[Closed] No helmet. The urge was strong.

I feel naked without my helmet for some reason.......

I don't really notice to be honest. Since I've started wearing contacts and bug eye sunglasses I have noticed that those buggers steam/sweat up FAST though and have taken them off on more than one climb in the heat.

If it is warm I always take helmet off on climbs.

Rode on Saturday without mine. T'was only on towpaths and the local woodland with the wife though.

Wouldn't ever do it on a proper ride.

I ditched mine altogether yesterday, I went out at a stupid time, the trails were extra busy with walkers etc, so I just had a nice pootle instead of a mad thrash. Sue me.

Helmet free ride on saturday - a deliberately chosen route of minimal gnar and speed. Highly enjoyable

Often take mine off on the climbds, had to on Saturday. Sadly I keep forgetting I have a lack of covering on my head these days so it was little tender yesterday.

i know its 'hot' out thre guys n gals..... but always wear a helmet please... you see so many of those nasty injury pics in the bike mags...so next it could be your noggin ! ride safe !

I put it back on for most descents, honestly on the climbs it wasn't worth it but thanks so much for your concern.

elaine anne

I am an adult. I am capable of deciding for myself.

helmet off on climbs is fine imho, putting a cold, sweaty helmet back on after is not so fine so i tend to keep mine on for this reason!

Blissful helmet-free ride on Saturday here too...

Did anyone here die from not wearing there helmet at the weekend, can you post please so we can get a little survey?

I'm also someone that sometimes takes their helmet off for long steep climbs. The way I see it is that I'm going about the same speed as if I were walking, and I don't wear a helmet when I'm walking, so where's the harm?

Tandem dude..... yep i know you can make decisions for yourself but but the times ive passed dads with their little kids(no helmets)... (saying look- shes, got a helmet on.....gud idea me thinks !
especially for Decents..... ah well...dont come crying to me :mrgreen:wen ya laid up in the hospital recovering from brain surgery ! 8)

5hr ride involving a bit of XC to get to a local jumpy DH spot yesterday - no helmet.
too hot, I very rarely ever hit my head, I'll make my own decisions too thanks.
think the only time I've worn a helmet this month was for Glencoe SDA - Although I had a pretty big crash and a few small ones I didn't actually hit my head there either.

I've never really fussed about taking the helmet off for climbs, it's probably because I'm too lazy tbh.

Do remove my glasses though

I'm the same if I try to ride without a helmet though, just feels 'wrong' now..

can we please ban anything with the word helmet from this forum its getting rather tedious having this argument come up every 5 mins.
(i know the op didnt really mean for this discussion the happen again)

ditched the lid for commuting (5mi road) back in march.

but i try never to take the xc lid off when on the mtb, cos i hate putting a wet sweaty lid back on.

I went for a long country lanes/paths ride on Sunday. I spent quite a bit of effort on saddle bags, camera bags, zip-ties, velcro and stuff to let me take everything I needed without carrying a rucksack, because it's so nice to feel free and breezy on a bike ride.

Didn't take a helmet for the same reason. Lovely day. A pint of Aspalls in Dedham helped the last 9 miles home too.

I might post some pics when I get them off the camera this evening. (If they're any good!)

No helmet commute into town today, quick trip helmetless to Hammersmith at lunchtime, then helmetless commute home tonight.

I set off for a family ride on Saturday and turned back when I realised I left my helmet. It did feel nice, but I decided to set an example to my two kids. I was pretty certain mine wouldn't be needed, but young Master Dab needed his when he decided to race a train as it went past. He looked back, wobbled, collided with a wall and went OTB!

Didn't wear my helmet for any ride last week... although they were only out with the dog taking him for a run, although I did manage to ride some lovely singletrack, and then down some steps and not die.

Actually, the closest I came to having an accident was when I was out trail running and thought it would be a good idea to run down a steepish slope... it got a bit steeper than planned!

Should I be wearing a helmet for running now, as on a ratio of time spent to likelyhood of injury, I am thinking that running is looking far more dangerous!

