Author Topic: cycle helmet? (Read 3731 times)

chilly · « **on:** 03 September 2012, 12:16:59 pm »

got the bike and am starting to do more every day. only thing is,i know i should wear a cycle helmet but i just can't bring myself to wear one. i look a complete twat in a cycle helmet

. plus they only protect the top of my head! what about the sides and my pretty face? i have a BELL helmet but can't bring myself to wear it. i will have to start going out after dark till i get used to it. im not the coolest looking bloke by any means but these things are just shocking! anybody who puts one on and thinks "oh yeah,cooking with gas now" needs medication

JZS 600 · « **Reply #1 on:** 03 September 2012, 12:45:43 pm »

Just don't look in the mirror.

I never used to wear one unless I was racing as you had to. The last few years I've worn one due to peer pressure and comments from the local cycling club im in, not as a fashion accessory but from a safety point of view.

My view is that if you get hit by a ton and a half of car or worse, a bit of polystyrene on top of your head wont do too much to alleviate the symptoms. OK, it might prevent head injuries but mostly you come down on your face if that's the way you're falling. I've had a few crashes in 30 years of cycling, memorable ones being going through the back window of a car in front (at speed, helmetless) and being rammed form behind (also at speed) by a car driver who was not looking where they were going. Collar bones and pelvises are the most common injury.

These days, I just wear the lid,,,,, and don't look in mirrors.

GringoRojo · « **Reply #2 on:** 03 September 2012, 01:26:57 pm »

if you're worried about safety, there are mountain biking ones that are more like a horsey/climbing helmet, and also ones with varying amounts of chin bar.
if you're worried about looks, dont cos most cyclists wear a helmet these days. you should be more concerned what people think about the shape of your crown jewels being visible in your cycle shorts.

alan sherman · « **Reply #3 on:** 03 September 2012, 01:31:02 pm »

Just wear your motorbike helmet. It gives some protection and no one will know who is under there!

JZS 600 · « **Reply #4 on:** 03 September 2012, 01:34:16 pm »

But you won't be able to buy petrol without taking it off first

steeeve66 · « **Reply #5 on:** 03 September 2012, 01:37:22 pm »

dont worry about looking like a prat - wear a helmet and you might consider a mountain bike full-face style as the standard type doesn't stop you injuring your face as i discovered when i got thumped off my bike in central London and had my front teeth broken. 10 years on the injury still *haunts* me; caps don't last forever, there's the ever present risk what's left of the roots will fail resulting in my having to have implants (not the silicone variety) and the colour never really matches exactly.
For the sake of wearing a full-face helmet for the 45 minutes i was riding that day i could have spared myself all the agg.. and that was just a 'cosmetic' injury, a more serious 'head' injury would reach far deeper and far longer in to your life - assuming you survived that is.

goldfazer · « **Reply #6 on:** 03 September 2012, 01:41:20 pm »

I don't wear one (only one in the club who doesn't now!) but the ones I've seen look pretty good - but maybe that's cos they're worn by fairly fit peeps with all the lycra. Just make sure it's a road one not off road and try a few on to get one that 'Suits you Sir!

And make sure you have it on right, too many have it tilted too far up or donw (or even back to front....)

p.s. yer missus says you look a twat anyway

Khaotik · « **Reply #7 on:** 03 September 2012, 01:47:31 pm »

Wear a skateboard helmet. They look way better

goldfazer · « **Reply #8 on:** 03 September 2012, 01:57:07 pm »

Only if you're on a skateboard. Wear one on a road bike and you look like a right twat

caretaker · « **Reply #9 on:** 03 September 2012, 04:23:10 pm »

dont wear one. happy with my peaked cap. only wear one on mountain trax.

Khaotik · « **Reply #10 on:** 03 September 2012, 05:29:55 pm »

Quote from: goldfazer on 03 September 2012, 01:57:07 pm

Only if you're on a skateboard. Wear one on a road bike and you look like a right twat

So THAT is why they point and smile... I thought they were just checking my calves out.

chilly · « **Reply #11 on:** 03 September 2012, 05:35:12 pm »

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=22675 i bought one of these. cheap as chips and good reviews. might go out for an hour tonight when the road is a bit quieter,and risk scorn and derision from the local chavs. i will wear my shades as a disguise

goldfazer · « **Reply #12 on:** 03 September 2012, 06:08:21 pm »

Blimey, that's cheap. Loose the peak though, a bit off-roady.

Jacko · « **Reply #13 on:** 03 September 2012, 06:51:25 pm »

That Giro helmet looks good. Not sure how the unemployed
can afford £75 though

Grahamm · « **Reply #14 on:** 03 September 2012, 06:52:54 pm »

I'll wear a lid any time I ride the Fazer and would do even if it wasn't the law, however I also cycle regularly and don't consider cycle helmets to be worth it.

In 40 or so years of cycling I have had only one accident (out of three incidents which could have been serious) where a helmet might have made a difference when a taxi came around a roundabout too fast and clipped me into the kerb and left me with a scratch on my face, however whilst the helmet may have prevented the scratch by hitting the kerb first it could also have have caused leverage which might have damaged my neck too.

I consider the "protection" offered by a cycle helmet doing 15-20mph around town to be negligable and the hassle involved to be not worth the while.

It's your choice, of course.

pete786.u · « **Reply #15 on:** 03 September 2012, 09:53:51 pm »

You might think you look a twat riding with a helmet but you`ll look and feel a bigger one lying in hospital with your skull split open.

caretaker · « **Reply #16 on:** 03 September 2012, 10:08:29 pm »

BTW, its not a helmet you need on mountain courses. you need chest protection. twice i've hit a bump/tree stump and winded myself on the bars. lying on my back in brechfa forest (welshest wales) on my own, with no reception on my mobile. not clever.

chilly · « **Reply #17 on:** 03 September 2012, 10:14:22 pm »

ahoy jacko im not unemployed

gardening leave i'll have you know

it's giving me the chance to get fitter and rid of a couple of stone. the kids are back at school tomorrow so i will get a ride in mid morning. 3 miles of road and 5 miles of towpath. helmet-less i think

Farjo · « **Reply #18 on:** 04 September 2012, 10:57:52 am »

Don't be fooled. Cycle helmets are just part of the motorists' plot to allow them to drive into road users without the hassle of feeling guilty.

noggythenog · « **Reply #19 on:** 04 September 2012, 08:34:59 pm »

Hey chilly, i dont think thats what jacko meant,

It was a play on the word 'giro' i reckon,

A bit harsh otherwise

DryRob · « **Reply #20 on:** 05 September 2012, 01:35:35 pm »

I never used to wear one until about the time I got my Fazer when it seemed silly to wear one on a motorbike and not on a pushbike. I also realised the bright yellow jacket I wear makes me look like a tw@at anyway so a helmet just completes the look.

Robbie8666 · « **Reply #21 on:** 05 September 2012, 03:50:57 pm »

1 question for all you that dont wear helmets on your pushbikes....

if you have kids, as in young kids!, do you insist that they wear a helmet on a bike??

clayt74 · « **Reply #22 on:** 05 September 2012, 11:32:31 pm »

Go for a horse jockey skull cap!!!!!! So much harder and actually look pretty mean rather than pretty boy. :-)

His Dudeness · « **Reply #23 on:** 05 September 2012, 11:48:17 pm »

guess what the ladies don't give a shit whether you've got a helmet on or not so just wear one. you're brain box will thank you for it

JZS 600 · « **Reply #24 on:** 06 September 2012, 09:47:58 am »

I quite fancy one of those TT lids,,,,,,,