Poll- Do you wear a helmet?

[Apis]

I never used to. Largely b/c I started riding before there were cycling helmets. At least helmets with a hard shell...anyone else remember leather straps "helmets"?

The I got married, and had kids, and crashed a mountain bike (blinded in 1 eye from that one), and started riding in traffic again. This past Friday was the first ride I had in over a decade without a brain bucket. Felt strangely odd. Won't be doing that again soon.

 

[kdelong]

I never used to. Largely b/c I started riding before there were cycling helmets. At least helmets with a hard shell...anyone else remember leather straps "helmets"?

The I got married, and had kids, and crashed a mountain bike (blinded in 1 eye from that one), and started riding in traffic again. This past Friday was the first ride I had in over a decade without a brain bucket. Felt strangely odd. Won't be doing that again soon.

Yeah, I remember the hairnets. Looked to me like they were pretty useless, and they were! All that they did was keep your scalp from getting scratched up but did not protect you at all from injuries incurred from your head impacting the ground. At least if you were going to be in a persistant vegatative state, you were going to look good, no scratches.

 

[baker3]

Yeah, I remember the hairnets. Looked to me like they were pretty useless, and they were! All that they did was keep your scalp from getting scratched up but did not protect you at all from injuries incurred from your head impacting the ground. At least if you were going to be in a persistant vegatative state, you were going to look good, no scratches.

I have an old one of these in my bike shed if anyone would like to buy it? i'm open to offers.

 

[revbnc]

I always wear a helmet. I only have one head and need it to work, see my family and generally enjoy life. I have had 3 serious wrecks on my bicycle, one involving a 16 year old in a car who turned right on red at and intersection. Each time my head was the first thing to hit the ground. I was doing 21 mph when the car struck me. My head hit first and cracked my helmet completely through. It was 9 months before Dr's released me saying you are as good as your going to get. Had I not had my helmet on the bear minimum would have been fractured skull.

 

[Old Biker]

After the last time, if I ever ride rollers again, I will wear a helmet.......

and body armor, along with ensuring that my life insurance policy is up to date.

I ride on rollers quite often and never wear a helmet, can't for the life of me think why I should. If by chance I come off the rollers then the the wheels just stop, granted one has to be a little quick on disengaging the feet from the pedals.
Any other time while riding the bike on the road I would never even think of venturing out without the helmet. Mind you a hefty fine can make a good insentive.

 

[kdelong]

I ride on rollers quite often and never wear a helmet, can't for the life of me think why I should. If by chance I come off the rollers then the the wheels just stop, granted one has to be a little quick on disengaging the feet from the pedals.
Any other time while riding the bike on the road I would never even think of venturing out without the helmet. Mind you a hefty fine can make a good insentive.

I suppose you didn't notice my tongue in my cheek. But I did have a good spill while in rollers and decided to let them rest for the rest of my bicycling career. For indoor riding not in a velodrome (where helmets are required) I will now stick to a resistance trainer.

 

[kdelong]

I have an old one of these in my bike shed if anyone would like to buy it? i'm open to offers.

Watch out Baker3, you are showing your age!!!

 

[riptoff]

A few years ago I was cycling in France from Royan to the Med. along the canals. I skidded and hit my head on the kerb, fortunately I was wearing a helmet, which was cracked in the impact. Had I not been, I am sure it would have been my skull which cracked.
In some countries wearing a helmet is a legal requirement. In New Zealand, this is the case, but to get round the problem, Maouri kids ride on the pavement.

 

[Cool_Mint]

I've never worn one because I normally ride hybrids or traditional upright bikes on fairly quiet roads and I've got a lot of road experience (car, bicycle,motorcycle) so I'm probably as safe as most people.

I'm planning to buy my first road bike - a tourer - which will be naturally faster so for that I will very likely wear a helmet.

 

[Cool_Mint]

Hi guys/girls,

I live in Australia, and here, it's mandatory to wear a cycling helmet at all times (on the road or otherwise).

My brother-in-law runs a cycling shop and I'm helping him develop a website... I noticed, while hunting around for stock photography, that there are plenty of nice, warm and fuzzy photos of families having their daily outings on their bikes.... without helmets.

