Can somebody explain bicycle helmets to me?

[Jamie Buxton]

I come from the motorsports world, where helmets are taken very seriously. They cover the entire head, including the face. Between the shape and the substantial strap, they're nearly impossible to knock off your head. In contrast, bike helmets leave uncovered the sides of the head, the face, and the back. They seem to offer protection only to the top of the head. And they're perched on the top of the head, strapped on by teeny little straps, so they're easy to knock off. All in all, they seem to be of little use.

[glenn bradley]

Light use helmets are indeed sophisticated bump-caps. I'm no zealot but, having one on versus not can be the difference between a tumble and a trip to the ER. Anyone riding at speeds or under conditions (mountain biking) more extreme than toodling around the neighborhood would be prudent in wearing proper safety equipment.

[Jamie Buxton]

Light use helmets are indeed sophisticated bump-caps.

I'm in favor of protecting my noggin too. But how can a standard bike helmet protect your face, or the side of your head?

[Mike Henderson]

I used to do a lot of bike riding. When you go fast on a bike, you will go down. I had one accident that broke the helmet but I was able to continue on (after straightening the wheel). The bicycle helmet is a tradeoff between weight and protection. It seems to do the job, but probably does not give as full of protection as a motorcycle helmet. Of course, you generally don't go as fast on a bicycle - except downhills, where a number of bicycle racers have lost their lives.

Mike

[Brian Kent]

As a teenager my son did a face-plant off his bike, onto the concrete. He has mild scars on his chin when the gravel dug in. The front of his helmet was worn down about an inch. He was sold forever on wearing a bike helmet, as he tried to imagine what his face would look like without the helmet.

[Brian Elfert]

Bicycle helmets aren't designed to prevent face injuries. They are designed to prevent serious head or brain injury.

The problem is weight. Bicycle helmets used to have a ridgid plastic shell with foam inserts inside sorta like a motorcycle helmet. The weight was so much that nobody would wear one. I bought one and wore it a few times before I quit wearing it. New bicycle helmets came out that are molded styrofoam with a simple sprayed on plastic coating or a thin layer of plastic to protect the foam. I wouldn't ride a bike without one now.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I've always wondered about this. If you look at the Wikipedia article about bike helmets, there are some interesting arguments against using them. Specifically, it's argued that wearing a helmet increases the "height" of your head, which if you were to land in a certain way, acts as a lever arm on your neck. The additional height added by the helmet increases the travel distance. I wonder how the number of spinal cord injuries compares to the number of people who fracture-their-skull-to-death (that is really the only protection that a helmet is supposed to confer, right?)

[Chris Kennedy]

When I was a kid, we had more substantial helmets than the ones you see know -- rigid outer shell, came down over your ears and a much stronger strap. They were heavy, hot, and generally uncomfortable. Not certain I mis it. But they did use to make them much more akin to a motorcycle helmet. I think it was a Pro-Ride or something like that.

Cheers,

Chris

[John Coloccia]

Bicyclists, even club riders, typically ride at 17MPH or thereabouts...maybe 20MPH. Most casual riders go about 10MPH. There's no reason in the world to build a bike helmet the same as one designed to absorb a 65MPH+ fall. Most people bike in about the same range of speeds that we typically run at. What kind of helmet would be appropriate for running?

It's more important for bicyclists because our manner of falling makes it very easy to bump our heads very badly....imagine falling head first onto a sharp rock....ouch. That just doesn't much happen running where we naturally seem to be able to fall in reasonable ways. I don't worry about my face biking, though, any more than I would walking or running.

Anyhow, bike helmets are not constructed anything like motorcycle helmets, baseball helmets, paintball helmets or fighter pilot helmets because they are designed for a completely different set of circumstances (as are all helmets). The only thing they superficially share in common is a general goal of protecting your noggin.

[Charlie Reals]

When I was a kid, we had more substantial helmets than the ones you see know -- rigid outer shell, came down over your ears and a much stronger strap. They were heavy, hot, and generally uncomfortable. Not certain I mis it. But they did use to make them much more akin to a motorcycle helmet. I think it was a Pro-Ride or something like that.

Cheers,

Chris
When I was a kid onlly football players wore helmets lol

[Jim Koepke]

I feel it was a bicycle helmet that saved my life.

I was riding and hit by a truck. I was still in pretty bad shape.

At the time this happened to me, 1972, the bike helmets were leather straps filled with foam. It was better than nothing.

The problem with most helmets for cyclists is the heat builds up real fast.

