A week without a helmet.

[4F]

l

Sorry folks. Having read the comments it is now obvious that bike helmets have little or no value in what the evil, money grabbing manufacturers will tell you is their primary role of saving life and injury, and they were actually invented so that bees and wasps could get stuck in the vents and sting the wearer. How stupid I have been, to have paid out around £100 and put even more money in Mr Bell's pocket, when perhaps just a bandana or even a plain old paper bag would have protected me just as well.

yawn Zzzzzzzzz

 

[mcshroom]

Of course it is the choice of the individual as to whether they wear a cycling helmet, but to suggest the increase in people using them is driven by commercialism is both bizarre and ridiculous!

Anyone who believes the money making potential of cycling helmets rather than their obvious protective qualities is more important needs only to see a picture of Fabio Casartelli, who sustained a fatal head injury during the 1995 Tour de France, to settle that arguement. That one terrible incident was the biggest single contributory factor in the decision to make helmets compulsory in cycle racing. Of course there may always be the odd instance where a helmet or any other piece of safety equipment (airbags, seat belts etc) may actually cause more harm, but these occasions are rare and anyone who uses such an arguement to justify not using them is kidding themselves.

We probably all know of someone who has had an accident and shown you their cycle helmet broken in two pieces. I know I do, as a mate of mine had the misfortune to (in the dark) hit a plastic mineral water bottle with his front wheel. Unfortunately it had the cap on, so did not just crush under the wheel. His bike went from under him and he hit the ground head first. He did sustain a hospitalising head injury, and his cycle helmet split in two. Imagine how much worse it could have been if that helmet hadn't been between his head and the Tarmac.

Perhaps you would like to explain why more pro cyclists have died per year since the mandatory helmets were brought in than in the years before ?
http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/blog/2011/6/21/pro-cycling-and-helmets.html

 

[Brandane]

Sorry folks. Having read the comments it is now obvious that bike helmets have little or no value in what the evil, money grabbing manufacturers will tell you is their primary role of saving life and injury, and they were actually invented so that bees and wasps could get stuck in the vents and sting the wearer. How stupid I have been, to have paid out around £100 and put even more money in Mr Bell's pocket, when perhaps just a bandana or even a plain old paper bag would have protected me just as well.

Step this way.

 

[Dan B]

So if a small child runs off the pavement in front of you, perhaps obscured by a parked car, and you crash trying to avoid them sustaining a head injury in the process, that would be ok then ?

How fast exactly are you riding past parked cars with poor visibility of the pavement if you are riding too fast to be able to stop or swerve without hitting your head? And where did these cars even come from

If cars and lorries and buses didn't exist

 

[Dan B]

Not long now, all we need is someone claiming they have some distant relative who works in A+E and we should have a full house.

My aunt works in a fracture clinic, will that do? Only she's not very distant, she lives about four miles away.

 

[RedRider]

Cheers. Just been looking on their website and will be ordering one. Worth a punt.

Just be aware the peak is not designed to flip up (it does but not easily) although hasn't been an issue for me, I just tip the whole cap back on steeper gradients!

 

[4F]

My aunt works in a fracture clinic, will that do? Only she's not very distant, she lives about four miles away.

Not distant enough and no has to be A&E, sorry

 

[RedRider]

Not distant enough and no has to be A&E, sorry

My nephew-in-law's a paramedic but didn't wear a helmet on this summer's tour so will be discounted..

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Sorry folks. Having read the comments it is now obvious that bike helmets have little or no value in what the evil, money grabbing manufacturers will tell you is their primary role of saving life and injury,....

When the world-famous James Cracknell was hit by the mirror of a passing truck at around 75mph, he and others were convinced his sponsor's helmet saved his life (despite the fact that it split in two which indicates that it most likely didn't).

Now, given his celebrity status and the international coverage this incident, you'd think it an ideal opportunity to boost the sales of said sponsor's product with adverts proclaiming its life-saving properties. Curiously, there were none.

GC

 

[ufkacbln]

Sorry folks. Having read the comments it is now obvious that bike helmets have little or no value in what the evil, money grabbing manufacturers will tell you is their primary role of saving life and injury, and they were actually invented so that bees and wasps could get stuck in the vents and sting the wearer. How stupid I have been, to have paid out around £100 and put even more money in Mr Bell's pocket, when perhaps just a bandana or even a plain old paper bag would have protected me just as well.

Ironically you could not be further from reality.....it is the pro helmeteers that make the claims and NOT the manufacturers!

 

[bpsmith]

he and others were convinced his sponsor's helmet saved his life (despite the fact that it split in two which indicates that it most likely didn't).

Completely the opposite!

A helmet is designed to dissipate the initial shock from a collision and sacrifice itself for the benefit of the head being protected.

The fact that it split indicates that it most certainly took a massive impact and therefore did its job properly.

 

[bpsmith]

Seriously, if you want to discuss this, take it to the appropriate place. Read this first though.

Really?

I replied to your post, not vice versa!

 

[bikeman66]

Ironically you could not be further from reality.....it is the pro helmeteers that make the claims and NOT the manufacturers!

Errrrrr............. I was actually being ironic! Further up this thread it is suggested that the push for increased helmet use is a commercial drive, rather than what it actually is, which is common sense.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Errrrrr............. I was actually being ironic! Further up this thread it is suggested that the push for increased helmet use is a commercial drive, rather than what it actually is, which is common sense.

Despite there being no evidence whatsoever that head injuries were a problem for over 100 years?

 

[glasgowcyclist]

The fact that it split indicates that it most certainly took a massive impact and therefore did its job properly.

No, it doesn't.

I take it you didn't read the link that Adrian so helpfully provided? It's worth the couple of minutes to do it, as it is written by someone whose profession was the testing of helmets. http://cyclehelmets.org/1209.html

GC