In Memoriam: Unsafe Headgear

I appreciate my helmet. I treat it with respect. I never leave for a ride without it. I replace it after a crash or even after helplessly watching it bound down the stairwell like some kind of deformed styrofoam slinky-dink after allowing it to slip from my grasp. (This activity also typically involves some assertions questioning what it does in its spare time, its origins of birth, and things of that nature.) Community member @chaz also recently suggested that, in accordance with motorcycle tradition, we ceremoniously cut the strap on the helmet and hang it in the VVorkshop in deference to the purpose it served us.

Suffice to say, I’m grateful for the advances technology offers us when it comes to protective headgear, because staying alive is in alignment with my strategy. But progress is the slayer of ritual and tradition, and I can’t help but look back longingly to the days when helmets were rarely worn and if they were, they consisted of thin strips of leather that, assuming it stayed on, would do little more than keep your cranium from coming apart after cracking it to bits on a cobblestone or some such object.

The hairnet was the coolest cranial accouterment ever designed, with the insulated cycling cap that fit over it being a close second. The cycling cap on its own was, of course, also a class piece of kit to be worn forwards, sideways, or backwards – made cooler only by perching a set of cycling-specific shades on top of it. A helmetless head saw hair slicked back by the wind as a byproduct of the V as riders raised their arms in triumph over the finish line. The bare noggin on the high mountain passes was a beacon of Purified Awesome, allowing us to see in all their glory the suffering faces of the riders as they moved sur la plaque over the summit.

Take a moment, fellow Velominati, to honor the Useless Headgear of our past.

[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/[email protected]/Headgear/”]

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175 Replies to “In Memoriam: Unsafe Headgear”

  1. @gaswepass

    Do we let @scaler911 weigh in on that last pic?

    Reasonably sure that not only is that a chicka, but I wouldn’t stand a chance.

  2. @frank

    On the subject of posting pics of women, here are some worthwhile shots. Note they’re both wearing clothes, and note that they’re way more badass than the other women posted recently.

    Hmm, yeah. True enough.

    @Oli
    Take that!

    @gaswepass
    I owe you one.

  3. @scaler911

    @Marcus

    @frank
    Look mum, no helmet!

    Ya, but it’s a fucking Trek.

    The bike looks way too small for her and those tires have gotta be some kind of rule violation too.

  4. @ChrisO

    Oh God, helmets – the bike forum equivalent of Godwin’s law.

    I’m genuinely sorry this has come up, so I’m just going to not come here for the next few days otherwise I will be tempted to argue with all the ‘believers’.

    Suffice to say I do not wear a helmet.

    There is little or no actual evidence of their benefit as a matter of statistics.

    Check the actual standard your helmet is tested to and see if it matches your riding. And the faster you ride the less effect – that’s physics.

    There is evidence of their harm in preventing cycling, which has greater effect on overall safety.

    They portray cycling as a dangerous activity and allow it to be marginalised.

    You wear them if you like. I’m not stopping you and I’m not commenting on your choice or what it says about you.

    But I really genuinely object to portraying people like me who make a different choice, especially one they have given some thought to, as stupid, ignorant and reckless.

    Whoever suggested making a Rule… the day that happens is the day I stop being a Velominati.

    See you in a few days.

    I would prefer to review your dissertation on riding ‘unhelmeted’ (thanx for the term Frank) if you have it readily available. This rant began by crying out “Oh, God… ahh… no helmets.” and God most likely discerns, “and he still knows not what he does.” If you could ride (starting now) for one year wearing a helmet, you then would have gained some merit. Otherwise, you are in a sense unchurched.

  5. Made it thru entirely — The Great Helmet War !! But I made an assumption that your battle was waged over which helmet performed best, cost most or least, and looked overly (Billy Crystal) FAN-TAS-TIC !! Of course the Velominati found other veins thru the discussion — bar setups, models, science, and iPhones ?? — everything that the Velominati usually like to discuss here. And all that you chose to discuss here became more useful than any discussion on whether to wear a helmet — or not (No Shakespeare) !! So let’s agree to wage another World Helmet War conflict over whatever a helmet should be and should not be. Not no helmet at all !! (South speak)

  6. @Vin’cenza

    Actually the ‘rant’ began ‘Oh god a helmet debate…’ quite a different thing.

