Personally the idea seems silly to me that it would be deterrent to riding a bike, however over the holidays while at Dullstroom, my BIL was very excited about taking my bike and going pedaling around the farm where we were staying. But as soon as I insisted he wear a helmet, he would say never mind, I'll go later, and thus not go. Eventually I just left him. This was on jeep track at slow pace. I did notice on bits where we were riding over rocks or along a cliff face, he didn't argue about a helmet though. On the first day I did ride without a helmet as we only had the one, and my BIL was insistent he wanted to go ride right now - I was in my sandals too, as the rest of the riding stuff was only coming through later - it did feel rather odd, much like driving without your seatbelt, you notice when it's not on - rather than the converse. There's s kid in our complex, probably about 12 must have got a new bike for Christmas, he's riding around the complex parking without a helmet. No doubt if he falls, having a helmet might hurt less, but that's his parent's call.
