Wearing a helmet

Scotxr

Just a question to all you guys that ride Mountain Bikes, do you wear a helmet??

The reason i'm asking is that there is a thread on the road cycling forum and I would say 50% ish of them dont wear them :shock:

Now I always wear mine, the wife wears hers and the kids arent near a bike without their's on. Is it a MTB rider thing or is it just me that has such strong opinions?? I cannot remember the last time I was riding that I saw another MTBer without one.

_Lizz_

Damnit, I just had dinner... no popcorn for me.

Lmrt1

Mountain bikers expect to fall off!
Roadies don't unless it's someone else's fault!
(I ride both so that's not a dig at roadies BTW - just how I see it)

dusk

Probably fewer roadies wearing helmets, I wear a helmet on and off road but if I could only wear it on one I would wear it on road, connecting with tarmac doesn't sound like fun.

I think it's that on road you don't take risks so people feel a helmet isn't necessary but the biggest risk they are forgetting is other road users

kdawg74

When out riding trails or on the roads then yes, but for the pootle to the pub then no.
Only because the pub is across some fields so always something soft to land on, either soft grass or fresh cow pats.

Scotxr

Lmrt1 wrote:

Mountain bikers expect to fall off!
Roadies don't unless it's someone else's fault!
(I ride both so that's not a dig at roadies BTW - just how I see it)

This may be the reason.

The point I was trying to get across was that i'm a nurse in Intensive Care and see an awful lot of injured cyclists. Got a bad one in recently when the guy was hit by a car - totally not his fault.

Their over-riding opinion seems to be that helmets dont add any protection, I just cant understand it.

cooldad

Not this again.
@scotxr - just because lots of people respond on a forum saying they don't just means lots of people who responded don't, not that lots of people don't. Not even very subtle difference.
Look next time you are out - I would say just about every serious rider I see, roadie or MTBer does. People popping to the shops often don't.
Chavs don't, which is a GOOD thing.

MountainMonster

I don't know a single person who rides without a helmet if they are doing any form of serious riding. I see even most older people out for a 5km bike ride with helmets on, and the only times I see someone without a helmet is when I'm leaving the city, and people are just commuting to the shops or such

Like the guy above me posted, don't think just because a few have chimed in saying they don't wear helmets means the large portion of people don't wear them. I find with the helmet topic most who don't wear helmets are so proud to state it to be "cool and different", and the ones who do wear helmets feel it is too stupid to reply, myself included. .

cat_with_no_tail

The argument for not wearing one (on the road) is usually along the lines of a helmet offering little to no protection when vs a car.
Some also subscribe to the opinion that motorists actually give more room to a cyclist not wearing a helmet too.

My personal opinion is.... "why not"?

I've got a helmet I wear all the time off-road (there are ZERO excuses for not wearing a lid offroad), so it's just second nature to stick it on every time I get the bike.

For the argument about car drivers giving more room to cyclists wearing no lids, well it's not the motorist who sees you that you need to worry about, it's the one who dosent.

Scotxr

Thanks for the replies guys, my faith in humanity is restored!

supersonic

I think it is up to the rider to evaluate their own risks and decide what measures of protection to take.

jmillen

Helmet on every ride regardless of whether its on or off road

The only time I've not got one on when ride a bike is when I'm pratting around in the drive with gears or what ever....could argue that you could still fall off and land awkwardly I know

Anonymous

Good old topic , let's do it again.

1. No helmet on the road - idiot. But that's just my opinion and then if you want to, go ahead and just hope your relatives don't come complaining when you go head first through a car window.

2. No helmet off road - idiot. But that's just my opinion and then if you want to, go ahead and just hope your relatives don't come complaining when you end up over the bars head first and get pulled off to intensive care (and even wearing a helmet I know what a trip to ICU is like).

As always with these discussions. Up to you. Personally I just don't get what the problem is myself. Almost everyone wears them now. I don't know about the guys who frequent roadie forums, but most people I see on the roads wear them, and I see very few off road without them.

Much the same with skiing. Went for ages with the vanity folk who don't like helmets but the US and Snowboarding has driven helmet use to the point where it's fairly cool to wear them. I know it's still less so in Europe unfortunately.

