Cycle Helmets - Survey?

Question

I believe that the people that wear helmets on push bikes are :

- Children, as parents have insisted (under 8yrs old)

- Proffessional Cyclists

- Racing - May be legislation

- General cycling - Men over 50

What do you think ?

Do you wear one ?

Answer 1

im 23 years old and i won't get on my seat without one because i always wear mine and it alway on my seat when i get ready to ride to so i won't forget

Answer 2

I am 25. When taking a quick ride around the block after adjusting my deraileurs or riding across campus on the bike pathways (when I was in college), I do not wear a helmet. When riding on trails or on the road, I definitely wear a helmet. While helmets have never protected me from anything for me on the road, they have protected my head from a nasty blow or two while riding the trails over the years. Not wearing a helmet when riding a bike in an environment that has  potential for injury is simply stupid.

Answer 3

I hate them but I wear one without fail for road and trail. I had a big fall in Grizedale Forest recently and put a dint & crack in my new helmet. Suffered a headache for just a few minutes afterwards but it would have been so much worse without a helmet.

Leigh, 47

Answer 4

your assumptions are uneducated, at best. I wear a helmet because 25 years ago, at age 13, I endo'd off my road bike, at speed, down a hill. the force of the crash ripped my helmet off my head! yeah imagine what I would look like, if I hadn't been wearing one! needless to say, my best friend crashed 2 years later, and died from the injuries. he wasn't wearing a helmet. I have worn a helmet, religiously, ever since! even just riding around the block, after tweaking my brakes or derailleur. I am a parent, and my kids wear helmets, my oldest is 9 now, so there goes theory 1. I am not, nor ever been a professional cyclist, theory 2. I have raced, but only occaissionally, theory 3. and if you do the math, you'll see I'm well under 50! theory 4! my 9 year-old recently endo'd, so she now has greater appreciation for her helmet! not that I ever had trouble getting her to wear it. she also rides horses. helmets are a part of her daily wardrobe. worse than getting killed would be becoming a sentient vegetable. imagine losing your ability to move your legs, but still remember longingly the days when you could ride freely! imagine losing your equilibrium, and not being able to balance on a bike! but looking normal enough to your friends who want to ride down to the lake for a swim. except now, you have to wait for your mom to drive you!

you know what? I'm sick of stupid people, thinking they're too cool for helmets, asking this same question over and over!

wear your helmet. it's cooler than you'll ever know!

Answer 5

my helmet saved my life when a car went in to me an my head smashed in to the curb

Answer 6

i always one i say its better to be safe than sorry!!!!!  :)

Answer 7

im 16, i havnt been using a helmet. iv decided that wearing one is a good idea and ordered 1 about 30 minutes before reading this question xD

Answer 8

i dont wear one - youre theory seems true !

Answer 9

Q: What do doctors call cyclists that don't wear helmets?

A: Organ donors.

Wear your freakin' helmet!

Answer 10

Do I wear a helmet most of the time? Yes.

Will it stop a car from hitting me? No.

Will it lessen my chances of being injured? Maybe.

Make helmets mandatory for everyone? No.

Answer 11

i wear a triple eight foam one..

Answer 12

All mountain bikers wear helmets.........if you see a person riding a mountain bike (off road) who isnt wearing one, they are not a mountain biker...they are in the 'wannabe' crowd.

I wear one while roading or mountaining(m 46)...you only have one brain and besides, todays helmets look cool.

Answer 13

I cycle for a bit of exercise once or twice a week. I don't own one but I'm planning to get one.

Answer 14

What do you think ?

I believe that people that wear helmets:

- have a higher intelligence than people who don't wear helmets

- are less concerned about how they look or how other people think they look and are more concerned about their safety

- because it's the law to wear them where they live, it was probably made a law for a good reason: it will lessen the chance of head and brain injuries if you have an accident or fall.

Do you wear one ?

Yes.

Answer 15

I don't get the chance to ride anymore as I'm always too busy with my young son, but I ALWAYS used a helmet.

I think cyclists look stupid without helmets. They don't look like proper bikers.

Also when I was 21 I was hit by a lorry (just the back end of it, not head on) and I crashed into the railings and hit my head on the kerb. When I took the stretchy net off my helmet the helmet fell into two halves.

