Stick with your first instinct, which was to mind your own business.

---

"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

Agree with Gary. It's none of your business if they want to wear a helmet or not.

I wouldn't say anything unless I'm riding with them. Otherwise it doesn't bother me at all.

Curious why you would say something to someone riding with you - does that bother you more than a stranger?

Wearing a helmet makes sense but it certainly isn't the life or death situation so many make it out to be. Outside of a mass start races, I haven't hit my head cycling in 40 years. In that time, I've hit my head in a car accident, slipping on ice and playing basketball. Nobody wears helmets doing those things.

While it's dumb to not wear a helmet, they statistics are pretty clear. Even without wearing a helmet, the health benefits of cycling far outweigh the risks. I'd rather see people riding helmetless than not riding because they don't like helmets.

The local group rides all require helmets. If it's just a bunch of friends meeting up for a ride we all wear helmets so it would be odd if someone showed up without a helmet one day.

I have many helmets for different riding demands but sometimes when I'm commuting I don't wear one.
Fortunately helmets are a personal choice (except Australia). Someone else not wearing a helmet does not affect me one bit, so it's none of my business

Well, contrary to some of the others, when there is an opportunity I almost always say something (of course you have to use some reason in the process) . I try to be nice about it and informative. I also compliment kids and families who do wear helmets. I say something to the non-wearers for at least three reasons:

1. It is in their best safety interest.
2. Contrary to some posters, it is our "business." Everyone who pays into the health care system is subsidizing part of the system. So, we get to subsidize brain damage treatment for the person not wearing a helmet. The same applies to wearing seat belts and motorcycle helmets (most places).
3. The more cyclists look out for their own safety, the more motorists are likely and willing to look out for our safety. So, wearing a helmet is part of being a good ambassador for ALL cyclists.

Best wishes,

---

David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

A few 'non-cycling' friends who've ridden our local MUT with their kids have mentioned the attitude of "all the Tour de France wannabes" yelling at people, flying by at 20+mph, etc. I've explained to them the reason for riders calling out their passes, but I'm not going to add to the perception that they - and I'm sure plenty of other recreational riders - already have by being "that guy" when it comes to helmet use.

I don't yell at people for not wearing seatbelts in cars either.

Agreed.

I used to; now, I don't bother

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Very low rate of helmet use (near-none) in bike-heavy places like Copenhagen. Most of those riders are not riding at high speeds of exercise, but then again neither are most people you are likely talking about in the US who aren't wearing helmets.

I only say something to myself or my wife. Nothing to the person. I do hope that nothing bad happens to them.

This is a compelling argument to speak up. Which I don't do but hadn't considered this.

Less chance of getting punched in the face or shot from someone you know.

I only say something if they have their helmet hanging from their handlebars. I've twice seen this cause a crash when their knee bumped it into the handlebars. One of these crashes did take out a rider behind them. So it in this case it is my business as the helmet can actually cause a injury to others. I don't yell at them, I say something like, "you forgot your helmet." But usually they reply with FU.

Say something, no. I just tap my helmet as I pass.

It's moronic. Sure, anybody can crash. But, it places undue burden on responders to deal with a brain injury moron versus someone who likely could have gone home with a broken bike in a friend's car. It's selfish.

In our groups around here, it isn't allowed. Period. They will point you away from the group immediately after offering you a helmet first out of their own car as a spare. Same for lights depending on the season and time of day. I was about to head back home after forgetting my front, group member had a spare in their car! Amazing.

I speak up when it's my friend's kid(s) who is riding without helmets. It's been well received because they just didn't know better. The parents grew up riding bikes without helmets. Me too. Society changed. I changed. Now they have too. Well sort of: the parents still don't wear helmets.

It bothers me, but it probably shouldn't, because it doesn't directly affect me (setting aside shared medical costs in socialist countries). If it's my friend or family member, I'll say something, to let them know I care if they get a head injury. Because that would affect me.

I might also say something if it's a youngster or newbie who may not know better.

