Cyclists - do you wear a helmet?

I'l be honest and say i do not

even though i ride about 8 miles a day i don't wear one.

i guess i chose vanity over safety, cos i look a massive cock in one.

no. bike = freedom.

traffic where i live isn't too crazy though. when i lived in london the drivers were so aggressive i avoided getting on a bike altogether.

Here in Australia they're compulsory. Blew my mind in America seeing dudes on motorcycles without a helmet.

No need for helmets here in Denmark, because you barely even ride on the same roads as other cars. There are literally bike lanes everywhere.

NO BECAUSE HELMETS LOOK STOOPID

On the other hand, I guess I'd look pretty stupid with my head carved open as well. Or awesome.

Yes and if you don't you're a fucking idiot.

In my three years here in the Netherlands I've seen like two people wear a helmet. So no I don't. It's not that necessary either since there's bike paths everywhere.

such hostility, reminds me of working people who resent the unemployed. lose the helmet dude, it's fucking with your head.

NO helmets are death traps. Helmets gives you a very fake sense of confidence. This isn't crazy conspiracy. In much of Europe, including the Netherlands, helmets are not advised. The undesirable effects of helmet use has been proven many times over.

I don't cycle as much anymore. But yeah, I use a helmet. Even if it's shitty, I'd like another layer between my head and the road.

@hh: That comparison makes zero sense.

70% of bicyclists killed in crashes are because of fatal head injuries. A helmet wouldn't work every time but it's better than nothing.

Yeah I do. I live in Copenhagen so there's a lot of other bicyclist and trafic. Loads of people wear helmets here.

I don't really bike but I answered yes as if I did I would wear a helmet. I don't need any more head trauma in my life.

No, because I wish for the sweet embrace of death.

No, even though I ride 50 plus miles a week. There's not much in the way of traffic where I ride and there's bicycle lanes.

I don't. Never have. I've fallen many times, never hurt my head. Plus they'll make my head sweat like crazy during summer.

I wear a helmet only if I got on trails to either do some bmx style riding or if I am doing some road biking. Otherwise I dont wear one on the norm for regular riding around.

I just want you all to know that it's on my bucket list to casually nudge a bicyclist off the road with my car. So wear that helmet.

No, but then again I am not in a crazy city like San Francisco where I can get mowed down at any second.

I wear one.

#1 - I prefer a helmet to greasy sunscreen on my face / hair part by a long shot, and that shit does burn if you're light skinned and cycling several times a week in the summer. It shades your eyes a bit too, if you don't have sunglasses handy.

#2 - Falling onto bare pavement already sucks a lot.It doesn't need to be potentially fatal. Even if you avoid every random rock, bolt, and tire retread out there, bike parts might fail on you at any time.

#3 - I'm more worried about bad drivers noticing and avoiding me than total strangers judging my appearance.

I definitely don't agree with laws requiring helmets, because it basically creates a law for some of the people. The reality that many low-income earners commute to their jobs on a bike and are not going to bother buying a fucking helmet in that situation. Cops aren't going to stop and fine them for that, nor should they.

But I do think parents would be crazy not to require their kid to wear one, and if you are over 25, I think it's probably time to realize that you don't look cool on a bike anyway.

Nah. But I don't bike on the road with any regularity. My bicycling is mostly confined to dirt trails in the nearby park/woods.

I do wear a helmet for skiing, though. Two reasons: 1. people are perpetually pulling down the chairlift safety bar too fast and whacking me in the back of the head with it. 2. I ski fast. When I fall, I slide a long ways before I stop.

Wear a helmet. No seriously. You just never know.

No, it isn't illegal to ride without one (in the UK) and there is an insuffienct amount of conclusive evidence to suggest head trauma can be prevented by helmets (especially ones I can afford, i.e, the shit ones).

When I biked more often, I would absolutely wear a helmet. Not all helmets look awful.

But now that my commute to my college classes is an hour each way (I live in a pretty rural area), I have to drive pretty much exclusively.

i do probably half the time. i've just been lucky- i've gotten stuck in streetcar tracks and been doored, both times without a helmet, and only suffered scrapes and bruises. i'm also an idiot. there really isn't a good excuse. you just need to wear one.

Always

I bike to and from work every day and I never wear a helmet. If I die, I die.

I have a wife and a kid...I kinda owe them not dying or getting brain damage, so yeah, I always wear a helmet.

I wear them when I don't know the area or if I'm riding in heavy traffic. If that's not the case then no, I don't.

I've heard far more horror stories of people wearing helmets and the helmets causing injuries than helmets saving someone from injury.

Haven't rode a bike in forever. When I did though, I generally didn't wear one. I'm of the mind of the "Tuck & Roll" method.

Don't wear one because I don't own one. Though I do wear a helmet riding my motorcycle.

No, because I don't see my skull as the weak point. I think I my problem would be my long and thin neck snapping.

No I don't because I don't want to carry one around everywhere I go.

I was unaware so many people didn't think helmets were effective. This is from an pro-helmet site, but it addresses most of the complaints I've heard here.

And if your argument is "I've never used a helmet and I'm just fine", you should think about all the statements you aren't hearing from people who didn't wear helmets and had different results.

I own a helmet, but i tend to only use it when i'm going for a ride.

I do my everyday commute with a bike, but never wear the helmet. I know it's stupid but in my defence there's really light traffic and a bike lane the whole way.

Yes, absolutely. I ride in NYC and a helmet is essential, bike path or not.

It just takes one accident to damage your brain and forever impact your life. I wouldn't ride in a car without a seat belt even if there was light to no traffic, and I wouldn't ride a bike without a helmet.

Bikers who point to traffic, bike lanes, or the "safety" of the roads they ride miss the point. The majority of the time the rider is at fault in an accident or can directly influence the amount of danger they put themselves in. Patrick's accident was an example, it wasn't traffic or pedestrians that got in his way, it was a pothole.

Arms, legs, and backs get stronger with riding and become less susceptible to injury, but your skull and brain don't get extra padding.

I know there's a lot of debate over the effectiveness of helmets although I would question the agenda of any pro- or anti-helmet study. But if I can do something as menial as wearing a helmet to protect my brain, I will do it.

Drivers in Dallas are reckless as hell. I only where a five-panel in the daytime, but I throw on a helmet in the evenings and night time.