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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

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.
    - seanmcdirmid 7y ago
      True, but that casual use is huge. If helmets were required, bike use in the Netherlands would plummet to UK or even American levels. Is that healthier for society? But if you are serious about biking, not just casually using a bike to get to work or school, a helmet isn’t really a big deal and probably much more useful.
      - fulafel 7y ago
        I think everyday bike commuting .nl style is the real serious application of biking.
  - hermitdev 7y ago
    I disagree. Its probably more about lower speeds associated with casual riders. But, people, especially kids, are unpredictable. I once literally ran over a boy around 12 years old on a bike path in the US. He was riding with a younger sibling and his father riding head on at me. They were riding inline on the right side (their right), with the kid I ran over in front. Just seconds before we were going to ride past each other (I was also on my right side of the path), the kid swerved directly across me, and dumped his bike. I literally had no time to respond, and rode right over him. I was on my mountain bike at the time, and the bike just thought it was a bump. Kid was fine, maybe a bit of road rash, dad was pissed at me. Something along the likes of "WTF are you doing riding recklessly and hitting my kid?". The real WTF was like "did you not see what I saw? You kid swerved in front of me and dumped his bike." Dad was so irate I got to the point quickly of: I'm done talking with about this, whats your insurance amd I'm going to call the police to sort this out (my bike had a little bit of damage like a dinged wheel and a bent pedal from it). To this day, dont know if he was running a scam or just had a moron for a son, but as soon as I threatened to bring the cops in, the dad dropped it and went on their way.
    - seanmcdirmid 7y ago
      When I lived in China, someone swerving unexpectedly into traffic was just very normal, drivers and bikers all drove very defensively as a result. At any rate, I think helmet use is required for kids in the Netherlands.
      - rossjudson 7y ago
        I had a Chinese driver's license for a while, and did a little driving there over about a month. I had a simple rule when driving. At every moment in time, imagine the most asinine/ignorant thing every driver around you could possibly do. And that is what they will do. But. They will do it slowly. So when somebody just merges straight into you while you're in the straight lane, they'll just ease it over slow enough that you can react. They'll cut directly across from the left lane to the right lane, ignoring the lights, to make the turn they feel like making. And run over a little old lady in the process, and scream at her body. I was all like "I know the rules, I'll follow the rules", and I'd do batshit insane things like stop for pedestrians because they had the right of way. They'd look at me like I was a serial killer just waiting for my chance, usually until they noticed I wasn't from around there. Then they'd laugh at me and walk. China has great rules of the road. Nobody follows them.
  - petre 7y ago
    Most of the Dutch cycle at 15 mph on upright bicycles. No wonder they don't need helmets. For bicycle sports or even fitness rides I would say the helmet helps a lot. I was lucky to wear one two times.
    - henryackerman 7y ago
      I'm Dutch, you're almost right. Most people won't even reach 15 mph. Speeds around 10 mph are more common. Funny thing: wearing helmets is much more common in Germany. If you see adult cyclists wearing a helmets on upright bikes they'll speak German most of the time :) Generally I wear a helmet if I'll be doing more than 15 mph, or riding through a city.
  - dahart 7y ago
    > it isn’t really a problem Two hundred deaths a year and more than ten thousand injuries for bicyclists in the Netherlands... Not going to debate whether it’s a “problem”, only assert that the belief that helmets aren’t necessary is causing some unnecessary loss of life. A few of those people in the Netherlands know that even with their well designed infrastructure and slow biking speeds, as many as 80-90 Nederlanders are dying unnecessarily every year and would live if they’d only wear helmets... https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/03/top-hat-bike-helmets-would-save-85-cycling-fatalities-a-year-says-report/ https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/03/top-hat-bike-helmets-w... https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=nl&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.swov.nl%2Fpublicatie%2Fmogelijke-slachtofferreductie-door-de-fietshelm https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=nl&tl=en&u=htt...
    - owenversteeg 7y ago
      Ah, found the American. Firstly, it's certainly not 80-90 of those 200, that's preposterous if you look at more detailed analyses of the results. About 70 of those 200 deaths are from irresponsible use of ebikes by old people! Furthermore, bikes are the primary mode of transportation for most people I know here - elderly, young, weak, strong, you name it. The USA's main mode of transportation is cars (unnecessarily large ones!), which (aside from killing over 40,000 people a year directly) also kill the environment, the bodies of those inside, and a truly horrifying number of other people by proxy of countless wars waged over oil. If you count the 40,000 direct deaths alone, you get 129 deaths per 1M Americans per year and 11 deaths per 1M Dutch people per year. Take into account the other issues involved in driving and I'm sure that number will increase by (at absolute minimum) a factor of 10. Helmets may make sense in America, where biking is a sport dominated by 30-55 year old men on $1000+ bikes wearing criminally tight pants, sunglasses, and aerodynamic helmets. But in the Netherlands they are a preposterous idea. Wearing helmets decreases bike use, which kills in far greater numbers.
