libes@nbs-amrf.UUCP (05/03/84)
The Washington Area Bicyclist Association puts out rating of bicycle helmets every year and I just received '84. Here is my summary of it: Excellent Fury - a very light motorcycle helmet. Heavy bicycle helmet. (They always throw this in as an extreme.) Very Good Bell Prime - discontinued became Mark I Bell Biker - discontinued became Biker II Bell Biker II - econo helmet Bell Mark I - "probably the best hot weather touring helmet" Bailen Bell Tourlite - fancy helmet, its new buckle is still too cheap Bell V-1 Pro - macho helmet Good Hanna Pro (new model) Supergo Premier Ultra Lita (= NJL Tourrite) MSR Fair Cooper SK2000 - a hockey helmet. (they always throw this in as an extreme.) Not recommended - all failed crash tests Cooper SK600 Cortina Brancale Brancale Giro Hanna Pro (old model) Griffin Pro-tec Firefly Pro-tec PTH3000 Pro-tec PTH4000 Schwinn Skid Lid Skid Lid II You can get the whole report from WABA. Its free. (PS: membership is only $15 and its tax-deductible. If your LAW chapter is anything like this one, membership is a real bargain. WABA also reviews local stores and offers discounts from many.) WABA 1332 Eye Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 393-2555
fish@ihu1g.UUCP (Bob Fishell) (05/04/84)
(oo)
I've been a serious rider for about 4 years now, and in the 10,000 or
so miles I've logged, I haven't ridden even one with a helmet. Seems
to me that they would be hot, uncomfortable, and a trap for insects.
I have enough trouble with the damn things just getting into the
space between my temples and the bows of my glasses.
I do most of my riding off of busy roads, and much of it on paths
where cars are not allowed, so I guess I've never really felt the
need for one. Besides, I think they look kind of dumb. Anyway,
I'd like to know if any of you out there have ever really been
saved by one, and under what circumstances. I might be willing to
use one if I thought there was any real advantage to it. Bear in
mind that I've never even had any really close calls. I'm very
defensive about the way I ride, and I have always been able to avert
trouble before it became a threat. Now, this is coming from a person
who won't even move between parking spots without a seat belt on in
a car. I'm not incautious, it just seems to me that a brain-bucket
on a bicycle is an unnecessary accessory. Ideas? Opinions? FLames?
--
Bob Fishell
ihnp4!ihu1g!fishbill@utastro.UUCP (05/04/84)
I know of a person who is a vegetable today because
he didn't wear a helmet. He was an expert cyclist, and hit
a pothole out in the country. Nuff Sed.
--
Bill Jefferys 8-%
Astronomy Dept, University of Texas, Austin TX 78712 (USnail)
{ihnp4,kpno,ctvax}!ut-sally!utastro!bill (uucp)
utastro!bill@ut-ngp (ARPANET)mueller@utah-gr.UUCP (Tim Mueller) (05/04/84)
I used hold Mr. Fishell's opinion that I was a defensive enough rider to aviod a major (or minor for that matter) collision with an auto. But since moving to a larger city (Salt Lake City) where people don't know how to drive, I have changed my mind. No matter how defensive you think you might be, there is always some driver who's more OFFENSIVE and might nail you despite your caution. A recent accident that happened to a friend of mine helped convince me of this. My friend was being a good defensive biker and was coming up to a light that had just turned red. He stopped at the right side of the lane he was in, but the car racing up the hill behind him decided to run the red light (it's not always easy to hear someone coming up behind you in city traffic noise). The driver, seemingly oblivious to the red light and my friend, hit my friend square in the back wheel and sent him flying into the intersection head first. His Bell Biker was cracked but saved his life, however his leg was broken in three places. Moral: There are lots of loonies out there, and helmets do save lives. Tim Mueller University of Utah ...!harpo!utah-cs!mueller ARPA mueller@utah-20
whp4@flairvax.UUCP (Bill Palmer) (05/04/84)
You really ought to get a helmet. I have two vivid datapoints to base that statement on. The first is a race I was in a couple of years ago, where someone fell in a corner because of some sand (it was a spur of the moment training criterium and no one had a broom to sweep the corners). He not only missed the break, but also stayed in the hospital for a week or two with a nasty concussion. He didn't have a helmet on. I believe he wears one now. Also, don't be mislead into getting a leather hairnet like European racers wear; they are virtually useless. Maybe your scalp will still be intact, but the skull fracture won't be any fun. My other datapoint is my uncle's motorcycle accident, incurred at cycling speeds (~20mph). He wears a big heavy motorcycle helmet, and you can still see all the gouges and scratches put in it by the gravel and pavement. I'd hate to transfer what happened to that helmet to any part of my body. As for comfort, yes, poorly designed helmets can really be a drag. My old Protec helmet had a distinct tendency to fry me after a few thousand feet of climbing. I bought one of those Bell Tourlites (the so-called tourist helmet with the big adjustable sun-visor on the front), and it seems to be much better. It looks something like a salad-bowl overturned on your head, but it is pretty comfortable and not nearly as hot. As for bugs, well, I don't wear glasses so I haven't experienced the problem you describe, but I have never had a problem with bugs getting inside my helmet. When you're on a fast downhill, and you run into a big insect like a 4" dragonfly or a bumblebee, though, the "plock" you hear reminds me of being shot at with taconite pellets and a wrist-rocket... Seriously, you really want a helmet on your head when dealing with that crazy automobile crowd. I bought a helmet for myself a long time before I felt the need to buy a water bottle (for those long trips to the grocery store up the street :-) ... Bill Palmer whp4@sri-kl ihnp4!hplabs!flairvax!whp4
cak@CS-Arthur (Christopher A Kent) (05/05/84)
Hmm, this just reminded me -- quite some time ago, there was a recall announced on the buckle mechanism of the Bell Tourlites. Mine was in the affected range; I wrote in but never got whatever I was supposed to get. Did anyone have more success than I? Cheers, chris
cak@CS-Arthur (Christopher A Kent) (05/05/84)
I've been riding with a Bell Tourlite for about a year and a half; it's a little hot, and a little heavy, but it's not bad. Three of my bikie friends have ended up against curbs or on the hoods of cars or pickup trucks -- none of them wearing helmets, all VERY lucky not to have sustained head injuries. I was determined not to count on my luck, so I bought a helmet. I am also very defensive, and have never had a close call, but I expect my luck to run out eventually. Riding backroads one might not need a helmet, but I ride in traffic, and I feel that I need one. I don't regret the decision, except that I can't wear my Campy cap any more! Let me put in a dig against the Skid Lid, while we're on the subject. I almost bought one -- they look wonderful, light, airy, comfortable. But after I thought seriously about it, I decided that it just doesn't provide a lot of protection. It does pretty much what its name implies: if you skid on the lid, it will protect you. If you end up against a curb, it won't! There is too much unprotected area; you're not much better off than wearing a hairnet. But that's just my opinion.... Cheers, chris
joels@tektronix.UUCP (05/05/84)
I have worn my trusty skid lid for virtually all of my 25,000 miles of cycling. It has saved me on at least 3 occasions. The first , in the middle of Colorado, I let my tire slip off the pavement into some loose gravel. I went down sideways onto the pavement. My head hit the pavement so hard it bounced twice. I ended up with only some abrasions and a headache. The second time, I slipped on wet metal at about 5 miles an hour. I landed flat on my back, and got a good rap on the back of the head. The most recent occurrence was when a car pulled out about 25 feet in front of me. My skid lid saved me when I hit the car, as well as when I hit the ground. I came out of that one with only a general bruised feeling (unfortunately my bicycle did not fare so well). I ALWAYS wear my helmet. All that is need to crush your head is the fall of 6 feet from the normal riding position. If you ride a bicycle long enough you will eventually have a crash. Yes, a helmet restricts air flow around the head causing slower heat dissipation, but the percentage is small. A properly fitted helmet should not be uncomfortable. I feel naked on a bicycle with out mine. Besides thats where my mirror( another piece of equipment that I consider essential) mounts. Joel Swank Tektronix, Beaverton OR
mats@dual.UUCP (Mats Wichmann) (05/06/84)
Well, some like them and some don't. I have ridden many miles with, and
many miles without (more without). They are pretty hot, but you get used
to them after a while. True, it just doesn't feel the same - you somehow
feel restricted. One interesting view on helmets comes from Moeser when
he was in Mexcio to set the hour record - he had brought a specially
designed helmet along for aerodynamic reasons, but after riding just
a couple of laps, decided it was too hot and uncomfortable, and opted
instead for the old traditional (and almost worthless) leather hairnet
covered by a cycling cap.
