Wearing a helmet

Anonymous

Seen that in ski resorts too. Though many insist kids have to wear them anyway, but the parents won't.

Northwind

mattyg2004 wrote:

My other half's uncle has been in a coma for the last 7 months due to being knocked off his bike without a helmet.

I mean no disrespect here, but what makes you believe that he'd not be in the same state with a helmet? The actual impact reduction capability of a cycling helmet is depressingly small- worth having, absolutely, but we have to be realistic about the extent of the protection.

cooldad

Mine mainly helps as I seem to whack my head on low branches quite often.

mattyg2004

No disrespect taken. It may have made no difference at all. BUT we'll never know. It was a very hard impact head first.

As for children. I never said how old. Imagine your teenage son/daughter in the same situation.

Thats another plus for helmets. They help with low branches/twigs

mattyg2004

Northwind wrote:

mattyg2004 wrote:

My other half's uncle has been in a coma for the last 7 months due to being knocked off his bike without a helmet.

I mean no disrespect here, but what makes you believe that he'd not be in the same state with a helmet? The actual impact reduction capability of a cycling helmet is depressingly small- worth having, absolutely, but we have to be realistic about the extent of the protection.

Absolutely. But it'll help against those light skull fractures etc. If you've hit hard enough to cause brain damage then chances are you'll do more damage to a helmet may not help. but It can't really hurt.

supersonic

If they are capable of making an informed decision, then I would trust them at that. I would present them with stats (more likely to understand than a child) and risks involved with biking, and the different types of biking.

Northwind

mattyg2004 wrote:

It can't really hurt.

Oh it probably can. But reliable facts on how often that happens don't really exist, nor are they likely to. I'm comfortable myself that they're a major net benefit- ie the small risk that they cause harm is offset by the higher likelihood that they reduce harm. But it's not really been reliably proven either way.

I reckon the presumption should be that they're a good thing, and the onus of proof should be on the argument against, but not everyone agrees. And there are interesting stats out there, like the lack of a clear correlation between helmet wearing and head injuries.

I'm sorta predictable in these threads so, here's the next thing I always say... Serious knee injuries are enormously more common than serious head injuries for mountain bikers. And knee protection has better supporting evidence for favourable outcomes, and no indication of negative effects at all. But right now, practically everyone who takes riding seriously wears a helmet but a minority wear kneepads and a decent size minority outright look down on them. (obviously you'd rather have a crippled leg than a crippled brain... But they both kinda suck)

Luckily it's not a choice, you can wear both But I find this part interesting.

mattyg2004

Yep I'm one of those I'm gonna get some pads. But may end up needing them before I get them.

Off to LBS tomorrow cos I need some waterproof trousers. Maybe I should pick up some pads.

Anonymous

Wear a helmet in case this happens...

http://youtu.be/S2oymHHyV1M

cooldad

Good thing it wasn't an elephant.

Tutterz

I'm one of those who's grown up never wearing a helmet for anything (apart from riding motorbikes) when i got back into biking about 6 months a go i didnt wear a helmet and planned on never getting one. until i begun to ride faster and harder down the trails, and realising if i did come off in the wrong area or direction i could potentially end up with a series of injuries, only being 21 i realised i should really, really start wearing a helmet haha
I now own a fox flux, 661 comp full face, thicker gloves (used to only use hebo ones from my trials riding days) and knee pads, if i do have a nastyish crash i like to think with the protection i now wear i would be able to be back on the bike with in a week or two rather than 6 weeks or longer

although admittedly I dont wear a helmet when riding to my trails which is a mix of road and gravel path ,as personally the risk factor there compared to bombing 30mph with trees flying past you down a rocky rooty single track is vastly different

bails87

Tutterz wrote:

I now own a fox flux, 661 comp full face, thicker gloves (used to only use hebo ones from my trials riding days) and knee pads, if i do have a nastyish crash i like to think with the protection i now wear i would be able to be back on the bike with in a week or two rather than 6 weeks or longer

See, now the most common 'serious' injuries on here seem to be broken ribs, broken collarbones and broken wrists. If you want to protect against the likely injuries from MTBing then you'd be wearing a pressure suit, and wrist and neck braces.

As Northwind says though, you'd rather a broken rib than a broken brain, but still, it's interesting how we interpret risk and prevention.

Anonymous

They're not really serious injuries. A pain and keeps you out of action for a month or two but not generally life threatening. Having done wrist and ribs a few times, I still don't usually bother with protection for them, though the pain I got with the ribs from Aston last time makes me think I should. Again, not as a life saver so much but just to avoid so much pain.

The helmet on the other hand is another matter. Always worn them anyway and given my last big smash which was kind of serious, I'll always continue to wear one. That smash has however made me more aware of spinal injuries. Problem is the back protectors don't protect the spine from all kinds of crashes. Helps protect a bending back from becoming a break and potentially damaging the nerves, but a direct head impact with shock down the spine and breaking the back it wouldn't do anything about (and these can cause dislocation of vertebra enough to damage the nerves). Not sure there's much you can do about that other than try and avoid doing it again, which is my lesson learnt!

Daz555

cooldad wrote:

I often see kids with helmets and parents without. No way to set an example.

Setting specific behavioural examples is only a part of parenting. I drink beer, wine, & diet coke - 3 random examples. My children do not because these are "grown up" drinks as we have taught them. Children are quite capable of understanding that they must follow some rules that adults/parents do not follow.

Now as it happens I do not make my son wear a helmet when we go for our little rides. He's only 4 and to be honest cycling is about 99 out of a 100 on the list of things he is capable of which could smash his head in - discovering him on top of my shed after being left alone in the garden for about 30 secs is a classic example - should I make him wear a "playing in the garden" helmet?

