Was anyone even wearing a helmet in the 1980's?
#101
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I wore one of the padded leather strap helmets in the 70s after suffering a concussion in an accident. Wore it into the 80s. Then I stopped riding for a few decades and when I returned I bought a real helmet.
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I never raced our toured, but I rode the hell out of my bike in high school. In my little town, I think I was the only person to have a lugged frame, alloy wheels with high flange hubs and quick release skewers and toe clips with leather straps. And when I rode that bike, I had to have my padded fingerless gloves and white cycling cap. I don't think I saw a helmet until people started making kids wear them around here in the 90s. Now I wear a helmet like my life depends on it.
I think I'll hit up Amazon now to find a cycling cap to wear when I ride my steel bikes.
I think I'll hit up Amazon now to find a cycling cap to wear when I ride my steel bikes.
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#104
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Required by YMCA
The summer of 1985 was when I signed up for a 1000 mile bike tour around Michigan organized by the YMCA. I'd never knowingly ridden more than ~10 miles. But the trip rules required a helmet, so I got one for training and for the trip.
I wasn't resistant to it either, because a buddy had suffered an over-the-bars that spring. His front wheel fell out of the dropouts, and he got some bad facial rash.
I should have worn a helmet before that, BMXing in the Oakland CA hills. We'd go a ways up the hill on a paved street, fly down, across the uncontrolled intersection with Skyline Blvd, and up a six foot dirt jump with a landing by a trailhead. Some hard landings, but the only time I hit my head was when a buddy threw a stick into the mags of my front wheel as I was cranking towards a jump in a vacant lot. Just dirt.
I wasn't resistant to it either, because a buddy had suffered an over-the-bars that spring. His front wheel fell out of the dropouts, and he got some bad facial rash.
I should have worn a helmet before that, BMXing in the Oakland CA hills. We'd go a ways up the hill on a paved street, fly down, across the uncontrolled intersection with Skyline Blvd, and up a six foot dirt jump with a landing by a trailhead. Some hard landings, but the only time I hit my head was when a buddy threw a stick into the mags of my front wheel as I was cranking towards a jump in a vacant lot. Just dirt.
#105
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I started with a Bell Biker II in about 1983, improved design from the original Biker and with adjustable visor. Required for a college bike class (easy credit), but that was the best lesson from the class, everything else I knew. I still have it someplace, after it started to loosen inside from the open-cell foam fitters getting old and me upgrading to a lighter thin-shell model in the 90s, the Biker II became perfect to fit over a fleece hat or mask, so perfect for cold weather and also used for snowboarding and skiing after seeing stars after catching a heelside edge on my first outing on a snowboard. Same thing the next time out with helmet, no harm, just divot in snow. Only a few years later, Sonny Bono died during a ski accident with no helmet.
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I saw two fit, prematurely gray guys wearing SkidLids riding matching chrome Schwinn LeTour 12.2s in West University Place in the fall of '76. First time IRL I'd ever seen cyclists wear helmets.
BikeCentennial, 1976:
Count the helmets! Before the depth of field goes fuzzy, I see two Bells, two Skidlids and either the very first Bailen Bike Bucket ever sold or perhaps a motorcycling half helmet.
BikeCentennial, 1976:
Count the helmets! Before the depth of field goes fuzzy, I see two Bells, two Skidlids and either the very first Bailen Bike Bucket ever sold or perhaps a motorcycling half helmet.
Last edited by tcs; 04-28-21 at 07:16 AM.
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1980s? 1880s! The immortal Thomas Stevens:
Fun fact: Mr. Stevens credits his helmet for saving him from injury.
Fun fact: Mr. Stevens credits his helmet for saving him from injury.
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Racers may have eschewed helmets, but the there's a long history of cycletourists wearing helmets. Off the top of my head (pun - ouch!) there's Frank Lenz in the 1890s, Kazimierz Nowak and Jim and Elisabeth Young and none other than Fred Birchmore in the 1930s, and Heinz Helfgen in the 1950s.
Frank Lenz for the win:
Fun fact: the Bowler hat was originally a riding helmet!
Frank Lenz for the win:
Fun fact: the Bowler hat was originally a riding helmet!
Last edited by tcs; 04-27-21 at 10:35 AM.
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I never had a helmet riding as a teen in the 80s, as a pre -teen (80-82), or young kid (70s). I didn't know anyone else who used them either, at the time, except one friend who took up road cycling in the mid-80s; he had one.
I got out of the habit of riding in the early 90s, but then around 2000 got back into it, and helmets were standard equipment by then. So sometime in the 90s is probably when mass adoption of helmets came about, at least from my recollection.
I don't consider riding without one now. It just feels right, to have it.
I got out of the habit of riding in the early 90s, but then around 2000 got back into it, and helmets were standard equipment by then. So sometime in the 90s is probably when mass adoption of helmets came about, at least from my recollection.
I don't consider riding without one now. It just feels right, to have it.
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Late 80s, when I started riding for more than just putzing around. Some big ol' Bell thing. These days I feel pretty naked without a helmet.
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I started riding with a helmet in the mid-80s when I got caught riding my bike in uniform (Air Force) without a hat, by my wing commander no less. I decided to go with a helmet (which was the only other alternative) because my flight cap would not stay on. It was the red Vetta hardshell in the video and it probably saved my life later on. I was riding home from duty one afternoon and I decided to jump a large puddle on my road bike. As soon as I jerked upwards on handlebars, the front wheel came loose and I came down on the forks ends, causing me to go over the bars. I remember thinking that this puddle was much deeper than I thought it was. Needless to say the fork was really bent and I hit so hard on my back that it instantly cramped and I could barely move. I don't remember hitting my head, but the helmet had a pretty big scrape on top. I ended up calling a taxi to take me and my bike home that day. Since then I never get on a bike without wearing a helmet. The same goes for motorcycles. I also have been riding with a Rhode Gear brake hood mirror since they first came out.
Last edited by crewdog; 04-27-21 at 06:37 PM.
#113
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I never wore a bike helmet until... say 2012 or so. I'm aware of how fragile the skull is, but I still only wore it if I went beyond the neighborhood, a few years ago I started wearing the helmet all the time, even down the block to the gas station- I think my age and my realization that my cat-like kung-fu reflexes and my ability to execute a proper Parachute Landing Fall have dulled over the years. Then, like 2 years ago, I fell down when I shouldn't have fallen down and I hit my head on the pavement. My helmet was old, and it made this sharp, awful "CRACK" sound when I hit the ground. I had to mentally go though myself, check for blood- "am I OK- I mean really OK" before assuring myself that the helmet did its job. But a young lady saw me fall and asked if I was OK. As fine as I was, my pride was wounded. Big. I went helmet shopping that day. Got myself a super sweet Bern. It matches nothing I have. I love it.
New Hat by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr
New Hat by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr
New Hat by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr
New Hat by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr
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#114
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Got a leather strap helmet, a.k.a. "hairnet," for my first ABLA-licensed bike race in 1964. Graduated to a Bell Biker when they first came out, about 12 years later, after reading Bicycling! magazine's first comprehensive helmet review, in which they described the results of tests of the helmets then available.
The Bell Biker and the MSR mountaineering helmets were the only ones that passed the tests. The testing agency refused to test the leather strap helmets for fear of damaging the test equipment and tested the Skid-Lid at one-quarter the drop height used for the better helmets. Even then, the Skid-Lid failed to meet the minimum standard of energy absorption.
People who claim that they don't need a helmet, that "all you need is to know how to fall," are delusional. I've crashed many times over the last 55 years or so of riding bikes at high speed, in or out of competition. Most of the time I manage to roll more or less gracefully and keep from hitting my head. Then there were the times that I, e.g., hit an unnoticeable wheel-shaped pothole while reaching into a back pocket or started a downhill turn on a paved trail, just as my front wheel reached what turned out to be not just a shadow but also a patch of wet moss.
The Bell Biker and the MSR mountaineering helmets were the only ones that passed the tests. The testing agency refused to test the leather strap helmets for fear of damaging the test equipment and tested the Skid-Lid at one-quarter the drop height used for the better helmets. Even then, the Skid-Lid failed to meet the minimum standard of energy absorption.
People who claim that they don't need a helmet, that "all you need is to know how to fall," are delusional. I've crashed many times over the last 55 years or so of riding bikes at high speed, in or out of competition. Most of the time I manage to roll more or less gracefully and keep from hitting my head. Then there were the times that I, e.g., hit an unnoticeable wheel-shaped pothole while reaching into a back pocket or started a downhill turn on a paved trail, just as my front wheel reached what turned out to be not just a shadow but also a patch of wet moss.
I wore the lid every time I rode. What a dome! Rivalled only by the Northland Stan Mikita hockey helmet I later wore, in the absurdly-large-cranial-protection department.
Still have the Bell - four-digit serial number! I vaguely recall the white-strapped type somebody else mentioned here. I think, after the Bicycling! article, they geared up production.
My sister tried to get me to promise never to wear it while riding. We compromised - I'll only wear it for nostalgia / eroica rides.
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#115
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I worked in a bike shop in the early part of the 80's and don't even remember seeing them in the showroom. I think we may have ordered one for someone once or twice but they weren't common. The first I remember seeing them was in the mid 90's or so, but mostly just for kids.
I've ridden motorcycles all my life, on and off road, and wouldn't ride without one but have never ridden a bike with one. I've been down on a bike a few times but so far I've not had anything worse than a scrape or bruise here or there. I've always felt there's a big difference between going 55 mph or better on the highway vs. going 10-15 mph on a bike around the block. I've fall down the stairs more than I've fallen off a bike over the years.
