Get a good helmet, and wear it.

G

Gundalow

New Member
Region
USA
Had a slow speed, but nasty, spill last weekend, which resulted in a concussion and a variety of aches and pains. I was wearing an older Bell helmet, which was neither MIPS or WaveCell. The helmet did it's job to it's manufactured specs, but I wonder if I would have fared better if I had been wearing the latest technology. Bottom line, is spend the money on a MIPS or WaveCell helmet, and wear it. Cuz you never know.

The mishap could be described in aviation parlance as "pilot error - controlled flight into terrain" I never saw the curb. I was lucky a young family passing by saw me lying unconscious in the middle of the street, and stood by me after calling an ambulance.
 
Well, you could trip and fall walking also, but people don't wear helmets walking on the sidewalk and they don't wear helmets driving in their cars. I do wear a helmet when cycling, but there is an argument that requiring helmets will discourage new bicycle commuters because they would rather take the car than put on a helmet and mess their hair up. Cars are the biggest danger to cyclists and a helmet isn't going to help much if a 3000lb car hits you at 30mph.
 
The logic of ”The hospital you will be going to wants you to wear a helmet and you don’t? Go to hospital that wants you not to wear a helmet and save the space for a true accident at the smart hospital“works for me



welcome Gundalow, happy you were able to post here
 
opimax said:
The logic of ”The hospital you will be going to wants you to wear a helmet and you don’t? Go to hospital that wants you not to wear a helmet and save the space for a true accident at the smart hospital“works for me



welcome Gundalow, happy you were able to post here
Click to expand...
I am not following that argument. Are you suggesting that hospitals don't treat a patient that wasn't wearing a helmet when he got into an accident? Helmets aren't legally required for adult cyclists where I live. Gun fights are illegal, but hospitals still treat patients with gunshot wounds. I have also never heard, and wouldn't support, them refusing to treat car accident victims that weren't wearing a seatbelt.
 
Gundalow said:
but I wonder if I would have fared better if I had been wearing the latest technology. Bottom line, is spend the money on a MIPS or WaveCell helmet, and wear it. Cuz you never know.
Click to expand...
Glad you're ok. ;)
Here's an interesting article on the subject.
cyclingtips.com

Trek hit with lawsuit over WaveCel helmet safety claims

Do you remember reading about Bontrager’s new WaveCel helmet technology, and thinking to yourself that it sounded too good to be true? It turns out you
cyclingtips.com cyclingtips.com
Keep in mind that laboratory tests, especially when not conducted by a non affiliated third party can often be manipulated. And even institutions with the consumer's best interest in mind aren't perfect.
The new technology helmets do work well, but better than is hard to prove in the real world.
 
Last edited:
RunForTheHills said:
I am not following that argument. Are you suggesting that hospitals don't treat a patient that wasn't wearing a helmet when he got into an accident? Helmets aren't legally required for adult cyclists where I live. Gun fights are illegal, but hospitals still treat patients with gunshot wounds. I have also never heard, and wouldn't support, them refusing to treat car accident victims that weren't wearing a seatbelt.
Click to expand...
Right, and fat people or people who don't adhere to healthy diets shouldn't get treatment for heart disease, diabetes or other associated conditions. Alcoholics shouldn't get treatment for associated disorders, drug addicts shouldn't have access to Narcan or other life saving tx, people who decline COVID vaccination shouldn't be hospitalized for COVID complications, the list is endless. Ignorant people with an agenda pick and choose.
 
always amazes me when I see cyclists on the river bike trails with their helmets strapped to their handlebars or rear rack.. don't get it. you have the helmet so wear it.

I wear a MIPS helmet and I've had 2 nasty falls where I would have suffered some level of head injury without the helmet. I've had 2 very bad motorcycle accidents one on the highway and one on a track in both cases the helmet cracked but my head was protected. no injury.

To me it only makes sense to have a helmet when you are on any vehicle moving faster than a walking pace, but we all know that for the past 30-40 years common sense is the enemy of the people.

While true you can trip and fall walking and suffer a head injury, moving at a higher speed on a device that has you higher up and off balance to begin with and near to zero ability to break your fall is likely to result in a more serious injury than a trip and fall.

I will always wear a helmet, just like I will always wear a seatbelt. to each their own..
 
Last edited:
Dallant said:
The truth is it doesn’t take any real speed to fall wrong and hit your head. Especially on pavement. And any helmet is better than none.
Click to expand...
nope I got hit by a car many years ago I was only going maybe 10mph and the car was stopped and the woman accidentally stepped on the gas I guess. all that happened was she knocked my bike out from under me and I feel straight down but my helmet bounced my head off the ground.
 
RunForTheHills said:
Well, you could trip and fall walking also, but people don't wear helmets walking on the sidewalk and they don't wear helmets driving in their cars. I do wear a helmet when cycling, but there is an argument that requiring helmets will discourage new bicycle commuters because they would rather take the car than put on a helmet and mess their hair up. Cars are the biggest danger to cyclists and a helmet isn't going to help much if a 3000lb car hits you at 30mph.
Click to expand...
What an absurd post.
 
Luto said:
What an absurd post.
Click to expand...
It's actually a proven argument. Absurdity is ignoring the fact that car drivers get more brain injuries than cyclists do and yet we obsess over the cyclists.... and cyclists buy into it. Will you now be arguing it is absurd not to have drivers where helmets?
 
I wore a helmet today on our group ride. When I am on the road or doing technical trails I always have a helmet. We did both today. If I am just doing a bike path along a river then nope. Eating potato chips and a soft drink while watching TV could, as was pointed, out be a less healthy activity. One buddy had the top of his helmet ripped off by a piece of bare rebar from a bike tunnel ceiling that was being worked of an under passing of a freeway. Good thing he had it on. He was riding his HD with a throttle. Maybe I should have one more often. Concussions are cumulative. His helmet saved his braincase.
The DOT yellow MIPS helmet I wore today has a neck saver. I zip tied a flap of old t-shirt as a flap attached to the band on the back. Otherwise with a drop bar my neck gets fried on long rides.
 
PedalUma said:
If I am just doing a bike path along a river then nope.
Click to expand...
depends on the circumstances I guess.


saw a 15 bike pile up on a river bike trail a few weeks ago. one guy farked up and the whole pack went down, several head injuries and a broken leg. The head injuries were the guys that went sliding down the rock embankment. no helmets on any of them that I could see.
 
I always wear a helmet. Aside from the potential safety factor, why not??? It's virtually no effort or discomfort. By definition, accidents are unpredictable. And yeah, a lot of my rides along the river are on top of levees or banks that would not be fun to roll down.

I've had a couple of mild accidents on my bike; nothing bad enough not to ride away from or buy a new helmet (which I'd do if there was much of any impact to the helmet), but the difference between a mild accident and a very serious one can be a matter of inches or milliseconds. I got over feeling immortal several decades ago....

TT
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back