vol

Forewarning: Please do NOT hijack this thread for your pro- or anti- helmet agenda.

I have a new helmet but I don't think I'll wear it a lot. I would be interested to know how often you wear your helmet, in what cases you wear it and what case don't. For example, perhaps most people will not wear it for just going to a local post office or store. Do you wear it for all and only long rides? Or perhaps only at night or only when you think you are going to ride on dangerous roads?

It's inconvenient to wear it each and every time you get on your bike. On the other hand, suppose you usually wear it but didn't wear it on a particular day, and bad luck struck and you get hit just when you are not wearing it...

opengun

every time I clip in...

prathmann

When going on most club rides since almost all clubs here require it. Also on a few mountain bike rides, but rarely otherwise.
I used to wear one on every ride for over 20 years - then I started reading some of the actual studies on effectiveness.

vol

Just to think that all those 20 years you could have done without it

B. Carfree

I used to only wear it when I rode outside the city limits. After my wife hit her head on the pavement twice in town, we both began wearing them whenever we rode; that was thirty years ago. Now it is just habit to wear the magic styrofoam. Thankfully, they are a whole lot more comfortable now relative to the late '70s.

cyclokitty 

Every single bike ride. But I do LUV my helmets, find them comfortable, can clip rear lights on them easily, and my winter helmet grips my goggles nicely.

I will have to buy a new warm weather helmet this spring and I'm leaning towards a Nutcase helmet if I find a graphic that grabs me.

Chris516

I wear it, regardless of whether I am going 2.5blks. to get the mail or, 40mi. for the day. My accident on Easter Sunday 2010 convinced me even more. Since I went over the bars from hitting a patch of missing asphalt n' hitting my head on the pavement.

vol

If it's "missing", how could you have hit it?
Seriously, hope you didn't get too serious injury except for bruises or bumps? In that kind of accident I would fear to hit my eyes on something! What to wear to prevent that?

RichMac

never

I use to bike every single day before my province instituted mandatory helmets, then quit for over a decade. Then realized that the law meant little in my province and I could continue to cycle as I saw fit.

Zizka

I wear one when it's cold to help keep my head warm, when it's wet outside, when I'm riding with other people and when I consider the probability of having my helmetlessness reported to my girlfriend or mother high. I hate being nagged about wearing the thing.

Greyryder

Only when I'm at the mountain bike trails, and then only because they're required. I'm not an aggressive rider, but I suppose I could miss seeing something that could throw one of my wheels, and put me down, or into a tree.

If I'm just riding around town, I see no need. I'm not prone to falling over at low speeds, and I'm not doing anything dangerous.

badrad

ditto with the rain and cold. i have a helmet rain cover and without the helmet - the rain cover sort of flops about on my head... in sunny and warm weather the helmet sits with my rain gear.

zeppinger

Most of my commuting is on a MUP that follows a river. I ride 90% of my ride on that and so encounter very little traffic. The most dangerous part of my whole ride is probably a rail way crossing but I doubt a beer cooler on my head would help protect it from an impact with a train. When I do significant amounts of riding on the road, such as a tour, then I wear it.

opie

Unless it's with the wife in the neighborhood (like 5mph on commuter bike not clipped in) I always have mine on. All it takes is the helmet saving your bacon once and you'll want to wear them.

cyclezealot

99%. Only exception.. A 3 block spin to the grocery store on our slow moving city bike.

CommuterRun

I wear my helmet while riding in the dark because it's a good place to mount my helmet light and tertiary taillight. Which means I wear it every day that I ride to work. I wear a ball cap while riding during the day.

xtrajack

Only when I'm in the stores on Black Friday
Seriously, I wear mine every time I am on the bike.

skye

I wear a helmet only on brevets, where it is required for participation. Otherwise, no.

Come to think of it, I don't even know where the damn thing is right now.

Mighty Melvin

When I ride my motorcycle, always.
When I ride my bicycle, never.
I'm a low-speed neighborhood rider.

MM

JonnyHK 

Road bike for training and racing on roads - always.

Commuter bike for riding to work on roads - always.

Coaching bike (along a river path following crew boats) - rarely

skye

Interesting that you don't wear a helmet in the only circumstance where it might be able to do you some good.

chasm54

Only when it is required by the organizers of an event I want to take part in. Never, when I have a choice.

Raiden

Almost every time I ride, the exception being running errands or riding to the corner store in my tiny <10-block town.

JonnyHK 

Fast on roads with traffic on a narrow wheeled bike fitted with clip in pedals VS slow on path without traffic while riding a rigid MTB on slicks fitted with platforms.

OK, you can hurt yourself at almost 0 speed, but the two situations above are very different.

closetbiker

good luck with that...

I rode for about 20 years before helmets started to be campaigned for, then I wore one for about 22 years. During these 22 years I researched and discussed the issue for about 12 years and finally decided to remove it, despite living in a MHL province. It's been off for just about a couple of years.