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

it's called getting old. you start to look at the world beyond your own ego (that's a Freudian analysis not to be taken personally)
having broken 3 lids in accidents i never ride without one. and don't forget gloves, picking gravel out of your palms is no fun.
personally i wouldn't bother trying to get others to wear helmets as it's their head and they can can do what they like with it.
seeing as most people are prepared to go to great lengths to ride a cool bike that is impractical, probably the wrong size and possibly imported from across the world at great cost because of the kudos associated with it, wearing a helmet is going to be the last thing on the hipster agenda.
her's a slogan you can use.
'Style before Brains' no? hang on that's not right?...

Great post Roxy (and Tim)

This is what my wife says. She's slowly guilting me into it with mental pictures of her wiping my arse.

I always make sure my girlfriend wears the helmet I bought her when she rides her bike, but i don't wear mine very much at all. i used to when i got it, then slipped into just wearing it on the commute when there's lots of traffic, now i rarely do. but I'm going to start again. I would feel well guilty if I fell off and hurt my head and my helmet was at home on a shelf. I don't think i'd survive the telling off from her either....

Great post Roxy (and Tim)

i thought you loved me clive?

just because we don't think it's cool, or it fucks up our hair, or it's a bit of an inconvenience or discomfort

I don't want to get involved in this debate because I've unwillingly had this argument several hundred times but I wanted to point out this is a bit unfair... some people choose not to wear helmets for reasons other than this (i.e. one of the reasons I don't wear one is because drivers tend to give female cyclists more space, and you look more obviously like a female cyclist if you're not wearing a helmet - yes it's sexist and lame and it pisses me off that people assume female cyclists need more space but at the same time... that's how things are).

Well said Roxy.
I wonder how many forum members with children ride without helmets?

I don't want to get involved in this debate because I've unwillingly had this argument several hundred times but I wanted to point out this is a bit unfair... some people choose not to wear helmets for reasons other than this (i.e. one of the reasons I don't wear one is because drivers tend to give female cyclists more space, and you look more obviously like a female cyclist if you're not wearing a helmet - yes it's sexist and lame and it pisses me off that people assume female cyclists need more space but at the same time... that's how things are).

could you not stick a wig on top of the helmet? ;)

so what about wimmen drivers do they give men more room? do they give wimmen less room?

I think drivers want to know if the riders are women so they can comment on how sweet their saddle is, or some such cool chat up line

i thought you loved me clive?

I do love you Mr Smyth but wanted it to remain our secret.

This is why I am so glad you wear a helmet.

Well said Roxy.
I wonder how many forum members with children ride without helmets?

Me, if you wanna start a list.

I'm married with two kids, and I generally ride with a helmet.
That said, if I'm pootling off to the shops, I rarely wear one. Admittedly I live in a semi rural environment, so I don't have the traffic hell that you chaps in that there London have to endure, but still I love the ind blowing through what little hair I have left...
I don't skip the lid to be cool. I've never been cool. It's just that it sometimes just feels great to not have that shitty lump of polystyrene strapped to my noggin. You can argue that wearing a helmet will go some way to saving you, and I genuinely believe that, but in the same way that I regularly drink to much and eat loads of cheese and salty snacks, I think an occasional helmet-less spin is a mildly risky indulgence.
I think the argument seems to be 'I've not been knocked of the bike, but if I was, I'd like to have all the bases covered with my loved ones to avoid a bollocking'
Well surely the next step is to avoid riding a bike altogether, as there is a raised risk to your personal safety by taking to the roads on a bike in the first place. It's not as risky as the press keep bleating about, but there is increased risk.
I'll wear a helmet on my commute, and on some long rides, but will still treat myself to breezy helmet-less rides on a regular basis!

I'm all for personal choice, and I have no particular interest in trying to dissuade you from wearing a helmet, but it seems a little odd to me that the driving factor in your decision (and what seems to be causing you some concern) is the severity of the outcome, and not the likelihood of the outcome. It strikes me that both are important.

So to use an analogy, I know that being in a plane crash is probably going to lead to my death. But I still fly occasionally because I know that the chances of being in a plane crash are low. The same goes for lots of activities I enjoy like climbing, sailing and stuff like that - where accidents could lead to severe consequences. In fact, in terms of severity, the outcomes of being a pedestrian hit by a car and a cyclist hit by a car are probably very similar so it would seem odd to feel that we should take additional precautions only when cycling (if we are solely considering severity of outcome).

And from what I have seen, the chances of being in an accident on a bike are quite low, and the chances of being in an accident and getting a severe head injury are lower still. This is why I feel that not wearing a helmet is not foolish or selfish (I also don't think that e.g. flying is foolish or selfish). Hopefully though, it will make you feel safer and make you enjoy your cycling even more.

I am with scoober on this one. Each to their own.

scoober. The likelihood of a plane with you in it crashing on water is very low but you still sit in a seat with a life jacket underneath it and are told how to put it on and inflate it before every takeoff.

A friend of mine, a very experienced cyclist, is blind in one eye after he came off and smashed his head on a club run. Freak accident. He now wears a helmet and wishes he had that day.

one of the reasons I don't wear one is because drivers tend to give female cyclists more space, and you look more obviously like a female cyclist if you're not wearing a helmet

.
yeah but it's not the car that sees you that's going to crack your head in the first place...

Where do you draw the line. Every activity has varying risks. At what point do your action stop being selfish?

just realised this is a bona-fidey helmet debate.
i'm off to start another rapha thread.

@cliveo

I don't dispute that. But I still maintain that if you consider the severity of possible outcomes, the worst possible scenario on a plane is pretty severe. (in the same way that Roxy was saying that the worst possible scenario on a bike is pretty severe).

this is pretty much why I wear a helmet. all the debate about their effectiveness aside, my family would be devastated if i was injured/killed and not wearing one.

(also i'm used to it because at home they're compulsory).

Me too, I look a complete cock in my mine, but I'd rather look like a cock for the 20 miles I ride a day and be able to take my helmet off than have a potential lifetime of wearing adult nappies and being spoonfed.

I'm not saying a helmet is a magic forcefield, but I just don't fancy spending the final seconds of life wondering if a helmet would of saved me and hoping my 7 year old daughter doesn't grow up and marry a complete arsehole..................

Oh shit! HELMET FIGHT!

one of the reasons I don't wear one is because drivers tend to give female cyclists more space, and you look more obviously like a female cyclist if you're not wearing a helmet

yeah but it's not the car that sees you that's going to crack your head in the first place...

It could well be the car that sees you and misjudges the amount of space you need.

There are plenty of other arguments anyway e.g. helmets would have little to no impact in nearly all serious collisions involving cyclists within London (because they're mostly fucking HGVs)

I do generally wear a helmet for road rides outside London.

As much as we whinge every now and then back home about being forced to wear one, I know a lot of people who've split helmets open and I think in general people are glad to be forced to wear one, coz even though they don't look cool you try and find a cool one and even if you look like a geek "it's not my fault, it's the law, what are you gunna do?"

that being said i've been riding helmet-less since i got here, just coz I'm allowed to, and it's a bigger deal because I'm pretty vain and I feel like a total nard with one on...

There is something to be said for not wanting to look a complete cock, though.
I'd rather be dead than: