One of my pet hates re pro-helmeteers....

[fossyant]

Evidence that if my unhelmeted heard had impacted the road, then a level of skull / brain damage may well have resulted.

Most likely concussion or a nasty gravel rash - I know I'd rather not have either, so I wear a lid. Any riding that involves any sort of speed I have the lid on. Pottering about with my family, no I don't bother.

 

[Milkfloat]

The point here being that if I WASN'T wearing said bash hat, which had obviously impacted with the road, what would have been the extent of the damage to my skull / brain - ?

We/You won't ever know. It could be entirely possibly that your head would not have even hit the road, it is possible that the car would not even have hit you as the driver may have seen you were not wearing a helmet and actually stopped, your head could have hit the road but be totally fine or even you could be dead after a massive brain injury. That is the whole point - you cannot tell what would or would not have happened, in some cases a helmet will help in others it will not.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

'Ginger cake saved my life'

 

[Siclo]

Cycle commuting into city centre Manchester is a death wish

I don't think it's that bad but do understand what's led you to that conclusion

there isn't enough cyclists on the road unlike London

and the problem is if it's portrayed as a death wish you don't get enough take up to get the numbers on the road to create the environment you desire. It has improved over the last decade I've lived in Manchester but it's not fast enough, we'll see what Mr Boardman can do about it.

 

[classic33]

As far as you know yet. I'd hate to see you and the other proponents of helmets enabling greater risk taking to end up like the NFL helmeteers who are apparently at greater risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

CTE normally confirmed after death ny close examination of the brain.

But include boxers, rugby players and people like myself, with epilepsy in your list. I've cracked my skull three times this year. Not once on a bike/trike in over thirty years.

Remember seeing these?
View attachment 411800
Maybe everybody should be made wear one, or we can just leave it to people to choose whether they want to or not. The research that they do absorb some of the impact force is out there, easy find.

 

[fossyant]

Our heads haven't evolved to fall of a cycle at 20 or more mph though.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Our heads haven't evolved to fall of a cycle at 20 or more mph though.

Neither have cycling helmets.

 

[mjr]

Our heads haven't evolved to fall of a cycle at 20 or more mph though.

Our heads haven't evolved to fall off a cycle at 20 or more mph wrapped in polystyrene either, though. It's still a risky thing to do, so I'd spend far more time minimising the risk of falling off than attempting to mitigate the consequences.

 

[bladderhead]

I am probably in danger of sounding like a recumbent evangelist, but if you ask fossyant's spine it will probably say it would love a nice, comfy, load-spreading seat. Some people are using recumbents on MTB trails and riding them over jumps and piles of logs.

People say that drivers are more blasé when they see someome with a lid and more nervous when they see someone without. I think they are more nervous and less blasé when they see me on my 'bent. I know I scare the pedestrians. I also like riding feet-first instead of head-first. And I never bother with a lid.

 

[simongt]

My own take on this is to wear or not is a personal preference. When I was hit from behind by a car last year, obviously I didn't have the opportunity to take any kind of evasive action. Wearing a bash hat, but still knocked unconscious for at least 10 - 15 minutes. The GLW has trashed two bash hats in three falls over the years, none of them her instigation.
I always wear a bash hat.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I always wear a bash hat.

Don't your friends point and laugh when you are walking down the road or in the pub?

 

[simongt]

Don't your friends point and laugh when you are walking down the road or in the pub?

Now that would be telling - !