[i]I put it back on for most descents, honestly on the climbs it wasn't worth it but thanks so much for your concern. [/i]

She's probably seen you ride Drac, hence the concern.

this again, oh well, for my (road) ride on saturday

- i took my helmet off for a while as my head was cooked. it made an annoying rattley noise on the bars but other than that i was not killed, the only thing that was rotational was my wheels, i did not reveal a handy foil hat and no flying saucers flew out

- i wore lycra rather than baggies. no women, small children or innocent animals fled at the sight of me. two confirmed bachelor types shouted encouragement at me but so far attitude magazine has not phoned

- i did not wear a rucksack, camelbak or any other over the shoulder encumbrance. i took two 1.5l bottles for an 80 mile ride. it wasn't enough

- i did take gels but didn't 'eat' them. i did not eat cake, at least not until i was done. i stopped for coke (the drink) and ice cream and fine it was (see above for the not botheredness of the passersby re the lycra)

- i passed about seven roadie types. a cheery wave was returned by all. of the people on mountain bikes (as opposed to mtbers) only about four of the twelve or so responded likewise. as this isn't normal for these parts i put it down to them being non-locals or southern types for whom the sight of some 'scotch' type speaking at them seems to evince bewilderment or fear. i should point out that my shandy drinking other half suggested that perhaps they just didn't understand my 'brutish northern dialect'

does that cover all the bases?

if not add the obligatory i'm faster than you/i can cycle further/road/mtb/bmx/cx/my chopper is better/any or all the above/you are fatter/thinner than me/you is slow cos you is old

Elaine.... TJ and helmets.. Youll learn but it may be a painful process for all of us

I'd never ride without one as I'm quite capable of falling off at any point on a ride, not just the downhill bits!

I crashed heavily yesterday on one of the easiest sections of the route (riding under trees and the dappled sunlight made visibility of roots more difficult). Given I hit pretty much head first I'm very glad I had a helmet on, and my head is one of the few bits that don't hurt today.

Good point samuri. Only time I fell off was crossing a dry peat bog and hit a large lump of marsh grass. Stopped me dead and a spd moment.

When I take my eldest out I always wear one so she gets in the habit.

[i]does that cover all the bases? [/i]

What kind of pedals did you have?

Aha... so one would be forced to stop [s]for a rest[/s] to put one's helmet back on at the top of climbs. Sounds ace.

Couldn't dream of not wearing a helmet even for the short space of a climb, I had a really bad accident when I first started riding, managed to hit my head on the only rock on a large grassy decent.

I'm fairly sure if it wasn't for the helmet I wouldn't be here right now.

PnM

Why would be forced to stop? Easy to put it back on while riding.

swiss01 - Member
i did not eat cake, at least not until i was done. i stopped for coke (the drink) and ice cream

Good job you mentioned the cake at the end/ice cream or we'd have needed to see about burning you for heresy. 😉

I was helmetless on all my climbs yesterday was too hot. Super dry, fast and dusty coming down so helmet was useful for that..

Wish me luck, I'm cycling to Hammersmith sans helmet.

I survived! Was very nice coming back alongside the River too.

I used to ride with no lid but I've gone totally the other way now. I bought a downhill helmet for wharnecliffe and I feel so exposed with nothing in front of my face I don't like my xc lid any more.

perhaps I just crash too much

I went and baked myself for 70 miles in the Peaks yesterday, but didn't take my helment off. Mainly because I'd forgotten my biretta, which is my preferred choice of hot, steady climbing headgear. I sweated like a Catholic priest in an orphanage.

Tonight, I may well ditch the lid for some of the ride home. I suspect I shall survive.

"I am [s]an adult[/s][i]human[/i]. I am capable of [s]deciding for myself[/s] [i]making mistakes[/i]. "

Forum lurker on the Surrey hills ride concussed himself "Just riding allong" (and straight into a low branch)

is this a new niche?

no-helmet niche?
no skills, no helmet?

wtf? If you do not want to wear a helmet, don't bother me with it.
Is it really worth a discussion?

hmmm what colour pants should I wear? maybe go commando? lets ask stw......

Actually, on my last 2 rides there have been crashes with heads involved, the STW ride on Sunday, and a kid (helmetless) for which it probably ended with a trip to casualty at Swinley.

I reckon there must be an intermediate temp at which helmets are uncomfortable, as on the STW ride in 27deg heat it was fine, but at Swinley on Friday it was unbearable on the climbs. must be the perspiration evaporating quicker making it more comfortable despite the heat.

Why would be forced to stop? Easy to put it back on while riding.

Because I'm out of shape and take any excuse to stop at the moment? 🙂

What I love on these thread is people from great britain removing the helmet because it's TOO ****ING HOT....
Don't make me laugh people please...

Usually don't get drawn into these but there is something strange about not wearing a helmet makes me feel like a kid again but it also stops me from doing things that are a bit silly due to the extra PERCEIVED risk. If I want to try something that I think is a bit dodgy I will wear my full face and knee pads. I might make tomorrow mornings ride a gentle pootle with no helmet, it certainly makes the hair look a bit more acceptable if going directly to work where there are no showers.

