[dreamtheater39]

Hi!

I just got a Giro helmet, it fits great.....and is awesome!

This is the first helmet i've ever got, and to be honest....it barely gives me any confidence of saving my head on a fall! It's so damn light, and looks quite flimsy too! Its just the top of my head which is protected with my sides and face still all open!

So realistically speaking guys, has the helmet made any difference in life when any of you took a fall?


cheers!

 

[JFalcetti]

I have never really had a bad fall in which my helmet saved me, not while mountain biking anyways.

But, while snowboarding, without my helmet I would either be a vegetable, or dead.

So I suppose I wear a helmet on my bike because of the same principal.

One less thing you have to worry about, ya know?

 

[JFalcetti]

And yes, it will save you. They are designed to be light an not so cumbersome. If you take a fall and slam your head hard enough, the idea is that you replace the helmet. A really hard skull splitting fall will compromise the integrity of the helmet and it may not protect as well the next time.

You can always replace helmets, but you only get one skull.

 

[gfourth]

I didn't think I was going to get one. I ended up actually buying one before I even got the bike because I had a friend pass away in a ski related accident and he used to always condone helmet usage. when I told all my friends I got a mtb the first thing they asked about was if I got a helmet. the first day I had my bike I bombed a gravel road at like 25-30 mph and figured it was good to have one.

But yeah I agree with you. feels like a piece of styrofoam on your head.

 

[Trail Traveler]

Yes. I took a high speed header back in 2000 that left quite a dent in the top of my helmet. At the very least, it saved me from a bad head injury. It may have saved my life.

 

[space]

My last major wreck, the one that convinced me to stop riding for about three years, my helmet probably saved me. I was out riding solo down a fast rocky fire road at about 30mph and I taco'd the rear wheel.

I broke my thumb, my big chain ring cut through my shoe into my foot, my shirt was shredded (my back was completely covered with road rash) and my arms/legs/hands where tore up. I also bounced my head off of a rock. My helmet was destroyed but I didn't even end up with a concussion.

So I ride with a helmet.

 

[006_007]

I love this topic because it allows me to direct people to another MTBR members experience:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=111566

 

[TimTimo]

wow, i didnt want to see that. thanks for posting it though!!

 

[CougarTrek]

No, a helmet is not guaranteed to save you.

You could snap your spinal column. You could whack your spleen on a rock and bleed out. You could hit your head so hard (or in just the right way) that even having a helmet on won't matter. You could be eaten by a mountain lion. You could...

Well, you get the point.

Helmets definitely help in most cases where hitting your head is involved.

Imagine your friends and family watching you die in a coma for seven months from an injury that according to the neurosurgeon that had to remove your entire skull to try to save you: "would have been minor head injuries at worst if he'd had a helmet on".

Yea, been there, not cool.

I'll believe that neurosurgeon over any armchair scientist that attempts to tell me there is no proof helmets work. I'd say live through it once, but I don't wish that experience on Satin himself.

 

[gumbymark]

I wear a helmet because even a 1 in 100 chance of surviving a hard hit to the head is infinitely better then 0 in 100.

 

[emtnate]

Only cougartrek and gumbymark seem to have realistic expectations of a helmet.

Yes, it could save you. That's enough for me.

I've taken hard hits and destroyed a helmet, I'm still here. I've also taken a few hard falls without a helmet. I wouldn't risk it again.

 

[PscyclePath]

A helmet (as well as gloves and glasses) is your last line of defense in the event you get into a crash situation. 95% of your protection is controlling your bike so as not to fall or run into anything, as well as positioning yourself on the roadway or trail so that other folks don't run over you, being aware of what's going on around you so that you don't get caught up in the mistakes of others, and being able to dodge or evade when others inevitably make mistakes.

Helmets are about 60% effective in preventing brain injury when you get into a crash, depending on whose statistics you believe. The most commonly cited number (about 30 years old) says 80% effective, more recent and comprehensive studies say 60%. Where they're most effective is in a relatively low speed crash where you fall off your bike, the most common accident. Should you get hit by a car or run over by a bus, they'll protect your brain, but usually it's the other vital parts that get hurt in those circumstances.

 

[EnglishT]

You should see my old Hex...