Are helmets not a legal requirement in the USA? If not, does anyone else find that a bit crazy? I mean a helmet may mess up your hair and not look great but I'd take that over several stitches and a fractured skull any day of the week.

Is it a state-to-state thing, i.e. do some states mandate wearing a bike helmet and others not?

I've always wondered, what do the police do if you are stopped for not wearing a helmet and you refuse to take a fine or be arrested? Do they beat you over the head with batons in the interests of your own safety?

TBH the main reason I don't wear a helmet is that they make me look like a t***. Some people just don't look right in helmets and I put my vanity before my safety.

I've been riding bicycles for 30 years and never done more than graze my knee. I fully support people wearing helmets but riding a bicycle is one of the last freedoms left and sometimes it's nice to feel the wind in your hair. If I was riding a road bike I'd wear a helmet but riding my cruiser or my semi-vintage Raleigh with a helmet on quiet roads it would be too much like living "wrapped in cotton wool".

 

[genedan]

TBH the main reason I don't wear a helmet is that they make me look like a t***. Some people just don't look right in helmets and I put my vanity before my safety.

Always. I figure that if I'm gonna go outside in spandex and shaven legs, I might as well put on a helmet too. I think it's OK if people choose not to wear a helmet in the sense that it's their choice, but I choose to ride with one because I know the price for a helmet is small, and the price for an injury can be high.

What really bugs me are people who ignore traffic laws, but that's another story...

 

[gman0482]

I've got a lot of road experience (car, bicycle,motorcycle)

IMO, that has absolutely nothing to do with wearing a helmet.

Even those quiet roads get a crazy driver or something unexpected every now and then. Don't make me pull out the US stats.

 

[cyclo_path]

I always wear a helmet have had a few bad wrecks, just broke my shoulder commuting to work on the 18th. luckily i slid between two oncoming cars and didn't hit my head but still glad i was wearing the helmet.

 

[Apis]

I've never worn one because I normally ride hybrids or traditional upright bikes on fairly quiet roads and I've got a lot of road experience (car, bicycle,motorcycle) so I'm probably as safe as most people.

I've seen two instances where old road racers (with decades of riding experience) fall at intersections on rail-trails! Both of them were happy to be wearing their brain buckets.

So was I when I crashed my MTB in July, '08. I 1-pointed in a rock garden and only came out of it with a pine branch lodged in my eye socket, and three stitches on my forehead.

My point? One cannot anticipate on what rides one is going to crash.

 

[make one up]

hello friends
I am a crazy cycle rider. and usually ride at high speeds.. But I am allergic to helmets,

I read some where that helmet are considered to be a safety equipment, Every one should wear it.. But I don't think that helmet is necessary for cycling ( I know helmets importance in biking)... Am I right ??

 

[tafi]

I am still here thanks to a helmet and there are plenty of people who aren't because they didn't wear one.

Whether or not you do is down to local legislation and/or personal preference. Where I live it is mandatory to wear one, but I also personally wouldn't ride with anyone who doesn't wear one.

 

[Mojo Johnson]

I always wear a helmet.

Last year I crashed hard when I got a flat front tire on a fast descent. In addition to getting road rash down most of my right side and about 13 stitches in my leg, my helmet took a huge hit. Thank God I only had to replace a helmet!!!!

Never leave home without it.

 

[gsurko]

Only an idiot wouldn't wear a helmet.

 

[kdelong]

I just converted my girlfriend, but I had to buy the helmet for her. All I did was accidentally drop a cantaloupe from the back of my bike and it split open. This got her thinking about what if it were a head, and the rest is history.

 

[Froze]

Yep I wear a helmet, and believe it or not, you can all the road experience in the world but all it takes is one nut job to hit you and you hit your head without a helmet and you could be either either dead or a veggie.

I figured out when I first started riding over 35 years ago that my brain was worth more then price of a helmet...but it was a close call!

When I use to race back in the mid 70's to mid 80's believe it or not but there were riders who would not wear a helmet due to the weight!! I told quite a few of those guys that if they were too weak to wear a helmet on their head then their too weak to be on a bicycle. That remark always got me some interesting comments.