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General Category >> Ride Reports >> To Helmet or Not to Helmet
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Message started by Action Lad on Apr 20^th, 2014, 3:12pm

Title: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by Action Lad on Apr 20^th, 2014, 3:12pm

Yesterday, after a news report that said Dallas is the only city in TX to require helmets on cyclists, I struck out to see what it was like. I hadn't been helmet-less, since...probably when I was a kid.
I did my normal 26-mile route down to Plano and back, including the Sam Rayburn service road. Ahhhh! It was a good feeling to have the wind blowing across my head. I sweat buckets, so it was so nice not to have a lid swimming all over my head. From now on, though, I'll probably have a UV cloth, or a special cooling rag on my head, but when I'm not in Dallas looks like I could stay helmet free.

I can already hear the blowback from helmeteers and their cautions, but know this battle has been raging in my domed head ever since I started cycling only a few inches above the pavement. On an upright, or even most bent bikes, I'll have something on, but not on a permanently self-balanced, low racer.

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by TonyWard on Apr 20^th, 2014, 3:19pm

I'm not judging - I always say do what you want as long as it doesn't infringe on me to do the same. I don't have a permanantly balanced low racer so I can't say for sure what I would do. If I were to tangle with a car I would want as much advantage as possible to save my sorry ... - I don't know if a helmet would make a difference but wearing one is a cost that I am currently willing to pay.

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by Phantom Rider on Apr 20^th, 2014, 3:19pm

Interesting topic and much debate, I often wonder if those in the debate speak from a position of knowledge.

I agree, on a trike I would not wear one. two wheelers are a different story to me, as much as i dislike the bucket and would appreciate the wind blowing freely across my head I just can't do it. I have been down on a DF and bent and bonked my head before, the helmet had no damage but 'm confident my head would have, after all it don't take much for a concussion to occur.

The beauty of it for me is make it a personal choice for adults and stay out of it, after all thats why its called a choice.

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by TonyWard on Apr 20^th, 2014, 3:22pm

Phantom Rider wrote:

Interesting topic and much debate, I often wonder if those in the debate speak from a position of knowledge.

What!? You have to have knowledge of a topic! I gurantee you not only do they not have knowledge of the topic but it also doesn't affect them. [smiley=deadhorse3.gif]

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by aikigreg on Apr 20^th, 2014, 3:31pm

You should only wear helmets if someone else loves you. Otherwise, if you have adequate insurance, feel free to go without.

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by kenbent6 on Apr 20^th, 2014, 4:24pm

Could you tell us PLEASE, When you crashed your self-balanced trike and hit the steel fence at White Rock and broke the frame on your self- balanced trike did you hit your HELMET? [smiley=injured.gif]

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by rcko on Apr 20^th, 2014, 5:59pm

as an ex-all mountain, dirt jumper, and BmX racer, i seen first hand what a wreck without helmet can do.i also seen and expericed what the helmet has done for the rider... Sometimes the impact is hard enough that helmet doesn't help... But these were brutal 30mph+ downhill runs or large gap jumps. I personally have walked folks with broken helmets out of the woods to meet the EMS. Walked out thanks to the helmet. So I know the helmet can save u. U might still get a concusion but thats better than a cracked skull full of dirt and rcks mixed with your brain.

I also once witnessed an adult testing a 29r bike on the store parking lot have the most non epic low speed fall and crack his skull on the asphalt... The leverage of a body rotating about a front tire can generate high acceleration and resultant impact forces. If he wore the helmet all he would have was a busted collar. Needless to say the store now has a helmet policy for test rides.

U won't catch me without a helmet. Not even for an innocent test ride.

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by catroad254 on Apr 20^th, 2014, 8:25pm

It's really pretty simple. if you don't think you have anything in your brain worth protecting then don't bother wearing a helmet. if you think your brain is worth protecting then a helmet is a small insurance policy. And yes, when I had a trike, I did roll it over.

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by Action Lad on Apr 20^th, 2014, 9:28pm

kenbent6 wrote:

Thanks for asking. The crash at WRL was at the bridge just after the dog park. I was going around the lake clockwise, and at the end there is a stone wall. Pedestrians on the wrong side, if I remember correctly, prevented me from taking the right line into the corner, going wider than normal. I did turn to the right and the trike slid into the wall, impacting first the large chainring somewhere around 12 mph. I ducked, as a normal reaction, and avoided hitting my head. I did have my helmet on. I should also say that the trike had my signature wing on, which helped it to roll over.

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Apr 20^th, 2014, 9:30pm

It's definitely possible to tip a trike, we all know that... watch your noggin, Key...

