Any regular road riders not wear helmets?

Sprogthedog

I personally don't wear a helmet. I don't like how they feel and i don't like how they look on me, so I don't bother.
However, i do notice i am very much in a minority and i do sometimes wonder why.
Years ago hardly anyone wore helmets, now it seems like some people only have to sit on a bike and they think they have to wear a high-vis vest and a helmet.
I don't want to get into a whole big thing about the pros and cons of helmets, everyone will have their personal reasons either way. I am just curious how many other riders don't bother. I would say in the last few months, I can only recall one other rider without one on.
Anyone else not bother?

gavbarron

Our Club rules say no helmet no ride. Personally I wear mine even on my own.
I could go on about why I do but imagine plenty others will no doubt get on their soap box about this one and save me the trouble

kayakerchris

I respect your right to ride without but if you spend anytime working with people with head injuries you will do anything to avoid becoming head injured.

Even a small benefit from wearing a helmet in my view would be worthwhile. The memory loss, loss of body control, emotional changes, etc are things I wouldn't want to inflict on my family.

arthur_scrimshaw

Oh god, here we go again.

imposter2.0

My guess is this will go at least five pages...

kajjal

Coming from mountain biking I have seen people go head first in the trail and various other things such as trees. This is why I always wear a helmet on the road as well.

arthur_scrimshaw

That's a coincidence, I've seen trees as well.

thefd

No one I ride with or know goes without a helmet!

kajjal

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

That's a coincidence, I've seen trees as well.

Maybe not as up close as my mate who crashed into one and cracked his ribs :shock:

marcusjb

Kajjal wrote:

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

That's a coincidence, I've seen trees as well.

Maybe not as up close as my mate who crashed into one and cracked his ribs :shock:

Maybe he should have been wearing body armour instead of a helmet?

Velonutter

Have a look at the enclosed photo, at over 30 mph sprinting for a 30 sign, I crashed, the last thing I remembered was a wobble at the front end, next minute I'm recovering at the side of the road, totally unaware to this day what happened, that night, it was a blue light job to A&E due to onset concussion.

The Doctors at A&E said I would almost certainly be dead or a total cabbage if I hadn't had my helmet on. The crash was that bad, that something had still cut my head all the way down the crack.

As much as I would to not have to wear a helmet I do and am grateful that I got to see my family after the crash.

pilot_pete

Sprogthedog wrote:

However, i do notice i am very much in a minority and i do sometimes wonder why...

...I don't want to get into a whole big thing about the pros and cons of helmets, everyone will have their personal reasons either way.

You wonder why? Really? No, I mean you really wonder why you are in the minority? :roll:

So you don't want to get into the whole big thing about the pros and cons, so what exactly is the point of this thread?

I am another who will defend the right of individuals not to wear a helmet if they so choose, but I always wear one. That's my choice and I know why I am in the majority.

PP
:roll:

Cygnus

I never wear a helmet. I tried wearing a helmet for about 2 years but it just wasn't me so now I don't bother. I've managed for about 40 odd years without a helmet (apart from that 2 year [call it] trial period), had my fair share of spills over the years and I'm still here so no reason to change.

Anonymous

I think it's stupid to not wear a helmet, it could save your life.

If it was my choice it would be the law. I don't see one valid argument against wearing it, especially vanity. Que the people saying if the knock is hard enough to kill you it will regardless of wearing a helmet.

fujisst

Really? Stupid is as stupid does.

Bozman

I generally don't wear one but I'll put one on for wet or Icey rides purely down to risk assessment/nagging wife.
I've been cycling for over 20 years and I didn't even own a helmet up until about 4 years ago, we all know the risks but it's up to the individual to choose and long may it remain that way.
Freedom of choice is slowly disappearing and we're being wrapped in cotton wool to appease the health and safety brigade, I'd guess that we'll all have to wear HV within the next few years.

mercia_man

I wear a helmet. It's about half and half on our Saturday club rides. Those who don't are in their 60s and 70s and are highly experienced high mileage riders.

dabber

Frankly, I couldn't give a stuff if people wear helmets or not. It's their life and health.Their demise matters not one bit to me. All this "I've ridden for x years and never needed one"... fine, but when your head scrapes along the road or makes contact with the curb you may find you have a different view. So may you loved ones.

For my part, I wear one and so does everyone else I ride with.

slowbike

I didn't wear one for our Saturday ride to breakfast ...

I didn't wear lycra tights either ...

I wore trainers instead of cycling shoes ...

Does this make me a bad person?

It was a beautiful morning to be riding casually down a cyclepath ... nice breakfast too

neeb

I always wear a helmet and have had at least one crash that I'm sure would have resulted in significant head injury if I hadn't been wearing one, but the one thing that sometimes tempts me to throw the thing away is the opinions of the hard-line pro-helmet brigade on threads such as this...

The fact is that people were riding bicycles for 100 years before anyone wore a helmet, and it wasn't regarded as a ridiculously dangerous activity. If you ride without a helmet you are certainly (IMO) putting yourself at significantly greater risk of life-altering head injury, but the risk isn't so great that anyone has the right to call anyone "stupid" or "idiotic" for taking that risk, or to imply that there is only one reasonable choice to make. There are plenty other risks some people voluntarily take in their lives that are just as serious, and we don't generally criticise them for it.

The important thing is that everyone is aware of the true facts, and unfortunately the bike and helmet industry (ironically) seem to conspire to obscure these. Try asking a helmet manufacturer how the level of protection differs between different models or brands of helmet, or how helmets sold in the U.S. and certified to different standards compare to identical-looking but structurally different ones sold in Europe and certified to different standards. You hit a blank wall of evasion and marketing bullshit.

