Caution on descents

For all discussions about this "lively" subject. All topics that are substantially about helmet usage will be moved here.
westofsouth
Posts: 186
Joined: 7 Nov 2009, 9:42am
Location: Bristol

Caution on descents

Post by westofsouth »

Here we go again......
While out on a group ride yesterday, two of us took a tumble on a very steep and greasy hill. Apart from other issues, both of us scraped and cracked our helmets. In the ambulance the paramedic commented:
"it was probably a good thing you were wearing helmets, unless you want to go back to being spoon fed by your mother again..."

Wonder what he meant.....
Mark R
Posts: 643
Joined: 13 Feb 2010, 7:41pm

Re: Caution on descents

Post by Mark R »

I had a front wheel blowout the other day on a steep decent. I was fully loaded with camping gear for a 4 day tour, fortunately my speed was such that I was able to stop the bike without crashing.

It made me think the how much faster I would have been going had I been wearing a helmet, maybe I wouldn't be sitting here writing about it. :roll:
gilesjuk
Posts: 3270
Joined: 17 Mar 2008, 10:10pm

Re: Caution on descents

Post by gilesjuk »

It's one advantage in going tubeless, tubeless road tyres are safer in the event of rapid pressure loss as they're so tight on the wheel that they won't come off.
stewartpratt
Posts: 2566
Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: Caution on descents

Post by stewartpratt »

Good to see that despite the budget cuts you can still get patronising comments on the NHS
irc
Posts: 5192
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 2:22pm
Location: glasgow

Re: Caution on descents

Post by irc »

As the title says caution on descents is what is required. Not helmets. I've never crashed on a descent because I match my speed to the prevailing conditions and if following another rider stay far enough back that were he to crash I could avoid hitting the fallen bike or rider.

But of course taking less care and relying on a plastic hat is a valid personal choice.
No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?
byegad
Posts: 3232
Joined: 3 Sep 2007, 9:44am

Re: Caution on descents

Post by byegad »

Lighting fuse............

And maybe if you hadn't worn a helmet it wouldn't have contacted the road. Either because you were going slower or because you effective head diameter would have been a lot less.



...stands back with fingers in ears! :D
"I thought of that while riding my bike." -Albert Einstein, on the Theory of Relativity

2007 ICE QNT
2008 Hase Kettwiesel AL27
2011 Catrike Trail
1951 engine
eileithyia
Posts: 8399
Joined: 31 Jan 2007, 6:46pm
Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)

Re: Caution on descents

Post by eileithyia »

byegad wrote:Lighting fuse............

And maybe if you hadn't worn a helmet it wouldn't have contacted the road. Either because you were going slower or because you effective head diameter would have been a lot less.



...stands back with fingers in ears! :D



+1

You don't say but was the crash due to sliding out on a greasy wet corner, generally my largest part hits the ground first in those sort of crashes, and dampens the impact of anything else, ie thigh/hip/derriere...... :lol:
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
alicej
Posts: 1301
Joined: 14 Oct 2010, 10:16pm
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire

Re: Caution on descents

Post by alicej »

Mark R wrote:It made me think the how much faster I would have been going had I been wearing a helmet

Why? Don't you base your speed on road conditions and your ability to stop? Your head isn't the only thing that might get hurt if you fall!
User avatar
Wildduck
Posts: 1161
Joined: 24 Oct 2007, 7:28pm
Location: Southampton

Re: Caution on descents

Post by Wildduck »

Better still, use a recumbent trike! :twisted:
Trice Q 2007 in inky blue (Quackers)
Bacchetta Corsa 26 ATT (The Mad Weeble)
Cube SL Team Cross (Rubberduckzilla)
Homebaked tourer (The Duck's Dream)
MTB mongrel (Harold the Flying Sheep)
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Caution on descents

Post by thirdcrank »

stewartpratt wrote:Good to see that despite the budget cuts you can still get patronising comments on the NHS


:lol:
byegad
Posts: 3232
Joined: 3 Sep 2007, 9:44am

Re: Caution on descents

Post by byegad »

Wildduck wrote:Better still, use a recumbent trike! :twisted:


+1 :D :D
"I thought of that while riding my bike." -Albert Einstein, on the Theory of Relativity

2007 ICE QNT
2008 Hase Kettwiesel AL27
2011 Catrike Trail
1951 engine
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Caution on descents

Post by [XAP]Bob »

byegad wrote:
Wildduck wrote:Better still, use a recumbent trike! :twisted:


+1 :D :D


Agreed - those precarious structures some people travel on look far too dangerous for me ;)
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: Caution on descents

Post by thelawnet »

alicej wrote:
Mark R wrote:It made me think the how much faster I would have been going had I been wearing a helmet

Why? Don't you base your speed on road conditions and your ability to stop? Your head isn't the only thing that might get hurt if you fall!


Ah but helmets are aero, doncha know :lol: Half the air resistance, twice the speed (er, check maths on this)..
Mark R
Posts: 643
Joined: 13 Feb 2010, 7:41pm

Re: Caution on descents

Post by Mark R »

alicej wrote:
Mark R wrote:It made me think the how much faster I would have been going had I been wearing a helmet

Why? Don't you base your speed on road conditions and your ability to stop? Your head isn't the only thing that might get hurt if you fall!


Thanks for the advice but I stand by my point. There are more ways to get hurt in a car crash other than going through the windscreen, but people still feel able to take more risks whilst wearing a seatbelt; I reckon its exactly the same for cycle hats.
stewartpratt
Posts: 2566
Joined: 27 Dec 2007, 5:12pm

Re: Caution on descents

Post by stewartpratt »

You were talking specifically about your own behaviour, though; not that of people in general. If you reckon that wearing a helmet would cause you to ride so much faster that a blowout would be lethal even with the protection of a helmet then that's not a comment about helmets, it's a comment about yourself. You have the power to ride as cautiously with a helmet as you would without. If you don't then that's your call, but it's not a helmet debate.
Post Reply