Was chatting to the ranger at my local forest at the weekend on this very subject.

During the last week he's had to deal with a sans helmet over the bars gashed head to the bone incident, and another where a guy has hit his head so hard that the resultant swelling could lead to the loss of an eye.

The simple fact is that no one gets up in the morning and decides that todays the day to have a severe stack, any more than you can decide to get up and not have one.

Simple principle is that wearing a helmet will not kill you (regardless of TJ's arguments to the contrary), not wearing one might. No brainer IMHO.

[i]Because I'm out of shape and take any excuse to stop at the moment?[/i]

Well errrm, you see I'm way unfit still and yeah I just kind of say "I'm knackered". I still do distance though but hills are killing me, slowly getting there and to be fair they were good size hills on Saturday. Not as good as French Cols though and it wasn't as hot as France too but you know what I love Northumberland me.

ok 'here' 'here' ....Reguardless of the 'heat'..... ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET ...IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE !
end of discussion i think...

Make your own decisions based on risks and circumstances.

Well if people think they are going to be hotter with a helmet... Well they are deluded.
Try riding in the blazing sun of midday in Nice when the tarmac melts, and you'll be begging for a helmet.

I think I can safely say that there's no circumstances on earth that'll ever have me begging for your helmet juan.

Confession 1. I have just spent two and a half days at afan/glyncorrwyg. 😳 I saw lots of people with their helmets off on the climbs including the wiggly/wobbly bits.

Confession 2. I did the Twrch trail at Cwmcarn on the way home today and I was so hot, knackered and possibly a little bit hungover that I had an OTB going [i]up[/i] the very first section. 😳 I am glad I had my helmet on.

I've had to tie a t-shirt round a head to hold scalp onto a very visible skull when a mountain biker head butted a rock on a land rover track. It was a life changing event for this guy. I wear a helmet, I'll take the risk with rotational injuries thanks.

And my wife was a nurse on a neurological ward until recently - head injuries don't need to be fatal to ruin your life. Out on your bike today, never sleeping sitting up in bed eating your own excrement the next week. I have it from a reliable source. I have other stories, used to get them every day after her shift.

This thread demonstrates a facet of natural selection in action.

Oh look - the usual hysterical holier than thou crowd arrive!

"wear a helmet or you will surely die" Even if all you are doing is pootling along an old railway line. When the odds are millions to one than I will accept that risk.

Do you wear a helmet when you are walking? Running? Driving?

elaine anne - Member

ok 'here' 'here' ....Reguardless of the 'heat'..... ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET ...IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE !
end of discussion i think...

Does that include walking to the shops?

[i]Well if people think they are going to be hotter with a helmet... Well they are deluded.[/i]

Or you realise that there not very good at getting rid of heat. Try wearing a Balaclava next time there's a heat wave in France. I do wish I had my buff with me know to take the heat of my now exposed head.

TJ, relax fella, there is simply no way of convincing these people; the discussion has much in common with those about religion...

Some people are absolutely, utterly convinced that a inch of polystyrene will save their lives, and there is no way to change that mindset.

Again, though, I am impressed by the sheer bravery of those who would expose themselves to life changing head injury in the name of sport with only a polystyrene hat for protection...

...and as for neuro nurses, ask her what the major contributory factor was to the accidental head injury she saw; I'll bet a large sum of money it wasn't cycling; more likely to be alcohol or driving, so why don't we wear helmets when going out for a drink or when we get in the car?

Yes, a helmet will save you from minor injuries, and it's really not that hard to 'gash your head to the bone' given the thinness of the skin there, but save you from a proper life threatening head injury? Give over.

Please continue; there have been far less 'a helmet saved my life' contributions than usual on this thread.

Try riding in the blazing sun of midday in Nice when the tarmac melts, and you'll be begging for a helmet.

I have done exactly that with no helmet and didn't want one. are you bald or something?

GW not bald not, but a helmet provie a nice cover from the sun and keeps your head well chilled once dipped in water.
I have just broke one by otbing a few days ago. And i don't care waht TJ says, the helmet did save me from some injuries.

Simple question for TJ and the like

Given your views why wear a helmet at all?

Comments such as these are self evidently contradictory to your views so why do it?

1) Helmet free ride on saturday - a deliberately chosen route of minimal gnar and speed
2) If I want to try something that I think is a bit dodgy I will wear my full face and knee pads
3) I ditched mine altogether yesterday, I went out at a stupid time, the trails were extra busy with walkers etc, so I just had a nice pootle instead of a mad thrash
4) I put it back on for most descents, honestly on the climbs it wasn't worth it but thanks so much for your concern.

