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Take Your Helmet Off, Why Don't You?

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Take Your Helmet Off, Why Don't You?

Old 11-15-16, 03:56 PM
  #76  
Miele Man
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Originally Posted by indyfabz
Incorrect. I see something inexplicable that I am trying to understand. So far, I have not received a rational explanation. Guess I will have to chalk it up to Frediness.


BTW...I recently saw someone walking around an indoor Bike Expo wearing their helmet.
Okay I'll bite too. Wearing the helmet off the bike because it leaves the hands free and the helmet isn't swinging and possible bumping into or snagging things and you don't have to worry about forgetting it. There are many reasons why someone might choose to wear their helmet whilst they're off the bike.

Cheers
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Old 11-15-16, 04:14 PM
  #77  
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Using the rear view mirror attached to my helmet I can keep an eye on potential pickpockets.
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Old 11-15-16, 05:00 PM
  #78  
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I see this along some of my bike and eat routes, guy sitting in a restaurant having breakfast and wearing a bike helmet.

Personally I always think "what a freakin' nerd"...I think it but don't say it. As soon as I stop pedaling that most unflattering piece of gear comes off.

Last edited by bykemike; 11-15-16 at 08:01 PM.
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Old 11-15-16, 07:14 PM
  #79  
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Let's see:
1 My helmet fits well and is comfortable to wear, so I sometimes forget I'm wearing it. I do unbuckle the chin strap most times.
2 It hides a bad hair day.
3 My helmet and attached lights are worth well north of $300 and are never left on the Bike.
4 At long rest stops the helmet can act as a headrest when lying down, although this can conflict with lights noted in 3.
5 Some coffee shops and other merchants offer a small discount to customers riding bikes and wearing a helmet shouts I'm riding a bike.
6 It adds credibility when asking store owners to install bike racks.
7 As a corollary I often don't remove my bike gloves.
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Old 11-15-16, 07:26 PM
  #80  
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Originally Posted by indyfabz
Why do people keep their helmets on when off the bike forextended periods?
They are simply Freds. There is no reason to keep a helmet on when you're off the bike.
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Old 11-16-16, 02:57 AM
  #81  
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I don't know that it makes much difference. Why does what others do offend your sensibilities so much,Indy? Do you also want those at a cyclist get-together to take off their bike shorts, too?
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Old 11-16-16, 04:55 AM
  #82  
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Originally Posted by Rowan
I don't know that it makes much difference. Why does what others do offend your sensibilities so much,Indy? Do you also want those at a cyclist get-together to take off their bike shorts, too?
Does not wearing a helmet off the bike help people understand why you are wearing the stupid looking shorts or tights? I'm used to wearing stupid looking tights. I don't think about it unless it comes up here. Then I remember I'm wearing stooopid looking tights. Who cares?
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Old 11-16-16, 06:28 AM
  #83  
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Originally Posted by Miele Man
Okay I'll bite too. Wearing the helmet off the bike because it leaves the hands free and the helmet isn't swinging and possible bumping into or snagging things and you don't have to worry about forgetting it. There are many reasons why someone might choose to wear their helmet whilst they're off the bike.

Cheers
I think the question though is why the helmet isn't left with your bike, wherever it is you left that.
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Old 11-16-16, 06:39 AM
  #84  
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
I would totally wear this...

Why would you wear a welding helmet on a bike?
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Old 11-16-16, 11:21 AM
  #85  
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
A common theme I'm noticing in this thread is one of the "stinky, sweaty helmet." Is this really a thing? My helmet has three little padded fabric bits in it, which are removable and get washed once a week. The rest of the helmet is hard foam and plastic. Even if I'm really sweating on a ride, it's not like the helmet is filling up with sweat like a bucket. My helmet has no sweat-induced odor whatsoever. I clean the outside of it with automotive quick detailer, so it generally smells like that.
Not to me. I wear a helmet because in anything above 55F or so, it is more comfortable and less sweaty than a ball cap. Never once washed anything on it, you couldn't smell any smells associated with it over the ones coming from my synthetic bike jerseys anyhow.
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Old 11-16-16, 11:46 AM
  #86  
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Here is a good reason. One day on a bike ride, I stopped at a local park used by cyclists as a rest stop. On a wall was a brand new Giro Pneumo helmet sitting all alone. I waited there for several minutes waiting to see if the ride returned. Nope! I even placed a lost and found ad trying got locate the owner knowing these helmets were about $150 at the time.

