Remember kids... always wear a helmet. (The almighty bikeradar helmet thread)

Has this been resolved yet?

Noob?

deary me it's the OG wars all over again.

I don't give a shit.

So that's why you're so fat.

They think that they are treated better by drivers if they do what "good cyclists" do

In spite of morons on PH, the evidence seems to point the other way - drivers pass closer to cyclists perceived as 'expert', using cues such as helmet use, lycra and gender and age cues. If you want to be given space, dress as a little old lady and wobble around on a roadster, if you want your elbows shaved by wing mirrors dress as a MAMIL.

Noob?

deary me it's the OG wars all over again.

Hardly dear. It's merely pointing out to you that there's no point changing anyone's opinion in a helmet thread.

So that's why you're so fat.

Big bone.

Hardly dear. It's merely pointing out to you that there's no point changing anyone's opinion in a helmet thread.
You're not going to change his opinion about OG wars, though, are you?

Big bone.

That's what they all say.

Time to drop the kids off...

I did a highly scientific survey this morning and here are my results.
From the top to the bottom of Holloway Road
9 helmets, one no helmet.
I skirted round the edge of the city and out along he A13 and by the time I got to HoKe I was at 30-13 in favour of helmet wearers. I then used the short stretch of CS3 between the end of cable street and west ferry and got to 52-14 in favour of helmets.

Please note that the stats are cumulative so you will need to do some complex math to get the stats for each segment in isolation.

I did a highly scientific survey this morning and here are my results.
From the top to the bottom of Holloway Road
9 helmets, one no helmet.
I skirted round the edge of the city and out along he A13 and by the time I got to HoKe I was at 30-13 in favour of helmet wearers. I then used the short stretch of CS3 between the end of cable street and west ferry and got to 52-14 in favour of helmets.

So it's a FACT. More people wear helmets in London than not.

The difference on a major a road is not as stark as on a cycle superhighway though. Must be something to do with the added danger of the blue paint.

So people remove their helmet when they hit the side roads or get off the Blue roads?

Probably, lots of rucksacks so it could be true.

Seems kind of odd

I still miss not wearing a helmet.

But I sure am glad I had one on last Sunday, when my head bounced of the black stuff, after I came a cropper on black ice.

We're not.

Are faster cyclists more likely to be involved in accidents?

Whatever Jeez, I'm still chuckling at the thought of that middle aged bloke up there falling off.

^ classic jeez.

Lots of employers are dicks about helmets. I don't have one and it took about 6 months for my boss and others to stop making remarks about it and just accept that I cycle hundreds of miles each month without ending up dead.

I'm sure many in the same situation would take the "wear it just to shut them up" route.

This is probably why you see people riding along with their helmet dangling off their bars.

Possibly the weirdest behaviour I see on a bike - if you have bothered to buy a helmet and taken it with you, it's surely easier just to wear it? Even if you've only got one for the appearance to please your partner / spouse / colleagues / whoever it's still more convenient on your head than dangling around.

I have no evidence as to whether there is any correlation between how fast a cyclist goes and their likelihood of a crash

Then here's a data point. I've been riding in London at various speeds for 10 years. I have fallen off twice. Once was a clipless moment. Once was going up a dropped kerb that wasn't dropped as much as I thought, in the wet, at a snail's pace. So both my crashes were at considerably less than 5mph.

Obligatory helmet statement - I wasn't wearing a helmet in either case, and amazingly my head didn't crack like an egg. Possibly didn't even hit the ground - it's rather narrower than my shoulders, perhaps. But it's noteworthy that this is exactly the type of accident a helmet is designed for - low speed fall onto hard surface.

Oh great, I've commented on the helmet thread. Kill me now.

Possibly the weirdest behaviour I see on a bike - if you have bothered to buy a helmet and taken it with you, it's surely easier just to wear it?

I did the helmet dangling thing yesterday- it was strapped quite firmly to my bag, as I was walking with some friends, and I (literally!) rode the bike 20 metres down the road, to avoid pushing it past a huge crowd of very slow walking tourists. Although that doesn't explain commuters carrying the things.

My tuppence.

I do not and never have worn a helmet on the streets. I don't give a fuck if anyone choses to wear one or not as long as they don't endanger me why would I care what anyone does?

I have been riding in London on an almost daily basis for 18 years, including 3 as a courier. I have had a few accidents but only 2 head first into vehicles during that time once into the back of a van and once into a car. I tend to move pretty quickly but both impacts I was probably travelling less than 10 miles an hour after breaking. One incident gave me a headache that went after a couple of hours.

I always wear a helmet when racing as is required. I would wear one if it was not required.
I have had 3 head first accidents, two on track and one when MB'ing. One track incident I was travelling fast, probably over 25mph and flew through the air and landed on my head. The helmet cracked massively. One MBing accident I mistimed a jump and landed on my head from a 6ft plus drop. The helmet was destroyed.

Both these incidents the helmet probably made the crash less bad than it would have been without one. Maybe even saved my life/brain. Who knows.

My point is I would be surprised if I crashed at 25mph or fell off a 6 ft drop on the roads of London so why bother?