I do remember back in the 70's one riding club or group wouldn't let you ride with them without a helmet but they weren't using bike helmets, they were some sort of white plastic sports helmet from something else.
The few times I've tried on a helmet in recent years the thing sat so high on my head it felt like it wanted to slide off sideways, or the straps wouldn't reach. (I had bought a new bike and the shop offered a free helmet with the bike but they didn't have anything my size and I never went back to get the one they ordered for me. I just bought a new m/c helmet, its a 3X, but i can get away with a 2X if I shave my head and beard, but that's not going to happen.
I've ridden motorcycles all my life, on and off road, and wouldn't ride without one but have never ridden a bike with one. I've been down on a bike a few times but so far I've not had anything worse than a scrape or bruise here or there. I've always felt there's a big difference between going 55 mph or better on the highway vs. going 10-15 mph on a bike around the block. I've fall down the stairs more than I've fallen off a bike over the years.
I do remember back in the 70's one riding club or group wouldn't let you ride with them without a helmet but they weren't using bike helmets, they were some sort of white plastic sports helmet from something else.
The few times I've tried on a helmet in recent years the thing sat so high on my head it felt like it wanted to slide off sideways, or the straps wouldn't reach. (I had bought a new bike and the shop offered a free helmet with the bike but they didn't have anything my size and I never went back to get the one they ordered for me. I just bought a new m/c helmet, its a 3X, but i can get away with a 2X if I shave my head and beard, but that's not going to happen.
#116
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I bought a Bellish type helmet at age 14-15 for use during the Pepsi Cola Marathon in NYC (I was told they were required)...maybe 1982. After a few laps, I actually latched onto John Howard's contingent for a few laps at a distance. That was the year before the record setting 24 hour ride, I believe.
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#117
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Graduated to a Bell Biker when they first came out, about 12 years later, after reading Bicycling! magazine's first comprehensive helmet review, in which they described the results of tests of the helmets then available.
The Bell Biker and the MSR mountaineering helmets were the only ones that passed the tests. The testing agency refused to test the leather strap helmets for fear of damaging the test equipment and tested the Skid-Lid at one-quarter the drop height used for the better helmets. Even then, the Skid-Lid failed to meet the minimum standard of energy absorption.
The Bell Biker and the MSR mountaineering helmets were the only ones that passed the tests. The testing agency refused to test the leather strap helmets for fear of damaging the test equipment and tested the Skid-Lid at one-quarter the drop height used for the better helmets. Even then, the Skid-Lid failed to meet the minimum standard of energy absorption.
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#118
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Well, 1980s I might have been wearing a kids sized bell helmet. I was born in 83.
I know I wear one today. My skull is worth more than anything I own. I’m taking no chances. I’m probably due for a new helmet... mine is a mid 2000s trek something or other.
I know I wear one today. My skull is worth more than anything I own. I’m taking no chances. I’m probably due for a new helmet... mine is a mid 2000s trek something or other.
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A helmet in the 80's ? Rarely and Only for USCF or Cycling Events that required them. I never wore a helmet on training rides and I hardly remember anyone else wearing them. Around 1988ish is when they were becoming widely used, I think it was because of the GIRO lightweight helmets introduction.
This was around 1983,No helmet.
This was around 1983,No helmet.
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#120
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No hard feeling the next day.
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#121
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Helmet
I must confess didn’t wear a helmet while training. Was required when racing back then. These are the helmets I work back then. The leather helmet was I believe outlawed by USCF in 1982-1983 I think ..
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#123
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My first helmet was a V-1 Pro in 1985, and that was just before the new rule and it didn't have the sticker, so I had to get a Vetta that did.
The thing no one remembers about those old helmets is how minimally adjustable they were - no head bands with click tighteners, impossible chin strap adjusters... they really wiggled around on your head.
I know this is a zombie thread but I love posting my old racing photos. This is the Sonoma State Criterium 1988. I had shorts with a leather chamois and nail-on cleats.
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#125
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Well not exactly - they instituted a requirement that helmets in racing had to be SNELL or ANSI certified, and leather helmets didn't pass.
My first helmet was a V-1 Pro in 1985, and that was just before the new rule and it didn't have the sticker, so I had to get a Vetta that did.
The thing no one remembers about those old helmets is how minimally adjustable they were - no head bands with click tighteners, impossible chin strap adjusters... they really wiggled around on your head.
I know this is a zombie thread but I love posting my old racing photos. This is the Sonoma State Criterium 1988. I had shorts with a leather chamois and nail-on cleats.
My first helmet was a V-1 Pro in 1985, and that was just before the new rule and it didn't have the sticker, so I had to get a Vetta that did.
The thing no one remembers about those old helmets is how minimally adjustable they were - no head bands with click tighteners, impossible chin strap adjusters... they really wiggled around on your head.
I know this is a zombie thread but I love posting my old racing photos. This is the Sonoma State Criterium 1988. I had shorts with a leather chamois and nail-on cleats.
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