Helmets....

rockmonkeysc

mattyfez wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

mattyfez wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

mattyfez wrote:

The for/against helmet argument is more absurd than than the brexit debate..it's all anecdotal opinion and no facts.

How would it be any different to moped riders? Similar speeds, similar risks. Do riders have different anatomy?

Well a moped rider can accelerate to 30/40mph pretty rapidly compared to a leg powered device, so I would say it's a different kettle of fish all together..

Acceleration has no effect on the impact. Cyclists regularly hit the same speeds. 30mph is very easy on only a very slight descent.
Mopeds are if anything much safer at those speeds due to wider tyres and hugely better stability.

Well I don't know what you ride mate...but on my bicycle my 0 to 30 times are quite boring, they can be measured in mins rather than seconds.

Of course acceleration play's a part, I've done about 30mph on my mountain bike down hill on a flat road and it's pretty scarey.

My mechanical top speed is about 30.. of im going downhill on a flat road I han probably do 35.

Acceleration is irrelevant in an impact. It's impact speed that matters. Impacts are all about kinetic energy which is (as you'll remember from GCSE physics) is half mass times velocity squared and only the riders velocity is relevant.
Many riders (all roadies and most mountain bikers) regularly hit over 30mph and many regularly hit 50mph (only roadies).

mattyfez

Jonesinamilion wrote:

Interesting debate!

I don't wear a helmet (rightly or wrongly) whilst tootling up & down canal paths which is where I do most of my riding (average a heady 13mph with peaks around 30mph, so yes I probably should wear one always). if I'm going on roads or proper off road stuff then I will reluctantly wear one.

Just a couple of points whist sitting on the fence...

Even on the canals etc... I rarely see anyone riding without one.
My mother always used the example... "If you don't wear a helmet and come off, just imagine dropping an egg onto the kitchen floor" (ouch!)

By all accounts you should probably be dead by now.

I did 75 miles yesterday on tow paths .. I died zero times. I must be a cat.

Angus Young

mattyfez wrote:

Jonesinamilion wrote:

Interesting debate!

I don't wear a helmet (rightly or wrongly) whilst tootling up & down canal paths which is where I do most of my riding (average a heady 13mph with peaks around 30mph, so yes I probably should wear one always). if I'm going on roads or proper off road stuff then I will reluctantly wear one.

Just a couple of points whist sitting on the fence...

Even on the canals etc... I rarely see anyone riding without one.
My mother always used the example... "If you don't wear a helmet and come off, just imagine dropping an egg onto the kitchen floor" (ouch!)

By all accounts you should probably be dead by now.

I did 75 miles yesterday on tow paths .. I died zero times. I must be a cat.

You're never dead... until you are.

mattyfez

I'm having an existential crisis now, how am I still alive?

Jonesinamilion

mattyfez wrote:

Jonesinamilion wrote:

Interesting debate!

I don't wear a helmet (rightly or wrongly) whilst tootling up & down canal paths which is where I do most of my riding (average a heady 13mph with peaks around 30mph, so yes I probably should wear one always). if I'm going on roads or proper off road stuff then I will reluctantly wear one.

Just a couple of points whist sitting on the fence...

Even on the canals etc... I rarely see anyone riding without one.
My mother always used the example... "If you don't wear a helmet and come off, just imagine dropping an egg onto the kitchen floor" (ouch!)

By all accounts you should probably be dead by now.

I did 75 miles yesterday on tow paths .. I died zero times. I must be a cat.

Helmet?

Come off?

It's a game of chance, I see my chances of "coming a cropper" on the tow paths as very low so I don't wear one, if road riding / off-road the chances of "offing" increase so I'll wear one in those instances.

mattyfez

Jonesinamilion wrote:

mattyfez wrote:

Jonesinamilion wrote:

Interesting debate!

I don't wear a helmet (rightly or wrongly) whilst tootling up & down canal paths which is where I do most of my riding (average a heady 13mph with peaks around 30mph, so yes I probably should wear one always). if I'm going on roads or proper off road stuff then I will reluctantly wear one.

Just a couple of points whist sitting on the fence...

Even on the canals etc... I rarely see anyone riding without one.
My mother always used the example... "If you don't wear a helmet and come off, just imagine dropping an egg onto the kitchen floor" (ouch!)

By all accounts you should probably be dead by now.

I did 75 miles yesterday on tow paths .. I died zero times. I must be a cat.

Helmet?

Come off?

It's a game of chance, I see my chances of "coming a cropper" on the tow paths as very low so I don't wear one, if road riding / off-road the chances of "offing" increase so I'll wear one in those instances.

No helmet, no crashes..it was a good ride! Although my arse hurts a bit!

larkim

Interesting debate about helmets in cars, never really thought that through. It is probably quite logical that cars should be designed to allow drivers and passengers to wear helmets. Tintop car racing drivers wear them, and they are particularly well protected due to roll cages etc.

chrisdouglas

I'm just gonna ask a question, if theres anyone that rides without a helmet on trails maybe they could answer. Why would you not wear one on trails? I've seen people take them off on long fire road hauls when it gets a bit warm, I can understand why you'd do it in that scenario very briefly during the climb, but as soon as they're back onto the trails the helmet goes back on.

What advantage do you stand to gain from not wearing a helmet?

As far as the parents thing goes I agree there needs to be an amount of danger, the best way to learn is the hardest way in my opinion, I remember seeing my a*$e with the missus when she brought home elbow and knee pads for my little lad on his bike with stablizers. Good grief. But at the same time he'll never have to ask me why I don't wear a helmet, he knows he has to wear a helmet when he rides his bike.

Angus Young

chrisdouglas wrote:

As far as the parents thing goes I agree there needs to be an amount of danger, the best way to learn is the hardest way in my opinion, I remember seeing my a*$e with the missus when she brought home elbow and knee pads for my little lad on his bike with stablizers. Good grief. But at the same time he'll never have to ask me why I don't wear a helmet, he knows he has to wear a helmet when he rides his bike.

A broken arm is O.K. Probably do them good in the long run. Persistent vegetative state, not so much.

chrisdouglas

Angus Young wrote:

A broken arm is O.K. Probably do them good in the long run. Persistent vegetative state, not so much.

Oh yeah I agree. I broke plenty of bones when I was a kid, didn't have many head injuries and I always bounced back no problems. I wouldn't suggest for a minute I'd let my kids ride down the local trails or even a tow path without a helmet on, but I think a lot of parents do get a bit caught up in it and want to wrap them up in bubble wrap more often than not.

FishFish

The parent thing reconciles to parents who smoke and their kids being aware of it. Parents don't always do the right thing. And I stand accused myself.

rockmonkeysc

larkim wrote:

Interesting debate about helmets in cars, never really thought that through. It is probably quite logical that cars should be designed to allow drivers and passengers to wear helmets. Tintop car racing drivers wear them, and they are particularly well protected due to roll cages etc.

Race cars have a lot of normal safety features removed though. All the airbags are taken out, seats with moving restraints are replaced with bucket seats and the cars crumple zones may have been stiffened to improve handling.
I took my car to an event on a runway for a top speed run and all drivers of modern road cars were advised against helmets while drivers of track cars and classics were advised to wear them.

The Rookie

Just watched 'me and my new brain' on BBC iplayer, would much recommend it to anyone vaguely interested, the main person featured suffered her injury in a snow boarding fall (so can easily relate to the cylcing environment - yes she was wearing a helmet) but the even bigger effect was on the women who fell over while walking down the high street and banged her head on the pavement. Watching that and thinking of the certified versus uncertified video linked to earlier adds a good perspective.