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by Action Lad on Apr 20^th, 2014, 9:46pm

FlyingLaZBoy wrote:

It's definitely possible to tip a trike, we all know that... watch your noggin, Key...

No, I didn't say that it's impossible to tip a trike, I'm saying that it doesn't require balancing to keep itself upright. It's possible to unbalance anything.
Thanks, I will watch my noggin as I am careful about everything. I am known for safety by those who ride with me regularly, even the police.
As I mentioned, I have been mulling this since getting the trike in 2008. I have researched the history of the bike helmet, and how it's changed. Amazing stuff I won't go into here, to give kindling to fire.

Enjoy the thread, everyone. I'm done.

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by rmillay on Apr 20^th, 2014, 10:20pm

Your head is too beautiful to risk, Key. Also, it's too close to the color of the asphalt, while your yellow helmet is quite a visible contrast. Maybe we can get Larry to rig up air conditioning for it... [smiley=chinscratch.gif]

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by AustinSkater on Apr 21^st, 2014, 6:09am

I went through this in the inline skate community in Austin years ago, so I'll repost what I stated there:

Go and buy 10 watermelons, put 5 of them inside helmets and drop them (helmet first) on pavement from 4-6 feet up. Drop the other 5 from the same height. Exam the melons and make your choice. Don't forget to invite everyone over for the party afterwards (I love watermelon).

A properly fitted helmet will offer protection against impacts that hit it, that includes the head hitting the ground, and objects (such as car mirrors, road debris or thrown beer bottles) hitting the head.

That being stated, I actively fought against the Austin helmet law when it was in effect, I believe that every rider has the right to become an organ donor if they want.

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by Patti on Apr 21^st, 2014, 11:40am

I'm firmly committed to riding with a helmet, especially on a recumbent. While frontal impact is more common and much more likely on a DF, damage to the head while riding a recumbent is more likely to result from side impact. Along each side of the skull, there is a region known as the Pterion. This is the connecting point (suture) for four different bones of the skull: the parietal, frontal, sphenoid (greater wing) and temporal bones. These are flat bones, thin by nature, and the four bones joining at this point create the most easily fractured point of your skull. Further, directly underneath this suture lies the anterior branch of the middle meningeal artery which is easily damaged by broken fragments of the Pterion. The simpler explanation of this is that relatively minor impacts to the side of your head can result in serious bleeding in the brain. Something as minor as an "Artie Johnson" can result in a serious injury if you happen to hit your head. While I recognize that my helmet will not likely save me from a serious collision with a moving vehicle, it can and will prevent a serious injury from an otherwise minor accident.

I agree that people have the right to make their own decisions about personal safety but I also think awareness is a good thing.

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by shellbear on Apr 21^st, 2014, 2:36pm

I experienced the positive effects of helmet usage first hand in 2004 when I was riding a DF bike with a small group of college classmates in Cameron Park (Waco). I was on the road (not the mountain bike trails) but there are a lot of rolling, winding hills in there. Guy in front of me going 30mph slipped in a small patch of early morning dew on the road. I went down, also at about 30mph, trying to avoid running over him My helmet was broken in 7 places all along the left side of my skull. NO CONCUSSION. I would probably be dead if not for that helmet. I brought that helmet to cycling club meetings for months after that as a warning to others. If only I'd had a helmet for my knees, which were like spaghetti after sliding down that hill on the pavement... Ouch. Still have scars from that one!

Helmet. ALWAYS. Rain or shine, hot or cold, Short ride or long, city or country. I value my noggin too much to leave it unprotected. You never know what's going to happen and it's not worth the risk.

Title: Re: To Helmet or Not to Helmet
Post by Monkeywrangler22 on Apr 22^nd, 2014, 12:49pm

I grew up before the era of helmets. I remember well, riding without one, and understand Key's enjoyment of the breeze.

However, I have ridden with helmets since around 1995. I will not ride now without one, even on the trike. Why? One reason is I want to set a good example for my kids to wear their helmets always. Another reason is when I crashed last October on my Giro, as the side of my head smacked the hard packed ground on Stacy Ave, I clearly remember thinking "That should've hurt a lot more than it did!". My helmet broke. My head did not. Third, the helmet I have not only holds a helmet light on it, and more reflective tape, it also is a lovely Toxic YellowGreen color...all the better to see me with, my dear!

Do we really need a law mandating helmets (including motorcycles)? That's a grey area, but keep in mind that all of us are in some way, paying for the support and care of those non-helmeted folks who are permanently TBI'd. (we pay via increased insurance costs, increased taxes for the medical support of the uninsured, etc). It ought to be a choice responsible adults can make, and I for one, choose to wear my helmet.