Most but not all of the injuries that still cause me pain after 30 - 50 years were inflicted while bicycle riding.

jtk

[Chris Kennedy]

When I was a kid onlly football players wore helmets lol

You didn't have my parents . . . my mother thought we were made of glass.

[Seth Dolcourt]

A bike helmet fits by covering the forehead, nearly down to the eye brows, because the best likelihood in a crash is over-the-bars, where you will have an uncontrollable desire to head-butt the ground. Having a front wheel wash out and hitting the ground with the side of your head is in play, too. If it needs to be said, never re-use a crashed helmet.

The lightweight bike helmets are more than better than not wearing a helmet at all. A good 25+ years have gone into the development of the beer cooler helmet, they are engineered safety devices. I politely disagree with any suggestion to refrain from wearing one.

I recently bought a $40 Specialized helmet, it is the most comfortable helmet I've worn up to this point. Front vents let air flow to the forehead, a nice adjusting system gets the fit just right, and I've not heard one whit of the train-whistle effect of wind through the main vents as I speed down a hill.

As in woodworking, the greatest safety device is knowing the limits of yourself and your equipment; the helmet is a tactile reminder that there are circumstances beyond your control.

Happy riding! It's a fun thing to do.

[John Pratt]

To a layman, at first glance it would seem that the riving knife on your tablesaw has little value, but as woodworkers we know better. I raced bicycles for years and a helmet is a must for safety. It is not a matter of IF you crash, but WHEN you crash. Helmets are now mandated for pro-level cyclists which has really pushed for better design and weight reduction. Newer helmets can actually keep your head cooler (because of the distribution of air vents) than not wearing a helmet. As previously stated, most crashes happen at slower speeds than those on a motorized bike. That's why there are different safety standards. Most head-to-ground contact while cycling is glancing although direct contact sometimes happens. It is these glancing blows that the helmet most protects you. Without a helmet these blows could be very severe or even fatal. The number one injury in cycling is a broken collarbone not head injury. Helmet technology and the way that most people "exit" the bike when falling or crashing play a large factor in this. There are times when a more robust helmet is called for such as during extreme off road cycling (like the Redbull challenges). At those times, cyclists do wear motorcycle style helmets.

[Brian Kent]

John, I am watching for the collarbone helmet.

[Gordon Eyre]

I have ridden several thousand miles on a road bike and even though I have had a few accidents I have never hit my head. That said, I was riding with my wife at a relatively slow speed when she fit something in the road and flipped off her bike striking the back of her head. Thank goodness she had her helmet on and was not seriously injured. Her helmet did crack in the back where she hit and we were both happy that I had insisted she wear her helmet before we went riding. The way most kids wear their helmet they serve little if any protection but when worn properly they serve a very useful purpose.

If I had to ride with a motorcycle helmet on I would choose not to ride.

[Ole Anderson]

My wife and I were just riding less than 10 mph along a walk, when she rode over a palm frond which threw her off, with her head missing a fire hydrant by mere inches. She was wearing a helmet which she doesn't like to wear, but I insist. Two more inches and the helmet, with her head in it, would have hit the immovable object.

[Eric DeSilva]

If you look at downhill mountain bike riders, you'll see a lot of them in protective gear that looks a lot like off road motorcycle gear--full helmets, hard chest/arm guards. Most cross country mountain bike riders don't, however, because of the weight of the gear when you are pedaling *up* the hills... It has always been my understanding, however, that in the single impact context, lightweight bike helmets are pretty good.

[Mike Cutler]

I think I feel qualified to give some insight. 25 years of competetive racing, bicycles, and over 200,000 miles ridden.

Helmets are required for all USCF and UCI sanctioned races in the US. In addition NORBA and Triathlon's ruling bodies require helmets during competition.
Even in Europe thery're being mandated, with exemptions for specific races under specific conditions. If you have to race in one, you need to train in one.
They are also part of an "inspection" and if not worn properly can result in sanctions, fines, and disqualifications.

A bicycle helmet is designed to protect the rider from initial contact, in specific scenarios. Most importantly it protects the side of the head and the brain stem.
The "typical" accident is to be sent over the handlebars at an angle resulting in the shoulder taking the initial contact and breaking the collar bone, a very common cycling accident. The helmet contacts next and pretty much destroys itself. However, most helmets are styrofoam with a nylon net formed into them to act as rebar to keep the helmet together, although some big chunks do come off. The nature of the fall actually aids in pushing the helmet back and not off your noggin.

