Aye, there's the rub. I would not call myself a bicyclist, and certainly not a dedicated one. I just ride bikes when it's convenient: there's a pretty good pub

Aye, there's the rub. I would not call myself a bicyclist, and certainly not a dedicated one. I just ride bikes when it's convenient: there's a pretty good public transport network around my city, you can walk short distances, and car traffic is also reasonable; biking supplements these three options very nicely, esp. now that there's a bike-sharing thing in the city (unlock a bike via an app, ride it wherever, lock it via the app again, minimal fuss). Lugging a helmet around, just in case I should decide to use a bike, is rather inconvenient (I tried). If there were a mandatory helmet law, it would certainly increase the gap between "casual rider" and "dedicated bicyclist," driving out people like me. (OTOH, if I'm on a bike trip, I do have my helmet, as I usually go beyond paved streets, longer distances and probably higher speeds. Different tools for different purposes.) TL;DR: assuming "bicycling requires dedication" reduces ridership by definition.