Do ALL cyclists need helmets?

Triathlon Forum
23

I use a bike path here for my weekday rides, and I always wear a helmet. While there are no cars on that path, I’ve seen more scarrier shit on it then on the road:

  1. Numerous ESL families ambling up the path, to whom when I yell “Passing on your left”, they move left.

  2. Two idiot teenagers sitting on a bench, who had pulled a picnic table into the middle of the path. Around a blind corner.

  3. 40+ East Asian kids, who had decided that the middle of the path would make a killer cricket pitch, and dragged two garbage containers onto it as wickets, and were batting.

  4. Speed inline skaters, wearing headphones, making sure they take LONG strides, and take up the width of the path.

  5. Families with 4-5 kids on trikes/bikes, cycling shoulder to shoulder, as opposed to inline.

There’s a predictability factor that’s lacking on the bike path. At least on the road, you know what you’re going to get, to some degree. I tend to swear a lot as I’m riding.

24

Hell no, everyone has free will they should take it out for a spin. That being said I have a helmet with one side crushed (literally 1/4" thick) from one of my more spectacular crashes on a MTB; I keep my new helmet on it as a reminder.

25

On the weekends, a lot of the cyclists who use the trail are of the recreational sort, by which I mean that they’re actually riding slower than I’m running.

Do these people need to be wearing a helmet? I ask because a lot of them do, and it caught my eye- it looks funny.

Imagine this … you’re at a standstill on the path, taking a bev break. As you get ready to go again, you tangle you feet up in the clips and fall down, PLUNK!!! and smack your head. Concussion, possible fractured skull.

Scenario #2: Just putt-putting along in your Granny gear, enjoying the scenery. As you turn to watch a beautiful cardinal fly across the trail, you fail to notice the low hanging branch ahead of you. WHAM!!!
Concussion, possible fractured skull.

26

If I, in full knowledge of the risks, and maintaining my own health insurance, decide to excercise my right to engage in a completely irrational act, that I thoroughly enjoy, for completely irrational reasons:

  1. I have a right to do so. Bicycle helmet laws are scary legal nonsense.

  2. Don’t F**king lecture me when you see me on the trail. I know how stupid I am - I could care less what you think.

Cycling is an inherently dangerous activity. Every adult individual has a right and responsibility to dtermine for themselves the level of risk they are willing to assume for themselves. This level will and should vary with each individual.

No one has the right to determine another adults level of acceptable risk.

…When I occasionally ride without one, I know, deep down, that part of the reason I do so is to affirm, for myself, my god-damned right to do something stupid that couldn’t possibly hurt anybody else - you know, the kind of good-ole-boy stuff that makes America great…

I’m sorry, but that’s a completely irrational, selfish explanation for riding without a helmet. Have you ever considered the external effects of not wearing a helmet?

What about a situation where a kid chases a loose ball into the street, you swerve to avoid him and down you go. What if you suffer some serious head injuries? Now the kid has to deal with the fact that this guy is dead or really f-ed up because of an incident involving him.

Say one of those actual “accidents” happen and you end up through someone’s windshield? Now the driver has to live with the guilt.

What about your family and friends? You’re right, you being brain damaged or dead (or even just hospitalized) sure doesn’t affect them.

You can be stupid all you want, but don’t fool yourself into thinking your decisions have no impact on anyone else.

-Nick

27

I talked to a guy who fell off his rollers once, he hit so hard that he got curious and asked one of the physics professors at his university about it. His rough estimation is that if you are sitting on your bike, not moving, and fall over sideways your head will be travelling in excess of 25mph when it hits the ground.

28

Most of the “recreational” riders I see on the bike path are wearing their helmets on the back of their heads. Most of the crashes I have seen resulted in impact on the front of the head. So, to these folks I would say, no–if you’re going to wear your helmet wrong, you may be better off not wearing it at all.

29

I think all cyclists need helmets, all the time. 3 main reasons. You can fall off your bike at any time. Believe it or not, I’ve fallen off my bike riding in circles in my driveway, looking down at my derailler while checking my drivetrain, and bam, “where did that bush come from?” and damn, I can’t get me shoes clicked out, quickly followed by “I hope no one saw that.”

Secondly, I make my kids wear their helmets ALL THE TIME, and I don’t want them to ever see me without one.

Lastly, there is no reason not to. It’s comfortable, and I’m not worried about my how my hair looks after riding.

30

… damn, I can’t get me shoes clicked out (at a stoplight), quickly followed by “I know everyone saw that.”

31

Yep I think all cyclists need helmets because even if they fall over, its quite a height from which the head can drop when it finallyhits the pavement.

