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Helmets – personal experience

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  • August 12, 2019 at 4:30 pm #30013
    Xenophon2

    So, I’m not about to proselytize or seek to convert people, this is what I experienced today: (disclosure:  I’ve always been a sort of fan of helmets though never a fanatic, today made me a firm believer though).

    Returning home, gusts of wind, rain starting in earnest.  I took a roundabout that I’ve taken a thousand times before.  Only difference was that I’d forgotten that just last saturday I had installed a brand new set of Hutchinson sector 28 mm tyres, brilliant on dry pavement, murder on wet, especially when new.

    I entered the roundabout (right hand side driving over here) at 32 kmph (about 20 mph I guess) and halfway through, felt the rear wheel slide from under me.  I hit the pavement on my left hip and elbow, then my head just ‘bounced’ on the tarmac.  Or rather, my Bontrager specter wavecell helmet did.  Picked myself  up almost immediately, saw the proverbial stars and felt a bit dizzy.  A police patrol that saw everything pulled over to ask if I needed medical assistance, which I declined.  Rode home (no real damage to the bike) at a much lower speed than before.

    End result:

    –  Bit of a headache

    – 20 cm of road rash on my left hip (kudos to Assos:  not a nick on their Cento evo bib, under it my skin was virtually gone).  Spraying desinfectant on that was an interesting experience.   Guess I’ll be black and blue tomorrow.

    – Sore elbow

    – Sore ribs

    The helmet shows very little sign of impact on the exterior, just some dimples.  On the interior however, the wavecell structure cracked/deformed in the temporal region.  I guess that’s what it’s designed to do.  I’ll have to get a new one but don’t doubt for a second that without it I’d have been visiting the casualty ward, riding in a ambulance rather than on my bike.  So for me it’s helmets all the way from now on.

    For the doubting Thomases (I understand):  yes, I have pics but unfortunately I don’t see how to upload them here.  If you can explain how I should do so I’ll gladly post them.

     

     

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  • August 13, 2019 at 8:27 am #948235
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    hawkinspeter
    Organon wrote:
    I’ll take the acedotal evidence every time because strangely enough we don’t here from the people hitting their heads sans helmet and then saying ‘I was fine.’ Please come forward if this is you.

    Please don’t conflate being pro-helmet to being pro-complusion, I still ride to the shop was just a cap.

    I’ve come off only a handful of times and as I remember I was wearing a helmet for most of those, but I’ve never hit my head coming off a bike. Most of my offs were due to extra slippery conditions (the old CheeseGrater bridge, black ice etc) though I did a nice one whilst borrowing my wife’s (then girlfriend) bike and had the chain jump off as I was doing some serious acceleration away from lights – managed to tear a little chunk from a finger. I’ve done a couple of sideways slides into vehicles with no damage sustained and twice had a vehicle clip my rear wheel though neither time did I come off.

    As a slight aside, I’ve come off hundreds of times whilst riding a unicycle (never wore any protection whilst riding one) and only once had any injury – I was experimenting with toe-clips and as I ducked underneath an overhanging willow tree, I hit the lamppost that was hiding there. I didn’t get my feet free to do a controlled “step-off”, so I ended up taking the fall onto my outstretched hand which did something nasty to my wrist – couldn’t take any weight on it for a couple of months.

    On the flip side, I’ve hit overhanging branches with my helmet a couple of times and was glad of the protection, though that would have just been an ‘ow’ rather than a concussion etc.

    So in conclusion, I don’t see much benefit in a helmet though I always wear one now (the wife gets anxious if I don’t). Gloves, on the other hand, have definitely saved me some skin.

    August 13, 2019 at 8:07 am #948233
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    burtthebike
    Organon wrote:
    There are quite a few rabid anti-helmet commentators around here.

    I’ll take the acedotal evidence every time because strangely enough we don’t here from the people hitting their heads sans helmet and then saying ‘I was fine.’ Please come forward if this is you.

    There are quite a few anti-lies, fairy tales and assumption commentators around here, but I haven’t seen any anti-helmet commentators, rabid or otherwise.

    There’s a very good reason no sensible person takes anecdotes as reliable evidence, because it isn’t.  Reliable evidence is gathered over time, from the best available raw data, like over twenty five years of helmet laws in Australia and New Zealand.

    I’ve posted several times about when I’ve fallen off and been knocked off a number of times, all without a helmet, and I’m still alive, and some of them included hitting my head, and there are many others who have posted exactly the same experience, but you state categorically that “we don’t here (sic) from” them.

    You might like to check the mirror next time you accuse other people of being rabid.

    August 13, 2019 at 5:42 am #948231
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    Boatsie

    hawkinspeter wrote:

    hawkinspeter wrote:

    That does sound like your helmet did its job correctly. I’m always more suspicious when the helmet cracks in two as that makes me think that it didn’t absorb much impact energy whereas others will claim it shows how effective the helmet was.

    It’s easy to upload a picture if you comment on this thread – you should see the “browse” and “upload” buttons underneath your comment. It’s trickier to upload a picture when you start a forum thread – it is possible, but can’t remember the details.

