Helmets YO!
Thread started by
Drew at 01.6.09 - 4:27 pm
I realize it is highly unlikely that you woke up one morning over the holiday saying "My New Years resolution is to wear a helmet this year".
BUT!!! Just in case this brilliant thought did in fact enter your cranium,
or you want a new one; here is some current info from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute.
http://www.helmets.org/helmet09.htm
Protect your dome y'all! ! !
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Lets see how fast this sinks...........
User101.6.09 - 4:38 pm
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yeah, whats the deal with anything useful or interesting on the forums sinking first
KiMS101.6.09 - 4:41 pm
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my head is so big YOU dont need a helmet.
_iJunes01.6.09 - 4:42 pm
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The one time I didn't wear my helmet I ate shit and got a black eye.
imachynna01.6.09 - 4:42 pm
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Helmet: crack
My head: intact
I'm going to Oranger 20 Thursday to get a replacement brain bucket.
Once they crack, they need to be replaced.
Creative Thing01.6.09 - 4:48 pm
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@chynna
did u hit ur eye on the pavement? or did u slam so hard that ur eye gave itself a black eye?
KiMS101.6.09 - 4:50 pm
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TL:DR
The higher priced helmets have big vents, but no verifiable advantage in impact performance. A helmet with less liner foam must have denser foam, a disadvantage in lesser impacts. You can pay more than $200 if you want to, but Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and other discounters have models that meet the same CPSC impact standard at an everyday price of $10. And for about $20 to $30 they have better looking and better fitting models. All three mentioned above have a round, smooth Bell Impulse for about $25 that is molded in the shell, a high quality construction technique.
We recommend looking for a helmet that:
1. Meets the CPSC bicycle helmet standard.
2. Fits you well.
3. Has a rounded, smooth exterior with no major snag points.
4. Has no more vents than you need. More vents = less foam.
JB01.6.09 - 5:00 pm
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@kims
I don't know about Chynna. But I know a certain person, we'll call her "E", that got some serious bumps on her forehead (no helmet)... a few days later she had some serious black eyes. Basically the bruises' blood gravitated towards her eyes. Yow.
neverclever01.6.09 - 5:08 pm
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I think that's what happened to me as well. I had a bump next to my eye, between my eye and my hairline after I fell, and the next day I had a small black eye.
imachynna01.6.09 - 5:12 pm
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I see a lot of people who ride with their helmet strap loose. One time i fell and just before i hit the ground my helmet fell off.
A good rule of thumb is that your strap should be tight enough that you can only slide two fingers between the strap and your chin.. any more and it could fall off.
stillline01.6.09 - 5:13 pm
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I understand they come in handy (might even save your life) but I'd hate to intervene with God's plan. Not cus I'm too cool for one... but I like to think that when I put my life in God's hands he takes care of me.
If something is meant to happen it will happen. Or I could drink less and be alert about the people I'm riding with and their alertness/drunken-mess.
Jazzy Phat Nastee01.6.09 - 5:58 pm
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If I thought that way, I might have nicer hair. Maybe even decent.
imachynna01.6.09 - 6:16 pm
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jazzy are you fucking serious? thats the dumbest shit ive ever heard.
robin swabin01.6.09 - 6:29 pm
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"I like to think that when I put my life in God's hands he takes care of me."
That is why God, in his infinite wisdom, has made helmets readily and cheaply available, so He can focus on bigger and better things.
JB01.6.09 - 6:31 pm
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Yeah, this is my one fault. Then again, we're all one major fall from investing in one.
Jazzy Phat Nastee01.6.09 - 6:43 pm
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Just remember that bicycle helmets are not designed to withstand falls at more than 14 mph nor are they designed to save your head in a bicycle vs car accident. They're designed to save your scalp from minor injuries and to save your brain from nothing but the slowest falls.
Please read
the studies here so that you realize the limitations of what a helmet can do.
Hpister de Tocqueville01.6.09 - 6:53 pm
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Or read the studies here - http://www.bhsi.org/stats.htm
* 700 bicyclists died on US roads in 2007. Over 90 percent died in crashes with motor vehicles.
* The "typical" bicyclist killed on our roads is a sober male over 16 not wearing a helmet riding on a major road between intersections in an urban area on a summer evening when hit by a car.
* About 540,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries every year. Of those, about 67,000 have head injuries, and 27,000 have injuries serious enough to be hospitalized.