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<The Dew Abides>

You wouldn't have to try very hard to come up with enough potential hazards faced in day-to-day existence to justify wearing a helmet from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. Riding slowly on a soft-surface path with no cars is obviously not a zero-risk proposition, but it is unquestionably a lower risk activity that riding fast on a paved road shared with automobile traffic. Would I wear a helmet? Probably. But I certainly wouldn't be so pretentious as to tell others that their risk tolerance decisions are unacceptable to me.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

That sounds like a bit of a false dilemma, though, excepting maybe people who genuinely can't afford a used helmet.

Maybe when learning to use one for the first time it can seem a bit uncomfortable or something. But I find it hard to believe that helmet use is a real impediment to bike use in general.

The topic of compulsory helmet use is pretty interesting, and there are a couple of good articles out there. I think that good cycling infrastructure can do a lot more to minimize rider risk than compulsory helmet use, but even with good infrastructure it makes sense to wear a helmet depending on the type of ride.

In my city we have lots of street level cycling lanes, some partitioned lanes with physical barriers between riders and traffic, and a large stretch of dedicated cycling and pedestrian paths along the lake. Personally, I would always wear a helmet in traffic even on the most casual of rides, and I think others should, too. Lots of people on bike-share bikes don't wear helmets in traffic. But on a certain level I'm going to let people choose how much risk they are willing to live with. The best things that a city can do to promote rider safety is to inform the biking public and to build cycle safe infrastructure.

Then there are the pedestrians that walk three abreast on the dedicated cycling paths and call you an a-hole when you call out a pass. That's a topic for another thread I guess...

The law here say 16 and under must wear a helmet. Saturday I saw a family riding bikes through my neighborhood - Mom and dad with no helmet, child about 12 on his own bike wearing a helmet, and a very small child in a bike carrier on the back of mom's bike not wearing a helmet.

I didn't say anything, but this didn't meet the common sense test in my book. I'm not even sure it is legal to not have a helmet on the toddler even if it technically wasn't riding a bike.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

To each their own. Everyone knows its a good idea to wear a helmet, and if they dont - well they made that choice consciously

I personally just don't want to be spoon fed because I hit a pebble

---

Strava

Kids always. Adults only if I both know them and give a damn about them. So mostly no.

Actually your 3rd point is probably incorrect.
I believe there's a fair bit of evidence that motorists are more likely to give a cyclist more space and care if they look more like a "person" and less like a "cyclist".

If the cyclist is more recognisable as a human being and as vulnerable, there is more recognition of the dangers.

Motorists may use non helmet wearing as a red herring anti cyclist argument. However those without helmets are less likely to be hit.

When you see somebody smoking do you say anything?

Exactly. I used to tell people that they were not living their life the way I thought they should be living it.

I got over it though. If they are smart enough to make it to adulthood, get a job, make money, pay rent and have enough left over to buy a bike and learn to ride it then who the hell am I to get up into their business. Throw in that many of them have anger management issues, a chip on their shoulder and access to guns?




Pfffffffftttttt!!!!

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

I don’t. I may not agree with it but it’s their decision. The only time that I did, I was told to go fuck myself.

I can say that my decision to wear one saved me when I had a bad crash and my helmet was cracked from above my left ear to the top center. When I was in the ER, the doc asked if I was wearing a helmet and asked to see it (my wife had it with her in a backpack). He then said “I can’t tell you how many skulls I’ve seen that look like this.”

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

I think that’s true as to point one, though I’m not sure of the motivation. Studies seem to show, for whatever reason cars give more space to riders without helmets.

I don’t know if the last point has been established, but regardless, it’s not the cars that see me that I’m worried about.

.

This was the helmet I found in my hotel room after getting out of hospital in Phuket in Sept 2017.I don't remember much of the accident and I have been suffering from the effects of that crash ever since.Pretty sure that the lights would never have come back on if I wasn't wearing it.

Glad you are safe braddah.

I had a low speed crash after a car cut me off and pushed me into the curb on the way to work one day. I went over the bars and lightly hit my head, but jacked up the knuckles and on my left hand pretty bad.

After work I decided to go to the hospital just in case and got an MRI on my head. While the Doctor scrolled through each layer I briefly saw what looked like Jim Carrey's Grinch, so I asked the doctor to scroll back to that specific layer. When he did I got a chuckle because of the resemblance.