Too old for this

Always wear one either on or off road, it's my bonce and i want to keep it the shape it is.

whyamihere

I don't wear one on road. Can't be arsed, basically.

I do wear one off-road, because I'm much more likely to be smacked in the head with a low-hanging branch.

Raymondavalon

Always on the trail, no excuse not to. Trees have a tendency to leap out and trail goblins make us fall for no reason

Sometimes when commuting, unless on cycleways as I'm riding in an area free from cars and never quite get enough speed up to be a danger to myself.

p44cmb

Never leave home without mine whenever I'm on the bike. Ive had 2 reasonably serious crashes where I have landed directly on my head and without the helmet I would probably not be able to type this and would be eating dinner through a straw.

Ive heard people say that wearing a helmet is only for people that lack skill and confidence....B0ll0x is what I say. I may look like I have a large mushroom growing out of my neck when wearing it but if it keeps what little brain I have functioning correctly then Im all for it. I don't know a single person that would ride any trail without wearing one but I know a few people who ride roads and local red ways (Mk cycle and pedestrian paths) without helmets..but they are usually the ones who don't have kids and mortgages to worry about and just generally think they are invincible.

nation

I wear one off road (because crashing is part and parcel of most MTBing bar the most sedate towpath or fire road riding), and I wear one for the commute because I don't trust traffic or pedestrians.

For longer road rides or rides to the shops or whatever, maybe. If I'm riding somewhere with a lot of elevation and I anticipate fast descending then usually. Flattish distance ride on barely trafficked roads usually not. For errand stuff outside of rush hour I tend not to bother, mostly because I'll be in street clothes and don't want to have to carry it about.

RevellRider

I wear one all the time. Why? Well my road rides sometimes end up having a small off road excursion. And it's far more dangerous on a bike with 23mm tyres, no suspension and crap brakes

cycle monster

There are falls and falls. Two years ago I went over the bars off road. i landed head first with my helmet on. I couldn't sleep on my right side without discomfort for six months. Last year my riding buddy, whilst off road, went over the bars, landed head first and broke his back in five places. He is now riding again but had he not been wearing his helmet, he would be riding a chair, eating through a straw and looking for volunteers to wipe his rear end.

diy

There is an argument that a cycle helmet will not offer substantial protection at higher speed. Its a solid argument. There are even contributory negligence precedents for PI claims on speeds above 15mph (from memory) and helmet use.

For me the consideration is:
- does it hinder my ability to ride/comfort - no
- will it add to my injuries - unlikely
- will I compensate the safety with additional risk - a little
- Will it reduce my injuries - possibly.

So on the balance of benefit I will wear one. I really should wear a full face, body armour, kneck brace etc but the balance of the above then shifts.

The problem any helmet has its its ability to stay in place and its ability to absorb the impact.

Anonymous

I'm sure I could get a PI lawyer to claim on the basis I bust my back and got whiplash by falling on my head wearing a helmet. But I still swear that it would have been far worse without one.

Actually, one of the x-ray guys at the hospital did ask if I was wearing a helmet and said that'll be why as it makes the shockwave go down the back fracturing vertebra on the way. Without a helmet though the back may have been okay, but my head could have been far worse.

bails87

It's been done a million times but.....
I wear one all the time when MTBing: I'm going to be riding at speed in between trees, under low hanging branches, I've had rocks smack off my helmet. Basically, MTBing comes with a (in my mind) bigger risk of something hitting me on the head. I've never had anything that's made me think "ooo, my helmet saved my life" and in reality no-one can say that unless you recreate the crash without a helmet and die. But it prevents things that would be painful: a stone or low hanging branch hitting my head, for example.

For a proper road ride/commute: Yes I wear one. on the commute I use a cam which is mounted on my helmet, same with lights. If I'm hit by a vehicle on my commute, it's probably going to be something wiping me out from behind at 60mph. I doubt a helmet would make a blind bit of difference seeing as I'd probably die of something else even if the helmet perfectly preserved my brain.

For pootling a mile or two down the road to the shops: no, I don't wear one. I'm usually in cyclelanes, I'm not riding very quickly, if I'm in traffic I tend to just wait in line rather than passing it like on my commute. Basically I'm at the same 'danger' level as if I was going for a run, and I wouldn't wear a helmet for that. Cycling, especially like this, just isn't dangerous, the statistics show that. If I ride my bike down the road to the swimming pool I'm probably at more risk of slipping over in the changing rooms and getting a head injury than falling off my bike and hitting my head.

