Brain(hulk?) surgeon: There's no point wearing bicycle helmets

[Humpy]

Short track, single speed riding is not doing 50 miles on a road bike that'll do twice as fast as those BMX bikes. Not even in the same league.

But what can you expect from someone that sees a bike and thinks they're all the same?

I agree on both counts. BMX is in a league of it's own. So much speed, style and air time that it makes other types of cycling as exciting as old ladies knitting.

And there is so much more to cycling than riding on butter smooth roads where trends, fashion, and branding takes precedence over nearly all else. People hear the word bicycle and automatically think Lance Armstrong or hipsters on fixies.

 

[Humpy]

Go ride one of those 100 miles dressed like that and get back to me.

Sure. 100 miles is nothing. It'll be 1200' at a time though, and rad.

 

[highland145]

2 wrecks that ended with the ER. The helmet saved my skull both time. I'll take my chances with the snapped neck.

 

[DrPizza]

I consider myself a relatively progressive guy but I die a little inside every time I see a little kid wearing a helmet to bike up and down the street.

Physics lesson: it's not the speed on the bike that causes the injury to the head, unless the rider skids into a curb. The cranial injury is from the impact, which is mostly dependent upon the height from which the head drops to the pavement. Forward speed determines the amount of road rash for the most part. Little kids fall the most.

My head was saved by a styro/plastic helmet after my front wheel clamp failed and I flew over the handlebars a few years back. I skated on my head for a good 10 feet and slammed into a curb. Didn't get hurt at all, but with out that helmet I'd probably be dead.

Some safety is better than no safety.

I know each individual case is just anecdotal; but I had a similar one. Except, at the time, I had the pedals with straps, rather than clip ins. Somehow, I managed to snap my chain under extreme acceleration (showing off, putting 100% into sprinting). I was probably up to about 30-35 mph at the moment of the accident, and was just passing all the people outside at the kids birthday party we had been at. I went over the handlebars, but the bike followed me, since I was attached. Witnesses said I did 3 complete cartwheels down the road. My kneecap was perpendicular to my leg, I possibly suffered a broken clavicle (that's about the only thing that wasn't x-rayed, but it took months before it wasn't in pain), broke a pedal off the bike & the straps from the opposite side, pile drove my kid's bike seat into the ground (thankfully, no kid), and split my helmet in two from one of the impacts. I was pretty hurt, but thankfully, my head was intact thanks to the helmet. People don't realize - the helmet works by breaking; that's how it absorbs the impact. If you've struck your helmet against the ground, throw it out and buy a new one. It's done its job.

 

[MrSquished]

Except for places like NY... where they do everything within their power to keep their citizens off of bicycles.

are you talking about NYC? if so you are completely wrong. Bloomberg and his Transportation Secretary or what not were huge bicycling proponents. They installed so many new bike lanes. And now NYC has CitiBike. If anything NYC is doing everything to put people on bikes.

 

[dank69]

...

I'll admit to having never worn a bicycle helmet. Can anyone recommend ... one that isn't ... stupid looking?

Haha, nope.

 

[Muse]

I usually don't wear mine, never for in town commuting. When I head up into the hills for exercise, I do. Reason? My cousin, a very experienced "serious" recreational rider (the type who has done 50, 100, 150 milers galore), sponsors a benefit ride yearly, and I am hoping to ride it in October and when I told him I typically don't wear my helmet he declared "I won't ride with anyone who doesn't wear a helmet!" Gulp, I figure I better wear mine as a habit, at least while training for this ride. Last month or so I've had some kind of issue with my left knee (only feel it when I try to do one of my training rides up into the hills, haven't tried for a couple of weeks though), so don't know if I'm going to be able to make this ride.

I've seen it said that wearing the typical bicylist's helmet is basically wearing a "styrofoam hat," and is no real protection from serious injury. Well, my cousin thinks it's saved his noodle in the past, and I certainly am not going to argue with him. In any case, I find wearing my helmet somewhat uncomfortable. I'm damned good on my bike, virtually never have any kind of incident and have only had one accident of consequence and that was when I was about 12 years old. I'm wise to the ways of preventing accidents. I counsel strange riders from time to time, but they seem ungrateful or downright wooden when I talk to them about not riding so close to parked cars (a friend of mine had to have his jaw wired back together after being "doored"), so I think I'm just going to say a prayer for them and ride on in the future!

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Except for places like NY... where they do everything within their power to keep their citizens off of bicycles. I could easily drive a car, or even a motorcycle, but choose to ride my bicycle everywhere in an extremely responsible manner.

I'll admit to having never worn a bicycle helmet. Can anyone recommend a really good purposeful one that isn't flimsy or stupid looking?

I'm guessing you've never been to/seen New York.