The Doctor looked at the lower left of the slide and asked what those two things were at the bottom. My brother and I were always fighting, riding skateboards, shooting BB guns and fireworks at each other, jumping from houses and building ramps, crashing, hitting each other with crap and I started going over what those could be. The only thing that came to mind is that they are BBs so I thought...

"My brother is mean enough to shoot me in the back of the head, but he wouldn't do it twice, and he surely isn't that good of a shot to get 2 of them that close together unless I was knocked out and laying face down in the dirt, immobile."

Then it hit me. I had a skateboard crash and was knocked clean out at the bottom of a hill. It took me about a week to get my balance back, so I told the doctor that was likely what it was.

He said that it looked like two bone chips came loose from the impact and were floating around, then asked if it hurt.

I shook my head really hard as a shocked look grew on his face. He was probably thinking I'd sever something important.

"Nah, it doesn't hurt at all."


He had had enough and was glad that I was ready to go.

---

The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

Somewhat agree, it is clear that people that bike for training/excercise almost always wear helmet, i can not remember the last time i saw someone riding their carbon/tri bike and not wearing a helmet!
Urban/city biking is different though. Having lived in CPH i think luckily it is going in the right direction, when i was kid noone was wearing it as it was uncool, now they all have those skater-like helmets. Parents an young people are way better at it too. Also you have the new "air bag"-helmet, so for the women that dont want their hair messed there is an option too.

Personally i always wear one now. Did not use to on the city bike, but had an accident (non bike related), resulting in ½ year concussion, trust my lying in a bed for ½ a year makes you prioritise your head safety more!

Been riding in Amsterdam?

I run faster than quite a few family's and kids etc. on bikes, should I have a helmet on?!

I wear them always when riding, not dense - but have no interest in ostracising anyone for their choice of risk.

I'm not sure how that relates to my post?
But I'll answer anyway: In general I do not. I hardly think they're oblivious to the hazards of smoking, so what's the point. Of course if they're doing something to significantly impact others like smoking around others in a place where they're not entitled to, I may very well comment.

I'm aware this and my previous post may come across as undermining helmet use, but that's not my intention. I always wear a helmet myself. However, I do think it's preferable to have some context and not always try and boil things down to a simplistic "good" and "bad".

So, while seeing heavily damaged helmets does get one's attention and it's easy to imagine the difference it may have made. It's not always the full story. I'll preface this by saying I'm no expert on this and I'm open to correction if anything I'm suggesting is inaccurate.
As I understand it, a helmet can actually make an accident much worse in some circumstances. The most dangerous injuries are not the cracked skull but the torn blood vessels due to brain movement. The skull is there to protect the brain but savingthe skull doesn't necessarily save the brain. I think rotational accelerations on the head and neck during impact can cause some of the most dangerous injuries to the brain or spine. helmets can make these worse due to increasing the effective radius of your head so that less force can produce higher torque. Furthermore, decorative or aerodynamic protrusions on the helmet can make it more likely for the head to get violently twisted in an accident. A smooth skater style helmet is probably the safest and a tailed aero helmet probably the worst I would imagine. So while a helmet should protect you from a direct blow, it may make things worse if it introduces or exacerbates a rotational element. On balance I'm taking it that the helmet improves your chances and I always wear one. However, a damaged helmet isn't proof that you're a fool not to wear one. IMO of course!

 
This.

Someone made a comment about it being a financial burden in socialist countries, yet the evidence indicates a net cost saving from cycling that outweighs any costs from not wearing a helmet. So I don’t buy the argument that not wearing a helmet is overall a selfish move. It beats sitting on the couch, drinking a six pack and bag of chips. We each could always do more. But let’s celebrate the positives.

If bicycles are going to gain even a semblance of acceptance as a mode of transport, we need to normalise cycling in everyday clothing. Not everyone wants to rock up to work in Lycra, hence the success severa brands have had with commute friendly clothing.

Funny thing here

D'Kid [20 years old] has always been one of those "I don't need one" helmet-less riders, but before we went out together on Sunday [she, her mom & I] D'Kid asked if we could get her one online, since the LBS is still closed

She tried her mom's on, and we kinda figured which size she'll need from there

She even offered to pay for it

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

this seems to me a very US-centric thing. I'd never been lectured on wearing a helmet before living in the US, and was a bit startled to find the fervor with which people proselytized for helmets..