Probably lost by a cyclists not wanting to look like a Fred in front of fellow cyclists!
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Old 11-16-16, 02:55 PM
  #87  
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When I used to bike to the park with my kids,
they would not infrequently forget they had their helmets on just start playing.
Helmets may look funny, but they're just not that uncomfortable.
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Old 11-16-16, 03:43 PM
  #88  
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Originally Posted by Nachoman
When I used to bike to the park with my kids,
they would not infrequently forget they had their helmets on just start playing.
Helmets may look funny, but they're just not that uncomfortable.
I hate to admit it, but I frequently go to take off my bike helmet and only then realize that I wore a baseball cap instead. Apparently, at some point in the ride they don't feel that different to me

So there's yet another answer: possibly some people forget that they have it on! Now I have to wonder whether I've been one of those, walking around with my helmet on, and didn't realize. Very possible.
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Old 11-16-16, 04:01 PM
  #89  
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Originally Posted by jefnvk
...you couldn't smell any smells associated with it over the ones coming from my synthetic bike jerseys anyhow.
So that's not just me, then. The wicking jerseys do smell weird once they get sweat in them, right? My wife says once my jersey gets really sweated up, it smells like tortilla chips... so I guess it could be much worse.
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Old 11-16-16, 04:17 PM
  #90  
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Huh?
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Old 11-16-16, 06:19 PM
  #91  
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After wearing, hang your jersey and shorts to dry if you aren't going to wash right away. Synthetics should not smell if handled correctly.
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Old 11-16-16, 07:21 PM
  #92  
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Originally Posted by Rowan
I don't know that it makes much difference. Why does what others do offend your sensibilities so much,Indy? Do you also want those at a cyclist get-together to take off their bike shorts, too?
Just another one of Indy's threads started just to pick on what he deems to be nerds. Bike helmet ediquette? Give me a break.
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Old 11-16-16, 07:30 PM
  #93  
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Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
After wearing, hang your jersey and shorts to dry if you aren't going to wash right away. Synthetics should not smell if handled correctly.
My cycling clothes go straight from my body to the washer after every ride. I generally wash them with All Liqui-pacs (scented) and sometimes with a scent booster. They are then air-dried. There's never any trace of odor when clean-- but once worn and sweated up, the jerseys genuinely smell like tortilla chips. I've tried wash boosters like Oxi-Clean, nothing seems to make a difference.

I have jerseys from a number of brands, and the Castelli seem to get it the worst, Pearl Izumi the least. I'd like to try wool, but I'm not independently wealthy.
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Old 11-16-16, 11:56 PM
  #94  
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When racing, I seldom wore a helmet, until one of my teammates (in an evil hour) told our coach I was a good sprinter. From that point on I was the one pushed up to the front of the flat stages to sprint it out. Sprinting in a big race is a lot like the Roller Derby reruns I used to watch as a kid, only you are moving much faster. I ended up developing a love for sprinting (it's a goddamn rush, your body burns like you just took an IV shot of dilaudid), and enjoyed the pushing, shoving, and cursing. Sprinters are the most interesting cyclists, and have the most war stories and battle scars. In sprints, like in war, a helmet is a good thing to have handy. In the mountains or long stages, my helmet stayed in the trailer.

Though I still ride regularly, I have not worn my helmet in years. The last time I put it on I noticed that the padding had started rotting, and padding for the old Twinner helmets is hard to find.
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Old 11-17-16, 08:18 AM
  #95  
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
So that's not just me, then. The wicking jerseys do smell weird once they get sweat in them, right?
For me, it is not just limited to jerseys, any synthetic shirt gets one wear before it needs washed.
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Old 11-17-16, 09:33 AM
  #96  
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
I would totally wear this...


I would. To a Halloween party. Maybe.
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Old 11-19-16, 09:06 PM
  #97  
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Originally Posted by smarkinson
I think this forum has jumped the shark.
Do sharks keep their helmets on when they're not riding bicycles?
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Old 11-20-16, 05:41 PM
  #98  
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Now thats a helmet to wear.
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Old 11-20-16, 07:52 PM
  #99  
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Available from the gift shop at Westworld . . ?
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Old 11-21-16, 06:44 AM
  #100  
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Originally Posted by adamhenry
Of all the strange behavior I see from people, it never occurred to me to become obsessed over why a cyclist left his helmet on.
^^ This!
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