtb'ing - the risks of hitting the ground or trees is very high.

Secondly:

Ricardo H wrote:

I personally feel alot safer when on the road and i've got a helmet on,

This could relate to what is known as "risk compensation" - you feel safer so you take greater risks, thus a safety feature can in fact make you more at risk of injury.

The anti-helmet brigade make a big play of the risk-compensation issue.

Thirdly, no matter what anecdotes we may have (for instance my own crash, bad enough to break pelvis, shoulder and helmet - but NOT my head), the anti's will say that they are irrelevant as there is no measurable population effect from the use of helmets.

Fourthly, several people will respond in panic as if advocating helmet use is the same as advocating compulsion.

Fifthly, helmets are designed to mitigate impacts up to 12mph, anti's will say they are therefore only of use in trivial accidents and are therefore not worthwhile. (It is all black and white)

lastly, it is a personal choice, though my own feeling is that if you choose not to wear one you need your head tested!

Okay - off you go

John.T

Your choice entirely. But :-
Do you know of any instance of the helmet causing an injury.
Have you checked your insurance companys take on helmet use. Will not using one reduce any payments as a result of an accident.
What is your familys attitude to helmet wearing and the potential of looking after a vegetable (extreme case I know but not unknown).
Personaly I always wear one as most events I take part in require it and not being used to wearing one would be a disadvantge. I have since broken one in 4 places while practicing forward rolls on my bike so am glad I do wear one.

cougie

Entorely up to you.

I do - but dont care what others want to do. I think its more important to be out on the bike than put off cycling by the perceived dangers of it.

Interesting post above - people fainting and hurting themselves. But cycling helmets wouldnt have helped them either and I see no-one clamouring to make troops wear full faced helmets whilst on guard ?

singlespeedexplosif

if you don't wear one off-road I can't understand why you'd be wondering whether to wear one on-road!
Whatever you want to do, is always the answer here. You'll get people coming up with all sorts of bizarre theories and suggesting various experiments to try to see if it's worth doing or not. Just do whatever you're happy with.

arankapila

What an absolutely ridiculous topic.

There are no reasons at all (which actually have any grounding in common sense), not to wear a helmet.

To not wear one is irresponsible and no sympathy if you get injured when not wearing one.

Why is there even a debate on this?

singlespeedexplosif

Why is there even a debate on this?

because some people have the sort of attitude you've just displayed..

alfablue

The topic is absolutely worthy of debate. Even though I am a proponent, the issues are far from clear-cut. However, this has been debated to such an extent it is hard to see what can be added to previous threads (though I liked neebs analogy "So to say there's no point wearing a helmet is a bit like saying there's no point being immunised against a bunch of tropical diseases before going abroad because there is one disease out there that is always fatal and which the inoculations won't protect you from"), though reading them has often been an education.

Cunobelin

arankapila wrote:

What an absolutely ridiculous topic.

There are no reasons at all (which actually have any grounding in common sense), not to wear a helmet.

To not wear one is irresponsible and no sympathy if you get injured when not wearing one.

Why is there even a debate on this?

Does this apply to pedestrians and car drivers as well?

Or do you find the same injuries acceptable in these groups?

Mister W

A friend recently got helicoptered off a triathlon bike course having been hit by a coach. Her bike and helmet were destroyed in the crash. She suffered a broken collar bone, broken ribs and almost no head injuries.

Still think there's a question about wearing a helmet???

cougie

I do think that helmet wearing is sensible precaution - I wear mine 95% of the time as its no hassle, looks OK and would clearly be of use if I came off at lowish speeds. I dont feel the need to impose helmet wearing on others though.

These hard shell helmets have only been invented in the last 20 years. I rode as a schooly and there weren't the hundreds of casualties that some of the pro helmet lobby would have you believe must have littered the roads...

Just because a helmet smashes into pieces doesnt mean that your skull would - thats the point of the helmet to break.

Maybe I should have not ridden a bike until 'safe' helmets were introduced ?

singlespeedexplosif

Mister W wrote:

A friend recently got helicoptered off a triathlon bike course having been hit by a coach. Her bike and helmet were destroyed in the crash. She suffered a broken collar bone, broken ribs and almost no head injuries.

Still think there's a question about wearing a helmet???

yes

Gary D

I've resisted the temptation to get drawn in to one of these "helmet" debates up until now, but here goes...

The one thing I have noticed is that most of the focus is on the merits of a helmet in an impact situation, but there are also other types of injury sustained in an accident. I understand all of the arguments about over 12mph etc etc. but at the end of the day I would still rather be wearing one than not in an impact - even at 30mph :shock:

In my view, the helmet should also give me some protection against abrasion damage. I would imagine there are some "offs" where the actual impact when you hit the deck may not be too great - but if you slid any distance along the road, then a helmet would surely offer a certain ammount of protection from using your ears, nose or chin as brakes? Now these sort of injuries in themselves are unlikely to be life threatening, and so probably wouldn't appear in any statisitcs or figures, but they are surely still significant?