Most cyclists I see in Germany, Holland, Denmark etc, don't wear helmets. Their bike injury rates are way lower than US. So I guess it makes sense that US riders need helmets more ;-)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...articles/PMC5227927/
"The United States has much higher fatality and serious injury rates per kilometer than the other countries examined, and has made the least progress in reducing per-capita fatality rates."

In Africa I'd always worn a helmet for road biking and commuting on the roads, seldom wore one for dirt or riding to the store. This seems to be typical for non-US countries, where most people are cyclists and a few are bike racers. Racers wear helmets.

Last week I did my first ride outside, on a trail, since March. I remembered to wear my mask protective gear, got home and realized I'd been riding without a helmet..

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"It is a good feeling for old men who have begun to fear failure, any sort of failure, to set a schedule for exercise and stick to it. If an aging man can run a distance of three miles, for instance, he knows that whatever his other failures may be, he is not completely wasted away." Romain Gary, SI interview

What gives anybody the right to say anything to someone not wearing a helmet, I ride outdoors almost everyday and if I choose to not wear a helmet on the towpath trail riding with my wife that's my business not yours.

chart by Forbes based on OECD data,

The only time I say something is if they have a helmet with them, but it's not on their head. Because really, if you are going to take it along, you might as well wear it.

The 3 countries you have mentioned have superior cycling infrastructure, and the most key element of all... vulnerable user laws. Instant jail time for hitting a cyclist/pedestrian or DUI. I have lived in holland for 2 years.


I wear my helmet here in USA, it has saved my life a couple of times.


But to those who say something to the helmet-less.... do you also mask shame people for not wearing covid19 face covering?

Helmet Nazis fuck off. I think that was a song by the Dead Kennedys.

Well then, based on this logic, we should be calling out everybody for anything deemed unhealthy. People drinking soda, eating fast food, smoking and the list could go on and on. All of these things lead to higher premiums. I would dare say that the things I have listed contribute more to higher health care rates than someone who is not wearing a helmet.

Don't forget "Take the Helmet-heads Bowling"

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Ah, yes, the Camper Van Beethoven classic. And who can forget "War Inside My Helmet-less Head" by Suicidal Tenancies?

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

Precisely - I'm surprised this is even a discussion point as any reasonable person would agree it is none of your business (obviously different if it is someone you are responsible for, someone you know, someone you are riding with, or someone who is representing your club).

The reference to socialist countries amused me, I'm assuming it was tongue in cheek. I suggest it is replaced with any of the following:

- Countries with a Social Welfare system
- Developed Countries
- Civilised Countries

I have never heard of Camper Van Beethoven until today. Will have to check them out.

However was a skateboarder in the 80's and Suicidal Tendencies were my jam. Gonna go drink a Pepsi now.

How about Cracker?


Why did you stop?

Not long ago, I put a Post-It that said "All I wanted was a ...." on our Pepsi machine in the hallway. Someone put another Post-It next to it with a happy face on it and a scribbled "ST"

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Nope.



I've gone through a bunch of music phases since then. These days I listen mostly to EDM and some pop music.
I guess I've mellowed with age and the constant rage and angst of that type of music doesn't really do it for me anymore.
I do listen to old school metal and grunge once in while.


Nice!

I meant, why did you stop skateboarding? Or are you still doing it?

I can't ollie over a pencil to save my life, but I'll still get out & carve some hills when I get the opportunity

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I guess I moved on to endurance sports.
I can still get on a skateboard, do ollies, kickflips and a few other tricks I can't remember the name of.
Just looked up the price of boards these days. So cheap! I should pick one up to play around on.

This is not quite related, but in the personal choice issue, I find it troubling that there are people who ride motorcycles without helmets. I don’t ride motorcycles, preferring the steel safety cage, seatbelts, and airbags of a car. I don’t have anything at stake here, but I’m surprised that people don’t wear helmets on a motorcycle.

Considering that motorcycles move much faster, are much heavier, and are driven in faster traffic with cars and trucks, why DON’T people wear helmets? Is there any data comparing injury and death rates in motorcycle crashes to crashes in other vehicles?