I am wholly impressed by the superior zenlike ability to decide when you are going to fall, and most of all your ability to argue how ineffectual they are but then how you decide you must wear them when doing something "dangerous". Presumably you deploy the same arguments regarding PPE at work, the wearing of seatbelts, or helmets on motorbikes, or driving on the wrong side of the road, ad infinitum, rejecting all of those as unnecessary infringements of you civil liberties as well?

Now while I personally regard anyone who rides off-road without a helmet as having rather suspect logic it does differ from most of those other examples given in not being illegal currently!

BB, don't directly debate with the forum hot heads!

It's the law........

Can I just answer - then I'll shut up......

BB - its about rational risk assessment - so some rides the risks are low - in the millions to one - of having a serious accident. That is a risk I am prepared to take.

Some rides the risks are higher - then I wear one as a helmet is good protection from minor injuries and probably mitigates major.

Crikey - you are right.

Against my better judgement, because I know I won't change your opinion,

[i]I am wholly impressed by the superior zenlike ability to decide when you are going to fall, and most of all your ability to argue how ineffectual they are but then how you decide you must wear them when doing something "dangerous". Presumably you deploy the same arguments regarding PPE at work, the wearing of seatbelts, or helmets on motorbikes, or driving on the wrong side of the road, ad infinitum, rejecting all of those as unnecessary infringements of you civil liberties as well?[/i]

PPE at work has a reasonable evidence base.
Seatbelt effectiveness has a reasonable evidence base.
Helmets on motorbikes has a reasonable evidence base.
Driving on the wrong side of the road has a reasonable evidence base.
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[b]Cycle helmets don't.[/b]
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...and I'm old enough to have ridden a bike when cycle helmets weren't even invented, other than the leather 'hairnet' style ones.
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...and given that the majority of cyclists wear helmets these days, where is the evidence that the number of head injuries has fallen?
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Everyone is sooooooooooooooo sure, so 100% sure about the effectiveness of helmets, and they are equally sure that to ride without one is mad and dangerous, so why is there [b]no definitive evidence[/b] that they work?

As above, I'm not interested in trying to convince anyone, but try to think things through and you will begin to see that the popular opinion of cycling helmets is largely a myth.

...and, think about the lack of litigation in the most litigious nation on earth with regard to injuries suffered by helmet wearing cyclists...No-one sues helmet manufacturers when they fail, because there is no case to answer; they don't protect against any serious head injury, never have, never will because they are not designed to...

I wear one, but I don't believe in any magical powers; I wear it to make my riding buddies feel better.

I wear one, but I don't believe in any magical powers; I wear it to make my riding buddies feel better

riiiiight..if your that sure they didn't do anything you wouldn't wear one at all...don't spout bollox..
As for all the comments about the helmet evangalicals, lets not forget there are kids on here which might be influenced by the TJ 'i'll make my own decisions, i'm an adult...blah blah. for the little inconvenience a helmet worn is, it might save ur head from a visit to the hospital

I used to do the occasional ride without a helmet, but a couple years ago came across an accident where a teenager was riding without a helmet on relatively easy/flat trail. Going around a sharp U-turn at slow speed, she fell inwards and impaled her upper left skull on a rock that was embedded alongside the trail. When I got there, they had her on a stretcher, with a bloody bandage the size of half a soccer ball on her head. The paramedic said she would be lucky if she didn't have permanent damage as the rock had penetrated about 1/2 inch through her skull. Got my attention---have never ridden without a helmet since.

Cycle helmets don't

Says whom?.... evidence please?

so why is there no definitive evidence that they work?

As I've said to TJ many times previously. You cannot argue a negative. i.e. prove to me that by not wearing a helmet that you would have been injured. How about you prove to me that they don't work? Surely you must have a great long list of people who have been killed or seriously injured by a head injury whilst wearing one, that data should be very easy to compile.

...and, think about the lack of litigation in the most litigious nation on earth with regard to injuries suffered by helmet wearing cyclists

Utter cods! Go sell that one to the FC who are currently busily trying to protect themselves from litigation left right and centre.

Like I said, anecdotally, I was talking to my local forest ranger at the weekend.....

and because I do so regularly I don't need evidence, I see it contantly. However, I am willing to be swayed by the deployment of yours/TJ's. Persuade me of the folly of my ways, feel free, but please try to avoid self evidently ridiculous statements like the above. Its not really worth the discussion when you do that.

I do not believe I just read this

nockmeister - Member

lets not forget there are kids on here which might be influenced by the TJ 'i'll make my own decisions, i'm an adult...blah blah.

