rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (05/15/84)
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We've had some good helmet-story postings--but some cautions are in order:
If you take a crash with your helmet, REPLACE IT. One of the reasons
helmets work is by absorbing impact. In the process, they get weakening
scratches, non-elastic deformations, and otherwise get bent out of shape.
(Ask a climber if he would keep using a rope after taking a fall with it!
Another way to look at it--would you keep driving one of today's cars with
the energy-absorbing construction after a head-on?)
Also, READ the instructions with the helmet: DON'T paint it--paint has
solvents which can weaken the plastic. Similarly, DON'T add tape to the
helmet. There are some types of tape which are acceptable, but see what
the helmet manufacturer says and follow it religiously. This is important.
Reason: The adhesives in tapes also contain solvents & such which can
soften the shell. If you wrap strips of tape across the helmet, you may be
creating weak strips along which the helmet can fracture.
On to a couple of complaints from fish - and good ones:
1. Bugs - my experience is that helmets are about break-even; they seem to
deflect bugs that would catch in my hair at least as often as they catch
bugs. (On the other hand, there's an epsilonish chance that you'll really
get to find out what "a bee in your bonnet" means! Seriously, most helmets
don't have vents that are very good at catching big bugs.)
2. Appearance - the Bell Biker, which is one of the best/cheapest/most-
widely-available, is terminally doofy looking. Accept it! If people laugh
at it, you've always got the rejoinder that at least you think the contents
of your head is worth $35 or so to keep intact. I'll admit that this kept
me from getting a helmet for a while. I'm just glad that I survived this
period of vanity/stupidity. (Frankly, I'm not good-looking enough to
justify caring whether the helmet makes me look dorky.)
3. Heat - yes, it's a little worse, but not as bad as you think. You
don't have to be going very fast to pick up enough breeze to cool yourself.
The worst of it is climbing with a slight tailwind, enough to make a dead
air pocket that you ride in. Still, it's better than the alternative...
Another topic: Rear view mirror. This is as important to me as a helmet.
Reason--the helmet helps you survive once you get into trouble, but the
mirror lets you see problems before they happen. If you don't get into
trouble, you don't have to get out.
--
...Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile. Dick Dunn
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303) 444-5710 x3086