I rode once with the chief of neurosurgery at The University of Chicago Hospital. I raised that topic with him. He was a man of few words, and called them “organ donors.”

"Donorcycles" ;)

Driving next to University of Hawaii one day, I saw a kid come flying down a short hill the opposite direction of me and towards an intersection I just went through. I barely made it through the intersection before it changed to red, and just as he passed me I heard him yell "Noooooooooo".

His voice stopped just as he T-boned a Chevy van. I'll never forget the sound the impact made.

I called 911, as did many other drivers there. Not sure if he was wearing a helmet because he blew by me way too fast, but the next morning when I called my best friend who is a Paramedic in Hawaii to ask if he made it, I was told he didn't.

---

The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

Some stranger going the other way... usually say in a slightly loud voice to a riding companion "must and an indestructible head... or no brain to damage"

Someone in a group ride with me ? I tell them they must be a total dick to not use one. In fact I won't ride with them. It may be their head. But it's ME that has to sort the shit out when they've stoved their head in and laying unconcious on the road. Not using one is just being an inconsiderate selfish dick to those who have to sort out the mess. Same with not wearing a seat belt in a car.

Edit. To add. It is pretty shit when you do have to sort some unconcious fheckwhit out.
I've had to do it twice. One of them when half way down an Alpine pass do the the guy's face smashed in. Police, ambulance...etc. nobody I knew. But still nasty with blood everywhere.
Now add in2020, C19 into that mix...

It's a good core workout, I can tell ya, and depending on what & where you're riding, maybe a little plyo as well? Get those fast-twitch muscles engaged

---

"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I always wear my helmet, but grew up at a time when no one wore them. Helmets weren't even required in the TDF until 2003 after Kivilev was killed in the race. As with many things in life, the risks are now well known and people are free to make their own choices. I tend to like that freedom and would not impose my risk/reward calculations on other people.

The United States has become a nation of self-important busybodies. I refuse the join the game. I won't hassle people who don't wear helmets, sunblock, or the "correct" color of socks. Heck, I won't even hassle you if you eat gluten!

Life was better in the U.S. when we made fun of busybodies rather than empower them!

It is. I know three or four women who will not ride a bike if it means they have to wear a helmet. Their reasons: (1) Helmets look dorky, and (2) helmets are uncomfortable over long hair. I'm not saying their reasons are justified. But yes, helmets are a deterrent to getting involved in the sport -- for some people.

I agree with you. I say let them gamble with their own lives.

But if it comes to harm to others, I’ve stepped up. Examples: yelling at jerks who smoke in their cars when driving with kids or who throw their cigarette butts* out the window; speeding on my residential street (speed limit is 25mph, but it’s essentially a half mile drag strip to many; I’m the d-bag who drives 25 on those streets, holding up a line of cars).

*I was going to write “fag ends” instead of cigarette butts, but didn’t want to offend someone who didn’t know the terms. Fag end is what a cigarette butt is called in some Commonwealth countries, but it also sounds funny. No offense intended at all.

^ This. Keep your dogmatic ideas to yourself.

Point taken, but I'm not interested in catering to those rationales.

Completely agree. I do draw the line at ketchup on hotdogs, though. If I see you do it, I'ma let you know in no uncertain terms how wrong you are.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

We've taught our kids to tell people to put on their helmets on when they see someone biking. They'll occasionally roll down the window in a car and yell at random person. I may not win father of the year again this year.

---

YouTube

 I would say something, something like "Thank God I live in a free country and have personal freedoms"

People who bike without helmets provide job security for me. When I see these people, I just wonder if I'll run into them in the trauma department in the near future.

On the other hand, I will speak up if I see a child riding a bike without a helmet. There is no excuse for a parent to endanger their child that way.

I seriously doubt a helmet would have saved him if he really didn't make it.

I'm all for helmet use, but remember that the cities with highest bicycle utilization in the world (like Copenhagen) have the vast majority (90+%+) not using helmets yet they ride to work, in the rain, for fun, etc.

I do agree though that for the typical triathlete who will likely hit speeds of 15+mph due to training intensity, it's not smart to not use a helmet. For the 95%+ of other Americans though who casually ride a bike in their neighborhood maybe once a year, and at slow leisurely paces, they're a lot close to the Copenhagen folks than us triathletes.