Two of mine used to be on display in a local bike shop. One was a low speed crash at about 26 mph, and the second was a result of being forced off the road and into a drainage culvert during a race on a descent. Speed on that one was about 35-40 mph when I left the road. The weeds, busshes and dirt I rode through probably saved my skin too. They definitely demonstrated that a helmet might at least be a good idea to consider. They were pretty much destroyed.

As for speed on a bike. A trained cyclist will easily be moving at 25+ mph on a flat road, discounting headwinds. I've hit 63 mph on the descent from the backside of Smugglers Notch in Vermont. This is the cause of car/bike incidents. Most folks in cars don't realize just how fast you can travel on a bike and misjudge the speed.

I've taken out a Mazda 626 and an S-10 on my bike, but those are different stories. ;)

[Jason Roehl]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that bicycle helmets are designed to be a sacrificial energy dump. That is, they are designed to crack, break or shatter to disperse the impact energy rather than allow your head to absorb all of that energy, thereby lessening the chance of a severe head or brain injury. In essence, the designers do everything possible to increase the impulse time and reduce the peak of that impulse.

A very short, peaked impulse is why Dale Earnhardt died while many of his contemporaries survived much more spectacular crashes involving many spins and flips. He hit the wall hard, absorbing a lot of energy in a very short amount of time, whereas the multiple rolls in other crashes slowly bleed off energy and are more survivable.

[Ron Bontz]

Thanks for posting Mike. I am a cyclist that works as a medic and unfortunately have seen too many car vs. cyclist or head vs. curbs. Even I, as a novice can get up to speeds of 25mph+. 30 with a good tail wind. Just can't stay there long. Yep, I'm old. Helmets are single impact protection only. End of story. I don't think twice about spending $100.00 on a good helmet. Went down a couple of years ago. Hit the side of my head (helmet). But got up, all bloody, and rode to where I needed. Note to motorist: You may not like cyclist for whatever reason. But please don't throw things at 55mph at cyclist or in the way on the shoulder of the roads. I was almost hit 3 times this past summer. Gives a whole new meaning to defensive driving(riding). Next summer I am going to have a camera mounted. Evidence!

[Bill Cunningham]

Not that I'm against helmets, I'm all for them. But, I do find it weird.. I grew up in the 50's, there were no such things as helmets for anything but football. I never knew, or even heard of a kid suffering more than a few bumps and bruises. I went off a curb once when I was 9, and while the front wheel was in the air it fell off, and the forks hit the pavement and I went head over heels. No head damage
(at least none that I can remember);).
What I do remember is being driven home with my bike, by a delivery man in a Banana truck..
The missing injuries among every one I knew, was very much like the peanut butter allergies everyone seems to know about today but were unknown in the 50's.. Perhaps everyone allergic to peanuts, died off before school age!

[Charlie Reals]

Not that I'm against helmets, I'm all for them. But, I do find it weird.. I grew up in the 50's, there were no such things as helmets for anything but football. I never knew, or even heard of a kid suffering more than a few bumps and bruises. I went off a curb once when I was 9, and while the front wheel was in the air it fell off, and the forks hit the pavement and I went head over heels. No head damage
(at least none that I can remember);).
What I do remember is being driven home with my bike, by a delivery man in a Banana truck..
The missing injuries among every one I knew, was very much like the peanut butter allergies everyone seems to know about today but were unknown in the 50's.. Perhaps everyone allergic to peanuts, died off before school age!
Same here Bill, i got a lot of bruises and lost a tooth to falling of a bike. None of which would have been saved by a helmet. Different world, wasn't ruled by psycho babble idiots. Helmets are fine but I'm glad I was born and raised when a kid could be a kid without "the law" trying to protect me.

[John Coloccia]

Every year, 100-200 children die on bikes....the majority from brain injuries.

10's of thousands suffer less severe brain injuries (not head injuries, which is much higher...actual brain injuries).

Maybe we should have a letter campaign to comfort the parents:



Dear Mr. and Mrs. (insert name),

Sorry to hear about (child's name) terrible accident. We are all saddened by his (circle one) death/head trauma. We would just like to let you know that we're there for you when you need us, and for you to take strength and comfort knowing that you never gave in and became a psycho babble idiot.


I don't really care what anyone else does. Personally, I often don't wear a helmet when I'm motorcycling (though I do when I'm biking). I surely would never be disrespectful towards those who choose otherwise, though.

