Helmets
Thread started by
Nagaredama at 12.1.06 - 3:05 pm
Went for my first Midnight Ridazz ride the other week and it rocked. However, I was really surprised by the number of people not wearing helmets. There were a couple of crashes and from what I hear someone ended up with a concussion. It is fair to assume she wasn't wearing a helmet. When I drive I always wear a seatbelt, when getting down with ladies always strap a condom on.
Of course we all look way cooler without a helmet. I've been known to get a nasty head of helmet hair. What happens when you bump your head on the curb and end up in county a drooling vegetable? Yeah, you'll look rad then.
Can someone explain the no helmet thing to me?
Peace
StrayBullet
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Is this troll bait? I believe this topic has been covered within numerous other online discussion groups, do we need to re-hash it here as well?
The Ridazz are generally adults and form their own opinions on matters. If you feel the right thing to do is to wear a helmet, then do it. This is not sunday school.
dave12.1.06 - 4:05 pm
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Hardly troll bait. Maybe its because I rid mountain bikes or have seen people hit by cars on bikes but a helmet is a no brainer.
Considering MRidazz break numerous traffic laws wearing a helmet lends the rid a tad more legitimacy. Espcially if the "No Rida Left Behind" credo is to be taken seriously. God helps them who help themselves.
Nagaredama12.1.06 - 4:44 pm
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....
ride on dude...
dave12.1.06 - 4:53 pm
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Midnight Ridazz definitely encourages all to wear helmets as per our front page verbage and bicycle safety links. but ultimately we're all individuals and don't all think or ride alike.. I've been riding with a helmet lately that's for sure.... I know too many people who've gone down in the last 6 months. Save ya melon.
Roadblock12.1.06 - 7:13 pm
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There is no law requiring adult cyclists in California to wear a helmet. Freedom of choice is something that should not be questioned, especially while we still have it.
Jeronimo12.5.06 - 2:36 pm
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I'm still trying to find myself one of the old "hairnet" type helmets the racers used to wear, I need somethign I can cram in my bag easier.
FuzzBeast12.5.06 - 3:44 pm
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you mean a leather skull holder? they were proven to be pretty useless...but they held your head together, so the medical people could identify you...
but here's one on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-LEATHER-BICYCLE-CYCLING-HELMET-N-O-S-RACING_W0QQitemZ260059888591QQihZ016QQcategoryZ56197QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
adrian12.5.06 - 4:11 pm
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yeah, still better than nothing, although as of recently the efficacy of helmets in anything greater than a fall to the ground has been brought into question, something about a maximum impact they can absorb being much much less than an impact with a car, whih is the most common type of fatal or disfiguring bicycle accident.
FuzzBeast12.5.06 - 4:40 pm
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Fuzz...I do some road cycling also...and I've crashed at about 18 mph with a road helmet...I hit the side of my head...and my helmet did work...without it, who knows??
I haven't been hit by a car, so I can't tell you...(I've only been hit by a car while skateboarding)
adrian12.5.06 - 4:56 pm
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I crashed last night and I was glad I had a helmet. Helmets are a good thing but the choice to whether you should wear one or not is better. There an old adage in motorcycling that applies to cycling as well "Dress for the fall, not ride"
sc_nomad12.5.06 - 5:30 pm
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"Dress for the fall, not ride"
man oh man that is a great phrase... I wish I had a cool looking helmet. but after yesterday crashes... I'm starting to care less about cool and more aboiut living.
Roadblock12.5.06 - 5:33 pm
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Dressing to crash may be an admission of lack of skill to some. If one was to dress to crash do you think they may be more apt to take more chances as well? When it comes down to it, a helmet is not going to save your life if an idiot in a motor vehicle squishes you. For the most part, a helmet is designed merely to save us from our own ineptitude on a bicycle.
I want one of these:
Jeronimo12.5.06 - 5:39 pm
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More times than not, it is usually other factors not one's own bike skills that causes a crash. How many times has the cardinal rule (no sudden moves) of group riding been broken, it happens all the time. While this can be attributed to the lack of several people in group. They can and will eventually take you out.