* Bicycle crashes and injuries are under-reported, since the majority are not serious enough for emergency room visits. 43,000 cyclists were reported injured in traffic crashes in 2007.
* 1 in 8 of the cyclists with reported injuries had a brain injury.
* Two-thirds of the deaths here are from traumatic brain injury.
* A very high percentage of cyclists' brain injuries can be prevented by a helmet, estimated at anywhere from 45 to 88 per cent.
JB01.6.09 - 7:10 pm
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There's a lot of things you can't control in an accident. But anything that decreases my chance of brain damage is a good thing.
Brain damage is not sexy, and I intend to not be a genetic dead end.
ephemerae01.6.09 - 7:48 pm
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http://www.50cycles.com/yakkay-helmets.shtml
check out those helmets
apineda01.6.09 - 9:45 pm
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The best helmet is the one that you like and will wear it all the time.
User101.6.09 - 10:46 pm
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User1 says:
"The best helmet is the one that you like and will wear it all the time."
+1
I bought a helmet a really long time ago, never wearing it cause it was one of those "universal" sized ones - made me look oblong or something.
I finally found a helmet that I liked, and I haven't gone on a single ride without wearing it since. I never thought I would like one of those roadie type helmets with all the fins / vents, but they musta grown on me over time.
Also I found that the lighter colored helmets looked way better, decreased that oblong look a lot.
jonnyboy01.6.09 - 10:51 pm
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"* A very high percentage of cyclists' brain injuries can be prevented by a helmet, estimated at anywhere from 45 to 88 per cent."
From the CPSC: "Velocity for flat anvil test to achieve 6.2 m per s"
That works out to 13.7 mph.
http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1027.html
"A bicycling mystery: head injuries piling up
In the USA, the rate of cyclist head injuries has risen 10% although helmet use has soared and cycle use has declined. "
"Helmet promotion may be responsible for a generation opting for
driving instead of cycling."
"Helmets offer only limited protection in simple low-speed falls with no other vehicle involved. Helmet standards have declined greatly in recent years yet most helmets do not meet the standards to which they are accredited. The courts remain to be convinced that helmets can be relied upon to provide useful protection in most crashes."
"After helmet legislation was introduced, rates of cycling declined sharply with loss of benefits for health, but the risk of casualty increased. Compulsion to wear a bicycle helmet is detrimental to public health in Australia."
This is interesting:
"Helmeted cyclists have about the same percentage of head injuries (27.4%) as unhelmeted car occupants and pedestrians (28.5%). Wearing a helmet seems to have no discernible impact on the risk of head injury."
"No significant reduction in serious head injury over study period. Serious head injuries rose as helmet use grew fastest. Although one of the most popular areas for cycling in the USA, the incidence of serious head injury was low."
"Those ... who cycle should be under no illusion that helmets offer reliable protection in crash situations where our lives may be in danger. Neither should we believe that widespread adoption of helmet wearing would see many fewer cyclists killed or permanently disabled. The evidence so far suggests otherwise."
"No significant difference concerning the level of head-trauma due to bicycle accident between cyclists wearing a helmet and others. "
Hpister de Tocqueville01.6.09 - 11:14 pm
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Aren't you comparing apples and oranges with this comment......
"Helmeted cyclists have about the same percentage of head injuries (27.4%) as unhelmeted car occupants and pedestrians (28.5%). Wearing a helmet seems to have no discernible impact on the risk of head injury."
So are you arguing that it makes no difference if a cyclist wears a helmet or not? I'd like to see you convince Sarah or Leslie this!
Yeah it doesn't make any difference in some car vs bike accidents, but there's far more type of accidents than this.
User101.6.09 - 11:28 pm
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"From the CPSC: "Velocity for flat anvil test to achieve 6.2 m per s"
That works out to 13.7 mph."
That's fine, I'm usually going even slower than that, and it's not like helmets stop providing protection at higher speeds, it's just that the CPSC tests them for that speed.
While I'm under NO illusions that a few ounces of styrofoam wrapped in plastic is going to offer any significant protection from an impact with a car, ANY protection against catastrophic head injury or death seems worth investing in, especially if it's something as cheap as a helmet.