Helmets tend to shift around - nobody has yet designed a safe one that
wont shift a bit when you drop your head to look down to undo your
toestraps or whatever. Most of my trouble with them is just that they
don't feel right.
On the pro side, I know a person who is currently *NOT* a vegetables as
a result of wearing helmet. The helmet had to be replaced, though. It
is very difficult to argue with this. Most accidents/crashes are of the
nature that are not going to be injurious to the head - those are the
kind that you see coming if you are alert while riding. It is the ones
where you have no idea something is going down (you), such as when somebody
whips a car door open just as you are riding by, or where there is nothing
you can do, such as when some idiot wobbles too much in a pack of
novice-type racers, that you need the helmet.
Remember, if you only need that helmet once, it is worth all the bother
that wearing one may have caused.
Just to toss in my vote, I wear a `Bailen Bike Bucket'. I find this
much more comfortable than something like the Bell, and I trust it
more. I still don't like the feel of helmets.
Mats Wichmann
Dual Systems Corp.
...{ucbvax,amd70,ihnp4,cbosgd,decwrl,fortune}!dual!matsishizaki@saturn.UUCP (05/07/84)
I, too, have been riding seriously for ~ 4-5 years. Before this year, I wouldn't wear a helmet for many of the same reasons you had -- too hot, too uncomfortable, too silly looking, too this or too that. This year, however, I started wearing the Bell V1-Pro helmet. It's light, and comfortable (yes, I wear glasses, too) and not too funny looking. I wore it on a long uphill ride and it didn't bother me at all. Going downhill, it caught a bee, but it flew out again. Plus, around where I ride, more people wear helmets, and I am getting to feel more riders wear them, so I don't feel so out of place wearing MINE. Anyway, I recently had a fall on my bike. I was riding through a downhill hairpin turn and my tire rolled off the front wheel. I went down and got road rash on my leg and arm. The next day, I realized I had a bump on my head (temple). No problem.. It didn't hurt at all. The day after I looked at my helmet and saw a scratch/gouge on the helmet and thought, " good thing I wore this... ". THEN, I noticed that the helmet lining (a dense styrofoam-like substance) was cracked in the same area. BOY, am I glad I wore that helmet! I still don't wear it every time I ride, but certainly when I commute or am planning to do a lot of downhill (when I go fast). I do recommend the Bell V1-Pro. I think it saved ME some misery. Audrey Ishizaki HPlabs Palo Alto, Ca 415-857-5903
jeff@dual.UUCP (Jeff Houston) (05/07/84)
I tend to be of the crowd that doesn't use cycling helmets. This is
probably due to having a very thick head, oh well. Helmets do help
and are recommended by just about everyone even the folks I usually
ride with, namely bike racers. Most of the time racers, myself included,
ride with no helmet, but when its race time everyone has one on their head!
Racers prefer using the leather hair-nets for protection, the main reason
I can see is that in most cases when you're racing and crash you will
usually slide along the ground and the helmet will provide a surface to
slide on other than the side of your head. I admit that this isn't
saying much for the intelligence of most racing cyclists but the prefer
to bank on their own riding skill to keep them out of most potential crashes.
I have graduated from a leather hair-net to a Brancale hard shell model
for additional protection and have also tried the MSR helmet. I have
found the Brancale helmet reasonably comfortable and never to warm. The
MSR Helmet is quite a bit bulkier and rather warm on the old head if the
weather heats up any, although it does offer quite a bit more protection.
Any sanctioned racing requires all riders to use some sort of helmet but
just which model is always up to the rider.
Jeff Houston
Dual Systems Corp., Berkeley, CA
{ucbvax,ihnp4,cbosgd,amd70,zehntel,fortune,decwrl}!dual!jeff