Don't get me wrong I like having the choice. As a scooterist and motorcyclist our right to choose was taken away in 1992, we been fighting to get it back ever since.
sc_nomad12.5.06 - 6:17 pm
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here is another twist to throw into the pot.... Lets say a motorist hit a mortorcylist or cyclist who isnt wearing a helmet and that cyclist dies of head injuries..... lets just theorize that the cyclist's life would have been saved if he was wearing a helmet? is it fair for the motorist to then be charged with vehicular manslaughter? that would be a tough situation no?
Roadblock12.5.06 - 6:22 pm
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yeah, my main quandry is that while I spend a lot of time on my bike, I also spend a lot of time on trains/subways/light-rail/busses and such with my bike as well (I do live out in the ass end of the county) it's bad enough having to deal with a bag and a bike and all, a helmet is just somehting else, and it doesnt sit all thta well in my bag without being a major pain in my back, so something collapsable would be better, I mean, I've got a pretty good helmet (Bell Sweep R) it's just more of a "what to do with it the rest of the time" kind of problem.
FuzzBeast12.5.06 - 9:23 pm
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I've actually been keeping an eye on helmet prices for a while now, I'll most likely have a new one by early next year to replace my 6 yr old bucket.
What irks me is people attempting to save me from myself.
dave12.6.06 - 9:54 am
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Fuzz...
you can hook your helmet onto your bike...instead of stashing it in your bag...you can usually plop it on the stem of the bike or on the seat...
and if you lock up your bike anywhere, just put the lock through the ear hoops of your helmet and you can leave it with the bike (try to keep the helmet out of direct sunlight and heat though)
just a suggestion...
adrian12.6.06 - 12:19 pm
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roadblock,
That's a good one. I'd say that the motorist, if at fault, should be charged for hitting a non-helmet wearing cyclist over 18. But if the person he hit was a non-helmet wearing cyclist uner 18 or a riding a motorcycle then manslaughter would be a tough one.
11hzrobot12.6.06 - 5:09 pm
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I'm glad someone recognized that the helmet debate will Never Say Die.
Jeronimo12.8.06 - 1:00 pm
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Considering that it's physically impossible for a thin styrofoam cycling helmet to save one from serious or fatal head injury I think I'll continue to ride helmetless on the road. I wear a helmet while on my mtn bike but I don't harbor any illusions that it's going to save my life. I wear it off-road to prevent the many possible minor injuries that can happen from low hanging branches and crashing more often.
toweliesbong12.8.06 - 4:45 pm
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happened to find this interesting entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet#The_helmet_debate
11hzrobot12.10.06 - 1:34 pm
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Because of my own ineptitude, I fall down alot ...therefore a helmet I will wear.
420LaHaRR12.12.06 - 10:07 pm
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safer than I you are, 420LaHaRR
may the force be with you!
spiraldemon12.14.06 - 2:15 pm
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I think it's all the smoking AND drinking you do while riding, johnny420
spiraldemon12.14.06 - 2:57 pm
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helmets can be cool sometimes
ivanbee12.14.06 - 4:48 pm
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Hey spiraldemon,
Can you please post that song again? It's needed here too.
Joe Borfo12.14.06 - 10:15 pm
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i came across these yesterday
these LED helmets cost $14,000 each...
http://www.ledeffects.com/installations/helmets.htm
j3r3my12.15.06 - 11:36 am
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because it isnt a law to wear a bicycle helmet a motorist who hits a bicyclist with a helmet or without a helmet and kills them should be charged with vehicular or involuntary manslaughter in the state of California.
another thing I took a look at is that in the United States about 700 cyclists die a year in accidents, where as about 42,000 die in automobile accidents.
though statistics arent available on how many people are riding bicycles and how far they are riding.
studiodrome12.15.06 - 12:56 pm
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Then ummm...Spiraldemon should have indicated that smokin and trippin is all that 420LaHaRR do...and ya gotta believe me
Jeronimo12.15.06 - 10:04 pm
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i never wear a helmet and am starting to feel like i should but theyre expensive who wants to hook me up
HANDBONE04.23.08 - 2:15 pm
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what about condoms? Should I wear that too, do you wear a condom?
sexy04.23.08 - 2:17 pm
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i need a seatbelt on my bike, to keep it from flying off on the freeway.
sexy04.23.08 - 2:19 pm
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they dont have condoms big enough for my head
HANDBONE04.23.08 - 2:20 pm
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On slower more cruising MR rides I don't but where I live you have to have a helmet to ride, not options there. I'm cool with that because I cruise at about 20 MPH and it's only one lane, not looking to get hit, but I plan on it happening and I prepare for it. Like it was said above I dress for the fall, years of motorcycle riding has taught me that.
dolamyte04.23.08 - 2:21 pm
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Not to mention they serve their purpose when someone throws something that might hit your head.
bentstrider04.23.08 - 3:10 pm
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I think we should line all roads with rubber walls... and cars should have rubber door, air bumpers and outside airbags... drivers and passengers should be strapped into their cars as well as nascar drivers... cyclists/motorcyclists should also be required to wear full body crash suits... ALL speed limits should be limited to 20 miles per hour. We'll all be safer for it. Automobile collisions deaths will plunder! Also, cross walks should have barricades, like trains do, when peds cross the road.. LETS SAVE LIVES!!! Let's make laws! Let's regulate ourselves from our own inconsideration and stupidity! and and and and... safety safety regulatory safety....... etc.
neverclever04.23.08 - 3:26 pm
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SC NOMAD HAS
EPIC FAIL
REASON FOR EPIC FAILURE
CONSTANT JUSTIFICATION OF STATEMENTS ABOUT CYCLING WITH REFERENCE TO SCOOTERS AND MOTORCYCLES
EPIC FAIL ADVISES
DONT BE A NERD
EPIC FAIL04.23.08 - 3:46 pm
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EPIC FAIL here is another reference to motorcycles.
The first five years I lived in LA I did not own a car. I rode around in a motorcycle. Then the DEMOCRATS sucking up to the Insurance Industry passed the mandatory helmet law which made me sell my motorcycle and buy a car (need motorized transpo for my work). I just couldn't use my motorcycle with a helmet around my head.
- It impeded my hearing and vision.
- It made me angry to wear government mandated attire.
I see some people fall and they always fall on their face. They should wear helmets.
I have fallen many times and I always land on my wrist. I've never hit my head. It's just the way I fall.
Also I've always paid for my doctor bills and have insurance so don't give me the crap about if I get hurt it will cost you as a taxpayer.
marino04.23.08 - 6:51 pm
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MARINO IS RIGHT LETS ALL FUCK THE SYSTEM !
HANDBONE04.23.08 - 6:57 pm
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HADBONE IS RIGHT. LETS FUCK.
marino04.23.08 - 8:45 pm
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I didn't wear a helmet for a long time, but I have been for the last few years. Took a spill in NY last month - slipped on a slippery curb and hit my head on the pavement. hard. I was very glad to be wearing my helmet. no doubt I would have been hurt more than just a bit of whiplash and a bruised hip.
you might never need a helmet and I hope you don't, but if you ever do, I hope you're wearing one.
redridinghood04.24.08 - 3:38 am
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it's never a bad idea to wear a helmet. this is why i never do.
indigis04.24.08 - 7:01 am
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I have cracked three helmets in falls and run-ins with cars in the last 4 years. I got headaches twice, but no cracked heads.
I always wear a helmet. I am too old to be concerened with looking hip.
Creative Thing04.24.08 - 8:43 am
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EPIC FAIL = EPIC FAIL
No opinion is valids until he agrees.
I like having a choice.
sc_nomad04.24.08 - 9:33 am
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