    Years ago at Kangarilla, SA: a steep mountain trail. To walk up was to use front brake and the bicycle as a pulling stick. To come down was fast.
    My mates helmet cracked through, 3 seperate pieces. He was knocked out. He’d headbutted a Pine tree at a fair pace. The Pine trees there are ladders of about 1 foot branch lengths. He was also extremely happy to have been wearing expensive ballistic grade lense sun glasses. Nothing permanent. He’s quite a nerd.
    I’m still impressed with 30clicks around a corner.. That’s about all I get on flat road straights. đŸ™‚

    August 12, 2019 at 9:33 pm #948229
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    giff77

    Years ago I came off my bike

    Years ago I came off my bike while negotiating a tight turn when my toe caught the front wheel due to me not concentrating. Gave my head a right auld crack on the road and had a cracker of an egg for a few days. No concussion though. I did badly stave my wrist  which made work challenging due to the amount of lifting I need to do. Cycling was challenging as well to say the least. 

    Speaking of concussions. I actually wound up with more of these on the rugby pitch. 

    I would raise the question though of would your head have made contact if it didn’t have the extra circumference?  Apparently are bodies are pretty good at protecting themselves naturally without our having to put any thought into it.  

    Glad the OP is grand though. But more importantly. Is the bike ok?

    August 12, 2019 at 8:55 pm #948227
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    Anonymous
    Organon wrote:
    …

    I’ll take the acedotal evidence every time because strangely enough we don’t here from the people hitting their heads sans helmet and then saying ‘I was fine.’ Please come forward if this is you.

    …

    ok. I’ve had two cycling incidents as an adult.

    In the first one nobody else was involved, and I fell off my bike while negotiating a kerb. I bumped my head on the pavement quite hard, no damage. I also broke my wrist.

    In the second one I rode fast into a car turning right across me – I had priority. I went flying over the handlebars, bounced off the car and landed on the pavement. I bumped my head quite hard, no damage. I went to hospital because my arm hurt; they told me it was broken. Then two weeks later they told me it wasn’t.

    glad the OP is ok.

     

    August 12, 2019 at 8:36 pm #948225
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    Organon

    Ah, the old magic injury

    Ah, the old magic injury transferring bibshorts.

    There are quite a few rabid anti-helmet commentators around here. Frankly this is exactly what they are designed for. I don’t care how any amount of taking care or ‘riding to conditions’ can prepare you for every eventuality. Sure a helmet won’t protect you from a left hook from a white Audi, but it did it’s job here. I’ve only scraped my helmet on the road on a little chute and still have the same one, I’ve never been concussed, but it still saved me some lost hair and face rash, who knows what, and that was caused by pigeon shit on a wet underpass.

    I’ll take the acedotal evidence every time because strangely enough we don’t here from the people hitting their heads sans helmet and then saying ‘I was fine.’ Please come forward if this is you.

    Please don’t conflate being pro-helmet to being pro-complusion, I still ride to the shop was just a cap. 

    Ride on Xenophon2.

    August 12, 2019 at 6:59 pm #948223
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    Xenophon2

    second pic

    second pic

    August 12, 2019 at 6:58 pm #948221
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    Xenophon2
    hawkinspeter wrote:
    That does sound like your helmet did its job correctly. I’m always more suspicious when the helmet cracks in two as that makes me think that it didn’t absorb much impact energy whereas others will claim it shows how effective the helmet was.

    It’s easy to upload a picture if you comment on this thread – you should see the “browse” and “upload” buttons underneath your comment. It’s trickier to upload a picture when you start a forum thread – it is possible, but can’t remember the details.

     

    This should work then, first pic is the exterior of the helmet, next to nothing visible.  Colour’s off, the helmet is really fluo yellow.  Second is the interior, I’ve circled the affected part.  You’ll have to take my word for the road rash though.

     

     

    August 12, 2019 at 6:54 pm #948219
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    JohnnyRemo

    Or maybe your head wouldn’t

    Or maybe your head wouldn’t have hit the  ground, – it  was the much bigger dimensions of your helmet that caused the impact.

    August 12, 2019 at 6:48 pm #948217
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    hawkinspeter

    That does sound like your

    That does sound like your helmet did its job correctly. I’m always more suspicious when the helmet cracks in two as that makes me think that it didn’t absorb much impact energy whereas others will claim it shows how effective the helmet was.

    It’s easy to upload a picture if you comment on this thread – you should see the “browse” and “upload” buttons underneath your comment. It’s trickier to upload a picture when you start a forum thread – it is possible, but can’t remember the details.

    August 12, 2019 at 6:35 pm #948215
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    Boatsie

    Glad you’re ok. I went skate
    Glad you’re ok. I went skate boarding once or twice. Lost to speed wobbles while hanging onto an XT Falcons rear bumper bar. Mates thought I was dead.. Didn’t bleed much but had more than a tennis ball size growth on my head.. Correction. Bled heaps; non compound.
    Nowadays I’m lost in an argument. Apparently mini vs have a 7-8 mm pull.. They should work.. Yet I think I’m going to go back to flatbars, I love brakes, I have 3 brakes on my fixie. đŸ™‚

    Yeah, a big fan of helmets too bro.. And a big fan of free medicine.. Sugar. (Although useless with many because they chow everyday.)
    Dropbars are so comfy though..

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