I agree with FlashBazbo and HuffnPuff above, just mind yo' bizness. I also grew up in the 70s and 80s when we all road without helmets a lot. Now, I always wear a helmet on the road bike. When messing around on the beach cruisers, riding to dinner, at the beach, etc., never. I recall in another thread one of you admitted to screaming at someone from your car for not wearing a helmet, on a beach cruiser, at the beach. Really? Also, teaching your kids to yell at people from the car doesn't seem like a fantastic idea.

Yep, helmets are not the key to cycling safety. They're an improvement, but they provide only limited protection and many, many accidents, probably the majority will have very similar results regardless of helmet use.

The reason cities like Amsterdam or Copenhagen have very good safety records is not because of helmet use, it's because cycling is considered a normal activity, and virtually everyone does it, so it's respected and understood. Also the laws and physical infrastructure are in place to facilitate it. That's a world away from countries where cyclists are considered a nuisance, and cycling is considered either a niche sport or a mode of transport for losers who can't afford cars, and where neither the laws nor the physical infrastructure are adequate.

There's a very good argument for not making a big deal out of foregoing a helmet.... If you want to get more people onto bikes, you must make it easy, attractive and cheap. Public bike schemes in cities all over the world would undoubtedly suffer if the users were obliged to wear a helmet. It makes these schemes much less attractive if you have to carry a helmet around all day in case you want to avail of a bike. Anything that gets people on bikes (or taking part in any form of exercise) is likely to reduce healthcare costs and increase average mortality age. I reckon a population with very few cyclists, but those cyclists always wear helmets, is zero competition for a population full of cyclists with a casual approach to helmets.

You're proud of this?
Don't you think it seems you've done both your kids, and society, a great disservice if you've got them yelling at cyclists from car windows.
Teach them to have respect for themselves and their fellows.
You do realise that blaming cyclists for not wearing helmets just feeds the idea that serious accidents between cars and cyclists aren't the motorists fault?

Edit:
In retrospect, maybe I misinterpreted this and you just mean you suggest your kids encourage their friends to wear the helmets they have, rather than actually telling them to go around telling off every cyclist they meet? If so, my comments above are a bit harsh.

Do you flag down or honk at people speeding in their vehicles?
Do you chastise smokers or vapers?
Do you provide nutritional advise to the obese?
Boaters/kayakers/paddleboarders without life jackets?
Neighbors on a roof without safety harness?
The list goes on and on.

If it’s a stranger, just mind your own business.

Do you say something when you see an elderly person walking without a helmet?
Do you wear a helmet in the shower?
Have you ever picked up the drill or the saw and didn't put on your safety goggles?
Do you wear kevlar gloves when you are slicing food?
Do you wear a helmet driving? Why not? Car wrecks are the most common cause of traumatic head injuries.
Do your kids wear helmets at home when they are jumping on the bed? Or horse-playing on the couch?
Do you drive your kids to places? Why would you do that? Car wrecks are the leading cause of death of children.

The answer to your question is: No.

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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.

There is another side here though: there is a shortage of quality organs. Young/fit people trashing their heads are perfect donors for hearts, livers, kidneys etc. So actually they might do society a favor by recklessly riding with no helmet.

What's is more stressing on health care is obese people, people that smoke and people that drink.

In this perspective I'd suggest you call out all fat people and applaud helmetless biking...

Sam

I have this image of a middle aged man in an ill-fitted Ironman branded tri-suit and bright compression socks cruising on his TT bike yelling at fat people that they need to stop eating because it will take 2 hrs averaging 300 watts, 350 watts if they are on a Wahoo Kickr or using a single sided power meter, to burn off the calories. Slowtwitch-man the pretentious life guard that everyone ignores. That has made my day.

Try that in The Netherlands :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqQSwQLDIK8

yeah, If i'm just putzing around my town to do an errand, I don't wear a helmet.

This would be a yes and no answer for me... riding down the road, bike trail, whatever I'm going to let them do them. Not going to helmet shame them in the brief time we're in contact with one another. I'm not likely to have an impact on them other than being some preachy stranger.

