Cyclists - helmets?

Question

Do you wear a helmet when cycling?

If not, why not?

Is it because you are afraid of looking "stupid"?

I DO wear a helmet because I wouldn't feel safe without one. I think that anyone who refuses on the grounds that they will "look stupid" is daft! What's the point in looking fashionable if you end up with a head injury?

Answer 1

I use it at times.

Let me explain-

A helmet is good protection, within limits. Nothing it can do if you are run over by a car, forget a truck.

It can be of help in mild to medium falls.  But not much more.

On the other hand, visibility is a must to be safe! Some helmets do not help much in this sense.

I use my head and eyes to keep safe! Smart riding, following traffic rules, positioning, being visible, predictable, and always anticipating are far more important factors that a helmet.

Specially if there is a false  sense of safety because one wears a helmet.

All that said, I use my helmet off road, on mix terrain, and in slow traffic roads.

Not so much on busy roads or on long commutes from town to town, where it will do very little for me and I rather relay on other resources.

Answer 2

I can't stand the thought of ending up paralized because I didn't want to mess my hair up with a helmet.

Answer 3

You can look great if you have a sweet helmet, you know. I recommend a Giro, the Indicator model is well-made and inexpensive, around 35$. Don't worry about looking stupid- you can laugh when that jerk that made fun of your Giro helmet is lying in a ditch with a scalp wound.

Answer 4

I started wearing one last year.   I thought it wasnt cool back then.   One day I was taking a break and noticed a few bikers going past.   The ones with helmets looked like Real bikers.  The ones w/o helments looked odd to me.   That made me think, what am I?   Am I a 'real' biker?  Of course I am...so I got a lid.    

Last week I was mountian biking and took a curve in some loose sand a bit too fast and wiped out.   Skinned my arms and knee and bonked my head good on the ground.   I would have been really hurt w/o a helmet as I was partially dazed for several minutes afterwards even with a helmet on.  Learn from others and wear a helmet before you wipe out.....

Answer 5

I've always worn a helmet on the roads, last week I bought a new helmet for racing and for a change, read the intructions...

It's in writing that there is no proof that you are better off with one on.

Answer 6

I wear them on roads but if it's a decent cycle track then I'll just clip it to my rucksack.

Answer 7

I wear one, right now i'm looking for a better looking one

Answer 8

Well, cyclists without helmet are named also as organ donors.

Anyway, while I think that everybody should ride as they want, I don't want to ride in a group where one rider is helmetless.  I don't want to carry him if something happens.  

Maybe the 'a helmet doesn't help if you get hit by a car', or 'it doesn't make any difference if you crash fast', is pretty dumb.

For one thing, there is nothing that will make a rider crash-proof that will help with any situation concivable (or not-concivable) that could arise.  A helmet (as much as a car seat belt) does help reduce risk situations, but not all.  Of course, if you're riding on the streets, and get run over by an 18-wheeler, helmet or no-helmet you would be as dead.  But, there are a lot of crashes where a helmet will make a difference.  

I have seen crashes where a helmet was totaled, and the guy was able to walk away, but it would have been another story if they weren't wearing one.

Answer 9

agree, I wear one on the road but for mucking about off road then not :) more fun that way!!!

Answer 10

I've had a crash and gone over my handlebars onto the tarmac before. The fact that I was wearing a helmet and it broke on impact saved me any serious head damage.

Shame the same can't be said about my Oakleys...9 stiches around my eye - bit too close for comfort!

Answer 11

I live in Perth, Australia, and it's law to wear a helmet here. I find it a complete pain in the **** to be honest, because when you're on one of the many cycle paths away from traffic, a helmet is simply not essential, and when the weather is 40 degrees in the shade they get bloody uncomfortable too

Answer 12

Been cycling for a LOT of years now,never worn a helmet. Not as a fashion statement,but I do not see why. In a car I wore a seatbelt even before it was law,I could see the point.

But if you come off a bicycle at speed and land on your head,helmet or not,I think your probably in trouble. And yes, I have been involved in accidents more than once. It's the old story,as a cyclist,self preservation is the order of the day,all motorists are idiots.

Answer 13

I don't ride without one. I went down many years ago. And the only part of me that did'nt hurt was my head. I ride because I enjoy the sport. Not to impress anyone.

Answer 14

Helmets save lives.