If someone else wants to wear a helmet for that type of riding, then fine. If someone else doesn't wear a helmet for a proper road ride, then fine. If someone doesn't wear a helmet for a trail centre or other 'proper' MTBing then I must admit I think that's a bit silly, but they're not hurting anyone else or breaking any laws so I leave them to it. After all, the same arbitrary moralising that I'm doing (in my head) about them not wearing helmets could be turned back at me because I'm choosing not to wear a neck brace, or because I don't wear a helmet on 'pootles'.

As has been said. It's personal choice, don't force your views on others if they're not harming anyone else.

Scotxr

bails87 wrote:

It's been done a million times but.....
I wear one all the time when MTBing: I'm going to be riding at speed in between trees, under low hanging branches, I've had rocks smack off my helmet. Basically, MTBing comes with a (in my mind) bigger risk of something hitting me on the head. I've never had anything that's made me think "ooo, my helmet saved my life" and in reality no-one can say that unless you recreate the crash without a helmet and die. But it prevents things that would be painful: a stone or low hanging branch hitting my head, for example.

For a proper road ride/commute: Yes I wear one. on the commute I use a cam which is mounted on my helmet, same with lights. If I'm hit by a vehicle on my commute, it's probably going to be something wiping me out from behind at 60mph. I doubt a helmet would make a blind bit of difference seeing as I'd probably die of something else even if the helmet perfectly preserved my brain.

For pootling a mile or two down the road to the shops: no, I don't wear one. I'm usually in cyclelanes, I'm not riding very quickly, if I'm in traffic I tend to just wait in line rather than passing it like on my commute. Basically I'm at the same 'danger' level as if I was going for a run, and I wouldn't wear a helmet for that. Cycling, especially like this, just isn't dangerous, the statistics show that. If I ride my bike down the road to the swimming pool I'm probably at more risk of slipping over in the changing rooms and getting a head injury than falling off my bike and hitting my head.

If someone else wants to wear a helmet for that type of riding, then fine. If someone else doesn't wear a helmet for a proper road ride, then fine. If someone doesn't wear a helmet for a trail centre or other 'proper' MTBing then I must admit I think that's a bit silly, but they're not hurting anyone else or breaking any laws so I leave them to it. After all, the same arbitrary moralising that I'm doing (in my head) about them not wearing helmets could be turned back at me because I'm choosing not to wear a neck brace, or because I don't wear a helmet on 'pootles'.

As has been said. It's personal choice, don't force your views on others if they're not harming anyone else.

Dont think I was trying to force my (strong) views on anyone, just talking about my shock that some people dont wear them and dont see a benefit.

People are measuring to an end point of death, whereas the end point should be head injury. Even if the evidence is anecdotal I would rather go with that than risk me/the wife/the boys severely brain damaged or with some deficit to their personality/physical function.

Just my opinion of course.


*You mention a bit about being hit by a car at 60mph. I have looked after someone recently who was hit at high speed, numerous injuries but hospitals/ITU's are very good now and can help you survive things you wouldnt have a few years ago. Better to have that helmet on and hopefully preserve brain function*

IMO

bails87

Scotxr
Sorry, it wasn't really aimed at you specifically.

As a nurse you'll be aware of evidence based practice, and frankly there isn't much evidence that helmets work in high speed impacts. They're tested for falls from head height to the ground. So for the cyclist falling, not being hit by something else. There's also the 'I'll drive closer because they're wearing a helmet' theory, that was demonstrated by someone a while ago. Not the most rigorous of tests if I remember correctly, but it's certainly something I've experienced. A friend of a friend said "oh, I hate it when cyclists don't wear helmets, it means you have to give them loads of room because if you squeeze through you might hurt them". Now those may be the words of a moron, but there are plenty of morons on the roads....which conversly could be an argument for helmets....if they work.......

Even so, I do wear a helmet on my commute.

But, the point remains that regular, sensibly paced road riding on lightly trafficked roads just isn't dangerous. MTBing is more dangerous so more of us wear helmets.

stubs

4 months ago came off at about 15 mph and skinned my knee and twisted my elbow said a lot of rude words and got back on the bike and winced my way back to car.

