Helmets: Do you wear one? Why? When?

Ian Smith wrote:
On Mon, 4 Aug, steveyo wrote:

In other words, I _always_wear_a_helmet_.

That must be really uncomfortable when you go to bed.

I guess you only wear cardigans, since a pullover will be tough to get
on.

I wouldn't wear it in bed, but my wife thinks my blue one is sexy.

And cardigans? I'm always naked from the waist up.

I wanna party with you, Ian Smith. I love you, man.


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steveyo
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I don't wear a helmet. I don't feel comfortable wearing a helmet. Maybe
I need to try some more expensive ones. I only occasionally wear one
for Ken Looi to keep him happy on Unicycle events he organises, but he
is still not happy so I don't think it's worth it.

I often get asked "Why don't you wear a helmet?" and I feel like a
hypocrit because I tell the kids to wear their helmet when I teach
them, and I tell them it is to keep them safe while they are learning
and to protect the school.

I think helmets are over-rated though and no where near enough emphasis
is put on the importance of wrist guards. They are uncomfortable to
wear, and get hot like helmets- but they could save your very valuable
asset your wrists and hands which could be sticking out to save your
head that is wearing a helmet. I don't wear wrist gaurds but a couple
of times I have wished I was wearing them.

The only reason I think I should wear a helmet is to set a good example
for the hundreds of riders who I inspire who may or may not have common
sense. I don't feel responsible for those who lack common sense.


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Rowan
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Rowan wrote:
I think helmets are over-rated....


Until you wish you had one.


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i only have a snowboard helmet (very well insulated for -10 F) which
doesnt work well with texas summers... i porbably wouldnt wear
one anyway because i dont feel like im doing very dangerous stuff if i
start doing big street/ trials and got a different helmet i might...


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Kilian

*To Do:*Rolling hops, Side hops, 1 foot riding, Kickup Mount, 180
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Tyler_N wrote:
What im saying is if you were to be hit by a circle it wouldn't stab you
like a triangle would.



harper wrote:
The pope rides a wooden unicycle?
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On Tue, 5 Aug 2008, MuniAddict wrote:

Think of it as an insurance policy; it's there if/when you need it. And
you *never* know when you might need it!

You also *never* know when it might make matters worse. Is that cool
too?

This (apparently mindless) assumption that they must be a good thing,
despite various evidence to the contrary from experience in the
bicycling world, is what confuses me.

The most damaging brain injuries are those from rotational forces. A
helmet makes them worse (bigger lever arm, higher friction in most
circumstances) and offers no protection against them. So why neglect
that class of injury when deciding whether to wear a helmet?

I agree they are probably very effective against painful and
embarrassing scrapes and digs in your scalp - but is it worth risking
making the most serious sort of injuries worse in order to avoid
events that are painful but far from life-threatening? Of course
there are degrees of this - if it was sure to save lots of cuts and
scrapes and the chance of rotational injury was completely
insignificant then the answer might be that they are worthwhile, but
that's not the argument that is presented. The argument presented is
that they literally cannot hurt, and that is not true.

_If_ wearing a helmet made it _more_ likely that you end up a
dribbling vegetable, would you wear one religiously?

If not, how to reconcile the fact that when states in Australia made
bicycle helmets compulsory for bicyclists, the rate of serious head
injuries went up?

For unicycling, there is even less serious evidence than for
bicycling, of course, and the argument is far from clear even for
bicycling. Also, the skate-type helmets many (most?) people here
adopt are probably less worse for torsional effects than the
high-speed bicycling sort (long tail, thin skin over expanded
polystyrene). You can certainly make a good argument for unicycling
being more likely to result in the sort of injuries that a helmet is
good for, and less likely to be the ones it is bad for. But to assume
that there are _no_ scenarios in which a helmet is bad for the victim
of the accident is simply wrong.

regards, Ian SMith
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Ian Smith wrote:
On Tue, 5 Aug 2008, joemarshall wrote:

ps. Oh no, the word helmet appears to have awakened the dreaded Ian
Smith, who seemingly only ever posts on the helmet threads - maybe
he has an automatic search for them or something?

I wonder why it is 'dreaded' to offer a contrary opinion?



Looks to me like a case of mistaken identity. He seems to have
confused you for 'saskatchewan ian'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/member.php?u=14180). 'dreaded'
obviously refers to the haircut, not an opinion



Ian Smith wrote:

If not, how to reconcile the fact that when states in Australia made
bicycle helmets compulsory for bicyclists, the rate of serious head
injuries went up?



From that statistic alone, I can't comment. However if there is a
correlation between the serious head injuries going up and deaths going
down then it can be explained fairly easily.

STM


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Ian Smith wrote:

If not, how to reconcile the fact that when states in Australia made
bicycle helmets compulsory for bicyclists, the rate of serious head
injuries went up?


Perhaps it's because of this:
http://tinyurl.com/4svz2l


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MuniSano
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Ian Smith wrote:

If not, how to reconcile the fact that when states in Australia made
bicycle helmets compulsory for bicyclists, the rate of serious head
injuries went up?



Is the rate injuries per collision, or injuries per bicyclist?

There is certainly more information that is needed before assuming the
difference was caused by helmets.

If you want statistics why is that between 1996 and 2005, 97% of
bicycle fatalities in New York City were riders not wearing helmets?


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ThisGuyIKnow wrote:

If you want statistics why is that between 1996 and 2005, 97% of
bicycle fatalities in New York City were riders not wearing helmets?



Er, well maybe 97% of bicycle riders in New York City don't wear
helmets? But then I recall 86.8% of statistics are made up...

Seriously, I think the days of being concerned about torsional injuries
from helmet use are probably gone now that most helmets are so light. I
think the chance of a cycle helmet causing such an injury is pretty
remote.

Personally, I'm a recent convert to wearing a cycle helmet. Most Uni
falls I've had have been pretty controlled but just occasionally I've
landed awkwardly and once did have the back of my head hit the floor.
Since then I've worn a helmet. But maybe it's just old age setting in,
I'm not as invincible as I used to be!

But being used to wearing a motorcycle helmet (not on a Uni!) I
wouldn't have much faith in a cycle helmet being much use in anything
other than a pretty low speed impact.


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Gadge

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered;
the point is to discover them." - Galileo Galilei.
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I haven't hit my head on the floor in hundreds of UPDs over a 20+ year
riding career.

But I have hit my head on overhanging branches, and I've used my helmet
deliberately to deflect overhanging foliage and twigs. Yes, I often
push the bush out of the way with my helmet.

I feel confident riding without a helmet except on very uneven and
rocky ground, or when mixing with traffic on the roads.

But that is a personal choice.

I can see no circumstances in which wearing a normal bicycle helmet
would increase the risk of either a fall or an injury when unicycling.
I can see a few cases where it would significantly reduce the injury if
a fall occurred.


--
Mikefule

Either you understand the concept of a false dichotomy perfectly, or you
don't understand it at all.
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