If we're having a conversation I might share with them how I'd been in a pretty bad accident and if not for my helmet might not be standing there. Even then I wouldn't hold it against someone if they chose not to or look down on them... it's their choice.

Cycling with your kid, or even 2, on your bike without helmets?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVhYcJH_m5o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfLJ876lXsQ

“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” - A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Do you let your kids run around without body armour? What a reckless, irresponsible parent you are!
Get it?

I grew up in The Netherlands, I am Dutch: biked to school, tennis, football, swimming all my youth, never wore a helmet. But I also lived in 5-6 other countries and nowhere do you really see kids cycling to school like in The Netherlands, or people cycling in general, maybe in some countries I'm not familiar with (Belgium, Denmark). I always wear a helmet when cycling to work in the UK, but still never wear a helmet when cycling in The Netherlands. While that might be not so smart when going to a pub and knowing you will cycle back, I just don't have a helmet in The Netherlands, and none of the people I stay with have helmets I could borrow (most don't road cycle though). I know plenty of people who cycle 30+ one way to work on electric bikes doing 30+ kph with no helmets, it's just not a thing. Remember that not too long ago the helmets in professional road cycling were a joke or non-existent. And why do you think it's a coincidence that in the one Dutch dominated Olympic sport, where athletes move with speeds of over 50kph through corners, speed skating, the athletes don't wear helmets? The Dutch and helmets don't get along. Yes, you know see quite a few wearing helmets when jumping on a road bike, but many of those same people wouldn't wear one when they zoom along speed skating on frozen canals. And 9 out of 10 I encounter without helmets on skiing slopes in the Alps: Dutch, and the Dutch aren't great at skiing. Do I confront them? Hell no!
But if the TS wants to scream his lungs out yelling at people to wear helmets when cycling, he should just go to The Netherlands, randomly pick a town, find a cross road between 7 and 9 AM and he'll have a grant yelling party but be exhausted of the screaming in the space of 10 minutes. :D

I think I perhaps misinterpreted your previous post. I thought you were saying it was shocking that these people in the videos you linked were riding with a kid or two on the bike without helmets. But perhaps you were instead simply saying, look this is normal life, it's not such a big deal, and they don't need to be demonized. I got it backwards?

I have mixed feelings. I always ride with a helmet, and I think it's wise, but I also see the hypocrisy in making a huge issue of helmets when they are a tiny element of cycle safety, have some disadvantages for mass adoption of cycling, and are not seen as essential for many other fairly comparable activities. I'm sure the OPs intentions are good. He feels everyone has a responsibility to wear helmets and that it's his civic duty to try and push this belief, but I think his thinking is misguided.

I don't say anything.

I did see an old woman biking with her helmet on backwards.....the little circle clicky thing to tighten the webbing was in the middle of her forehead. Really wanted to say something, but kept my mouth shut. At least she had good intentions.

Making fun of busybodies is making a comeback. Well, it is if said busybody is a white woman named Karen.

That video is so scary. I expect someone to burst into flames at any moment.

I never wore a bike helmet until about 1994, and since then I'd feel sort of naked riding without one. But I'll let others make their own choices.

However, what's up with people riding bikes on the "wrong" side of the road? (Riding against vehicle traffic.). It may be related to having some "new" cyclists on the roads these days, but I've had this happen several times recently, even on bike lanes with cyclists riding in the opposite direction to the arrows pointing in the "correct" direction. I haven't had any head on collisions (yet), but I will point out that they need to ride in the same direction as the vehicle traffic. I'm guessing they're remembering the "walk facing traffic" advice they got from their parents, and they're applying this to riding a bike. But these people need to have something said to them, for everyone's benefit, more so than the folks without helmets.

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"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

I know I give an average joe riding a bike more room than someone all kitted up and riding. I figure the latter is far less likely to suddenly swerve out into the road or something.

Which if I remember correctly, ironically a helmet probably wouldn't have helped.

That has an actual name in the road biking community - "Salmoning."

I used to only see it once in a while, usually by men wearing work cloths and riding an old beat up bike, but since the virus I see more and more adults on fairly nice and new bikes doing it and it baffles me. You are riding against traffic, you can not see your stoplight, you can't get in the correct turn lane, and people pulling out of driveways and making right turns on red are not going to be looking for you.

I saw 2 women doing it last night on a not very busy residential street and a cop drove right by them and said nothing. I'm not big on cops stopping people for silly things, and I'm sure she felt that it wasn't worthy of her time, but it is extremely dangerous. A polite warning/general instruction would have certainly been warranted.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

In the US it's often recommended and is sometimes the law to walk/run into oncoming traffic when in the street, maybe this results from that (people assuming it's the same for bikes)?

unfortunately in the united states, the car culture is so aggressive that helmets are a must and reflective vests is what police recommend for pedestrian safety. there are few places that understand how a walkable, bikeable town or a city functions. being able to ride around town safely without a helmet (for all ages) should be the goal and some places are starting to get it.

for us in the states, it's generally the opposite of this: https://twitter.com/...691359329878018?s=20



that said, bombing down mountains at 60mph is a different issue.

Stick with your first instinct, which was to mind your own business.

x2

I biked around the world in one country had my helmet stolen at night so the next day, biked towards a city where I could replace it. A busy body girl stood off her bike to yell at me for not wearing a helmet. She didn't know the first thing about my situation and that I had worn a helmet every day for the last 2.5 years, but she had to point it out. I told her to mind her own business. You never know if someone is in a similar situation, or they forgot it or just don't care because it's their life.

People don't tell you to wear a helmet because they care about you, they do it to feel superior.

Road cycling is not safe in the United States. Riders are involved in accidents every day whether wearing helmet or not. Maybe that is what some honking drivers are trying to tell those of you who still ride on streets instead of on zwift in the safety of you house. They are saying that they should not subsidize the emergency treatment of cyclists who are involved in accidents on the road.




Personally, I wear helmet when training. When riding beach cruiser on errands, I don't wear a helmet.

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

When it comes to collisions with cars, it's probably pretty rare for a helmet to make much difference.

So you think it's acceptable to reduce the space allowed just because someone's wearing lycra?
That's dangerous and idiotic logic.
Please re-think it!

It's especially worrying that someone on ST, presumably familiar with cycling, is making such ignorant decisions...

What can we expect from the uninitiated?

Until the USA goes to a single-payer-healthcare, taxpayer-funded system, I couldn't give two sh*ts if people wear helmets or not.

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"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5

Where I live (Switzerland), the public bike scheme includes a helmet. When you rent the bike, the helmet is in the basket on the bike. You aren't required to wear it, but at least the complaint about not having a helmet or having to carry it around all day is eliminated.

Jason

I am the same. If I am going on a ride with friends and someone shows up without a helmet, either he/she goes home to get one or I abandon the ride. Why? I just don't want the burden or responsibility of taking care of someone who isn't wearing a helmet. And I don't care how experienced of a rider they are since all riders, even good one, are at the hands of bad car drivers.

That said, if I pass by someone (ie not riding with them) who is not wearing a helmet, I don't say anything.

Most people are cycling at a speed less than 20 km/h. Perhaps you should wear a helmet while running if you think that speed is dangerous. I wear a helmet road biking because my speed gets higher.

Sometimes I take my dog for a run in a park and I ride my bike at 11 km/h with no helmet and occasionally a person will play god and make a mention I should have a helmet on. Those people are the dickhead idiots of society. Not only do they lack all rational thinking, they feel compelled to dictate how other people are to live their life.

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Adrian in Vancouver

Whoa, easy tiger! I agree they can be a bit obnoxious at times. But relax a little. You can just ignore them. They might be good at other things in their lives!

Also it would be irrational to conclude that because someone says one thing that you consider irrational that they "lack all rational thinking."

Well put.


Couldn't help but notice Joe B rode helmet-less (as were 4 out of 5 people in that clip). I do wish he did wear one in this case - setting example and what not.

It's usually the old dudes I see without helmets. It just looks odd to me more than anything. I notice and judge if I see someone in a group or going through traffic without a mask, but helmet, meh, their loss.

IMO its not all about the speed. When I cycle, I am on the road and am sharing it with cars whose actions that I cannot control. When I run, I am not in the street with cars, I am running on a sidewalk or paths....much less risk.