Despite there being mountains of hard evidence to the contrary, helmets do not actually provide any real protection for the head in cycling accidents to experienced athletes. The head bounce reflex is stifled by the helmet. This leads to injuries caused by impact transferring through the helmet to the head, which can no longer avoid injury through the trampoline effect. All studies so far conducted have overlooked this obvious effect.

The importance of a head to a non helmet wearing cyclist is likewise greatly exaggerated.

In my case, I never leave my driveway without my helmet, but only because I like the effect on my hair from the helmet.

Is this true? I wore a helmet for five years before a serious crash. Bottom bracket broke (old bike) and I went right over the bars on my head and my knee. The helmet shattered (this was the old style hard hat with liner, crash was ten years ago). The helmet shattered. My head was fine. My knee was not. I always wear.

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Sorry, but this is a croc of crap. She's rationalizing. She's lucky to be alive so that can she can rationalize. Sounds like she's had one too many falls on that noggin of hers.

You were a helmet wearing cyclist, so your head is probably of relatively more value that that of a non helmet wearing cyclist, so my above description may not apply in your particular case.

The evidence which arguably indicates that the absorption of energy by your helmet as it shatterd would have instead caused your head to shatter is flawed.

"The importance of a head to a non helmet wearing cyclist is likewise greatly exaggerated."

Excellent point. I think you nailed it!

"The head bounce reflex" 'trampoline effect' LOL that is a good one...;)

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That is just one more group of people that should be thrown screaming from a helicopter- George Carlin

I will be the first to admit that I was caught up in the wave back in the 80's, when we raced with leather hairnet style helmets, when everyone thought it was so cool - so euro to ride/train without a helmet! I was hard headed and it only took being hit by a car twice (fortunately low speed, non-head injury accidents) before I got the message and started wearing helmets without being prompted - well I am still guilty of tooling around the starting line wihtout one! Flash forward to December of 2001 during a training ride and everyone was sprinting like mad to win a bridge sprint when the drive train skipped a beat and I pulled my foot out of the pedal at 37+ mph! With nothing to oppose the force of the other leg, In an instant I launched myself over the bars as my wife rode behind us observing in horror from a hundred yards away.

I could not get up at first finding that the impact had knocked the wind out of me, it was cold and my long sleeve jersey and bibs were torn, and worst of all my 3-day old Giro Pneumo was toast! Despite the fact that the bike had catapulted high into the air it was undamaged and I want to get back on and finish the ride but everyone else agreed it was time to go to the ER. One of the riders called his wife who took my wife and I back to the parking lot and we then forst drove home so I could shower and scrub some of the rocks from the asphalt out of the road rash on my hip/side. When we got to the ER, wounds were again scrubbed and dressed, and X-rays were taken in response to my complaint about persitent pain along both sides. The X-rays were negative - no broken bones - but every rib in my chest was bruised. The ER physician asked if I had been wearing a helmet and my wife showed her what was left of it and she remarked straight faced - "Judging from this damage, your head hit the pavement at least 4 times! If you had not been wearing this helmet - you would have died!

It should not take hearing words like that from a medical professional to motivate someone to wear a helmet. Last weekend, Dallas area cyclists lost a long time racer who also had made a habbit of never wearing a helmet accept when racing. He was hit by a car and for a few days a heated debate raged on another website forum about whether or not wearing a helmet would have made a difference. Personally, based on over 23-years of experience riding and road racing, I think it irresponsible for anyone to ever suggest that wearing a helmet would not make a difference. If the athlete in the orginal post had been wearing a helmet, I firmly beleive she would not have had to spend time recovering from a head injury and those comments are simply her way of rationalizing it all!



Michael

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I send this link to my friends who refuse to wear helmets:

http://www.sph.emory.edu/Helmets/boardman.html

Wearing a helmet can and may save your life. Not wearing one will never be the reason that you live.

maybe she's trying for a Darwin Award nomination ;)

Yeah, not wearing a helmet for the reason that it inhibits the head's "bounce" reflex (and hey, bounce or no bounce, it's still your SKULL contacting PAVEMENT) is like saying "it's better to not wear a seat belt on account of I knew a fella whose car rolled over and he was thrown clear right onto a pile of hay. So I ain't wearing a seat belt."

Dumb.