Few days later decide its time for a ride pick up my helmet and notice a big dent in the plastic shell and the foam underneath is creased. Dont know what I headbutted as I slid through the undergrowth but I reckon I might not have jumped back on the bike with a dent in my skull.

Personally I am all in favour of people not wearing a helmet after all you never know when you might need some new body parts.

.blitz

Clipped a tree at Stile Cop a while back.

Braked as hard as I could but I couldn't stop in time and went sideways OTB and hit the tree with the side of my head as I instinctively turned my face away. I remember thinking fuckfuckfuck and there was a very loud noise but I didn't feel anything in my head, just the usual flying-landing feeling.

First thing I did was stand up and think 'Shiit! I'm OK!'

The impact had broken the plastic outer layer on my helmet and there were bits of bark embedded in the polystyrene. My neck ached for a week or two afterwards but otherwise I was OK.

Seriously, you would have to be frickin' nuts to ride off-road without a helmet.

Daz555

Mountain biking - always.
Commute - no.
Family rides (tow paths and the like) - no.

I follow a similar pattern when it comes to wearing my snowboard lid. I wear it when out pushing it with my expert skier/boarder mates but don't bother when out cruising the blues and greens with my wife and casual skier friends.

General cycling (not sport related) is one of the safest and beneficial activities you can take part in. Cycling is simply another activity on my list for which I do not typically wear a helmet. There is nothing special about cycling in this regard - nothing which marks it out as unusual.

Each to their own I say. I don't give a monkeys who wears a helmet and who does not.

I have no beef with helmet wearers. I have no beef with non-helmet wearers. But blimey do the helmet nazis do my bloody nut in! This is one tip the cycling community needs to learn from the snow lot. Plenty of people wearing lids now on the slopes but not one helmet nazi amongst them, on either side of the debate.

Scotxr

bails87 wrote:

Scotxr
Sorry, it wasn't really aimed at you specifically.

As a nurse you'll be aware of evidence based practice, and frankly there isn't much evidence that helmets work in high speed impacts. They're tested for falls from head height to the ground. So for the cyclist falling, not being hit by something else. There's also the 'I'll drive closer because they're wearing a helmet' theory, that was demonstrated by someone a while ago. Not the most rigorous of tests if I remember correctly, but it's certainly something I've experienced. A friend of a friend said "oh, I hate it when cyclists don't wear helmets, it means you have to give them loads of room because if you squeeze through you might hurt them". Now those may be the words of a moron, but there are plenty of morons on the roads....which conversly could be an argument for helmets....if they work.......

Even so, I do wear a helmet on my commute.

But, the point remains that regular, sensibly paced road riding on lightly trafficked roads just isn't dangerous. MTBing is more dangerous so more of us wear helmets.

Didn't think it was aimed at me . Trust me evidence based practice is at the forefront of my mind but short of rewinding time and having the same accident with/without a helmet it's hard to quantify. That's why I mentioned having the end point of head injury and not death.

I have another take on the motorist driving close to you because you have a helmet. It's the motorists that dont see you that you need to worry about and not the ones that do...

bails87

I have another take on the motorist driving close to you because you have a helmet. It's the motorists that dont see you that you need to worry about and not the ones that do...

Yep, of course. It's all small risks that go one way or another, and it's up to individuals to weigh them up. Like wearing sunglasses while driving. They might stop you being blinded by the sun, but they might make you miss something. Swings and roundabouts.
For MTB I do think there's much more need for helmets though.

http://cyclehelmets.org/1139.html

Have a read of that. Some have dismissed it as being 'anti-helmet', so don't take it as gospel, by posting the link I'm not necessarily agreeing with it.

If helmets for leisurely and road cycling made that much difference then there wouldn't be any argument. If you go on bakeradar.com* you won't find the bakers split into the pro and anti oven glove camp, because it's so obvious that oven gloves work when you're holding hot things!


*not a real site....I don't think!

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

I think it is up to the rider to evaluate their own risks and decide what measures of protection to take.

Nail hit on head.
I always wear one when I'm riding off road, since I expect to come off occasionally, that's why I ride, to push myself.
But if I'm out on a training ride, or just riding to work, I don't bother, because I deem that the level of risk is near insignificant.