Took a highspeed crash on the side of the head (couple of years ago now), the size of the crack quite incredible.
I'm glad it took the sting out of that crash, I wouldnt have wanted my head to take all that.

 

[mjwood0]

Considering my head and brain are somewhat important to me, I figure the cost of a helmet is a small price to pay for another line of defense against injury. While I fully understand they aren't 100% effective, I figure that any added protection is a good start.

Then again, I also feel that wearing some form of glasses while riding is smart. I can't tell you the number of times just this year that a stone has come up and hit me in the face. However, we do have a lot of gravel type conditions around here so perhaps the need for glasses is more location specific.

 

[EnglishT]

Then again, I also feel that wearing some form of glasses while riding is smart. I can't tell you the number of times just this year that a stone has come up and hit me in the face. However, we do have a lot of gravel type conditions around here so perhaps the need for glasses is more location specific.

I tend to agree.

One of the best forms of defence is giving yourself the best possible chance of NOT crashing to begin with.

Glasses reduce the amount of small stones/mud etc that get splashed up near your eyes - a loss of control because you can't see is one of the worst ways to lose it. Especially when you consider that is most likely to happen when youre going FAST (faster wheelspeed throws more stuff up to eye level).

 

[Ken in KC]

References?

A helmet (as well as gloves and glasses) is your last line of defense in the event you get into a crash situation. 95% of your protection is controlling your bike so as not to fall or run into anything, as well as positioning yourself on the roadway or trail so that other folks don't run over you, being aware of what's going on around you so that you don't get caught up in the mistakes of others, and being able to dodge or evade when others inevitably make mistakes.

Helmets are about 60% effective in preventing brain injury when you get into a crash, depending on whose statistics you believe. The most commonly cited number (about 30 years old) says 80% effective, more recent and comprehensive studies say 60%. Where they're most effective is in a relatively low speed crash where you fall off your bike, the most common accident. Should you get hit by a car or run over by a bus, they'll protect your brain, but usually it's the other vital parts that get hurt in those circumstances.

Sources for your statistics? They seem rather specious to me.

 

[benzology]

Get a good helmet. Its a great investment.

One of my riding buddies lost control at a fairly slow speed and crashed head first into a tree.... he is a big guy and hit the tree pretty hard. Cracked his helmet and walked away with nothing but a headache.

Hard to tell if he sustained a minor brain injury as he is a big dumb knucklehead but i reckon it would have been quite serious if he had been without a hemet.

 

[lampy29]

I've been in a crash where my helmet saved me. I was going fast on a favorite trail that I know well (while trying out a new type of tire...) and I could feel myself losing control of the bike - a dangerous situation on handlebar wide trails. I knew I couldn't make the next turn, and saw an enormous log that came up to about my headtube 15 ft ahead. So I took aim at a nicely proportioned tree, leaned back and rammed it with my handlebar.

The force sent me forward and the next thing I know I'm holding on to the tree I just hit with both hands, my bike around my knees with a huge dent in the front of my helmet. If I wasn't wearing my helmet I would've been in a world of hurt. Amazingly the bike was fine. The paint was ripped off the left side of my headtube down to scratching the aluminum - no idea how that happened (the frame is fine - a nice sturdy Gary Fisher ). Thank God I was wearing my helmet. Regrettably the impact did knock my computer flying...

Also I'll only take my friends out if they agree to wear a helmet. Around the neighborhood I rarely do (only when heading out for a training ride).

 

[ThePinkBarron]

I have only been biking for a few years now but I have already split a helmet in 2. I had a massive headache for the rest of the day, and I was pretty bruised up from it, but I was able to walk out of the woods. Most helmet companies like Bell and Giro have a helmet replacement program where you send in your broken down crashed helmet and maybe a processing fee, and they send you a brand new helmet.

I wont ride without one, I am convinced that had I not been wearing a helmet I would have been very lucky to live after going over the bars head first to a tree.

 

[highdelll]

I wear my helmet because it looks badass - plus all my friends wear 'em and I don't want to be left out.
It has a sweet visor that tells the sun to piss off, as well as a vast array of speed holes!!
When I'm done riding, I get to sport this sick-ass tri-hawk - so dope!

Safety?? I'm invincible, so 'safety' is the last thing on my mind :thumbsup: