Helmets??

trespasser66

Whats everyones thoughts on helmets? should I bother?

I'm more inclined to cast off the bubble wrap the government wants to smother me in, I don't follow trends and am under the belief that safety breeds stupidity.

I heard / read somewhere that mountain bike helmets are only tested upto about 12/15 mph anyway.

Please flame me as you wish, but I'm also looking for constructive stuff.

cat_with_no_tail

Anyone who rides a MTB offroad without a helmet probably lacks the brain to actually do any damage to. So yeh, go nuts.

Kowalski675

trespasser66 wrote:

Whats everyones thoughts on helmets? should I bother?

I'm more inclined to cast off the bubble wrap the government wants to smother me in, I don't follow trends and am under the belief that safety breeds stupidity.

Your parents were very safe people then?

supersonic

Summarise your risks, and take what action you think appropriate. As for any body armour.

cooldad

Kowalski675 wrote:

trespasser66 wrote:

Whats everyones thoughts on helmets? should I bother?

I'm more inclined to cast off the bubble wrap the government wants to smother me in, I don't follow trends and am under the belief that safety breeds stupidity.

Your parents were very safe people then?

That was almost worth a smiley. If smilies weren't dumb.

I wear one. What you do is of no concern.

RandG

Poor attempt at trolling.

Must try harder.

capoz77

notsureifseriousorjusttrolling.jpg

I wear a helmet without fail.

But here's some fuel for the troll fire

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/ ... 35088.html

DanDax1990

I had a fairly big off a few week ago, Landed on my head/left shoulder roughly 25mph. I had just a helmet on.

Broken collarbone and a slight headache.

Would've been a lot worse without the helmet which resulted in cracking in 7 places.

coulddobetter

I am a roundhead not one with cavalier attitude to safety .

batmo

cooldad wrote:

I wear one. What you do is of no concern.

This.

I wish Cooldad was my dad...

cooldad

There is room for one more in my basement.

stubs

We need more people to ride without helmets. After all you never know when you might need some spare parts and fit healthy MTBers are excellent donors. Dont forget your donor card.

ilovedirt

Sounds like the OP will be nominated for a darwin award pretty soon, I would fully endorse his/her acceptance into this prestigious hall of fame should they fulfill the requirements.

p44cmb

As a kid doing all kinds of kid related bike stunts I never wore a helmet at all. As soon as I got back into biking as an adult I now understand the importance of keeping my brain within my head and wear a helmet without fail. It has saved me from a few nasty incidents. in my mind my own safety is far better than worrying about splashing out on the cost of a helmet or how sweaty my head gets or how much of an idiot I look.

Can I ask that the OP seriously thinks about others rather than himself. So what If you don't want to wear a helmet for whatever reasons you may have but do you have any family that love and care for you? Do you have children? how would they feel turning up to your hospital bedside or local crematorium because you are seriously / fatally injured through not wearing a lid. Potentially all their pain and heartache could be spared just by you thinking about them instead of yourself.

Thewaylander

Wearing a helmet or not is just a case of natural selection,

it's kinda like people taking a camping BBQ into the tent to keep warm, what i call population control...

cooldad

I read on the internet that helmets cause more injuries than they prevent.
And Yeehaa has a smelly helmet.

Thewaylander

Depends where you insert your helmet im sure...

homers_double

trespasser66 wrote:

I've gone suprisingly quiet...

Stu Coops

Why even bother start a topic like this are you waiting for people to start ranting at you for asking a completely stupid question for your own amusement, wear one don't wear we don't care now try asking a sensible question and you may get a constructive helpful response.

prawny

I watched a bit of chainspotting a few weeks ago. Surprisingly few helmets then, and I think all of them are still alive. Up to you innt.

I always wear one to protect my beautiful hair, but if you're hair is less attractive than mine (and it is) the choice is yours.

johnmcl7

I've been searching on here for information on helmets, specifically whether it's worth going for one with MIPS? I can't find any recent discussion on it and can only find a single company offering the Scott Lin helmet with the technology so I'm wondering if it's not all what it's hyped up to be or just hasn't gained momentum yet. I have a cheap Giro helmet which has started cracking at the back so I'm thinking it's time to get shot of it, the helmet has worked fine in that it's been comfortable to wear, takes the camera and lights without issue and has handled very minor impacts but thought it was worth looking into options rather than just replace it straight off.

The Scott Lin helmet is obviously pricier but if it does offer any extra protection then that would be well worth the money.

John

lbalony

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Anyone who rides a MTB offroad without a helmet probably lacks the brain to actually do any damage to. So yeh, go nuts.

Daz555

I always wear a lid MTBing because it feels risky - and I have hit my head a fair few times over the years - branches mainly. I've had some fairly big offs on the trails but never actually hit my head - which is surpsising cos its massive.

I don't wear a lid all the time though - I don't bother when pottering about with the kids or to the pub, or even on my commute which is about 90% cycle path away from traffic.

Giraffoto

trespasser66 wrote:

Whats everyones thoughts on helmets? should I bother?

No you shouldn't, I insist you don't wear a helmet.

trespasser66 wrote:

I'm more inclined to cast off the bubble wrap the government wants to smother me in

That's right, cycle helmets are all the work of a group of grey-faced civil servants who cackle slowly to themselves every time they see someone wearing a helmet

trespasser66 wrote:

I don't follow trends and am under the belief that safety breeds stupidity.

