Helmet for Casual, Everyday Riding: Yes or No?

[MrSteve]

Be careful applying your brakes hard going downhill on your Sofrider.
Hard downhill braking is where your bike is most likely to become a pure unicycle.

I know this from personal experience!
As a former motorcycle test rider, a lot of my fun comes from exploring the limits of the two-wheeler I'm riding.
Stoppies, the deliberate application of the front brake combined with shifting the Center of Gravity both forward and up, is fun on my Sofrider V1:
The Sofrider V1 has a tallish seat, a short wheelbase, and a powerful front V-brake which makes stoppies easy.

As you might suspect, as a former moto-pro, I wear my helmet.
I too know people who have died due to head trauma.
But, since you're not me, you do what you will do and please try to limit your risk of injury and/or death to yourself.

Hope this helps,
Steve

 

[ccf]

There are more ways than going over the bars to hit your head. My daughter was t-boned recently by a driver that didn't see her. The front of her helmet was all scratched up and the helmet foam above her right eye was crushed. She walked away with just a bunch of road rash. I hate to think what it would have been without the helmet.

-Cliff

 

[NeaL]

My new brain bucket arrived in the mail this morning. The camera on my phone didn't do the colors any justice but they're fairly close to the team colors of the Miami Dolphins.
Nope, I'm not a Dolphins fan. I hardly follow football enough to give a hoot. But I've always like that team's colors.

In reference to the TED-Talk video I shared earlier, I've been to Munich (number one on his list of bike-friendly cities) a couple times. I remember lots of bikes, designated bike lanes up on the sidewalks, but never any riders with helmets.
However, I'm not in Munich. The drivers here in the United States are seemingly reluctant to sharing the road with other drivers, let alone bicycles and motorcycles. So, I guess I'll need all the protection with which I can equip myself.

 

[mzweili]

with all the distracted drivers these days it's not worth the risk.

 

[McWheels]

Oh never mind, I was hoping you'd rebel long enough to not buy one. It's such an ingrained thought police instinct I don't think we'll ever break away from it.

Still, anything that car companies won't promote, but will pay for it for bikes has a big red flag next to it. There's enough people have dug deep and shared their understanding, it's continually surprising we ignore it because our tiny sample of experience is different.

And can we stop the victim blaming at least?

 

[Gary123]

Whut

 

[NeaL]

Oh never mind, I was hoping you'd rebel long enough to not buy one.

Oh, I'm still a rebel. This isn't my 1st bike helmet and I'd still rather go without. I got a Trek brand helmet maybe 17 years ago to match my new (at the time) Trek Y3. I still have the Y3 though I hardly ever ride it due to the discomfort. I think I still have that helmet somewhere, too, but I'm not sure. I never wore it enough to keep track of it.
However, my commutes will be on a busy but rural road where bicycle commuters are not yet very common at all, and I'll be hugging the solid stripe on the shoulder as cars approach from behind.

Ever put an eye close to the floor, looking up a length of orange track as Hot Wheels cars come off of a curve? They bounce back and forth along the sidewalls in a snaking pattern at first, before straightening out.
I pulled over one morning to help a coworker change a flat tire. The section of the road he had stopped on was very long and straight. I watched cars coming up the road behind us and I noticed many of them exhibiting this same kind of odd behavior in their lanes as those Hot Wheels cars, moving side to side, all the way across their lane and back, as the cars came nearer. I soon noticed a pattern: All of the cars weaving back and forth, as they passed us I saw their drivers with cell phones in one hand and a steering wheel in the other. They weren't drivers using cell phones; they were cell phone users driving cars.

I've been scouting the routes of my commutes and figure that I could go helmet-free once I get to where the sidewalks begin, if I want to stop just to remove and stow the helmet. I figure if I'm going to look like a dork in a bike helmet, I might as well conceal my facial identity. That's what I like about this Giro. Well, that, plus some respectable people in our Cruzbike Clan speak well of them.

 

[Tuloose]

I have a Base Camp helmet purchased from Amazon.
It offers the same tinted eye shield as the Giro Air Attack but at 1/4 the price.
It works well for me and the tinted shield is perfect for the reclined position on the Vendetta.
If it clouds up outside I can easily flip the shield around with one hand while riding.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...d=kwd-320464624218&ref=pd_sl_5q668hnpve_e_p19

 

[Frito Bandito]

Sitting around on my off day going through old threads and came across this one after being recommended this YT video. I had a similar accident on a skateboard at about 10 years old with far different results so I thought I'd share...

 

[paco1961]

Victogal makes a nice and cheap shield helmet. Just saw today that BROL is taking preorders for their shield helmet also

 

[Frito Bandito]

Just searched on Google images for their helmets and they look nice. Cheap too.

Kabuto makes helmets with shields but they are at least twice as expensive.

 

[3bs]

two people i know were riding simple bikes at low speeds and had falls rendering them with significant brain damage. one was a very nice mom of a buddy as three speed sturmey. so bikes yes helmet.
not always on my trike.

 

[benphyr]

.
not always on my trike.

Is there a specific purposed reason for the “not always” or is it just didn’t think of it and don’t feel like turning back and the risk exists but is lowER etc.?

 

[3bs]

When I am on the trike on a m.u.p. not streets, no helmet unless I am goofing off or really riding fast for time or head to head racing other trikes where there is a likelihood of wrecking.
Riding the trike on busy roads yes to helmet. Riding trike on empty country roads at speeds below 30. mostly no helmet.
Riding trike where I will be riding over 30 yes to helmet.
Winter riding on trike. Any road yes to helmet

 

[bladderhead]

m.u.p

I do a lot of commuting, and I go through a lot of pedestrian barriers. In some cases a recumbent is more awkward to get through than a DF. A trike would be impossible. I would hate the loss of freedom.

head to head

You need a helmet for that.

 

[Frito Bandito]

This is an MRI of my head after a low speed crash a couple of years ago.



The low speed crash isn't what cracked my skull and left 2 bone fragments floating around in my brain. That was cause by a skateboard accident when I was about 10, just like the guy in the video "I love helmets" I posted above. I only found out about the fracture after the low speed crash. But I do remember that I had screwed up balance for at least a week afterwards. Now, I wear a helmet all the time because I ride aggressively and you never know when someone is going to step in front of you, a car hits you, a tire blows out, or a rim shatters. I've never seen anyone head butt Earth and win yet.

Be safe out there peeps.