    My point is, I see no point in debating the subject – I didn’t then and I don’t now.

    If you genuinely wish to find out more I can suggest the following:

    1. The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute – a pro-compulsion group. Among other things this site compares the various safety standards across Europe, US and Australia and gives details of the tests.
    http://www.bhsi.org/stdcomp.htm

    2. A fairly neutral UK-based industry group aimed at the general population. Has a good description of how helmets actually work and links to further reading.
    http://www.whycycle.co.uk/safety_and_security/cycling_helmets/

    3. The main anti-compulsion group. Worth reading their analyses of various pieces of research.
    http://www.cyclehelmets.org

    4. The inevitable Wikipedia entry. Worth noting the section on design intentions and standards.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet

    You may also wish to peruse the site of the UK’s Cyclists Touring Club, one of (if not the) oldest and largest cycling organisations in the world, and which adopts a pro-choice stance.

    For the record, if I may correct one assumption you seem to have made – that I don’t ever wear a helmet. As a matter of course I don’t, but there are situations where I do e.g. when I used to commute in London I would usually wear one, so I’m not coming at this from an ‘unchurched’ point of view.

    However I find your choice of religious terminology quite interesting given my view that helmets are an article of belief and beyond debate for most people.

    I may be nailing the Messiah to the cross but don’t worry I won’t be casting lots for your helmet ;-)

  7. @ChrisO

    @Vin’cenza

    Actually the ‘rant’ began ‘Oh god a helmet debate…’ quite a different thing.

    My point is, I see no point in debating the subject – I didn’t then and I don’t now.

    If you genuinely wish to find out more I can suggest the following:

    1. The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute – a pro-compulsion group. Among other things this site compares the various safety standards across Europe, US and Australia and gives details of the tests. http://www.bhsi.org/stdcomp.htm

    2. A fairly neutral UK-based industry group aimed at the general population. Has a good description of how helmets actually work and links to further reading. http://www.whycycle.co.uk/safety_and_security/cycling_helmets/

    3. The main anti-compulsion group. Worth reading their analyses of various pieces of research. http://www.cyclehelmets.org

    4. The inevitable Wikipedia entry. Worth noting the section on design intentions and standards. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet

    You may also wish to peruse the site of the UK’s Cyclists Touring Club, one of (if not the) oldest and largest cycling organisations in the world, and which adopts a pro-choice stance.

    For the record, if I may correct one assumption you seem to have made – that I don’t ever wear a helmet. As a matter of course I don’t, but there are situations where I do e.g. when I used to commute in London I would usually wear one, so I’m not coming at this from an ‘unchurched’ point of view.

    However I find your choice of religious terminology quite interesting given my view that helmets are an article of belief and beyond debate for most people.

    I may be nailing the Messiah to the cross but don’t worry I won’t be casting lots for your helmet ;-)

    4 points and no use (to me). Need links to BLOWOUT sales on hi-quality helmets. For those that believe and still look good believing.

  8. @Vin’cenza
    When I got my sterling I ordered it from the distributor. Msrp on it is 230. I found a coupon code via the google that was 50% off. Totally pro helmet for under 120? Tits!

  9. @RedRanger

    @xyxax
    Rudy Project is one of my teams sponsors, and while we get a better deal than that, I gotta say that they are really nice helmets (and glasses). Worth full retail, and a helluva deal if you can get ’em half off.
    I’m not just pimping my sponsor either. It’s just nice gear.

  10. @scaler911

    @RedRanger
    No, I’m really glad to get your personal recommendations on items like this, where there are a fuckzillion options and no time for due diligence. Much appreciated.

  11. @xyxax

    I have a Lazer I quite like, but it is just one of many options out there. The high-end Giros didn’t feel right, so I tried Lazer and it fit like a glove – I also like how they look. I have the Lazer O2, which is middle of the road I think in terms of their lineup, at around ~$100 retail.

  12. @mcsqueak
    Thanks man. That’s the helmet in your avatar? I like.
    I impulse-bought the RP right after posting, in white, a la toi.
    Next up: white shoes.
    Goal: looking like a Q-tip.

  13. nothing quite like the sound of your helmet breaking while it’s on your head to convince you to wear one the next time too.

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