 

[dank69]

I usually don't wear mine, never for in town commuting. When I head up into the hills for exercise, I do. Reason? My cousin, a very experienced "serious" recreational rider (the type who has done 50, 100, 150 milers galore), sponsors a benefit ride yearly, and I am hoping to ride it in October and when I told him I typically don't wear my helmet declared "I won't ride with anyone who doesn't wear a helmet!" Gulp, I figure I better wear mine as a habit, at least while training for this ride. Last month or so I've had some kind of issue with my left knee (only feel it when I try to do one of my training rides up into the hills, haven't tried for a couple of weeks though), so don't know if I'm going to be able to make this ride.

I've seen it said that wearing the typical bicylist's helmet is basically wearing a "styrofoam hat," and is no real protection from serious injury. Well, my cousin think's it's saved his noodle in the past, and I certainly am not going to argue with him. In any case, I find wearing my helmet somewhat uncomfortable. I'm damned good on my bike, virtually never have any kind of incident and have only had one accident of consequence and that was when I was about 12 years old.

Sounds like a case of "if I have to look stupid, you're going to look stupid with me," or "you not looking stupid is going to make me look even more stupid than I already do."

 

[JulesMaximus]

I agree on both counts. BMX is in a league of it's own. So much speed, style and air time that it makes other types of cycling as exciting as old ladies knitting.

And there is so much more to cycling than riding on butter smooth roads where trends, fashion, and branding takes precedence over nearly all else. People hear the word bicycle and automatically think Lance Armstrong or hipsters on fixies.

And clearly you know nothing about it. You think people ride road bikes because of the fashion? LOL! You're out of your mind.

 

[Muse]

I've hit 48 mph downhill on a road bicycle. Still, it isn't really possible to wear protective fabrics like leather or helmets like motorcyclists wear on a bicycle. They are too restrictive and too heavy.

Dude, I know it's thrilling, but the idea that I might wipe out for whatever reason tempers my actions going down hill on my road bicycle. I've hit 33mph, could hit over that on steeper portions of the ride I do, but I'm not willing to do it. On the steeper parts I stay under 25, should maybe go slower than that. Yeah, I ride with a bike computer.

 

[Muse]

Sounds like a case of "if I have to look stupid, you're going to look stupid with me," or "you not looking stupid is going to make me look even more stupid than I already do."

Yeah, he said it in such a way that I knew I should just keep my mouth shut. He's old enough and experienced enough to be really really opinionated. You deal with it, I only see him at family functions... so far. He is very impressive for a guy his age (early to mid-60's), and he's just about always got a pretty big smile on his face, which is really cool.

 

[DrPizza]

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejm198905253202101

Of the 99 cyclists with serious brain injury only 4 percent wore helmets. In regression analyses to control for age, sex, income, education, cycling experience, and the severity of the accident, we found that riders with helmets had an 85% reduction in their risk of head injury (odds ratio, 0.15; 95% confidence interval, 0.07 to 0.29 and an 88 percent reduction in their risk of brain injury (odds ratio, 0.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.04 to 0.40).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2542522/

Wearing a helmet reduced the risk of head injury by 63% (95% confidence interval 34% to 80%) and of loss of consciousness by 86% (62% to 95%). CONCLUSIONS--The risk of head injury in bicycle accidents is reduced among children wearing a helmet.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11581464

The bicycle helmet is a very effective device that can prevent the occurrence of up to 88% of serious brain injuries.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0001457587900029

Analysis of the crude, unadjusted data showed a statistically significant association between helmet use and reduced severity of head injury. The association persisted after adjustment for age and sex of rider, and severity of crash forces.

At least three of these studies used real data from real accidents. Further, at least the first two of the studies ignore the possible effect of the helmet completely eliminating the need for an ER visit. That is, they only compared victims of crashes who needed to go to the ER - of those who had severe enough injuries to require professional medical attention, the helmet was effective at reducing head injury. It's conceivable that many more visits were avoided because of the helmet.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Dude, I know it's thrilling, but the idea that I might wipe out for whatever reason tempers my actions going down hill on my road bicycle. I've hit 33mph, could hit over that on steeper portions of the ride I do, but I'm not willing to do it. On the steeper parts I stay under 25, should maybe go slower than that. Yeah, I ride with a bike computer.

There is one steep hill I used to ride down when I'd set out on a long ride from home and I'd purposely try to sprint to the beginning of the descent and then get into a tuck just to see how fast I could go. I'm crazy that way. :biggrin:

It is a pretty smooth road with nice wide bike lanes and no cross traffic other than 1 light about halfway down the hill but that leads into a small gated community and only changes when someone leaves there.

FTR-I do wear a helmet when I ride.

 

[DrPizza]

I've seen it said that wearing the typical bicylist's helmet is basically wearing a "styrofoam hat," and is no real protection from serious injury. Well, my cousin thinks it's saved his noodle in the past, and I certainly am not going to argue with him.

