The CycleChat Helmet Debate Thread

[Tripster]

Never ridden on a canal towpath?

Yes, I use to live with a garden directly onto canal and not one bridge was 1” from my head and nor was I stupid enough to hit my head on one... bit big to miss

 

[Tripster]

We tend to look at a cracked helmet and assume it is “proof” it saved a life.
Actually, a cracked helmet has failed to work as intended:

Bit as I said, we will never know one way or the other. I didn’t say it was proof of anything

 

[newfhouse]

Forgive me good Sir, but I really must insist you specify your source for this.

Thank you.

Well known fact.

 

[mjr]

Are you saying that in final part of a parting of the ways with your bike, you actively move your neck so that your head will impact at just the right angle to minimize the damage to your head. And without damage to the neck.
What exercises do you do to keep the neck so strong?

It might be instinctive. It might be related to my years breaking my falls during martial arts classes. But the human neck evolved to support the human head. Just that. The head. Not the head plus a bag of sugar strapped to the top that contributes disproportionately to the turning force on the neck with a contribution proportional to the added weight multiplied by the distance from the joints.

You've previously claimed that the helmet wearing was the cause of your crashing. You stopped wearing a helmet, you stopped crashing. Therefore it was the helmet, an inanimate object, atop your head that was the problem not the actions of you the wearer.

Those are your conclusions and not claims that I remember ever making. I only point out the correlation. It may be, as is often suggested, that helmet use and crashing are linked through some intermediate steps, or maybe both caused by a third factor.

 

[Dave Davenport]

Forgive me good Sir, but I really must insist you specify your source for this.

Thank you.

Good luck with that, he hasn't answered any other questions.

 

[Cycling_Samurai]

Forgive me good Sir, but I really must insist you specify your source for this.

Thank you.

I apologize my good Sir, it was a typo. It's not as was posted but rather and acclamation of data from two sources. The error above is not correctly typed. The sourced information is readily available online. Good day.

 

[Brandane]

3 out of 5 bicycle accidents involve injury to the head.

I too would love to know where this statistic came from. I for one have never reported a bicycle accident, or ever been asked about them. So where would that statistic appear from? Police? In that case it is well skewed because only cycle accidents involving injuries which also involve motor vehicles will appear. There is no requirement to report accidents involving only cycles, even involving injury, to the Police. So I would suggest that the vast majority of cycling accidents and injuries go unreported to anyone.

 

[MontyVeda]

I think I would rather crack a helmet rather than the back of my head when landing on my back though wouldn’t you ?

You are of course absolutely correct.

I trust you always wear helmet, just in case you trip at the top of a flight of stairs, or slip on an icy pavement... or is it only when you're riding a bike that you feel it necessary to protect your noggin, just in case?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

That's plain rubbish. Helmets do not cause accidents.

You need to read it again and yes wearing a helmet does increase the risk of you having an accident. It’s called risk compensation and is well studied and proven. It even shows up in the accident stats.

 

[Milkfloat]

Yes, I use to live with a garden directly onto canal and not one bridge was 1” from my head and nor was I stupid enough to hit my head on one... bit big to miss

Either you are a complete short arse or your bridges are not low. Round my parts they are very low requiring quite a duck under each one. People quite regularly hit their helmets or scape their backpacks as they go through. I guess they forget the extra bulk they have.

 

[Tripster]

You are of course absolutely correct.

I trust you always wear helmet, just in case you trip at the top of a flight of stairs, or slip on an icy pavement... or is it only when you're riding a bike that you feel it necessary to protect your noggin, just in case?

If you read back you would see my reason for wearing a cycle helmet has nothing to do with protecting my bonce.

Either you are a complete short arse or your bridges are not low. Round my parts they are very low requiring quite a duck under each one. People quite regularly hit their helmets or scape their backpacks as they go through. I guess they forget the extra bulk they have.

No I am 5’ 11” and never hit my head or scrapped a backpack on canal bridge. If someone is constantly doinging their heads on bridges they are a fool with no spacial awareness or common. sense. They shouldnt be let out let alone allowed to ride a bike.

 

[mjr]

If someone is constantly doinging their heads on bridges they are a fool with no spacial awareness or common. sense. They shouldnt be let out let alone allowed to ride a bike.

Bit ableist, innit? Cycling only for the clever able-bodied? Maybe this is a common view among helmet users and that's why a lot of helmet-forcing events also ban recumbent tricycles.

 

[classic33]

It might be instinctive. It might be related to my years breaking my falls during martial arts classes. But the human neck evolved to support the human head. Just that. The head. Not the head plus a bag of sugar strapped to the top that contributes disproportionately to the turning force on the neck with a contribution proportional to the added weight multiplied by the distance from the joints.

Those are your conclusions and not claims that I remember ever making. I only point out the correlation. It may be, as is often suggested, that helmet use and crashing are linked through some intermediate steps, or maybe both caused by a third factor.

It was "hit your head during the[your] helmet wearing period". On here.

And I've been riding over 40, something like 17 of them (1996 to 2013) using a helmet, and in a completely unrepresentative one person study, I only hit my head in the helmet-using period, except for a tree branch in 2013. In my reckless younger days, I face-slammed the floor running a few times and occasionally even walking, but not cycling, not even sliding down the ungritted roads feet first after parting company with my road bike on the way to school. Yet helmet wearers frequently pop up showing the results of their latest ground-head failure. Make of that what you will. Maybe it doesn't apply to anyone else.

As far as I'm aware, repeated launching of an opponent head first at any object, in a martial arts class, would have you headed for the door.

Clarification was sought, but was never given. The implication being that the helmet caused the incidents, not the wearer.

If the human neck had evolved to just support the weight of the head, then it could do a better job if the head didn't rotate upon and with the neck.

Most cycle helmets don't weigh 2lb, your bag of sugar(Standard weight, other sizes available.) Weight seems to come in at around the 10oz mark for most helmets, a third of your implied weight. Full-face helmets are closer to the "bag of sugar" weight you keep on throwing in. But how often do you see them in use on a road bike?

With regards no longer hitting your head whilst cycling, when no longer wearing/using a helmet. It's a very clear example of over compensation, on your part, for wearing/using something and expecting it to do things that the designers never had in mind. You took chances you wouldn't take when not wearing one. In effect you changed your cycling to suit not wearing one.

I've said this before, at present the choice of wearing one is mine. I'm not in favour of their use, by anyone cycling on the road, being banned. Nor am I for their compulsory use when cycling on the road. Shouting out for either will probably end in a load of people either giving up cycling or breaking the law on a regular basis.

 

[MontyVeda]

If you read back you would see my reason for wearing a cycle helmet has nothing to do with protecting my bonce.

....

Fair enough... at the end of the day, a lightweight, breathable, stylish polystyrene hat is just a fashion accessory.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Fair enough... at the end of the day, a lightweight, breathable, stylish polystyrene hat is just a fashion accessory.

Breathable polystyrene. Is there such a thing?