[Jason Roehl]

Based on the bicycle crashes I suffered in my youth, I would have fared better wearing leather and a cup, but I can barely see the scars, and I have three kids, so no permanent damage was done. I wear a bicycle helmet when I ride long distances now (when I leave the neighborhood, basically), and I wear a motorcycle helmet most of the time when I ride that, unless one is not available, then I go and don't worry about it.

[Charles Wiggins]

When I was a kid onlly football players wore helmets lol

When I was a kid, only sissies wore helmets. That's what we told ourselves anyway. I think mostly it was economics. They cost money and we didn't have a lot. Even skateboarding, we had gloves, and knee and elbow pads, but no helmets. Parents weren't so safety-conscious back then. I can remember going down the road, as a 3-4 year old, standing up in the front seat of the Plymouth. Mom would throw the arm up across me when she'd have to stop short for all the good it would have done in a wreck.

Things are so different now with our kids. Child safety seats, seat belts, always in the back seat, helmets. I wouldn't want to go back to the old ways, but I wonder if all of this insulation makes them more afraid to take risks or less afraid of the dangers that they've never had to face.

[John Coloccia]

When I was a kid, only sissies wore helmets. That's what we told ourselves anyway. I think mostly it was economics. They cost money and we didn't have a lot. Even skateboarding, we had gloves, and knee and elbow pads, but no helmets. Parents weren't so safety-conscious back then. I can remember going down the road, as a 3-4 year old, standing up in the front seat of the Plymouth. Mom would throw the arm up across me when she'd have to stop short for all the good it would have done in a wreck.

Things are so different now with our kids. Child safety seats, seat belts, always in the back seat, helmets. I wouldn't want to go back to the old ways, but I wonder if all of this insulation makes them more afraid to take risks or less afraid of the dangers that they've never had to face.

Some interesting studies suggest that as helmet use has gone up, there hasn't been a significant decrease in total injuries (not necessarily head injuries). It suggests that helmet use promotes more reckless bicycling.

[Charlie Reals]

When I was a kid, only sissies wore helmets. That's what we told ourselves anyway. I think mostly it was economics. They cost money and we didn't have a lot.
Even skateboarding, we had gloves, and knee and elbow pads, but no helmets. Parents weren't so safety-conscious back then. I can remember going down the road, as a 3-4 year old, standing up in the front seat of the Plymouth. Mom would throw the arm up across me when she'd have to stop short for all the good it would have done in a wreck.

Things are so different now with our kids. Child safety seats, seat belts, always in the back seat, helmets. I wouldn't want to go back to the old ways, but I wonder if all of this insulation makes them more afraid to take risks or less afraid of the dangers that they've never had to face.

Skate boards were years away when I was a kid.10 speed bikes weren't even common. I don't have a problem with safety devices for kids. It's the mandatory usage laws. Oh wait, I guess I helped invent the skateboard with a 2x4 and a very old pair of street skates. You know lol, the ones that clamped onto your shoes.

[Kevin Barnett]

Had to correct you on a few things...
Rode across the country one year and raced for several - so I have some insight.

If the helmet is exposing the back, or forehead, it's on wrong. Also, those teeny little straps are strong enough to rip your head off. The nylon in the straps is very strong. The buckles aren't terribly strong, but strong enough to stay on your head during a wreck. As for the light "styrofoam" aspect, it's actually very suitable for a single impact protection. Wreck and toss. If you want one of those heavy Bell helmets from the early '80s, I have one I can ship you. Be forewarned, it's hot, uncomfortable, and heavy. Neck muscle get tired on their own without the extra 3 or 4 pounds.

I will take my bicycle helmeted wreck and not your motorcycle helmted wreck any day of the week.

[Eric Gustafson]

Some interesting studies suggest that as helmet use has gone up, there hasn't been a significant decrease in total injuries (not necessarily head injuries). It suggests that helmet use promotes more reckless bicycling.

Perhaps. Or does it suggest that more people are riding? Or more people are trail riding? Or more distance riding? My point is there could be many factors.

[Ole Anderson]

Not so sure it applies to helmetless bicycle riders (to stay on topic), but we all know that emergency room people refer to helmetless motorcycle riders as organ donors. And there is a certain truth to that in that most organ donors are a result of severe brain trauma.

[Bill Cunningham]

Every year, 100-200 children die on bikes....the majority from brain injuries.

