I often don't bother wearing one at all, on Sunday four of us were out for a XC/trail centre ride and me and one mate swithered over wearing helmets or not, in the end we did as all being DHers we tend to race/push each other down anything fun/interesting.
During the ride we all crashed at least once on but none of us hit our heads, my crash was later on in the day and a beauty.. hit a compression that caused my sweaty (un gloved) hands to almost leave the bars but managed to save it just before the approaching corner, not wanting to be caught by my chasing mates I put down the power after the corner only to find I had no chain (hadn't realised I'd hit the shifter when my hand slipped) anyway, next thing I know I'm flying over the bars straight onto the edge of a wooden bridge, smacked my chin and jaw pretty hard along with taking the bridge on with my chest, hip, knee and wrist. I got up to find the bike hanging upside down in a nearby tree dusted myself off and we set off again.. crashes like these are a pretty common occurence to be honest so didn't think too much of it but for the rest of the ride I had a bastard headache.. thinking it was just down to dehydration at the time I had a decent drink at the end of the ride and we all headed off for a pump track ride on the way home. after getting home the next 24 or so hours have been hazy and my memory has been ****ed! eg. I've just had to cancel my cash card as I can't remember where I left it before I went riding. My Girlfriend suggested I had probably got concussion, and having had it many times I think I agree with her. anyway, turns out I needn't have bothered with the helmet .
how much do the experts think the rotational force of my 400g XC lid exaggerated my concussion? 😉
appologies for poor spelling/grammer/rambling
next to the rows of helmets in bikeshops they have rows of spare heads 🙂
Straw with that sir
I had a crash the other day and banged up everything except my knees...
...knee pads are rubbish
🙄
its the helmet catching on the ground and causing the head to rotate that creates the forces. Head rotates but brain stays still inside Concussion is a sign of rotational injury ( but not conclusive) Weight worsens whiplash type neck injuries.
Shall we say experts are divided as to how significant this is. 🙂
TJ - you tool!! 😆
Jedi - Aye, think I saw them in a shop in Somerset, quite fancy a Brad Pitt model but all they had was Worzel Gummage 😉
Oh - and you are right GW - I only ever have hit my head crashing when wearing a helmet - never when not wearing one. Therefore helmets make you crash and hit your head Fact!
how much do the experts think the rotational force of my 400g XC lid exaggerated my concussion?
Not as much as the sudden decleration of your head when you hit the bridge.
Bridges are rubbish!
I've hit my head not wearing a helmet. 30mph onto Tarmac. Ruptured inner ear, severe concussion, lost memory of two days of my life, balance still isn't as good as it should be.
Biggest danger I find when not wearing a helmet (dog walking rides) is hitting my head on branches. Don't notice this when properly protected; actively seek things to nutt. 🙂
sweaty un gloved hands were to blame here If I'm not mistaken.
I've hit my head not wearing a helmet. 30mph onto Tarmac. Ruptured inner ear, severe concussion, lost memory of two days of my life, balance still isn't as good as it should be.
Ouch. Nasty.
Well, at least you didn't have quite so much rotational injury to your head 😐
For a balanced control outcome, can you please ride the course again for a week, but this time WITHOUT a helmet? Fanx
😉
I had a crash with a helmet on and I actually think the results were worse than not wearing one. However, I am not prepared to repeat the crash without a helmet to prove it.
I remain totally unconvinced by helmet effectiveness but wear one anyway for fear of being wrong.
I was dropped on my head when I was small. No helmet and I am fine!
yep. apparently you get seen quick in A+E when you walk in with blood coming out of one ear...
downhill skateboarding is dangerous kids.
I've crashed at least twice where I've hit the side of my head and cracked the helmet. Once was on the road. Don't ask me to prove it, but I'm confident I wouldn't have got up and finished my ride without the helmet doing its bit.
I sparked myself out many many years ago whilst not wearing a helmet. I only went for a 10 minute spin in the park because the mate who I was supposed to be playing golf with was late.
Parks are rubbish and so is golf.
I was dropped on my head when I was small. No helmet and I am fine!
I love the obvious irony of that statement.
I was dropped on my head when I was small. No helmet and I am fine!
Hmmm...Yes, the voice of the Al Qaeda of helmet non-conformity there...
😉
ollie - Member
sweaty un gloved hands were to blame here If I'm not mistaken.
if we're passing blame (which we're not) it was a combination of bad trail maintenance/over sanitasation 😉 combined with poor line choice.
"Breaking bumps hurt my kid" an all that 😉
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I rest my case m'lawd.
I was dropped on my head when I was small. No helmet and I am fine!
The latter part of that statement is a conjecture and a matter of opinion FACT 😉
My bike landed on my head on Sunday. Kinda thankful I was wearing a helmet.
****!! - that dude's hit his head so hard his hair fell out ^^ 😯
To be fair, TJ is fundamentally right: Helmets don't stop concussion-type injuries. They just provide a [i]certain level[/i] of protection.
If I faceplanted on a plank bridge, I'd expect to be staggering around for 10 minutes as if drunk, but as a helmet wearer, I'd be glad that I wasn't also blinded by blood from a deep gash in my forehead, and I'd also be delighted that there wasn't an egg sized lump swelling up.
I'd find comfort in that at least...
They are awful if you want to sieve some vegetables or salad leaves 🙁
have gone otb 3 times and landed on the top of my head
twice shattered my helmet, once was a significant fall from some north shore- i also managed to break both thumbs on that one
for those types of crashes, which i seem to be good at im convinced my helmet stopped the top of my head from getting all caved in and mushy/goey/brainy mashed up
I've never battered my head while riding my bike, wearing a helmet or not.
