The CycleChat Helmet Debate Thread

[MontyVeda]

Had an interesting encounter today. Came across quite a lot of bikes heading other way to me so being the friendly sort, I waved said hello.
One or two replied, but the rest seemed to blank me.




I think I know why,




I wasnt wearing a plastic hat and they were on a Ryan Smith Foundation charity ride.

maybe they were busy trying not to crash into each other and didn't really notice you?

 

[mjr]

Is this a serious suggestion? I think it would be overkill in the UK (carrying a cool bag containing a single buff?) and useless in Australia (heat stroke moment was after 100km ride in the sun, everything would have melted and lugging a cool bag to Frankston and back would have measurably increased the work)

I've a cool bag that's maybe 20x9x4cm and hangs on the front of the handlebars, so not much to lug.

A bigger problem is that it allows helmets to slide around and make them even less protective, so most manufacturers say not to do it, as discussed earlier in this thread.

 

[MontyVeda]

...

A bigger problem is that it allows helmets to slide around and make them even less protective, so most manufacturers say not to do it, as discussed earlier in this thread.

 

[jefmcg]

I've a cool bag that's maybe 20x9x4cm and hangs on the front of the handlebars, so not much to lug.

yeah, but still. I've already got a saddle bag, tri bag, phone drybag. And - despite having a furnace inside** have never needed in the UK. And if I had it on the ride above, I probably would have already used it. If I hadn't, it would have melted in the sun, so been just a wet buff which is easily created with water.

Today I ended up jettisoning my helmet in Oxfordshire, due to a cable break I had to head uphill in a higher gear than I would have chosen and overheated. Maybe a frozen buff (if I could have managed it) would have helped, but i took the simpler solution to stop wearing it.

**i went running in Central Park in temperatures just below freezing, at the time the coldest I have ever experienced, and was the only runner in short sleeves. I am a heat source when exercising down to quite a few degrees below zero, and up into the 40s celsius.

 

[ufkacbln]

Et aw

Is this a serious suggestion? I think it would be overkill in the UK (carrying a cool bag containing a single buff?) and useless in Australia (heat stroke moment was after 100km ride in the sun, everything would have melted hours ago and lugging a cool bag to Frankston and back would have measurably increased the work)

..... but for a commute on a hot day when you already have your lunch in a cool bag?

 

[david k]

Had an interesting encounter today. Came across quite a lot of bikes heading other way to me so being the friendly sort, I waved said hello.
One or two replied, but the rest seemed to blank me.
I think I know why,
I wasnt wearing a plastic hat and they were on a Ryan Smith Foundation charity ride.

Many people join charity rides without knowing too much about the cause.
I would suspect many would have ignored you regardless of the ride they are on or if you wore a helmet or not.
I get ignored by some when wearing a helmet so I wouldn't read too much into it

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Because that's what is available. I decided to go for Snell, and I had go online to find out which are included. The helmet I chose, Specialized Echelon I think, is listed as Snell on the Snell site, but the box said "meets one or more of the following standards..." I literally couldn't find one in Evans that explicitly claimed Snell, even in the fine print.

For all I know, Specialized use different specs in different markets, and my helmet isn't actually up to Snell standards

^ this.
Ours are Specialized for the same reason, and finding *any* Snell certified helmets is difficult from my prior experience.

 

[jefmcg]

I'm not sure whether you are serious or not

..... but for a commute on a hot day when you already have your lunch in a cool bag?

Most commutes are before 9 or after 5 and well under 20 miles. I'm quite heat sensitive, and would never need ice under those conditions.h

I have nearly passed out with heat effects at the end of a summer commute, but that was in 38-40C. Not a common evening temperature in the UK. Never happened to me in the morning, even in a heat wave

 

[ufkacbln]

I'm not sure whether you are serious or not
Most commutes are before 9 or after 5 and well under 20 miles. I'm quite heat sensitive, and would never need ice under those conditions.h

I have nearly passed out with heat effects at the end of a summer commute, but that was in 38-40C. Not a common evening temperature in the UK. Never happened to me in the morning, even in a heat wave

Some of us have a varied week with finishes between 3:00 and 6:00


Although I still don't understand the "ice" reference

This advice is for a cooled Buff using the principle of evaporation cooling the subject

 

[newfhouse]

Can we get back to the plastic hat chat now?

 

[ufkacbln]

It's the usual rule with Cuno: everything that's relevant to him must also be relevant to everyone else.

.... Or the simpler reality that it is polite to reply to posts with practical replies

YMMV

 

[Roxy641]

That is it. I'm gonna wear my cycle helmet on my knee from now on, ah, but which knee is more likely to
need protection? After all, they are both the same age.

Please stop being so naive.......

We know from multiple reports from the pro helmet campaign, local press and Paramedics that helmets are effective in knee injuries

Happened locally last year.

Teenager got knocked off bike by a "left hook" and hurt his knee

Paramedic and local press both reported how much safer he would have been with a helmet

 

[Roxy641]

But roads don't kill people, cars/lorries etc can (and do though). True, there is one road I've avoided near me, and I've been on just about every other road in my local area.

I would agree, were it not for this country's low level of helmet usage being a m
ajor reason that the government hasn't yet forced through a compulsion law. So there is still something wrong with it, sadly. I think we need to sort out why some roads scare people and fix it, although that's much easier said than done.

 

[Roxy641]

I've been holding back until I had finished read all the hundreds of pages, but what you said summed
it up for me. I do wear a helmet, and it will probably save my head from injury as low as it is a low-level
accident. But, if my head is crushed by a hugh lorry, I don't think my helmet will help a bit.

My take on it:
If you don't want to wear a helmet, don't. If you want to wear a helmet, wear it. But we aware of its limitations. Personally, I wear a helmet and have done since I was a kid. I'm fully aware, if I'm hit by any vehicle, especially at speed, it's not going to do anything. But, if I were to fall off my bike and hit my head riding at a normal-ish speed, it might offer some protection.
I'll stop being sensible now.

 

[MontyVeda]