As others have said, I really can't accept any of the arguments for not wearing a helmet and as such I always wear mine. I am not advocating compulsion - but I do think sometimes people need protecting from themselves :shock: :shock:
If it wasn't the law that you had to wear seatbelts, how many drivers or passengers would choose not to wear one? And yet it seems that it is generally accepted that seatbelts are a good thing and save lives.

Please discuss.........

Gary.

redddraggon

Before Helmets were compulsory in the Pro Peleton, the vast majority of Pros did not wear a helmet. There's only one case I can think of a rider suffering a bad head injury (fatally injuring Vino's mate), but there were plenty of crashes/pile ups.

Pros do/did 10,000s of miles a year, but you don't hear many cases them suffering head injuries.

I wear one, but I'm not necessarily convinced that helmets are as good as everyone makes out.

Cunobelin

cougie wrote:

Maybe I should have not ridden a bike until 'safe' helmets were introduced ?

Sadly as the number of vents has increased and the amount of functioning material has decreased modern helmets are far less effective than older ones.

nasahapley

I only wear one if I have to, i.e. if an event requires it. Don't have any strong views about it though, it's your bonce so do what you like, I just want to get a post in early on what could be a cracking good thread/argument.

To finish I'll recite a quote from my old science teacher, which seems germane to the debate:

"The plural of anecdote is not evidence."

Ta ta

singlespeedexplosif

"The plural of anecdote is not evidence."

I like that and plan to use it far more in life..

tonyw43

In my opinion (and it is only my opinion), there is a simple answer. If you want to wear a helmet, wear one. If you don't, don't. I have rode a bike since I was about seven (am now 34), and never had a need for a helmet. So for that reason, I would have said no, there's no need. However, when opening a gate a few months back, with one foot clipped in, I lost balance and fell over (looking like a complete muppet), and bounced my head off a wall. I did however have a lid on, so no major damage. I wear one now, purely because I feel comfortable wearing one, not because of statistics or people ramming the pro helmet debate down my neck. The only difference now is that I havce spent more money on a helmet that I think looks ok on my noggin, and matches the gear I wear (I know, so vain).

T.C.

i've only wore one twice, etape 02 left it on, suffered with the heat, wicklow 200 04 , took it off felt akward, im 45 and have read enough debates to make my own mind up, live by the sword etc

whyamihere

I wear a helmet. I also know that it's unlikely to help me. I'm a relatively experienced rider. The only way I'm likely to come off is either getting a fast corner wrong, or being hit by a car. In neither case will the helmet protect me from the forces involved. Basically, if you're going to die, you're going to die. Putting some polystyrene on your head won't save your life.

So why do I wear one? Well, I said that the high impact crashes were more likely. I can't eliminate the chances of, for example, my pedal malfunctioning meaning I can't unclip, which would cause me to drop over sideways at low speed or some other similar mishap. This is where helmets excel. Without the helmet, I could easily get a pretty nasty cut and a bit of concussion if I hit the kerb. I won't be likely to die, but it will hurt. With a helmet, the helmet will absorb the impact instead of my head.

By the way, I would ALWAYS wear a helmet for mountain biking. The lack of cars and lower speeds means that you're within the realm where helmets work permanently. Looking at the rock dents in some of my old MTB helmets, you'd be an idiot not to use one off road.

gkerr4

Mister W wrote:

A friend recently got helicoptered off a triathlon bike course having been hit by a coach. Her bike and helmet were destroyed in the crash. She suffered a broken collar bone, broken ribs and almost no head injuries.

Still think there's a question about wearing a helmet???

well, yes

your friends accident does not provide conclusive proof of helmet saving her and unless she fancies repeating the accident without a helmet then we will never know what effect it had. if any.

redddraggon

Mister W wrote:

A friend recently got helicoptered off a triathlon bike course having been hit by a coach. Her bike and helmet were destroyed in the crash. She suffered a broken collar bone, broken ribs and almost no head injuries.

Loads of Professionals got similar injuries before helmets were compulsory, lack of head injury in your friends case does not prove the "helmet case", and it shows a bit of naivety to believe that it does.

Anecdotes are not proof.

feel

Things that cost money are always important...

alfablue

whyamihere wrote:

I wear a helmet. I also know that it's unlikely to help me. I'm a relatively experienced rider. The only way I'm likely to come off is either getting a fast corner wrong, or being hit by a car. In neither case will the helmet protect me from the forces involved. Basically, if you're going to die, you're going to die. Putting some polystyrene on your head won't save your life.

So why do I wear one? Well, I said that the high impact crashes were more likely. I can't eliminate the chances of, for example, my pedal malfunctioning meaning I can't unclip, which would cause me to drop over sideways at low speed or some other similar mishap. This is where helmets excel. Without the helmet, I could easily get a pretty nasty cut and a bit of concussion if I hit the kerb. I won't be likely to die, but it will hurt. With a helmet, the helmet will absorb the impact instead of my head.

By the way, I would ALWAYS wear a helmet for mountain biking. The lack of cars and lower speeds means that you're within the realm where helmets work permanently. Looking at the rock dents in some of my old MTB helmets, you'd be an idiot not to use one off road.

A lot of what you say makes sense, but I think there is a tendency to underestimate the potential injury from apparently trivial impacts. A fall of 1m on to concrete is likely to cause a serious head injury in more than 70% of falls.