I wouldn't be typing this now if I'd not been wearing a helmet that day.

Answer 16

MMm. I suppose your categories might be nearly correct.

I try to avoid riding on the road for the very reason that other people wear helmets. Cars and trucks. My bike is the only thing I use to enjoy a bit of lawlessness on the road. I drive a truck for work, I keep an eye out for road signs and obey them. I follow the directions of the traffic control officer, I slow down near work zones as I myself do a lot of road jobs.

Currently, I do not own a helmet, but I will get one and wear one if an organized ride required it or if I was with a group that was hardcore enough to use them. A hardcore group would most likely also encourage the use of body armor and knee and elbow pads. I'm not sure if I would be up to that level of riding intensity and would probably think twice about running with that lot.

Before I try anything wild, I usually pause for a momemt and think about a melon being dropped from a height of six feet. Is there any chance of my melon dropping six feet?

No? You go first or get out of the way.

Yes? Proceed with caution or turn around. I can deal with some snickering if I back down.

I'm actually going out to pick up some bike gear today and may actually take a look at some of the brain buckets available.

*Edit*

I picked up a lid. It's a Giro "Flak" model. Color is called "Creep Red".

http://www.xsportsprotective.com/giro-fl...

I preferred this style over the streamlined "roadie" lids.

Heh, I might even be able to step up my riding this summer by participating in a few organized events or exploring some new trails with wild and reckless abandon. I'd say 98% of the time I'm riding solo and the extra confidence that I'd be more likely to self rescue is a good thing.

Answer 17

I wear one and have seen a couple of articles recently in the paper where wearing a cycle helmet saved a girls life.  They don't look great but its worth it.

Answer 18

People who wear helmets are those who do not wish their brains to be the topping on a street pizza.

HTH

Answer 19

I'm wondering about the motivation for this question...

Yes, I wear one most of the time.  I have crashed four times.  Twice, I was in USA Cycling-sanctioned races, and yes, I was required to wear a helmet.  Another time, I was riding in a fast group, and another rider took me down.  The other time was when I was finishing a group ride.  I was going less than 10mph.  My front wheel hit an expansion crack.  I went over the curb, and because of my height, my head hit the sidewalk.  Seven cracks in my helmet.  My skull would have split like a melon.

Are you wondering whether the only people who wear helmets are the ones who are told to, or they are old men?  And do we not even consider women who ride bicycles?

If you want to protect your head, wear a helmet.  If you don't, don't.  You pays your money, and you takes your chances.  (yes, that's the proper grammar for that statement).

Edit:  Yes, helmets can look silly.  They can also be irritating at times.  But hey, lots of us ride around in neon lycra outfits with more advertising than a NASCAR racer parked in Times Square.  We're out there to ride our bikes, not to make a fashion statement to the rest of the world, or to show how macho we are.

Answer 20

Count me in as a young (ish?) female who always wears a helmet.

I'm 25, and my cycling seems to go in fits and starts a bit, but if I'm cycling, I tend to cycle every day, almost always with a helmet (feel naked without it and I'll go back home and get it once I realise it's not on - as long as I'm not running late for something important!)

I would have to disagree on the pro cyclists wearing helmets - sure they do in races where they have to, but you'll often see them practicing without.

Answer 21

I don,t wear one and never have but i would advise against not wearing one.

Answer 22

im 18 and cycle alot. i dont wear a helmet. they look silly.

Answer 23

no

well i do when i go to the skatepark ive hit my head way to many times and when i wear one there i feal more safe do i try no new things

Answer 24

I am an 18 year old male, and I wear my helmet nearly every time I get on my bike.  The only exception to this is when I decide to ride around the block just to test out an adjustment.  The main reason I bought a helmet, was after I bought my new road bike and found out that I was going 30 mph downhill.  After that incident, I went and purchased my helmet because I would hate to have someone see what my skull and brains look like when strewn about on the road.

Answer 25

A study by TRL in the UK found that cars pass closer to cycle helmet wearers than people who aren't wearing them.

Answer 26

nah i don't wear one.. but then again i don't go on a bike lol