Wearing a Helmet

[pastapouch]

I still find it curious though that so many of you are so militant about others choice to wear or not wear a helmet despite the extremely limited (if any) benefit it may provide.  Why not get upset about those fools that ride around without a bell on there bikes - just as illegal as not wearing a helmet.

 

research in the US of A states that most serious injuries happen at slow speeds(children) , since then the requirement of wearing helmets has been instituted. You want to tell us that a Pick an d Pay R200 helmet is gonna be as effective as an R1600 Giro, bell etc. I can't go with that. You dont' pay R1ks for a cool head, you pay for the techology. No matter what helmet you wear, its going to help a lot. And the Bells, are you gonna ring at the cars, or tarmac before you hit it or get hit. Because nobody will hear them anyway, probarly why they were disposed off first when one received a bike. Just imagine this,   ring ring... crunch..

[Sir Fed]

Were you by chance helmetless?

In that case' date=' what happened makes sense!

[/quote']

 

No, I had my helmet on like I do every time I go for a ride. Thats the choice I make and they dont disparage me for it, probably because I dont give a rats arse whether they wear one or not, it's their choice.

[Vleuelmoer]

Were you by chance helmetless?

In that case' date=' what happened makes sense!

[/quote']

 

No, I had my helmet on like I do every time I go for a ride. Thats the choice I make and they dont disparage me for it, probably because I dont give a rats arse whether they wear one or not, it's their choice.

 

Pulling your leg

But yes - it is their choice and I also made the decision to donn the helmet every time I go out.

 

The importance of a helmet was affirmed last weekend when I cracked my Bell coming off the bike doing Ou Kaapse weg.  I'm even more passionate about the topic now!!!

[Sir Fed]

Everyone has a 'story' about how a helmet saved their lives except me. What am I doing wrong?

[scotty]

You seem pretty much alive to me

[Sir Fed]

Sorry, bored and stirring up the emotions a little. Honestly though, I have been riding for over 20 years, most of which without a helmet or just a hairnet. Yet, despite countless crashes on both road and track, I have never once had so much as a scratch on my helmet or head. Which makes me question the frequency of everyone else's stories.

Does anyone actually know how hard the head has to be hit to cause an injury? I dont but I ask because I was once hit on the head by a delivery from Garth Le Roux which was probably around 130km/h (and a cricket ball is hard) with only a mild concussion to show for it (no, I didnt wear a helmet back then either).

[Vleuelmoer]

Goodness!

 

I'm sure it would have done something to a helmet, should you have had one on!

[Sir Fed]

In those days coming out to bat with a helmet was an invitation to get bounced. There was still some semblance of gentlemanly conduct at club cricket level and good batsmen wore a cap or nothing at all. Helmets were reserved for the tail enders who could exact their revenge when it was the offending bowlers turn to come bat.

[Vleuelmoer]

It's not just in cricket that things have had to firm up a bit just to protect players from each other.

 

Sad really don't you think?

[SwissVan]

Does anyone actually know how hard the head has to be hit to cause an injury? I dont but I ask because I was once hit on the head by a delivery from Garth Le Roux which was probably around 130km/h (and a cricket ball is hard) with only a mild concussion to show for it (no' date=' I didnt wear a helmet back then either).

[/quote']

 

Ja Big Garth.. would not want to be hit on the nut from one of his balls.

 

BUT the diffs between a cricket ball and cycling accident is quite different, when your hit on the head playing cricket your kop is relatively still and not moving at great speed.

How much impact a cycling helmet can protect the internals of your head are open to debate and dependent on the speed at which your head impacts whatever. As far as I know most serious cycling related head injuries are as a result of your brain hitting the inside of the cranium due to sudden stoppage, i.e. your head slams to a stop against a tree / the pavement but your brain (suspended in cranium fluid at the end of some string attached to your spine..) continues along at the same speed, that is until it hit?s the cranium?.. no CYCLING helmet is going to stop that from happening (unless you are travelling very slowly) because the helmet is on the outside (you know - its not inside its on TOP!!!).

