Helmets: Should you wear one?
- Thread starter Shaun
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DanRVV2006
New Member
- Location
- West Midlands
Im 17 yrs old and iv only just realy started taking up road cycling in the last year! I regret not starting riding earlier as iv grow up on cycling and have travlled to see many of the Spring Classics as my Dad is a huge cycling fanatic but a large reason for me not taking up cycling at a younger age is the fact that i didnt want my friends to take the piss out of me for wearing lycra but i dont care anymre and enjoy my cycling though there is still one thing i will not wear and that is a helmet as no matter what helmet i try on and wear they always make me look a rite plank and always seem to be miles out of proportion with my head! And i think this is a big put off for young cyclists having to wear helmets and yes i agree road safety is a must and yes i do take extreme care when out training but i feel more comfortable without a helmet than with one! The only time i do wear a helmet is when i travel to Northern France and Belgium and take on some of the route of Paris Roubaix and Ronde van Vlaanderen as the terrain is very unforgiving!
If you believe they offer some value safety-wise (many people do, many others don't - I do) then you really should get over the image thing, I really don't think the vast majority of people will give a t*ss what you wear, obviously your mates will take the pee but thats their job.
Safety gear has not decreased the popularity of motorcycling. It has saved my skin on a number of occasions. My recent off on the track wrote off the lid and put holes in the leathers I was wearing, but I got up and rode the bike back to the pits with bruising.
Had I not have been wearing the lid, I'd now most likely be eating my dinner through a tube.
Having fallen off cycles and motorcycles in the past without any protective gear, I can state that it fekkin hurts.
Always wear the hat on the cycle cos its not always going to be my fault.
Compulsory, yes people would get used to it in time, and if they know no different from a young age, then they will grow up accepting it from the off.
Had I not have been wearing the lid, I'd now most likely be eating my dinner through a tube.
Having fallen off cycles and motorcycles in the past without any protective gear, I can state that it fekkin hurts.
Always wear the hat on the cycle cos its not always going to be my fault.
Compulsory, yes people would get used to it in time, and if they know no different from a young age, then they will grow up accepting it from the off.
On my last off (is should that be first?) the only part of my head to hit the ground was the corner of my sunglasses frame. At that point they are 8mm thick. The helmet I have is 8cm thick in the same place. I'm glad I wasn't wearing it.
One of the problems with the helmet debate is that some people look at it from the individual physical perspective "some cushioning is better than none!", some look at it from behavioural perspective "it 'may' change your behaviour and drivers' behaviour" and some look at it from the population perspective "there's no evidence across the population that compulsory helmets decreases injuries, and there is evidence that overall it adversely affects the health of the population".
If there is ever to be compulsion, it is the last point that is the most pertinent.
One of the problems with the helmet debate is that some people look at it from the individual physical perspective "some cushioning is better than none!", some look at it from behavioural perspective "it 'may' change your behaviour and drivers' behaviour" and some look at it from the population perspective "there's no evidence across the population that compulsory helmets decreases injuries, and there is evidence that overall it adversely affects the health of the population".
If there is ever to be compulsion, it is the last point that is the most pertinent.
HJ
Cycling in Scotland
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- Auld Reekie
Lets get real here, cycle helmets are a fashion statement. From a safety perspective they are useless at speed above 12mph, so the reason for wearing one is fashion!
linfordlunchbox motor bike gear does give protection, but try cycling in it and you will find your more like linfordsweatband
linfordlunchbox motor bike gear does give protection, but try cycling in it and you will find your more like linfordsweatband
Uh???Jaded said:
If the impact had been hard your sunglasses fram would have injured your head, presumably a helmet would have prevented that. I guess the impact was not that hard, in which case there would be no injury caused by the helmet, if that's what you are intimating.
Hairy Jock said:
They are not a fashion statement, generally. It would be a strange cyclist in my view that would choose to wear one from a fashion point of view.
Usually the anti's state "useless over 15 mph" rather than 12mph, either way, that implies they are useful below that speed (and a bare headed colision at 10mph is a serious impact). But this view is too simplistic, as had been said before, they do not suddenly become useless at 15.1 mph, furthermore, a higher speed accident may not mean a direct impact at that speed, the impact to the head may be effectively at a lower speed if some deceleration has taken place, and / or the blow is a glancing one.
It should also be noted that Snell certified helmets are tested to roughly twice the impact force compared with th more common EN1708 certified helmets.
Jaded said:
This is one of the reasons I don't wear one. Every instinct and physical reaction in a fall is a desperate attempt to save your head. Your cranium is the result of millions of years of evolution, it is designed purely to protect your brain in the event of an impact. Your neck is of a length and strength that allows it to hold the head off the floor in the event you land on your shoulder.
These instincts and physical reactions can indeed decrease the velocity of your head significantly in a distance of 8cm.
Watch slow motion footage of people falling, their heads often swing and roll and loll close to the floor, very often within centimeters, but mostly the body manages to keep it clear. If you add 8cms to the width of their skull there WILL be an impact, and it might well be injurious.
I just made all this up, but it seems reasonable to me.
Brock said:These instincts and physical reactions can indeed decrease the velocity of your head significantly in a distance of 8cm.
Watch slow motion footage of people falling, their heads often swing and roll and loll close to the floor, very often within centimeters, but mostly the body manages to keep it clear. If you add 8cms to the width of their skull there WILL be an impact, and it might well be injurious.
I just made all this up, but it seems reasonable to me.
Indeed.
I don't buy this, its a red herring - if you had decelerated sufficiently such that you are 8cm from your head making contact, if it did actually make contact by virtue of having a helmet it would be at such a low force as to be negligable.
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
There are so many angles to this helmet business.
I have only once bumped my head since learning to cycle, that was when I stalled on a corner and fell over. After analysing the incident, I resolved never again to cycle if I was too drunk to walk. If I had been wearing a helmet that day I would probably have continued to drink and cycle and become involved in a more serious incident by now. Helmet wearing can be dangerous.
I have only once bumped my head since learning to cycle, that was when I stalled on a corner and fell over. After analysing the incident, I resolved never again to cycle if I was too drunk to walk. If I had been wearing a helmet that day I would probably have continued to drink and cycle and become involved in a more serious incident by now. Helmet wearing can be dangerous.
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