The CycleChat Helmet Debate Thread

[Chris S]

I used to wear a helmet to protect me from lawyers. I was fully aware that they increased the risk of rotational injuries (https://www.cyclehelmets.org/1039.html) and are absolutely no use if you are crushed by an HGV (the most common cause cycling deaths).

In mid-Sempter I was coming down a steep hill at about 20mph and hit the brakes to make a right-turn. I locked the front wheel and went over the handlebars. My left shoulder took the initial impact and I felt the right side of my face bounce of the road twice. I must have been knocked unconscious as about a week later I noticed I had bruises on my shoulder blades, I don't remember rolling over.

I was immediately aware that my helmet had stopped my temple hitting the ground (twice). Yesterday I noticed there was a crack in the back of my helmet. It's the hard BMX type so it saved me from a fractured skull as well.

I'm off to get another one now.

 

[keithmac]

You're in for it now..

I use a helmet too by the way.

 

[smokeysmoo]

 

[Slick]

I have a feeling that this isn't going to end well.

 

[MontyVeda]

I have a feeling that this isn't going to end well.

for starters... this needs moving into the helmet forum.

 

[Spiderweb]

I am a helmet wearer too, it is my choice to do so. The reason for me making this choice was IMO simple;

If my head hit the curb whilst wearing a helmet I think my head would be in most cases better off than if my head hit the curb without helmet protection.

 

[derrick]

I used to wear a helmet to protect me from lawyers. I was fully aware that they increased the risk of rotational injuries (https://www.cyclehelmets.org/1039.html) and are absolutely no use if you are crushed by an HGV (the most common cause cycling deaths).

In mid-Sempter I was coming down a steep hill at about 20mph and hit the brakes to make a right-turn. I locked the front wheel and went over the handlebars. My left shoulder took the initial impact and I felt the right side of my face bounce of the road twice. I must have been knocked unconscious as about a week later I noticed I had bruises on my shoulder blades, I don't remember rolling over.

I was immediately aware that my helmet had stopped my temple hitting the ground (twice). Yesterday I noticed there was a crack in the back of my helmet. It's the hard BMX type so it saved me from a fractured skull as well.

I'm off to get another one now.

Most people come to there senses eventually.

 

[theclaud]

Three weeks ago I was doored by a parked driver and briefly knocked unconscious when my head hit the ground. My head is OK now but I also sustained a broken collarbone in the impact. I was wearing a buff at the time, so I can confirm that the buff saved my life. Get a buff, people!!!!!*


*Or don't, and be resigned to having your brains splattered all over the road. Not to mention cold ears. Do ride well clear of the door zone tho.

 

[Sharky]

I too am a convert.
Rode for years without a fall, then in the last 10 years, seem to be falling off on a regular basis. Pot holes, gravel, black ice, and a serious car accident. Sometimes with head knocks, some with helmets and some without.

But it was a trivial incident that finally converted me. I was riding home through a quiet village, not a car in sight, but there was a section with no pavement and I rode a little too close to a wall with foliage hanging over. Some of the foliage managed to lasso my handlebars and turned the front wheel 90 degrees. As a result, it was over the bars and landed on my back and my head carried on and hit the tarmac. Not enough too knock me out, but I certainly felt a little dazed. On the latter occasion I was not wearing a helmet.

This just made me think that it doesn't matter how skillful a rider you are, if you ride long enough, there is an accident waiting to happen. Now whether a helmet/lack of helmet, helped or hindered any of my spills, is always debatable, but at my age, falls hurt and bones are easily broken so for me it is more reassuring to be a wearer.

 

[User6179]

Three weeks ago I was doored by a parked driver and briefly knocked unconscious when my head hit the ground. My head is OK now but I also sustained a broken collarbone in the impact. I was wearing a buff at the time, so I can confirm that the buff saved my life. Get a buff, people!!!!!*


*Or don't, and be resigned to having your brains splattered all over the road. Not to mention cold ears. Do ride well clear of the door zone tho.

I don't think someone who cycles in the door zone should be giving out safety advice to others...………….

 

[briantrumpet]

I'd become ambivalent till 17 October, when a broken link on a chain ended up with me breaking my fall at about 20mph with the back of my helmeted head. Not a scratch elsewhere, and I didn't lose consciousness at all. That broken link has so far cost me about £3000 in lost earnings, as I've not been able to work for two months (though I've discovered all about post-concussion syndrome).

So, I now know that a helmet won't stop concussion, but, given the thwack that the back of my helmet took, I'd probably not be alive without that helmet. Anecdata, I know, but having my brain shaken enough to require my brain to take months to repair itself, has also shaken me out of ambivalence. This is not unconnected to my seeing 129 slices of brain scan, and realising that everything I think, and am, is there in those 129 slices, and not wanting them scrambled again.

 

[MontyVeda]

Three weeks ago I was doored by a parked driver and briefly knocked unconscious when my head hit the ground. My head is OK now but I also sustained a broken collarbone in the impact. I was wearing a buff at the time, so I can confirm that the buff saved my life. Get a buff, people!!!!!*


*Or don't, and be resigned to having your brains splattered all over the road. Not to mention cold ears. Do ride well clear of the door zone tho.

Ouch! Glad you're OK.

I only wear a buff around my neck but would never ride without my skull... they've been protecting brains for millennia.

 

[mjr]

I am a convert too. After years of crashing at least once a year and suffering the even closer passes one gets while using a helmet, a mild neck injury made it a choice between giving up cycling or helmets. I gave up helmets. I've crashed since but not as badly and not hit my head since. There are several possible reasons for this, including drivers taking better care of normal riders, better hearing without hat/strap noise, risk homeostasis... but all I know is that I intend never to put my neck at risk again by using one! Those of you who do should take a long hard look at what you're doing: even if it protects against the impact, it does not enough about the deceleration, plus the rest of your body is still unprotected, and they seem to be causing crashes because it's usually wearers who claim to have been saved in gnarly crashes. Normal riders just don't seem to crash as often.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I used to wear a helmet to protect me from lawyers. I was fully aware that they increased the risk of rotational injuries (https://www.cyclehelmets.org/1039.html) and are absolutely no use if you are crushed by an HGV (the most common cause cycling deaths).

In mid-Sempter I was coming down a steep hill at about 20mph and hit the brakes to make a right-turn. I locked the front wheel and went over the handlebars. My left shoulder took the initial impact and I felt the right side of my face bounce of the road twice. I must have been knocked unconscious as about a week later I noticed I had bruises on my shoulder blades, I don't remember rolling over.

I was immediately aware that my helmet had stopped my temple hitting the ground (twice). Yesterday I noticed there was a crack in the back of my helmet. It's the hard BMX type so it saved me from a fractured skull as well.

I'm off to get another one now.

It’s always better to learn this lesson the easier way.

 

[snorri]

. I was wearing a buff at the time, so I can confirm that the buff saved my life. Get a buff, people!!!!!*

I'm already a convert!
My buff had been lying in the bottom of a drawer as an unwanted gift for years until last autumn when I decided to give it a trial and haven't cycled without it since.