IIHS - Ninety-five percent of bicyclists killed in 2006 reportedly weren't wearing helmets
Also from the IIHS - Bicycle Deaths by Helmet Use - 1994-2006
Year No Helmet Helmet Total* Number of deaths
1994 776 (97%) 19 (2%) 796
1995 783 (95%) 34 (4%) 828
1996 731 (96%) 27 (4%) 761
1997 785 (97%) 23 (3%) 811
1998 741 (98%) 16 (2%) 757
1999 698 (93%) 42 (6%) 750
2000 622 (90%) 50 (7%) 689
2001 616 (84%) 60 (8%) 729
2002 589 (89%) 54 (8%) 663
2003 535 (85%) 58 (9%) 626
2004 602 (83%) 87 (12%) 722
2005 676 (86%) 77 (10%) 784
2006 730 (95%) 37 (5%) 770
It's your call. I'm not arguing in favor of a law mandating helmet use for adults, but when something so cheap can help save you from death/brain injury, and the only downside is that you look like a cyclist, it seems kinda dumb not to wear one.
JB01.6.09 - 11:42 pm
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I have an extra plain black bell helmet for a big noggin...if any one wants it i already have a helmet so i dont need it
:)
Raquel
BadGirlAttitude01.7.09 - 8:52 am
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I've never really fallen on my head yet.
It seems everytime I'm involuntarily dismounted, I always end up falling on my ass, or knee-skidding!!!
bentstrider01.7.09 - 9:00 am
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Helmets are a good thing. Yes they won't save you in certain high impact scenarios, but they work a lot better then nothing. The rise of injuries has more to do with less people cycling and more people driving. Compulsory helmet use can be a factor in reduced cycling participation and so I am opposed to such legislation, however I still think helmets are a good idea and I was certainly glad I was wearing one in the crashes I've had, only one of which involved a car.
About the air vent thing, their cons were mentioned without their pros, which is certainly much better cooling on hot days in intense riding. If you plan to do long distance rides in the day at high intensity, I wouldn't recommend going with a helmet with little ventilation although I have seen people do it. The right helmet depends a lot on what kind of riding you want to do with it, and one you will actually wear as mentioned is of course important or what's the point.
GarySe7en01.7.09 - 9:06 am
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everyone rode bicycles in Amsterdam.
nobody wore helmets in Amsterdam.
spiraldemon01.7.09 - 9:29 am
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Of course, all the injuries over there are incurred due to smoking up whilst doing the "Double-Dutch" and falling!!!!
bentstrider01.7.09 - 9:33 am
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I have always worn a helmet since my friend Craig Scarborough was killed commuting to high school, in 1978. I have always replaced them after 1 hit/drop. I just bought my first 're-usable' skate helmet. Skate helmets can take multlple 'hits' and 'drops'. BTW, Most, if not all, bicycle helmet companies offer free to low cost replacement programs. I learned of that while working w/ Specialized in the early 1990's. Some, may require the replacement within 1 year of purchase. I also feel if a bicycle helmet is many years old it will get brittle, and possibly fatigue(break-up) too quickly in the impact. I didn't pay for a new helmet for over 10 years. Yes, there are a lot of ways to look at stats & even more opinions of safety, and, I choose to use many ‘safety’ items in my endeavors.
Gern01.7.09 - 11:39 am
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"everyone rode bicycles in Amsterdam.
nobody wore helmets in Amsterdam."
That's great and all, but we don't live in Amsterdam, and the drivers of Los Angeles do not inspire the greatest confidence that they will respect a cyclists space on the road. I'll keep my helmet on. Riders in Amsterdam or Copenhagen live in a very different environment with different infrastructure and very different driving cultures. As cycling conditions here improve I think you'll see less helmets on the road in time, which you can already see happening in places like Santa Monica where bike lanes are more common and drivers are more used to seeing cyclists.
GarySe7en01.7.09 - 11:49 am
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I agree with everything that article states that spiraldemon posted above. I might not be riding, or at least not as much, without my helmet if we had the same laws and infrastructure as in Amsterdam. It's got to be nice knowing that the driver is always at fault in a bike vs car accident. Too bad we don't have nearly the infrastructure they do.
It's great to see that the author mentioned that higher fines are needed in supporting bicycle riding. That's one thing that I wish organizations would recognize here in the states. It's far far easier to lobby to increase fines than it is to introduce new legislation.
User101.7.09 - 1:59 pm
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I usually wear a helmet for long distance riding and not so much for around the neighborhood.... bad habit I know.
Roadblock01.7.09 - 2:03 pm
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I should wear a helmet, but I have a hard head.
spiraldemon01.7.09 - 2:20 pm
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Just a friendly reminder. I love you all, and your brains. Please protect.
