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Here in the Netherlands, nearly nobody wears a helmet. If the horror stories in this thread are to be believed, half the population of the country should be cli

Here in the Netherlands, nearly nobody wears a helmet. If the horror stories in this thread are to be believed, half the population of the country should be clinically brain dead at this point. They're not, so perhaps not wearing a helmet is not as dangerous as some people believe. Regarding statistics: http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1012.html http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1012.html has some useful pointers. Conclusion: "Despite the considerable effort that has been put into research about cycle helmets, there is no real-world evidence that helmets have ever resulted in the net saving of even a single life. However, if helmets were actually effective, then many more pedestrian and motor vehicle occupant lives could be expected to be saved if these groups wore helmets."

JoeAltmaier 12y ago
Read the thread! Everybody seems to know somebody/have experienced an accident where the helmet saved their skull. That "conclusion" can't be serious. Real-world evidence is all around us. I'm calling bull on that site.
jac_no_k 12y ago
So I've seen the cycle commuters in the Netherlands. It's at a nice relaxed pace where it's unlikely a cyclist will be surprised or an equipment failure is going to be catastrophic. The use case is going to dictate what equipment is going to be needed. When I had an internally geared hub, I had it fail on a steep uphill where I was standing to get enough torque down, where it essentially went into neutral, similar to a chain snapping. This almost threw me off the bicycle. Netherlands, relatively flat. I've since switched to a road bicycle and traveling at higher speeds. Once a taxi blindly crossed in front of me, sending me hurtling over the taxi. I landed on my head, lost consciousness briefly. Helmet was deformed. Without it, the outcome would have been much more catastrophic. Another incident, this time going slowly down a steep mountain road, while tightening my line to avoid an oncoming car, the front wheel slipped on leaves sending me down to ground. Landed mostly on my side but helmet hit the ground really hard, enough to stun me. The inner support of the helmet broke mostly free of the outer shell but stayed in place because of the chin strap. This too could have ended badly with no cell phone reception for about 15km and a civilization 30km away. Anyways... it depends on use case. Over here in Tokyo, the utility bicycles and cyclists are just like the Netherlands. Sedate pace, low number of incidents. The roadies and faster cycle commuters have necessary equipment including helmets, safety glasses, gloves, blinkers, and lamps. I recognize I have a higher risk profile and take on extra precautions.

JoeAltmaier 12y ago

Read the thread! Everybody seems to know somebody/have experienced an accident where the helmet saved their skull. That "conclusion" can't be serious. Real-world evidence is all around us. I'm calling bull on that site.

jac_no_k 12y ago

So I've seen the cycle commuters in the Netherlands. It's at a nice relaxed pace where it's unlikely a cyclist will be surprised or an equipment failure is going to be catastrophic. The use case is going to dictate what equipment is going to be needed. When I had an internally geared hub, I had it fail on a steep uphill where I was standing to get enough torque down, where it essentially went into neutral, similar to a chain snapping. This almost threw me off the bicycle. Netherlands, relatively flat. I've since switched to a road bicycle and traveling at higher speeds. Once a taxi blindly crossed in front of me, sending me hurtling over the taxi. I landed on my head, lost consciousness briefly. Helmet was deformed. Without it, the outcome would have been much more catastrophic. Another incident, this time going slowly down a steep mountain road, while tightening my line to avoid an oncoming car, the front wheel slipped on leaves sending me down to ground. Landed mostly on my side but helmet hit the ground really hard, enough to stun me. The inner support of the helmet broke mostly free of the outer shell but stayed in place because of the chin strap. This too could have ended badly with no cell phone reception for about 15km and a civilization 30km away. Anyways... it depends on use case. Over here in Tokyo, the utility bicycles and cyclists are just like the Netherlands. Sedate pace, low number of incidents. The roadies and faster cycle commuters have necessary equipment including helmets, safety glasses, gloves, blinkers, and lamps. I recognize I have a higher risk profile and take on extra precautions.