Cycling helmet...to buy or not to buy!

Admiral Huddy said:
Being seen and abiding by the rules of the road is far more important than thinking that a helmet alone is enough. I've seen cyclists wearing helmets dashing through red lights which is a contradiction to say the least..
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I'm not sure i agree with your earlier comment though. As a driver, the last thing i pay attention to when i'm driving is whether a cyclist is wearing a helmet or not. So i can't see how it would change other drivers attitudes.


@OP, You'll get used to wearing a helmet, just try a few on and get one that's most comfy.
 
FrenchTart said:
It makes me rage a little too but reading up on it paints a slightly different picture :)
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To be fair, some of the stuff in that link you posted is pretty crap. The Dutch cyclists one for a start. The headline to the link reads "Why are Dutch cyclists more likely to be injured if they wear helmets?" which makes it sound like helmets may be part of the problem. When you read the article, it goes on about cyclists that wear helmets are usually people that ride road bikes in groups/race or MTBs are more likely to crash so its the activity that is the problem not the helmet, where as normal commuters don't wear helmets at all. Its the old correlation, causation thing
 
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Bear said:
To be fair, some of the stuff in that link you posted is pretty crap. The Dutch cyclists one for a start. The headline to the link reads "Why are Dutch cyclists more likely to be injured if they wear helmets?" which makes it sound like helmets may be part of the problem. When you read the article, it goes on about cyclists that wear helmets are usually people that ride road bikes in groups/race or MTBs are more likely to crash so its the activity that is the problem not the helmet, where as normal commuters don't wear helmets at all. Its the old correlation, causation thing
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It's not all perfect research indeed - it's also not the only source of information on the web. The point of posting it was really to get the OP to engage with the idea of reading up more about the subject rather than taking things at face value (which a lot of people posting seem to have done).

As I've said, I wear a helmet. I would encourage anyone else to research things properly and make a decision based on that.
 
Semple said:
I'm not sure i agree with your earlier comment though. As a driver, the last thing i pay attention to when i'm driving is whether a cyclist is wearing a helmet or not. So i can't see how it would change other drivers attitudes.
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There's a flaw with your post.. you assume i'm not a motorist and the word I choose was "perception" not "attitude". In the few month i had the helmet, i was involved in a series of incidents quite close together. This never happened before and not happened since. i do not believe that is coincidence.
 
Having come off in icy conditions and the helmet took the hit rather than my head, I was happy to be wearing one.

A helmet won't save you if you body slam something, but it brings some protection to your head should you fall off and knock your head.
 
lordrobs said:
Unfortunately some of that numb bum ache is just a case of getting used to it so don't expect padded shorts to help instantly!
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Just bought my gear for the first time and did a test 10 mile cycle, deffo helps a bit..but waiting for the ache to heal first before i try again. Also going to try get a new sadal..this isnt that great lol
 
FrenchTart said:
Like many things, the "common sense" argument is often essentially founded on baseless assumptions. Once you start to research the subject properly everything becomes far more clouded/confusing.

There's some research linked to and discussed on the site below:

http://www.cyclehelmets.org/

Personally it annoys me that there are a lot of assumptions that aren't based on science out there *but* I still wear a helmet for all riding myself, so I'm a hypocrite :p
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But there is also a lot of things that people choose to ignore or just dismiss. Common examples are

'I dont ride fast'. No well fall of stationary on your head it will still crack on a pavement.

'It wont save me in a car crash' - No but it might stop your head splitting if you happen to get thrown into the wall/ditch.

Choosing not to wear one over wearing one is the choice of a lune imo.
 
Edinho said:
But there is also a lot of things that people choose to ignore or just dismiss. Common examples are

'I dont ride fast'. No well fall of stationary on your head it will still crack on a pavement.

'It wont save me in a car crash' - No but it might stop your head splitting if you happen to get thrown into the wall/ditch.

Choosing not to wear one over wearing one is the choice of a lune imo.
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I was paying attention to your post until the last line, well done :)
 
If I'm just pootling along to the shops I don't always bother as it's a quiet route with cycle lanes. Any crash will only be about 7-8mph.

I wear one on club runs though, as that's the rules. Plus it stops my hair getting messed up by the wind. I'm under no illusions as to how effective a piece of polystyrene is going to be if I hit the deck at 30mph.
 
FishFluff said:
If I'm just pootling along to the shops I don't always bother as it's a quiet route with cycle lanes. Any crash will only be about 7-8mph.

I wear one on club runs though, as that's the rules. Plus it stops my hair getting messed up by the wind. I'm under no illusions as to how effective a piece of polystyrene is going to be if I hit the deck at 30mph.
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It is very effective under the right circumstances, all depends on the nature of the crash and the impact sometimes it will help sometimes you'll get squashed under the real axle of a truck so it won't!

I would get one if I had a bike just because it reduces risk oh and as a teenager I crashed a mountain bike into a drystone wall with my head taking a large part of the impact my piece of polystyrene was ruined but my head was undamaged once the ache faded, my fingers still bare the scars of being trapped between the handle bars and the wall! I don't buy into this whole motorists treat me different in a helmet or if I have a camera thing I commute regularly through a busy city centre and treat all cyclists with the same distain ;) I don't register if they have helmets or cameras the only thing I really notice are the planks with 5 million candle power head mounted torches who feel the need to gawp into every passing car.
 
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my helmet saved my life last week when i hit a tree at speed.
managed still to concuss myself, break ribs and bruise T4&T5 vertebrae on MRI scanning
 
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