Many times I see people carrying their helmets while they ride. If you're gonna carry it, you might as well carry it on your head (that's where it's supposed to go).
kryxtanicole03.22.09 - 8:49 pm
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I now wear a helmet regularly.
Except when I wear my bunny ears, I have this strange magical protection.
Joe Borfo03.22.09 - 8:56 pm
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i left my helmet at your house, lauren.
i feel naked : (
coldcut03.22.09 - 9:04 pm
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Coldcut, I'll bring your helmet with me to Bicykillers.
imachynna03.22.09 - 9:06 pm
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bernie needs a helmet, fuck he almost got killed last nite.
he's trying to get one, but can't seem to find one he likes.
themidnightsocial!03.22.09 - 9:32 pm
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yeah, chynna is going to get it from me tomorrow.
coldcut, did u end up making it to ur sister's engagement party?
ZombiesGotMyTongue03.22.09 - 9:36 pm
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helmets grow on you once you start wearing them. : )
kryxtanicole03.22.09 - 9:37 pm
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What Krista said. Both in the sense that Bernie will like it after he wears it and in the sense that you get so used to them you don't really take them off.
imachynna03.22.09 - 9:43 pm
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saved my brains
Gav03.22.09 - 9:45 pm
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i never made it to the engagement party : (
it's cool though. she forgave me.
helmets will definitely grow on you. i used to feel nerdy with one, but now i love mine.
coldcut03.22.09 - 9:48 pm
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After riding since forever, I didn't start wearing a helmet until November of last year. Ironically/thankfully, two days after I got my helmet I had the chance to ride a penny farthing, which I had been longing to do. I rode it just fine, but I made a terrible effort at stopping, which resulted in me eating pavement, from a fall far above. Those bikes are high! Lucky to have not broken my nose or lose any teeth, I wound up scraped and bloody. Yet, without my helmet, I surely would've been knocked unconscious. My forehead may have been flattened, brain damage and concussions would have been guaranteed. Instead, I had no head injuries, just the blood and scrapes. Helmets FTW!
kryxtanicole03.22.09 - 9:55 pm
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Lets see how fast this sinks...........
User1
01.6.09 - 7:38 pm
Fail.
tortuga_veloce03.22.09 - 10:01 pm
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That's awesome! I want to ride a pennyfarthing! I started riding with my helmet on long rides. now i only really wear it when im riding fast or corking, but not generally on the way to work. i dont like it when im riding through traffic. there's something about having that extra weight on my head that makes me feel like i cant turn my head as fast.
tortuga_veloce03.22.09 - 10:05 pm
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The only time I didn't wear my helmet, which is because I wanted my hair to look nice, (it looked ugly by the end of the ride anyway) I ate shit and got a black eye.
imachynna03.22.09 - 10:10 pm
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Sorry, that wasn't clear. I got the black eye from a bump on my face. A helmet would have helped me not hit the pavement with my face. Then again I don't know. Maybe that face thing was unavoidable. Haha, forget my story. The point is I ate shit. Hah.
imachynna03.22.09 - 10:12 pm
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I <3 my helmet. I went through a car window on the way to school awhile ago, it's been my bff ever since. Not having it for the past 3 days has been giving my anxiety.
danya03.23.09 - 12:09 am
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"ONLY POOP ASS BITCHES WEAR HELMETS!!!"
If this is the case, then I am a poop ass bitch just like you.
imachynna03.23.09 - 5:21 pm
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BUMP.
Despite my best efforts to convince people (i really care about!) to wear helmets, they don't. It's like trying to get somebody to quit smoking... it's something they have to conclude on their own.
It's the battle of
Prudence vs. Vanity.
You can argue all you want about when a helmet
wont help you, or the inconvenience of it, or how you can't find one that fits right... but that's what it comes down to. And yes, I'm judging you. Vain bastards.
canadienne03.23.09 - 6:05 pm
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awesome! will you be @ bicykillers thursday? ride! it'll be fun.
coldcut03.24.09 - 1:39 am
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FYI ladies,
my helmet is on SUPER SALE at sierra trading post for $25. Retail is $70. It comes in white & in black. Just sayin...
check it out
canadienne03.24.09 - 5:07 pm
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-->
Ridazz Roulette!
I'm shopping for a new helmet
I like my helmet :)