Let's do a simple thought experiment, shall we. You punch a concrete wall with your fist, reasonably hard. I'll put a "styrofoam hat" against the concrete wall and will punch that reasonably hard. I don't think we actually have to perform this experiment to understand what the results would be. The helmet is going to be significantly damaged, because, well, it's just styrofoam. Your hand is going to be significantly damaged. My hand might get sore, but probably not. Helmets protect BECAUSE they break, not in spite of being made of a flimsy material. It's the same flawed analysis that leads some people to believe that heavier cars made of more rigid steel are safer in accidents, rather than cars made with thinner materials and crumple zones.

 

[bradley]

I'm guessing you've never been to/seen New York.

I live in NY and know what environmentalist lip-service means. Btw, bike lanes are rarely enforced. They just make bicyclists *way* easier targets.

Several times, I've been harassed/stopped by police for merely riding a bicycle. I've been given a desk appearance ticket for daring to stand over my bicycle on a sidewalk, while trying to read a map, totally dismissed btw.

Recently I've even had police illegally try to enforce state law regarding electric bicycles, while blithely ignoring the federal laws which supersede them.

NY has come a long way in the last decade, but is still far from being 'bicycle friendly.'

 

[Veliko]

To say helmets don't help is idiotic at best. My brother wiped out on a bike when he was younger and he hit a rock with the helmet. The styrofoam where he hit was crushed down to about half the thickness it used to be. If that was his head he could have crushed his skull.

If the impact didn't crush his styrofoam helmet then it certainly wouldn't have crushed his skull, which is far harder and more solid.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejm198905253202101


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2542522/



http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11581464


http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0001457587900029




At least three of these studies used real data from real accidents. Further, at least the first two of the studies ignore the possible effect of the helmet completely eliminating the need for an ER visit. That is, they only compared victims of crashes who needed to go to the ER - of those who had severe enough injuries to require professional medical attention, the helmet was effective at reducing head injury. It's conceivable that many more visits were avoided because of the helmet.

First, let's understand that I'm not saying that helmets are useless, but in health related subjects studies are far too often latched onto as dogma and one questions at the risk of being labeled a heretic. This gives a fair explanation.

The study which is the one most often cited as a rationale for mandates is one which was based on correlation, not causation, and claimed an 85% reduction in injury. Well it was awfully done and could not be reproduced. That stopped no from quoting it as gospel. Can helmets reduce some kinds of injury? Sure. That's why I wear one, but bad science is no justification. It's tantamount to religious convictions. What studies have looked at causal events and weighed them against negative outcomes? What does prudent, contextual and comprehensive examination of the consequences of helmet use say? I don't believe this has been done with the due diligence required by unbiased researchers to give definite answers. To restate myself, I believe it is prudent to wear head protection, but I object to the reliance on shoddy work as justification.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I have started mountain biking around here and single track ... I am definitely glad I have my helnet on haha. I have already smacked a few trees/branches while going through some really overgrown trails... super fun, but glad I have the helmet.

 

[Humpy]

And clearly you know nothing about it. You think people ride road bikes because of the fashion? LOL! You're out of your mind.

I know a little about it.

I don't think people initially ride road bikes because of the fashion. People who do ride road bikes certainly seemed concerned about fashion. Why all the team jerseys? I don't think it's possible for nearly every roadie to be on a team.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I know a little about it.

I don't think people initially ride road bikes because of the fashion. People who do ride road bikes certainly seemed concerned about fashion. Why all the team jerseys? I don't think it's possible for nearly every roadie to be on a team.

Well, you have to wear something. Personally, I don't have any team kits and I tend to buy jerseys that appeal to me; not because I want people to think I'm a pro cyclist (which I'm not). I have some jerseys from some of the rides I've done that have graphics on them. I wear them because I'm proud of the accomplishment.

Plus, it isn't uncommon to see pro teams training in the San Diego area, especially during the winter months. There are a number of clubs that meet up and ride here too and some of them have team jerseys and race professionally.

I certainly wouldn't go around making assumptions about anyone riding a bicycle based solely what they are wearing.

 

[Veliko]

I know a little about it.

I don't think people initially ride road bikes because of the fashion. People who do ride road bikes certainly seemed concerned about fashion. Why all the team jerseys? I don't think it's possible for nearly every roadie to be on a team.

Cyclists buy the team jerseys for the same reason that other sports fans buy team clothing.

 

[Rakehellion]

Unless you're a professional bike racer, a helmet is probably superfluous.

 

[HumblePie]

The styrofoam hat helmets are only good for small impacts. Think more along the lines of a small child riding down the sidewalk and crashing over into the grass. Their head bumps into a rock. For a small impact like that, the foam does cushion the impact from the rock into their head. Or maybe they fall backwards into the sidewalk. It does add a minor level of protection.

It doesn't add any serious protection and anyone that thinks it does is looney as hell.

 

[Humpy]

I certainly wouldn't go around making assumptions about anyone riding a bicycle based solely what they are wearing.

Of course not. Always factor in the amount of carbon fiber and the size of the seat bag.

I don't know how I always end up looking like a judgmental asshole in these threads. It's not fair.