[img] [/img]

Ok bb I'll answer too. I wear one for protection it might only be a little but it's some. I choose when to wear based on risk that yes can be easily assesed. To use your metaphor the same way I risk asses at work way up the potential hazards. I don't claim to see the future but it don't take a genuis to work out riding up a fire road or glass sloped hill poses very little risk.

Above all I choose not to wear one when I want because I have that freedom of choice.

And your point is TJ? Its a fair and valid point. Not no 1 in the argument, but fair and valid.

Can I just answer - then I'll shut up......

Perhaps a previous head injury suffered by this poster causes them to be unable to follow their own suggestion?

I've got it! All the folk who argue badly* that wearing helmets automatically for each ride is stupid were dropped on their heads as children. That would explain everything!

*Because "I don't want to" is a fair comment but some of the above posts are pure nonsense......

And the fact the anti-helmet proponents seem to be nearer the grave than other commentards says something I reckon. Grumpy old men, stuck in their ways.....

And what about [url= http://www.on-line-seminars.com/index.php?p=1_11_Summer-Branch-Drop ]this[/url]. Are we ever safe?!

Species most often reported in Britain to be susceptible to summer branch drop.
Quercus spp.
Populus spp.
Salix spp.
Ulmus procera
Castanea sativa
Fagus sylvatica
Fraxinus excelsior
Aesculus hippocastanum

😯

Meh, as I said, it's like religion and there is so little give on either side that it's pointless.
My position is that I don't believe that helmets will protect you from a serious head injury.
There is statistical evidence out there, but there is little point in asking people to look; you have made a decision and that's what you believe...

Notice that I don't use abuse or suggest that your point of view is 'ridiculous', or talk about the 'folly' of your ways....

Light reading; http://cyclehelmets.org/

I see people with serious head injuries as part of my job, and I've never thought that helmets would make much difference to the vast majority that I see...

Berm Bandit - Member

And your point is TJ? Its a fair and valid point. Not no 1 in the argument, but fair and valid.

Did a bit of DH mincing recently. Invested in a ff helmet - thought it was a bit of an overkill. However did have a head/tree interface - the protection was awesome - didn't feel a thing so justified i think 🙂

Crikey what a dick

I just don't understand the evangelical zeal with which some people are taken with helmet wearing... to the extent that people who don't wear helmets deserve what they get, or they'd refuse to even help someone who had an accident and wasn't wearing a helmet. There are the same sort of voices in the climbing community as well, and I just don't understand them either...

Why does it matter so much what other people do when out on a bike?

Anyway, surely it's more dangerous to ride full speed down a black route at a trail centre with a helmet, than pootle around a local route without one. Why is the risk of the first acceptable, but the second not?

You seriously think I should change my behaviour because of what some strangers children might think? Weird

I wouldn't think it necessary. They'd just have to read some of your posts on here and assume you'd fallen and hit your head at some point. 😉

zenlike ability to decide when you are going to fall

I don't at all. But quite clearly a proportion of the riding I do has a risk level roughly similar to walking. If you wear the same protective equipment for riding down a rocky path on the edge of a cliff at 25mph as you do for riding along a flat canal towpath at 10mph then you're probably either over or under protected for one of those activities.

And if you're at serious risk of death when riding along a canal towpath there's something to be said for your elimination from the gene-pool on grounds of gross incompetence. [i] "Better drowned than duffers. If not duffers, won't drown."[/i]

This doesn't apply to children, who are allowed to fall off slow-moving bicycles on flat surfaces for no reason, and commonly do. 🙂

I reckon the canal towpath is one of the more dangerous places I ride, given the unpredictable nature of the other traffic.

the canal towpath is one of the more dangerous places I ride

It does sound like you probably need a helmet then. At a minimum. Possibly also kneepads and a life-jacket, but it'd be a shame if this was made compulsory. 🙂

BB - its about rational risk assessment - so some rides the risks are low - in the millions to one - of having a serious accident. That is a risk I am prepared to take.

I just don't understand the evangelical zeal with which some people are taken with helmet wearing... to the extent that people who don't wear helmets deserve what they get, or they'd refuse to even help someone who had an accident and wasn't wearing a helmet. There are the same sort of voices in the climbing community as well, and I just don't understand them either...

Well it comes with the fact that you may take the risks, but we all pay for it. No one can pretend not to fall on a ride specially not TJ (who is probably a poor rider, as he's slower than I am... And I am average less).
Now some people know things better than everyone else, which is very easy when other people pays for your mistakes.