8 ms·

The funny thing about helmets, any bike helmet, is that the don't protect against EVERY accident, but they do help protect sometimes. I raced for a few years an

The funny thing about helmets, any bike helmet, is that the don't protect against EVERY accident, but they do help protect sometimes. I raced for a few years and my helmet saved me some serious injuries at least twice that I know of. They aren't perfect, and they don't need to be. They help sometimes and almost never make things worse, that's about all we can hope for. If someone made a helmet that's better sometimes, then that's a good thing. It'll help someone at some point.

hermitdev 7y ago
I used to road race in my 20s. I never crashed in the handful of races I did as a Cat 5 amateur, though I had a few close calls like having to bunny hop onto a sidewalk to avoid someone that didn't hold their line through a corner (almost won that race, came in second) and facing terrible, rutted roads in the Chicago criterium with the prospect of around a 15 foot drop over a wall into grant park garage ramp. That said, I've crashed innumerable time over the years, often at speed. As a teen, crashed several times on a dirt road at over 45 miles an hour without wearing a helmet. Been over the handle bars at least 6 times. Been T-boned by a car on a training ride. Through all that, Ive managed to never hit my head. How? No clue. Just luck I guess. Didnt wear a helmet as a kid, but as an adult I wont get on a bike without on. Only injury above my knock I've had was when I dumped my road bike at 25 mph when I lost the rear end in a corner. Landed on my side, rolled onto my stomach and dragged my chin on the pavement for a bit. Broke my left hand and burnt my finger tips from that one, too. Got up and rode 5 miles home... If I were still riding, I would definitely get one of these helmets. A lot of my gear is already Bontrager (helmet and 2 pairs of cycling shoes), and all 3 of my bikes are Trek (Bontrager is a Trek subsidiary).
- minikomi 7y ago
  Looking forward to the replies by people who did hit their head hard, but weren't wearing a helmet.
  - seanmcdirmid 7y ago
    There is a whole country of serious bike riders who don’t use bike helmets (the Netherlands). It turns out that if you design your biking infrastructure well enough, it isn’t really a problem.
    - mises 7y ago
      That is bad advice. It remains advisable to wear a helmet. What you are saying is roughly equivalent to, "If car infrastructure is sufficient, we will no longer need helmets." At best the need is reduced.
      - u801e 7y ago
        Do most motorists wear helmets while driving?
        nkurz 7y ago
        Does the fact that they don't mean that they shouldn't? Researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia did a study and concluded that wearing helmets in cars would prevent many serious injuries: http://www.copenhagenize.com/2009/10/australian-helmet-science-for-motorists.html http://www.copenhagenize.com/2009/10/australian-helmet-scien...
        dahart 7y ago
        That’s a straw man. Most motorists wear seat belts, because seat belts prevent the most common injuries (including head injury) in small to medium crashes. Helmets don’t protect motorists from common injuries, while they do protect bicyclists from common injuries.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
    - tda 7y ago
      That's not entirely true; slow (< 30 km/h) cyclists using the bike as utility to get somewhere almost never wear a helmet here. Spandex wearing speed cyclists almost always do though.
- bitL 7y ago
  I fell numerous times both on bike (worst at 40mph) and skis (worst at 60mph), and started with both at around age 3, so I might have the same automated instincts as you do. Never anything more serious than scratches on the sides of my body. Recently hit by a (slow) car that didn't yield, again the fall was automatic and both me and bike were more-less OK (bent front wheel only). I still don't wear helmet for either biking nor skiing, only for bike downhills I get an F1 helmet and full-body armor.
  - petre 7y ago
    Instincts are next to useless in the event of steering (stem, fork, handlebar) failure. It all happens so fast that you barely have time to react.
    - bitL 7y ago
      Yeah, happened to me once (steering stem broke) and twice (saddle screw broke). Instantly on the ground. Again, lucky, nothing serious, just bruises. I can imagine during a downhill at 60mph I could be easily killed...
- Fricken 7y ago
  You're good at wiping out, it's a reflexive skill, like a trained boxer blocking or dodging a punch. There's maybe a split second between when you recognize a crash is inevitable, and when you actually hit something, and the decision you make in that moment is critical. Those who haven't cultivated the skills might panic, or freeze up, or just exercise poor body mechanics and then they have a story afterwards about how their helmet saved them from something worse. Or not.
  - gibspaulding 7y ago
    Years riding BMX has taught me the truth of this. I remember when I was younger doing an x-up (turning the handlebars backwards in the air so your arms make an x) over a pretty big jump. This was something I'd done many times before, but this time, while trying to straighten out before landing, my handlebars got tangled in my shirt and stuck at a 90 degree angle. Somehow, instead of landing in that very unfortunate position, I managed to stuff my bike down between my legs and behind me before, reasonably gracefully, sliding down the landing on my knees. I was completely unscathed, but a little baffled as to how. I ride a lot more conservatively now and a lot less regularly so I don't fall very often, but it seems like when I do, that lack of practice shows. I don't seem to get as lucky any more.
    - Fricken 7y ago
      Ha, I came pretty close to suggesting in my previous comment that BMXers, particularly pros, take the art of wiping out to the next level.
- zachrose 7y ago
  My 15-year-old carbon fiber fork had a catastrophic failure two weeks ago. I’ve no idea what happened exactly but I came to in the emergency room a few hours later with road rash and a concussion. It took me almost two weeks for my brain to feel 100% again. My helmet cracked where I hit my head. Who knows where I would have been without it.
bitL 7y ago
They increase risk of some more serious injuries. Also, with helmet mounted cameras which are very popular they are pretty much accidental killers if hit at the right angle/force.