The decider for me is that the risk reduction benefit from wearing a helmet very significantly outweighs the very minor inconvenience of wearing one, but others may reasonably come to different conclusions depending on a whole bunch of considerations including the type of riding that they do.

arran77

neeb

arran77 wrote:

It's a controversial subject for very good reasons, hence the endless debates that we've all seen before. Puerile contributions such as this do nothing to advance the debate or increase understanding however.

Remember that for every person here that has heard all of this before, there is someone else new to the sport who hasn't.

If you don't want to talk about it, ignore the thread.

lancew

Has anyone found that once they started to wear a helmet because of club rules, moaning family etc that once you start wearing a helmet you start to feel quite as risk without it?

The last time I went out without a helmet on (by accident) I did not feel comfortable which surprised me as I spent years explaining that I don't want to wear one.

arran77

neeb wrote:

arran77 wrote:

It's a controversial subject for very good reasons, hence the endless debates that we've all seen before. Puerile contributions such as this do nothing to advance the debate or increase understanding however.

Remember that for every person here that has heard all of this before, there is someone else new to the sport who hasn't.

If you don't want to talk about it, ignore the thread.

Sorry mum :roll:

marcusjb

neeb wrote:

but the risk isn't so great that anyone has the right to call anyone "stupid" or "idiotic" for taking that risk, or to imply that there is only one reasonable choice to make. There are plenty other risks some people voluntarily take in their lives that are just as serious, and we don't generally criticise them for it.

Pretty much sums up my take on it.

I mostly wear one, I can't shake the thought of "what if?" (I've only ever fallen off a road bike twice, mountain bikes LOTS as a kid though). I am under no illusion that the thing is a magic hat that will protect me in the event of anything much really. I often don't wear one when I am possibly more likely to have an accident where it *may* help - commuting, pootling down to the shops etc.

My better half mainly doesn't wear one - her choice.

Audax has a demographic that tends towards the older riders, so plenty of bare heads on Audax rides I do - again, their choice. I've no reason to even discuss it with them.

It is a stupid divisive issue - I can't even reconcile it in my own mind why I wear one really!

There's so much other stuff we (society as a whole) can and should do to make cycling safer for all.

(breaking all my own rules and posting on a h***et thread - I feel badass now!)

paul2718

There are two huge assumptions on display in any thread like this.

1. Helmets as usually worn reduce head injuries in accidents usually suffered.
2. A broken helmet is evidence that it was useful.

I think both those assumptions are unwarranted. Cycle helmets are very limited in the protection they can offer while still being wearable and are designed to pass impact tests that are very divergent from the type of impact adults having either high speed crashes or being involved with cars need protection from. And if the helmet has broken then it hasn't worked, it is designed to absorb impact by crushing not snapping.

As it stands I think existing cycle helmets are optimal for children and pedestrians trying to negotiate icy pavements. I mostly wear one for riding quite fast on open roads, I probably wouldn't for commuting in traffic. But the peer pressure is immense for something for which demonstrative evidence of efficacy is so elusive(!).

I'd actually be keen to wear a helmet that could be shown to work. But I think development is all about looks and aero given the required EU functionality, rather than into functionality.

Paul

neilo23

"I don't want to get into a whole big thing about the pros and cons of helmets, everyone will have their personal reasons either way. I am just curious how many other riders don't bother."

Nice to see that the op's request for no discussions was hijacked by the "helmet Nazis"....

I never wear one and would be very annoyed if a law was ever passed making it mandatory.
Like the op I also feel uncomfortable wearing one and don't like the way they look. I prefer cycling alone and enjoy the freedom that the bike gives me. I also see it as a given that I should also be allowed the freedom to do with my body what I choose. I'm sure that a helmet would help in a crash in many situations but the one thing that spoils my ride is people telling me that I'm stupid for not wearing one. I almost crashed once after a car pulled up beside me and the driver started shouting at me for not wearing one.

Maybe it's because I'm a bit older than many here and fell in love with cycling before most pros wore helmets (by the way, you can prove me wrong if you want, but I don't recall reading about more pros dying in crashes in the "good old days" than now). The pros all like like identikit robots these days, heads and faces hidden behind helmets and glasses. I would definitely lose a great part of the enjoyment of cycling if I was forced to do it with a helmet. And I don't care who tells me that not wearing one is stupid. It's my head.

lancew

Just on the topic of "not wearing while commuting".

I did this to myself, and it wasn't the drivers fault it was mine, I turned my head and didn't see him stop. Helmet might not have saved my life, might have. But I do think it saved my front right tooth which was the first think I checked after the crash.

neilo23

Lancew wrote:

Has anyone found that once they started to wear a helmet because of club rules, moaning family etc that once you start wearing a helmet you start to feel quite as risk without it?

This. Spent years feeling carefree, enjoying my ride before people started with the nagging. It's caused me to feel more paranoid, a feeling which hasn't been improved on the few occassions on which I've actually worn a helmet to calm down the other half.

neilo23

The OP didn't want a discussion about the pros and cons of not wearing a helmet. There are enough threads about that. He wanted to hear from like-minded people who also don't wear them. Miaowww :-)

wannabecyclist

My ex workmate was an avid cyclist and hated wearing 'lids'. He had some great bikes and went on some great rides without wearing one. He then fell off on a bend just on the work commute, not going fast but hit his head. Lost the sight in his eye and doesn't look like he will get it back. He is out riding again now and still doesn't wear a helmet!