32

By far-the worst bike accident I have ever had was riding my mountainbike to clock a run. I was on a cartpath type trail and could not have been going more than 6-8 miles an hour. **I hit a wet/algae/leaf/mud curve and some really strange phyisics occurred. I slammed to the ground harder than I have ever hit. First thought after my head hit was being thankful that I was a nerd and wearing a helmet. My elbow and hip (I have some of the nastiest photos you have ever seen of the deep bruising) did not fair so well. **

This is the type of situation I was asking about, thanks.

Looks like the answer is yes, you should wear a helmet if you’re on a bike, period. Cool. Thanks for the answers, all.

33

I agree with ferdly on this one. I say no. I think it’s interesting how self-righteous people get on this subject. Do people get all bent out of shape when they see someone not wearing a seatbelt or going 8 mph over the speed limit? I wear my helmet 99% of the time, but a few times a year, I won’t, just because I don’t feel like it. How many people out there who insist everyone must wear a helmet all the time, occasionally engage in other risky behaviors? I guarantee you more people are injured by speeding in their cars than by not wearing a helmet, yet I bet most of the same people who are crying for helmets w/o exception will speed from time to time. Speeding, not wearing a seat belt, rolling through a stop sign, bungee jumping, smoking cigarettes, kayaking, rock climbing, climbing Mt Everest, riding a bike on the streets, blah, blah, blah…

If I decide not to wear my helmet one day while I’m out on a leisurely spin, I’m aware of the risk I assume. I won’t do the Rose Bowl ride w/ 200 roadies going 30mph w/o one(though some do) because for me, the risk is too high. To tell the truth, as this ride averages almost one wreck per ride, my risk of injury is far greater just doing this ride at all than it is going out on a leisurely ride w/o a helmet.

I’m sure we’d all be much safer wearing helmets while in our cars too, but something tells me none of you do. As adults, we choose what risks we take. And yes, EVERYONE should have a donor card.

34

I agree that the risk of riding without a helmet is properly left up to the adult cyclist. I don’t think you’re a bad person if you go without, anymore than I think you’re a bad person if you go without a seatbelt. It’s your choice. What I was asking is, is there a need for someone riding at 5 mph to wear one? In other words, are they at any more risk than a runner is?

Here’s a question- does anyone here think a runner on a bike path should wear a helmet? After all, they face the same hazards a slow cyclist does- dogs, strollers, inline skaters, fast cyclists, intersections, etc. And the runner’s head is just as far from the ground as the cyclists, 'less he’s a midget.

35

It’s all about risk vs reward. I get no tangible benefit for riding without a helmet. It doesn’t make me feel faster or more comfortable and I get no additional pleasure from riding without it.

My quality of life is much better since I have had head impacts in both racing and non-racing environments. I honestly believe that my brain wouldn’t be functioning the same if I didn’t ride with a helmet at all times.

36

I say, “yes” to helmets ALL the time.

One of the worst crashes that I ever had on a bike was one of those low speed ones - It’s a long story, but I lost my balance and went down rather awkwardly and heavily. I am glad that I DID have my helmet on because my head did hit the road fairly hard.

37

Yes, a low speed cyclist is at much greater risk than a runner. A bike derives stability from the wheels turning, at low speed there is less stability. Since your hands are on the bars, you aren’t able to use your arms for stability further increasing your risk.

38

I agree you can ride without a helmet just not with me.

39

Last month, a rider wanted to join our saturday training ride. He did not own a helmet, and the president of the club asked him to “feel free to join our ride when you have a helmet on”. The rider got in the paceline anyway; disregarding any advice to “wear a helmet”.

Then, the rider overlaps a wheel(we were going 34 mph), he goes down, hits his head on the pavement(gets a head-brain injury), and manages to TAKE DOWN THE PRESIDENT OF THE CLUB WHO TOLD HIM TO COME BACK WITH A HELMET!!!(and recieves a broken collarbone as a result of this guy going down in front of him).

talk about “I told you so”…

40

So I guess this means that there’s an awful lot of pro cyclists who don’t want to survive a head injury…including lance. I’m not talking just on the mt climbs either…watch the lance chronicles and he does it during some of his practices as well.

I’m looking forward to reading about how pro cyclists don’t need it because of their incredible bike handling skills.

41

just this last week i drove by 2 couples that were riding on the wrong side of the road,pulling a kid in a trailer and not wearing helmets.

42

Having good or even excellent bike handling skills is like having good driving skills in that it’s not gonna matter when a second party is the one at fault and takes you out.

I’m very confident in my handling skills, just not everyone else’s skills. And even with good skills I’ve had some pretty good crashes, especially on my MTB.

There are so many other variables that we generally don’t take into consideration during a ride that can happen. I’m not taking the chance.