      - dahart 7y ago
        > Ah, found the American [...] it’s certainly not 80-90 of those 200, that’s preposterous Right, yes, I’m on the only American here, and only Americans believe that bike helmets make you safe. I didn’t make the claim, it was made by SWOV of The Hague in the Netherlands, and republished by DutchNews. Since you’re there, maybe take this up with them? They did look at the detailed analysis, and they said helmets would save 85 Netherlanders per year, not me. > The USA’s main mode of transportation is cars [...] killing over 40,000 people a year directly Why did you turn this into a death competition? What does this have to do with cars? The discussion was over whether bike helmets make you safer or not. I’m fully aware of how bad cars are. Your nationalistic slight aside, not all Americans want cars and the deaths that come with them. I can’t control that. But I can wear a helmet. > Wearing helmets decreases bike use, which kills in far greater numbers. That’s a strong claim. Please put a magnitude on it and some evidence and sources behind it.
- hermitdev 7y ago
  I've never hit my head in a cycling wreck, but just a week ago, this past Monday, I tripped over my dog that darted in front of me, fell and hit my head on the hardwood floors in our living room. No concussion, but did require 3 or 4 stiches over an eye. Even in a fall like that, had I been wearing a bike helmet, it wouldnt have offered any protection. Like I said, as an adult, I believe in helmets and religiously wear them while riding since I was about 20 (now 38). Likewise, I said I was incredibly lucky. When I got hit by the car, by all rights, I should have slammed my head on the ground, but didn't. Not a dent or scratch on my helmet. After getting hit, I saw ground, sky then ground again before impact and my bike landed on the opposite side of the Street's sidewalk. Trashed about a $3500 carbon race bike and faced close to $40k in medical bills between ambulance and ER treatment (this was in the US in 2008). I never saw a bill, though because I wasn't at fault as the guy that hit me ran a stop sign and his insurance immediately accepted fault. The most frequent pieces of gear I've trashed during accidents: gloves and shorts. Neither hold up well to sliding across dirt roads or asphalt.
- lemming 7y ago
  Here's mine, from a while back: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16836336 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16836336 Fortunately it wasn't me who hit their head hard in my original story, because she's now dead as a result.
- acomjean 7y ago
  I slide on some sand when riding a 10 speed as a teenager. my body hit first, taking the brunt of the impact, but my forehead did hit the pavement. I credit the helmet for protecting me and not ending up with a crushed nose.
- u801e 7y ago
  I did by crashing into another person on a bicycle when I was riding and hit the back of my head on the road. I felt a bit nauseous and spent about 10 minutes lying down in someone's back yard. After that, I walked home. That was close to 40 years ago and I'm still fine. For what it's worth, I still ride about 300 to 400 miles per month without a helmet.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
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.

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.
  - seanmcdirmid 7y ago
    True, but that casual use is huge. If helmets were required, bike use in the Netherlands would plummet to UK or even American levels. Is that healthier for society? But if you are serious about biking, not just casually using a bike to get to work or school, a helmet isn’t really a big deal and probably much more useful.
    - fulafel 7y ago
      I think everyday bike commuting .nl style is the real serious application of biking.
- hermitdev 7y ago
  I disagree. Its probably more about lower speeds associated with casual riders. But, people, especially kids, are unpredictable. I once literally ran over a boy around 12 years old on a bike path in the US. He was riding with a younger sibling and his father riding head on at me. They were riding inline on the right side (their right), with the kid I ran over in front. Just seconds before we were going to ride past each other (I was also on my right side of the path), the kid swerved directly across me, and dumped his bike. I literally had no time to respond, and rode right over him. I was on my mountain bike at the time, and the bike just thought it was a bump. Kid was fine, maybe a bit of road rash, dad was pissed at me. Something along the likes of "WTF are you doing riding recklessly and hitting my kid?". The real WTF was like "did you not see what I saw? You kid swerved in front of me and dumped his bike." Dad was so irate I got to the point quickly of: I'm done talking with about this, whats your insurance amd I'm going to call the police to sort this out (my bike had a little bit of damage like a dinged wheel and a bent pedal from it). To this day, dont know if he was running a scam or just had a moron for a son, but as soon as I threatened to bring the cops in, the dad dropped it and went on their way.
  - seanmcdirmid 7y ago
    When I lived in China, someone swerving unexpectedly into traffic was just very normal, drivers and bikers all drove very defensively as a result. At any rate, I think helmet use is required for kids in the Netherlands.
    - rossjudson 7y ago
      I had a Chinese driver's license for a while, and did a little driving there over about a month. I had a simple rule when driving. At every moment in time, imagine the most asinine/ignorant thing every driver around you could possibly do. And that is what they will do. But. They will do it slowly. So when somebody just merges straight into you while you're in the straight lane, they'll just ease it over slow enough that you can react. They'll cut directly across from the left lane to the right lane, ignoring the lights, to make the turn they feel like making. And run over a little old lady in the process, and scream at her body. I was all like "I know the rules, I'll follow the rules", and I'd do batshit insane things like stop for pedestrians because they had the right of way. They'd look at me like I was a serial killer just waiting for my chance, usually until they noticed I wasn't from around there. Then they'd laugh at me and walk. China has great rules of the road. Nobody follows them.