However the major benefit of wearing a helmet (imo) is to help prevent superficial damage to the exterior of your head (the portions covered by the helmet) and to stop above mentioned cranium fluid or red fluid from leaking out.

[Chunky]

I think most people wear helmets because they have to rather than because they want to.

 

Its a touchy subject. You have those who belive in it and those who dont. Most of the guys I ride with wear helmets because their wives say they must...LOL

 

I have fallen off at the track before at nearly 90kmh motor pacing. Did more damage to my shoes than my head. Maybe I have just been lucky.

 

Wearing a helmet is uncomfortable, even if you wearing a Giro. Makes racing with them crap too, can never get used to the thing.

[SwissVan]

I can recall  occassion when my helmet nearly broke my neck ...

 

Was during a XC mtb race at the OLD sweat and gears track in Benoni (pretty close the world road champs venue ...) I ducked under a low tree branch and a piece of the branch hooked into one of the top forward vents and pulled me off the bike, next day felt like I had a severe case of whiplash.

 

Same place (different tree i think) I cracked the same helmet ducking under a tree branch, think it would have dented my head were it not for the helmet.

 

Wearing a helmet is *** for sure, but i think once you get used to it it is difficult to ride without one.

 

 

[Windbreaker]

How much impact a cycling helmet can protect the internals of your head are open to debate and dependent on the speed at which your head impacts whatever. As far as I know most serious cycling related head injuries are as a result of your brain hitting the inside of the cranium due to sudden stoppage' date=' i.e. your head slams to a stop against a tree / the pavement but your brain (suspended in cranium fluid at the end of some string attached to your spine..) continues along at the same speed, that is until it hit?s the cranium?.. no CYCLING helmet is going to stop that from happening (unless you are travelling very slowly) because the helmet is on the outside (you know - its not inside its on TOP!!!).

However the major benefit of wearing a helmet (imo) is to help prevent superficial damage to the exterior of your head (the portions covered by the helmet) and to stop above mentioned cranium fluid or red fluid from leaking out.

[/Quote']

 

Not true, the foam is construction IS designed to reduce the impact. Simple way to demonstrate this is to let someone tonk you on the head with a heavy kitchen spoon with and without a helmet. Tell me there is no softening of the impact. Then consider that when the head hits the tarmac at 40km/hr. It won't stop the brain contacting the inside of the skull but it sure will reduce the impact - possibly the difference between life & death.

 

These helmets don't get the safety approval awards just because they look nice. They get tested.

[linnega]

The earlier question about whether a PnP R200 helmet provides as much protection as a Giro is an emphatic yes and probably more. Bell/Giro make their helmets to be as light as possible with the best possible airflow and to just pass the minimum safety standards. If your dealer is telling you that the expensive helmets offer more protection then he is a lieing bastard and don't buy from him again.

 

The "research" done in the US (Seattle) on children was discredited and the researchers eventually withdrew the paper. You do have to hit your head extremely hard to damage as as your skull is 1000s of times harder than a bicycle helmet. Helmets are extremely effective at low speeds, but then your risk of serious head injury at low speeds is extremely low. At high speeds there is no evidence that helmets provide any benefit but logic tells you that the milliseconds that it takes for the helmet to crack may provide some impact absorption. Once cracked the helmet cannot provide any protection.

 

All this is obviously academic as many of you believe in your helmets and will continue to wear them - but then many Americans voted in a moron as president so it isn't always logic and clear thought that win in modern times.

[scotty]

"All this is obviously academic as many of you believe in your helmets and will continue to wear them"  

[pastapouch]

hmmm, I must say... the American are the biggest bsers on this planet. You'd think that when peoples lifes are at stake they'll come with something true. Ya sure. But even that, why does the Tour riders ride (or are forced to ) with helmets, does the Organizers believe this then? Even Lance always wore a helmet(Giro) and definetly not the cheaper ones.