-bub

That sure sounds familiar. In April 2002 I had sat up and let my group roll ahead near the end of our club ride. I chased hard and caught the group on a long, moderate descent, just as they fired up the sprint for the last state limit sign on the route. Since I was already up to speed I attempted to up-shift and join the sprinters. My chain rode off the outside of my big ring, and just as you describe, I did an endo at 35+ MPH.



My helmet made first contact, then the back of my left shoulder. The helmet was dented pretty good, and in addition to some pretty impressive road rash, my collar bone was shattered, my shoulder separated, and I tore my rotator cuff and the interior lining of my shoulder socket. I sustained absolutely zero injury to my head, despite it being the first point of impact. I hate to think of where I would be if I had been without that helmet. It was my first serious crash in over 10 years of riding and racing. It only takes one.

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Happy trails,
Chris

Yes, same reasoning. I always wear my seat belt, but only for reasons of staying in better control of the car, not for safety reasons.

You are obviously one of those cyclists who is over attached to his own head, so this reasoning may not apply.

Why would you expect a statement made by a person with a head injury to make any sense what-so-ever or reflect even an iota of logic?

Hopefully the brain damage is not permanent.

Haim

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"Sometimes you need to think INSIDE the box!" -- ME
"Why squirrel hate me?"

I'm in an Oly tri a few years ago, hammering at over 25 mph down a highway which had traffic cones put up for the race. Came across a traffic cone which had been knocked over by other athletes. Unfortunately I saw it directly in front of my bike just before it caught my front tire and then rather violently inverted my nice Litespeed Tachyon. I then rapidly heard a loud CRACK!, saw stars, and then found myself laying on my back with lots of road rash but no serious injury. The front of the bike had hit so hard my streamliner aero bars were bent (and no, the Litespeed wasn't scratched). After crawling out of the traffic lane, I gathered myself for a couple of minutes and finished the race. (the racers behind me said that the crash was absolutely spectacular, thank you very much) Post race I discovered that the gyro helmet was indeed shattered. Without a helmet I am sure that the CRACK! would have been a little lower pitched as it would have been my skull fracturing instead of some styrofoam. I just shake my head when a see a pretty boy or girl on a bike wearing a dashing do-rag or bike cap instead of a helmet.

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FIST Certified Fitter
Salt Lake City, Utah

She's being dumb, but she's allowed as a "Professional..." 'Nuff said.

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http://wattieink.com/elite-team/
Raising funds to help wounded veterans and racing RAAM 2013 with http://team4mil.org/
"If you are gonna charge... CHARGE HARD!"

Her FOURTH head injury?! And she still rides sans helmet? But will probably be more vigilant now? How many head injuries does she figure she can sustain without serious long-term consequence?

I think it probably only would have taken me one head injury before I started wearing my helmet. Wow.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

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There is a flaw in the Trampoline reasoning. What damages your brain is how hard it whacks into the inside of your skull when it decelerates. The determining factor in how hard your brain whacks into your skull (called the contre coup injury) is the rate of deceleration. If you dive headfirst onto a concrete block, your head decelerates instantly, so your brain hits your skull hard. If you dive into a matress, it decelerates slower, so the brain doesn't hit as hard. A helmet causes deceleration to be slower by being crushed. You don't want to bounce your head - even if this reflex could stop it from hitting the ground as hard - your brain rattles around too much.

I agree about the hair - I like how I get strands sticking through the holes in the helmet, which stay after it comes off.

Deke

Interesting, well stated theory. We should do some tests. Can I recruit you as a potential subject?

I'll volunteer. You can drop your head onto concrete without a helmet, I'll do the same thing except with a helmet on. Very scientific, don't you think?

I think a few people are missing the joke.....

I thought you might have been serious untill the "The importance of a head to a non helmet wearing cyclist is likewise greatly exaggerated." comment.

I've destroyed a helmet in a bike vs. car crash and NEVER ride without.

I've heard it said, "People who ride without a helmet are probably not smart enough to need one."

- Ken

I agree that wearing helmets is a good idea but putting a picture of a just-dead Casartelli on the internet with a caption that essentially says "it was his fault he died" is not cool.

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Anyone who tells you they're as fast now as they were when they were 18...
sure wasn't very fast when they were 18.

Cool it may not be...but if even one person lives because that image was the final straw in their decision to wear a helmet...then I think Fabio would not object.