humancongereel

i know i always should, just in case--better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it....but that logic gets overridden by instinctual ideas of whether i think i'll make it through the day without meeting any risks i can't handle or not.

kjohnnytarr

I don't wear my helmet most days, but I do wear my seatbelt



Seriously though, the reason I don't wear my helmet is that the only crashes I've ever been in were because I was being stupid, not because of something unpreventable. I think gloves are way more important anyway, because I'm way more likely to fall on my hands than my head. Still, I'm thinking about a BMX helmet.

oceanfx

Let's get something out of the way here by making a clear distinction:

Being SAFE is not the same as being PROTECTED.

If you wear a helmet every day, that doesn't make you any safer. You can still ride like a jackass or just generally be unattentive and it can cause an accident--with just yourself, or other cars. If you don't know how to brake, you can still endo; you can still get stuck in a rut or slip out on a streetcar track. If you wear a helmet and these things happen to you, the helmet didn't make you any SAFER. It just PROTECTED you while you were an idiot. Any accident is still just as likely to happen.

Now if you choose to NOT wear a helmet every day, that does not make you any LESS SAFE. It's still possible to avoid accidents even without wearing a plastic hat. In fact, if you've been riding without a helmet for a long time and haven't been in any accidents, you are probably MORE SAFE than someone who DOES ride a helmet every day and has been in a few scrapes. You will just be less PROTECTED if you get into an actual accident, but not wearing a helmet doesn't make one any more likely.

goldenskeletons

this picture is the best reason to drag this thread back up.

<3 <3 <3

Six jours

And isn't it interesting how all the preachy helmet types completely ignored this little tidbit?

And isn't it interesting how, back before hardshell helmets existed, you almost never heard of cyclists being killed by falling over and landing on their heads, but now that everyone's got a helmet, half the cyclists you meet will tell you how their helmet saved their lives?

And isn't it interesting that the people who yell the loudest about how not wearing a helmet makes you an idiot, moron, candidate for Darwinism, etc., are the same people who tell stories about how many times they've crashed and landed on their heads?

</rant>

Idioteque

and isn't it interesting that most statistics are made on the spot

meh, i'll keep my helmet, brain injury doesn't measure in splitting your head open versus not, and i'd rather reduce the impact by any amount if the impact involves my head. but the poster above you said it best about helmet safety, you just need to be careful.

Zum1

11 year fixed rider... I wore a helmet for the first 2 months... thats it. It is my position that some "safety" gear does more to inhibit the senses, and therefor one's safety, than just going without. i support all those who advocate helmets as a tool for safety... just not for me...

mediccody

I do not wear a helmet.

Sunglasses as protective eye wear are another thing.

If I could find a ventilated, comfortably padded helmet with a chin cup (Not just a strap), which did not restrict hearing or vision, and which allowed for a watch cap or baseball cap underneath, I'd wear it. Especially if I could paint it camo or olive green. Oh, and it would also need to have some sort of retention system for sun glasses/goggles/head lamp for night riding.

Idioteque

i donno guys, stop using BMX helmets then, i have a giro pneumo and i don't notice it even being there.

colnago57

I wear it during races, other than that, I'm without it more often than not.

mcafiero

I do, and I am so glad that I was wearing it a couple years ago on a short, 5 block ride to the post office. My chain snapped and I flew forward, not even a block away from my house. The impact of my head to concrete almost knocked me out, the helmet was cracked all the way through. Aside from that I had a level 2 AC separation that put me in the ER, but I was happy to be alive!

I wear mine every time I get on the bike.

mathletics

I'm surprised that you're going to make that big a deal out of the semantics of "safe" vs. "protected" and yet are not a "crashes are no accident" type.

chungaroo

I was wearing one when I got my TBI from a car hitting me last winter, and I wear one now.

windsurfer

if you have a brain you should wear a helmet

Thisisit

I wear mine everywhere. Doesn't matter if I'm out for a century on the roadie or riding to a friends house. There are way too many horrible drivers and I can only be so attentive. I have a Giro indicator and it doesn't look too corny, it was the one I like the most that I could still afford. I'm planning on buying a smaller and lighter helmet once I can afford it, hopefully by chistmas or so.

sniks

does anyone have a problem with overheating when they wear a helmet?

MechaBikezor3000

preach on brother!

no but really....i agree. i dont wear one either

doofo

i wont mountain bike anywhere remote with a person who doesnt wear a helmet

i dont want to have to drag a corpse out of the woods

musicsucks

the two times that i've come closest to really eating it have been on the short rides where i decided to not wear a helmet, so now i wear it always.

schnee

(sigh)

AdamJaz

On "road rides" (not my fixie), yes...

When I commute two miles through the U of Ariz, no.

Metricoclock

have been wearing one on and off since movie to the city, tonight after i got my conversion finished i decided I will be wearing it for a while regardless of how far my trip is more than likely.

rmwun54

50/50 percent of the time. I wear it mainly when I am going to ride long distance, but I do not wear it when I am cruising or riding easy.

charles vail

I wear one every day on and off the bike...........you never know when you might slip and fall during the day. It looks completely idiotic and I even wear it in my car while driving or riding with others. Helmets help you when you are working on the plumbing or under your car changing the oil too. I think everyone should be made to wear a helmet. I think all people should wear knee pads, gloves, shoulder pads and full face helmets on their bicycle because your face often hits the ground not your head. The President should make a law that everyone has to wear a helmet, especially old people who hit their heads when they are walking or taking a bath. Joggers will have to start wearing them and car drivers cause they can help in an accident. Any sports person should always wear a helmet, even ping pong players!

raster

I actually really like my helmet. I spraypainted a yellow B on it... for Bananarchy.

Get it?

Ring ring ring ring
ring ring ring ring
BANANARCHY!
BANANARCHY!