As he gets older and his skill develops to the point where I think his cycling is "dangerous" then I will make sure he wears a lid - as do I when I mountain bike. Later on when he is an adult he can tell me where to go if he does not wish to wear a helmet.

cooldad

Problem with kids is (as I think SS mentioned earlier) is that they are more likely to land on their heads, as their heads are out of proportion to the size of their bodies.
But how you bring up your kids is up to you. Obviously there are some things they can’t do as they are for adults. But they learn by example. I’m sure you don’t get trashed and hurl in front of them, or beat your wife.

bails87

cooldad wrote:

I’m sure you don’t get trashed and hurl in front of them, or beat your wife.

strawman much?

I wouldn't want young children driving, drinking, voting, smoking or eating a live kitten Doesn't mean that you should never do any of those things* whilst in sight or earshot of children though!

Deadkenny: No they're not life-threatening (I don't think I've ever read of a life-threatening injury on here though) but I meant they're more serious than a graze or a scratch.


*Okay, amybe one of them is wrong.

Anonymous

bails87 wrote:

I wouldn't want young children driving, drinking, voting, smoking or eating a live kitten

Bloody puritan. I bet your kids have NO fun at all. :roll:

supersonic

Well they won't turn out like you

ddraver

The "reductio ad absurdem" that infects this debate (on both sides) is shocking...

In 99% of crashes on any sort of bike, surely it is better to have something soft between your head and the ground/tree/curb etc. Given that there are so many helmet options these days, it's only going to be the weirdest head shapes that don't fit in one and that most of them are so light and airy that you can barely tell your re wearing one, I can't see any good reason not to wear one...

supersonic

The thing is some people doubt the effectiveness of the helmet, others just don't think the risk of hitting their head is statistically significant. Two slightly different debates.

Anonymous

bails87 wrote:

(I don't think I've ever read of a life-threatening injury on here though)

Mine was a concern to them at the time, though I suppose not entirely life threatening. More just that they kept me under for some time until they could be sure I hadn't done serious damage to my spinal cord. Okay, maybe I wouldn't have been dead, but I might have been dribbling out of my mouth for the rest of my life and unable to move. Hmm, though the dribbling out the mouth is probably nothing new .

But as with all of these discussions, result was I turned out okay. Broken back that healed, whiplash that's getting better, and was able to get back on the bike a month later and I'm doing DH runs 6 months or so on (okay at my usual slow pace).

Without the helmet, maybe the whiplash and concussion I got would have been worse, or maybe not. It's been suggested that the helmet might have enhanced the shock down the spine to breaking the back though, but no one knows that for a fact. Either way, I'd still wear one. Back protector however I think wouldn't have made a difference.

Problem is this is always going to be difficult to prove the effectiveness of any protection unless you're able to take the same person, same bike, same conditions and recreate exactly the same crash in every way, with and without the protection and compare. Bike crashes vary so much.

felix.london

cooldad wrote:

Good thing it wasn't an elephant.

indeed!

I wear a helmet when riding the mountain bike but not when riding the snowboard - go figure

Anonymous

felix.london wrote:

I wear a helmet when riding the mountain bike but not when riding the snowboard - go figure

Same here, but until recently, I was just getting the hang of the board. Now I'm due more high speed stupidity on it, a helmet is starting to seem like a good idea.
I mean, the chances of doing proper damage to yourself whilst just sideslipping are minimal, but a 20mph+ carve going wrong is a different kettle of fish entirely

Anonymous

Friend of mine had brain fluid coming out of his nose after a crash with helmet when skiing (head smacked onto ice I think).

Then again the other year came across medics, helicopter, guy being resuscitated in the snow after he'd crashed into a tree. He died. He was wearing a helmet.

Who knows.

More people seem to wear helmets snowboarding in the US though I notice. Seems to be more of a "cool" thing now. Far less in Europe and less with skiers.

Mojo_666

I don't ever remember reading or hearing that a helmet would guarantee to save my life or remove any risk of a serious injury, but I do know I have bumped my head a few times and it hurts, it can cut and can give me headaches and bumps which I seem to keep bumping. I also know that most of my mtb crashes are not mega wipe outs but average speed stuff that results in a head thump to the ground which would hurt without a helmet and cause me to at a minimum be concussed or require stitches and end my ride and my weeks work.

It is pretty obvious to most that there are crashes/circumstance which no amount of helmet can help but for most cases it helps, no motorbike rider will ever tell you that wearing a helmet prevents death because we all know that is utterly ridiculous, but we also know that in many many situations it can prevent death or serious or even minor injury and for me that's a good thing.

So I will continue to wear my helmet, I will also continue to wear my pads that won't save my life or prevent an arm break but will in most crashes prevent a minor swell or bruising that prevents me from wiping my own arse properly.

Daz555

ddraver wrote:

I can't see any good reason not to wear one...

Not sure anyone is suggesting you shouldn't.

bails87

deadkenny wrote:

bails87 wrote:

(I don't think I've ever read of a life-threatening injury on here though)

Mine was a concern to them at the time,

Ah, I'd forgotten about yours

It must all those blows to my unprotected head.......





*I'm kidding

Anonymous

I don't remember the incident anyway. One handy thing about a big whack on the head, you might just have no memory of it.

domcom55

Hi i always wear one off road , but ride to work every day wi the wind in ma hair

delcol

i put mine to the test back in march now for some strange reason it didn't stop me dislocating my shoulder or breaking my clavicle nor did it protect my thumb from breaking..
but it did stop me fracturing my skull and probably prevent brain dameage (if i had one in there) and prevent any cuts.. i did have a headache though helmet was in 3 pieces on the floor...

for me the risk aint worth it i was thankfull i had mine on then again i always wear mine even for the commute, you never know when you may need it....