Geraint Thomas....

[thirdcrank]

Nothing to do with helmets, but a side-on shot from the ToB coverage showed quite a tum, probably more noticeable in somebody normally without an ounce of fat.

[Cyril Haearn]

Nothing to do with helmets, but a side-on shot from the ToB coverage showed quite a tum, probably more noticeable in somebody normally without an ounce of fat.

Plus One, he has won the TdF once, that is enough, he will ride a couple more seasons, not win much, then start a new career as Expert for Everything

[Jon Lucas]

Overwhelming evidence-based studies are highly unlikely.

Frankly, I think spending resources on such things is wasteful. As wasteful as it would be to spend loads of time and money deomnstrating that pedestrian helmets save lives.

First, the number of incidents where they could actually help are a very small number, and second of all, the danger needs to be dealt with at it's source. Helmets on cyclists are a bit like sending coal miners into a mine with hard hats, and not ventilating the mine. Bumps on the head are likely to be the last of their worries. Along the same lines, studying the effectiveness of helmets, is a bit like studying the effectiveness of hard hats for miners, when the main cause of death is black lung disease.

Cycling is an everyday activity, and it needs to remain that way.

Agreed.

The bit I've highlighted is worth some thought, comparing to cyclists. I've never donned a helmet in 50 years of cycling and bumps on my head have been the last thing I worry about when cycling. Is there a divide among cyclists, in that some worry overtly about this, and some like me do not? It would be interesting to know whether it is a concern for those who do choose to wear helmets. Obviously, it is likely that there will be a difference for those who have had head injuries, whether from cycling or from other activities.

I completely respect your choice, but since you raise the question, I've been a helmet wearer since around 1987 and at no time have I actually been worried about any aspect of safety on the bike. I don't feel head injury to be raised above other forms of potential injury, but I wear a lid because it is, for me, an easy and simple thing that could help me in some modes of fall. That's all.

Many thanks for your response. It tends to show, at least in your case, that wearing a helmet has been 'normalised', so that it is what you do rather than doing it for a specific reason. Which is precisely what has always concerned me about the increasing trend to wearing them, that they are now a 'part of the clothing'. I have no doubt that is the case with most wearers now. But I might start a separate thread to see whether others wear them because they perceive a specific risk.

[Cugel]

[
..... It tends to show, at least in your case, that wearing a helmet has been 'normalised', so that it is what you do rather than doing it for a specific reason. Which is precisely what has always concerned me about the increasing trend to wearing them, that they are now a 'part of the clothing'. I have no doubt that is the case with most wearers now. But I might start a separate thread to see whether others wear them because they perceive a specific risk.

In many cultures certain risks are regarded as likely, to be avoided under all circumstances, resultant in unbearable consequences. Sometimes these risks are not just amplified in this way but wholly invented out of some artificial fear despite their actually being no risk at all. In the middle ages (perhaps now, in certain communities) the risk from "devils" was regarded as high and potentially very damaging.

Today many are "sure" that their children are at risk from hordes of swarming stranger-abusers or that terrorists lurk around every corner. In reality, the risks from such things are tiny for any average individual.....

,,,,,As is the risk that cycling is highly damaging to the head. Like others here, I've ridden hundreds of thousands of miles on bikes of various kinds in various conditions over 60 years and never once hit my head - at all, let alone "dangerously". Moreover, I know a great number of other cyclists of similar experience. We've all damaged collar bones, wrists, hips, ankles etc. but the closest to a head injury are those very few who have damaged their jaws and faces after a face-plant, which a helmet did nothing to ameliorate, despite what some would prefer to think. (Of the three I know, all were wearing a helmet at the time).

So, even if you ask "to see whether others wear them because they perceive a specific risk" you're likely to discover that these risks are all "perception" and very little "actual". Cultural norms, particularly those established via the heavy advertising and other commercial promotions, are legion and often of the "there are devils" ilk.

Cugel

[Cyril Haearn]

GT for PM!

[Spinners]

Voted for him (of course!!) and delighted for him. But surely he should have worked on a few words... just in case!

[reohn2]

........But surely he should have worked on a few words... just in case!

He's a man of few words so I wasn't surprised,he does his talking with his legs