Keep up the good work you crazy free spirit. Also keep the bong and the PC in different rooms

trespasser66 wrote:

I heard / read somewhere that mountain bike helmets are only tested upto about 12/15 mph anyway.

My heartiest congratulations on having read / heard that. Less hearty congratulations for not being able to remember which it is

trespasser66 wrote:

Please flame me as you wish, but I'm also looking for constructive stuff.

Sorry to disappoint

cooldad

cyd190468 wrote:

Daz555 wrote:

I always wear a lid MTBing because it feels risky - and I have hit my head a fair few times over the years - branches mainly. I've had some fairly big offs on the trails but never actually hit my head - which is surpsising cos its massive.

I don't wear a lid all the time though - I don't bother when pottering about with the kids or to the pub, or even on my commute which is about 90% cycle path away from traffic.

Not having a go at you here just offering friendly advice. You should always wear a helmet if your kids are there. Assuming you want them to wear one. If they see you without a helmet it implies that only kids need to wear one so once they're old enough to ride without you they will stop wearing a helmet, and that's generally at the age where helmets are the most important cuase they are big enough to hurt themselves.

Not often I agree with cyd, because he's an idiot, but one should lead by example.

nicklouse

cooldad wrote:

cyd190468 wrote:

Daz555 wrote:

I always wear a lid MTBing because it feels risky - and I have hit my head a fair few times over the years - branches mainly. I've had some fairly big offs on the trails but never actually hit my head - which is surpsising cos its massive.

I don't wear a lid all the time though - I don't bother when pottering about with the kids or to the pub, or even on my commute which is about 90% cycle path away from traffic.

Not having a go at you here just offering friendly advice. You should always wear a helmet if your kids are there. Assuming you want them to wear one. If they see you without a helmet it implies that only kids need to wear one so once they're old enough to ride without you they will stop wearing a helmet, and that's generally at the age where helmets are the most important cuase they are big enough to hurt themselves.

Not often I agree with cyd, because he's an idiot, but one should lead by example.

one thing that gets my goat is parents on a bike with no helmet but there kid in the seat behind them has one on.

so what happens to the kid when the parent has a spill and as the result of not wearing a helmet is knocked out.

cooldad

nicklouse wrote:

cooldad wrote:

cyd190468 wrote:

Daz555 wrote:

I always wear a lid MTBing because it feels risky - and I have hit my head a fair few times over the years - branches mainly. I've had some fairly big offs on the trails but never actually hit my head - which is surpsising cos its massive.

I don't wear a lid all the time though - I don't bother when pottering about with the kids or to the pub, or even on my commute which is about 90% cycle path away from traffic.

Not having a go at you here just offering friendly advice. You should always wear a helmet if your kids are there. Assuming you want them to wear one. If they see you without a helmet it implies that only kids need to wear one so once they're old enough to ride without you they will stop wearing a helmet, and that's generally at the age where helmets are the most important cuase they are big enough to hurt themselves.

Not often I agree with cyd, because he's an idiot, but one should lead by example.

one thing that gets my goat is parents on a bike with no helmet but there kid in the seat behind them has one on.

so what happens to the kid when the parent has a spill and as the result of not wearing a helmet is knocked out.

I saw a documentary once where the kid was brought up by monkeys. Called the Jungle Book I think.
Just annoys me in general though - parents have no helmets, and the kids have badly fitted ones.
Why bother?

Daz555

It is usually best to leave unsolicited parental advice out of discussions. Never goes down well. 8)

My son understands perfectly well that he wears a (well fitting) helmet because it is sensible for him to do so. For a start he is very brave whilst being equally uncoordinated! Crashes are frequent! My wife always wears a helmet and he knows this is because she prefers to do so all of the time because she feels safer and more confident. My son also understands my reasons for not wearing one all of the time. He knows also that I wear a lid for 100% of my MTB and road cycling, and the reasons why. My daughter is only 3 and not yet at the age where I am having such discussions but her time will come.

I do my best to teach my kids to use reason as a basis for making life decisions. It is perfectly reasonable for a competent adult cyclist to ride down a tow path with no lid on in my opinion - it is certainly a far more reasonable proposition than hurtling down rock strewn single track at 30mph or descending a mountain road at 50mph, even with a helmet on! I hope that one day my kids enjoy doing those things as much as I do! When he's older he can make up his own mind about his helmet use. I hope to have taught him to use his own sense of reason to decide when and where. Same will go for my daughter.

Other parents will have a differing view and that's fine. I've got no issue with parents who wear a helmet at all times and who want to teach their kids the same.

prawny

I don't insist my kids wear a helmet, I would if they were going to a trail centre but FFS, just pottering around outside the house? Cycling isn't dangerous, I don't want my kids thinking it is.

They have got helmets and sometimes ask to wear them but I don't force them.

For the record, I wear a helmet, almost all of the time but not when I'm pottering about in the cul de sac, eliminating creaks or sorting out cleat positions.

cooldad

As I said, badly fitting helmets, which can be really dangerous - why bother.

YeehaaMcgee

cooldad wrote:

And Yeehaa has a smelly helmet.

Yes I do. But I can alleviate it by scrubbing it with warm water and bicarbonate of soda. I scrub it vigorously, building up something of a lather, until everything's covered in a thick white residue.