- petre 7y ago
  Most of the Dutch cycle at 15 mph on upright bicycles. No wonder they don't need helmets. For bicycle sports or even fitness rides I would say the helmet helps a lot. I was lucky to wear one two times.
  - henryackerman 7y ago
    I'm Dutch, you're almost right. Most people won't even reach 15 mph. Speeds around 10 mph are more common. Funny thing: wearing helmets is much more common in Germany. If you see adult cyclists wearing a helmets on upright bikes they'll speak German most of the time :) Generally I wear a helmet if I'll be doing more than 15 mph, or riding through a city.
- dahart 7y ago
  > it isn’t really a problem Two hundred deaths a year and more than ten thousand injuries for bicyclists in the Netherlands... Not going to debate whether it’s a “problem”, only assert that the belief that helmets aren’t necessary is causing some unnecessary loss of life. A few of those people in the Netherlands know that even with their well designed infrastructure and slow biking speeds, as many as 80-90 Nederlanders are dying unnecessarily every year and would live if they’d only wear helmets... https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/03/top-hat-bike-helmets-would-save-85-cycling-fatalities-a-year-says-report/ https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/03/top-hat-bike-helmets-w... https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=nl&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.swov.nl%2Fpublicatie%2Fmogelijke-slachtofferreductie-door-de-fietshelm https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=nl&tl=en&u=htt...
  - owenversteeg 7y ago
    Ah, found the American. Firstly, it's certainly not 80-90 of those 200, that's preposterous if you look at more detailed analyses of the results. About 70 of those 200 deaths are from irresponsible use of ebikes by old people! Furthermore, bikes are the primary mode of transportation for most people I know here - elderly, young, weak, strong, you name it. The USA's main mode of transportation is cars (unnecessarily large ones!), which (aside from killing over 40,000 people a year directly) also kill the environment, the bodies of those inside, and a truly horrifying number of other people by proxy of countless wars waged over oil. If you count the 40,000 direct deaths alone, you get 129 deaths per 1M Americans per year and 11 deaths per 1M Dutch people per year. Take into account the other issues involved in driving and I'm sure that number will increase by (at absolute minimum) a factor of 10. Helmets may make sense in America, where biking is a sport dominated by 30-55 year old men on $1000+ bikes wearing criminally tight pants, sunglasses, and aerodynamic helmets. But in the Netherlands they are a preposterous idea. Wearing helmets decreases bike use, which kills in far greater numbers.
    - dahart 7y ago
      > Ah, found the American [...] it’s certainly not 80-90 of those 200, that’s preposterous Right, yes, I’m on the only American here, and only Americans believe that bike helmets make you safe. I didn’t make the claim, it was made by SWOV of The Hague in the Netherlands, and republished by DutchNews. Since you’re there, maybe take this up with them? They did look at the detailed analysis, and they said helmets would save 85 Netherlanders per year, not me. > The USA’s main mode of transportation is cars [...] killing over 40,000 people a year directly Why did you turn this into a death competition? What does this have to do with cars? The discussion was over whether bike helmets make you safer or not. I’m fully aware of how bad cars are. Your nationalistic slight aside, not all Americans want cars and the deaths that come with them. I can’t control that. But I can wear a helmet. > Wearing helmets decreases bike use, which kills in far greater numbers. That’s a strong claim. Please put a magnitude on it and some evidence and sources behind it.
hermitdev 7y ago
I've never hit my head in a cycling wreck, but just a week ago, this past Monday, I tripped over my dog that darted in front of me, fell and hit my head on the hardwood floors in our living room. No concussion, but did require 3 or 4 stiches over an eye. Even in a fall like that, had I been wearing a bike helmet, it wouldnt have offered any protection. Like I said, as an adult, I believe in helmets and religiously wear them while riding since I was about 20 (now 38). Likewise, I said I was incredibly lucky. When I got hit by the car, by all rights, I should have slammed my head on the ground, but didn't. Not a dent or scratch on my helmet. After getting hit, I saw ground, sky then ground again before impact and my bike landed on the opposite side of the Street's sidewalk. Trashed about a $3500 carbon race bike and faced close to $40k in medical bills between ambulance and ER treatment (this was in the US in 2008). I never saw a bill, though because I wasn't at fault as the guy that hit me ran a stop sign and his insurance immediately accepted fault. The most frequent pieces of gear I've trashed during accidents: gloves and shorts. Neither hold up well to sliding across dirt roads or asphalt.
lemming 7y ago
Here's mine, from a while back: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16836336 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16836336 Fortunately it wasn't me who hit their head hard in my original story, because she's now dead as a result.
acomjean 7y ago
I slide on some sand when riding a 10 speed as a teenager. my body hit first, taking the brunt of the impact, but my forehead did hit the pavement. I credit the helmet for protecting me and not ending up with a crushed nose.
u801e 7y ago
I did by crashing into another person on a bicycle when I was riding and hit the back of my head on the road. I felt a bit nauseous and spent about 10 minutes lying down in someone's back yard. After that, I walked home. That was close to 40 years ago and I'm still fine. For what it's worth, I still ride about 300 to 400 miles per month without a helmet.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

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.