I did properly bash it on the inside of a van when moving house. Transits are rubbish.
I hate to think what damage I would have done to my bonce at Newcastleton on Saturday if I had been lidless. I think OP must have had quite a few falls without helmet to help him form his considered opinion.
I hate to think what damage I would have done to my bonce at Newcastleton on Saturday if I had been lidless.
Would you have ridden more slowly and carefully?
I once stood up under a shelf, shelves are rubbish.
SteveBbrain - considered opinion? sounds like you may have had a frontal lobe hit or two yourself 😛
Never understood the 'not wearing a helmet' arguments. Its like saying I'm not going to use a seatbelt in the car because it might cut my stomach if I have a crash.
(khani)"Straw with that sir" 😆
Never understood the 'not wearing a helmet' arguments. Its like saying I'm not going to use a seatbelt in the car because it might cut my stomach if I have a crash.
Or switching off the passenger seat airbag when there's a rear facing baby seat installed, because the airbag might kill the child?
Sometimes I don't wear a helmet when riding my bike, because the chances of falling off and hitting my head are low and I don't want helmet hair or the hassle of carrying/storing a helmet at my destination.
I never wear a helmet when going for a walk, because the chances of falling over and hitting my head are very low.
I've banged my head while walking down the stairs in my new house far more times in the last 11 months than I ever have while riding a bike.
Or switching off the passenger seat airbag when there's a rear facing baby seat installed, because the airbag might kill the child?
not quite sure what your point is with this one but it's actually the law that stipulates rear facing child seats must not be installed in front seats with an airbag.
not quite sure what your point is with this one but it's actually the law that stipulates rear facing child seats must not be installed in front seats with an airbag.
We have to have a point now? 😉
Just giving an example of a safety feature not being used because of the increased risk of accident/injury. Other examples: not wearing a seatbelt while reversing; taxi drivers not wearing seatbelts.
In 33 years, I've needed a car seatbelt once and never needed a bike helmet.
This forum never ceases to drain me . . . .
In 33 years, I've needed a car seatbelt once and never needed a bike helmet.
Yeah, and in 48 years I've never needed insurance.
Well, I have, but you might be able to understand my point.
and why don't taxi drivers wear seatbelts?
Always banging my helmeted head on the garage door, never done it when not wearing a helmet: garage doors are rubbish.
Also, the first big crash I had while wearing a helmet resulted in the peak of my helmet rotating down and pushing my glasses into the bridge of my nose, cue lots of blood and a visit to the race St Johns Ambulance folk. The scar will be there for life: glasses and helmet peaks are rubbish too.
Although it could be that my spatial awareness is rubbish, at a push.
and why don't taxi drivers wear seatbelts?
I think it's because it's assumed they'll always be jumping in and out to carry passenger's bags etc
This thread has scared me. I know what I'm wearing from now on...
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Question for the TJ lobby..... How do you decide when you are going to stack? Personally I've been doing this stuff for years and still manage to do it from time to time without any sort of pre-planning. So how is it you know when to wear a lid or not?? Obviously I'm doing something wrong and would love to reach this zen like plateau of man/machine/trail oneness.
Oh dear - why oh why have so many folk totally missed what little point this thread has?
Bermbandit - its all about realistic assessment of relative risk. Some activities you are more likely to crash than others.
Concussion is a sign of rotational injury ( but not conclusive) Weight worsens whiplash type neck injuries.
I'd rather have a bit of whiplash than a big crack in my skull and my brains leaking out all over the place.
a big crack in my skull and my brains leaking out all over the place.
Which a cycle helmet will not prevent.
TandemJeremy - MemberOh dear - why oh why have so many folk totally missed what little point this thread has?
So if Helmets don't reduce head injuries whats the point in anyone wearing them? F1 drivers, Motorcyclists, Millitary pilots list could go on....
Admirable - whats that wooshing noise?
Cycle helmets are very different from those you mention and simply are not able to absorb enough energy in high energy impacts to make a large difference to outcomes. A cycle helmet weighs 400 g a motorcycle helmet 1.5 kg
aaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. TJ you tool.
How do you decide when you are going to stack? Personally I've been doing this stuff for years and still manage to do it from time to time without any sort of pre-planning. So how is it you know when to wear a lid or not?? Obviously I'm doing something wrong and would love to reach this zen like plateau of man/machine/trail oneness.
Riding 100 miles in one go, including red grade singletrack.
Group rides on black grade trails.
Solo rides, on- and off-road, into the middle of nowhere.
Riding MTB to work, mainly on bike paths.
Riding cargo bike to work, mainly on bike paths.
For some of these, I'd wear a helmet. For others, I might not.
When I ride my cargo bike to work, I'm not going that much faster than walking pace, on flatter paths than I'd be walking on and I'm away from traffic for the most part.
Berm bandit; relative risk. Statistically speaking you're more likely to slip in the shower or fall down the stairs, would you consider a stair helmet especially made for the purpose? No, of course not, and by the same token millions of folk around the world cycling to and from their destinations daily with the breeze playing teasingly through their hair, go untroubled by thoughts of Giro's latest offerings.
...simply are not able to absorb enough energy in high energy impacts to make a large difference to outcomes
OK so how does the human skull on its own compare?
Can it absorb say 50% of the energy that the bike helmet could?