hermitdev 7y ago

I used to road race in my 20s. I never crashed in the handful of races I did as a Cat 5 amateur, though I had a few close calls like having to bunny hop onto a sidewalk to avoid someone that didn't hold their line through a corner (almost won that race, came in second) and facing terrible, rutted roads in the Chicago criterium with the prospect of around a 15 foot drop over a wall into grant park garage ramp. That said, I've crashed innumerable time over the years, often at speed. As a teen, crashed several times on a dirt road at over 45 miles an hour without wearing a helmet. Been over the handle bars at least 6 times. Been T-boned by a car on a training ride. Through all that, Ive managed to never hit my head. How? No clue. Just luck I guess. Didnt wear a helmet as a kid, but as an adult I wont get on a bike without on. Only injury above my knock I've had was when I dumped my road bike at 25 mph when I lost the rear end in a corner. Landed on my side, rolled onto my stomach and dragged my chin on the pavement for a bit. Broke my left hand and burnt my finger tips from that one, too. Got up and rode 5 miles home... If I were still riding, I would definitely get one of these helmets. A lot of my gear is already Bontrager (helmet and 2 pairs of cycling shoes), and all 3 of my bikes are Trek (Bontrager is a Trek subsidiary).

minikomi 7y ago
Looking forward to the replies by people who did hit their head hard, but weren't wearing a helmet.
- seanmcdirmid 7y ago
  There is a whole country of serious bike riders who don’t use bike helmets (the Netherlands). It turns out that if you design your biking infrastructure well enough, it isn’t really a problem.
  - mises 7y ago
    That is bad advice. It remains advisable to wear a helmet. What you are saying is roughly equivalent to, "If car infrastructure is sufficient, we will no longer need helmets." At best the need is reduced.
    - u801e 7y ago
      Do most motorists wear helmets while driving?
      - nkurz 7y ago
        Does the fact that they don't mean that they shouldn't? Researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia did a study and concluded that wearing helmets in cars would prevent many serious injuries: http://www.copenhagenize.com/2009/10/australian-helmet-science-for-motorists.html http://www.copenhagenize.com/2009/10/australian-helmet-scien...
      - dahart 7y ago
        That’s a straw man. Most motorists wear seat belts, because seat belts prevent the most common injuries (including head injury) in small to medium crashes. Helmets don’t protect motorists from common injuries, while they do protect bicyclists from common injuries.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - tda 7y ago
    That's not entirely true; slow (< 30 km/h) cyclists using the bike as utility to get somewhere almost never wear a helmet here. Spandex wearing speed cyclists almost always do though.
bitL 7y ago
I fell numerous times both on bike (worst at 40mph) and skis (worst at 60mph), and started with both at around age 3, so I might have the same automated instincts as you do. Never anything more serious than scratches on the sides of my body. Recently hit by a (slow) car that didn't yield, again the fall was automatic and both me and bike were more-less OK (bent front wheel only). I still don't wear helmet for either biking nor skiing, only for bike downhills I get an F1 helmet and full-body armor.
- petre 7y ago
  Instincts are next to useless in the event of steering (stem, fork, handlebar) failure. It all happens so fast that you barely have time to react.
  - bitL 7y ago
    Yeah, happened to me once (steering stem broke) and twice (saddle screw broke). Instantly on the ground. Again, lucky, nothing serious, just bruises. I can imagine during a downhill at 60mph I could be easily killed...
Fricken 7y ago
You're good at wiping out, it's a reflexive skill, like a trained boxer blocking or dodging a punch. There's maybe a split second between when you recognize a crash is inevitable, and when you actually hit something, and the decision you make in that moment is critical. Those who haven't cultivated the skills might panic, or freeze up, or just exercise poor body mechanics and then they have a story afterwards about how their helmet saved them from something worse. Or not.
- gibspaulding 7y ago
  Years riding BMX has taught me the truth of this. I remember when I was younger doing an x-up (turning the handlebars backwards in the air so your arms make an x) over a pretty big jump. This was something I'd done many times before, but this time, while trying to straighten out before landing, my handlebars got tangled in my shirt and stuck at a 90 degree angle. Somehow, instead of landing in that very unfortunate position, I managed to stuff my bike down between my legs and behind me before, reasonably gracefully, sliding down the landing on my knees. I was completely unscathed, but a little baffled as to how. I ride a lot more conservatively now and a lot less regularly so I don't fall very often, but it seems like when I do, that lack of practice shows. I don't seem to get as lucky any more.
  - Fricken 7y ago
    Ha, I came pretty close to suggesting in my previous comment that BMXers, particularly pros, take the art of wiping out to the next level.
zachrose 7y ago
My 15-year-old carbon fiber fork had a catastrophic failure two weeks ago. I’ve no idea what happened exactly but I came to in the emergency room a few hours later with road rash and a concussion. It took me almost two weeks for my brain to feel 100% again. My helmet cracked where I hit my head. Who knows where I would have been without it.

bitL 7y ago

They increase risk of some more serious injuries. Also, with helmet mounted cameras which are very popular they are pretty much accidental killers if hit at the right angle/force.