carlson@ssc-vax.UUCP (Lee R Carlson) (09/23/83)
Random Notes: Panniers: The bigger you get, the more you take. I have older Frostline bags. They were lots of fun to make, hold a ton (unfortunately). If you make them, SEAL THE SEAMS! I learned that obvious lesson last weekend. Cars and Bikes: I drive and bike. I hate drivers when I ride and dunderheaded bikers when I drive. I have found that signaling, smiling, waving thank-you, not passing a short line of cars at lights, and making positive eye-contact with drivers has reduced my likelyhood of bad experiences to one class of drivers. This class is the 16-18 mentality-age male driver. The louder the car, wider the tires, and more watts/channel, the longer the horn blast and narrower the space between driver and biker. So much for sweeping generalizations. Helmets: I bought my Bell Biker years ago when they first came out, and was one of the 2% that wore a helmet at the time. But I noticed something, with the helmet, I found driving in traffic much easier. Was it the psychological knowledge that my brains wouldn't be completely scrambled on a fall, or (as I suspect) drivers realized that I was a "serious" biker, and would be less likely to make random moves into their path? Any other reactions? Any correlation between helmet wearing and seatbelting? (in cars) Also, has anyone ever owned more than one brand of helmet? Any comments? I am badgering some friends into getting helmets and I can't make much of an unbiased recomendation as I've only worn my Biker. Happy biking... Lee R. Carlson - Boeing Aerospace - Seattle - ..uw-beaver!ssc-vax!carlson
mtc@datagen.UUCP (09/27/83)
I have owned two types of helmets now. The first helmet I bought was the
Bell biker - in Champaign IL, and the owner of the shop tried to talk
me out of it! at the time, there was NOBODY wearing helmets there. I wanted
one because I had found myself on the hood of a car that cut me off the
night before. I was lucky to suffer only a bruised elbow: the bike suffered
more as did the car.
The next year I started NOT wearing the helmet; being the only one with the
dumb looking thing made me self conscious. One morning when half asleep my
left brake lever, which I had made a mental note to tighten, chose a poor
moment to jump into the front wheel. I woke up in the emergency room as they
were preparing to install stitchesl; had I been wearing the helmet I owned
I could have WALKED to the hospital to have my shoulder x-rayed (it was out
of commission for the rest of the summer).
The point is: I will NEVER be caught dead riding a bike without a helmet. I
can make mistakes, and it sometimes takes to lessons to learn, but no more.
I strongly suggest to ANY bike rider that they consider wearing one always.
HOWEVER: the bell biker remains clunky and is hot in the summer. I still
think it looks dumb. It is also, in my opinion, the BEST PROTECTION available
at this time.
But now I wear the "Skidlid" type of helmet. It is clearly not as protective,
in that the top is open; a head-on collision, particularly with a pointed
object, could be very bad news with this type of helmet. I use it though,
with the following rationale: it is MUCH more comfortable. The top of the
head IS less protected, but accidents where this would make some difference
are, in my opinion, less likely than accidents causing injuries to the SIDE
of the head. The skidlid would have been sufficient protection for the
accident which caused stitches to be necessary.
Summary: if you want the ultimate in protection at the cost of wearing a
clumsy hat, get the bell biker. If you are willing to trade off protection
for less likely situations for some riding comfort, get the skidlid.
By the way: bell now has a better looking and more comfortable helmet for
bikers. I dont know how it compares to the original in terms of safety.
PS: please check your bike frequently for parts which are coming loose.
Mark Colan, Data General Corp, MS E-111, Westboro
{decvax!ittvax, allegra} ! datagen!mtc
PPSS: In Boston the percentage of helmet wearers is very high these days,
compared to zero in Champaign IL in 1977. Has it changed in the midwest?