10's of thousands suffer less severe brain injuries

The bicycles kids are riding today, would have been taken off the road by the police back in the 50's and 60's..
No fenders, no chain guards, no reflectors, no horn or other warning device. I often see kids wobbling towards me on the wrong side of the road. Apparently they don't tell kids which side of the road to ride a bike on any more, or even the basic road safety rules. I often have to blow my horn at kids riding up the middle of the road paying very little attention to where their going, and any of their surroundings. Perhaps this is why kids today need helmets, and maybe a coat of bubble wrap to prevent injuries. Schools 'used' to educate kids on bike safety, the cops used to visit the schools and inspect bicycles. If they passed the inspection, they got a sticker, if they didn't, those bikes were not allowed to be ridden to school until they did. Bike safety starts with education, and the kids today get very little if any, before their parents stick them on one, and push them out into traffic.. What's inside the head inside the helmet, is whats going to keep a kid safe. Not the helmet alone.

[Susan Kahler]

I rode my mule last September and grabbed my Specialized bike helmet at the last minute. Thank God I did. He was startled by a car--I came off and landed head first on an asphalt road, suffering a severe concussion. If I did not have the helmet on I am sure I would have died or become a vegetable--with the helmet, I made a full recovery. There was gravel embedded in the helmet. It was a well-made helmet, in my opinion, and was light and breathable. It withstood about a nine-foot fall straight down onto asphalt. It is still on the shelf in plain view to remind me of the absolute importance of wearing a helmet.

I am also a motorcyclist and a race car driver, and fully advocate buying the best helmet you can in any situation. Motorcycle helmets may be heavy and seem encumbering, but they are designed for the factors of a powered-vehicle crash. They are single-impact helmets. Race helmets are rated for multiple impacts, since your head will likely contact the roll bar(s) and possibly the ground, among other things.

The best advice I ever got about helmets was when I started racing and was on a budget. I asked a friend who had been racing for many years how much he thought I should spend on a helmet and if I could get away cheaply. His reply: "It depends. What value do you place upon your head?"

[Jim Becker]

Regardless of the type of protective helmet or intended purpose (sport, etc), safety helmets protect you by failing in a controlled fashion. For each specific use, they are designed for the expected conditions. In general, for the many types of helmets that have "rigid" foam padding inside, that padding will crush at an expected rate and absorbe a significant portion of the energy that otherwise would be encountered by the skull and the delicate stuff inside of it. The formulation of the foam and of the more rigid outer shell is based on actual use conditions...hence, the reason that general purpose bike helmets are relatively light weight and provide coverage the way they do.

My equestrian riding helmet is designed to absorb more energy than a bike helmet would because the nature of a fall off a horse has more potential for higher energy factors...more height, for example, as well as higher speeds are more violent action during certain activities. It also covers more of my noggin than a bike helmet. Motorcycle helmets are designed with the same principles...affording protection at higher speeds and often providing more coverage, not just for "Crash" reasons, but also to help protect from material thrown up by other vehicles or contact with stationary objects like branches that could do damage to one's face pretty quickly.

A lot of folks also miss the fact that a helmet should also be replaced after an accident where it comes in contact with the ground or other hard objects. Even if it looks ok, there may be microscopic damage that will compromise the hat's ability to protect fully the next time around. Remember, helmets are designed to fail at a controlled rate and that may mean a "partial" failure that doesn't leave a visible mark.


John, I am watching for the collarbone helmet.

Brian, something new to the horsie world are protective vests that inflate like an air bag when the rider becomes "disconnected" with his/her horse during certain types of cross-country jumping events. The automatic inflation protects both the rib cage and the collar bone area from impact and potential crushing by a 1200 lb animal falling on them. And yes, they do work!
-----

Susan brings up a good point, too...protective head gear shouldn't be purchased at the "Dollar Store". Quality is important and fit is even more important. If it doesn't fit both the size and shape of one's head, it's not going to work to full potential in an accident. That doesn't mean that "most expensive" is best, however. Great quality is available for reasonable investments if you shop thoughtfully.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Car racing helmets are rated for multiple "impacts". Motorcycle and kart racing helmets are not rated for multiple impacts without re-inspection by the manufacturer. The difference lies in what type of impact is expected. In car racing there is usually a second layer of protection (the car body or windshield) and the range of motion is limited due to seatblets and harnesses. In motorcycle and kart racing the range of motion and type of impact (what you hit) are not limited and there is no other from of protection. The same limitations apply to bicycle helmets (unlimited range of motion, primary protection, etc.). You could probably have a bicycle helmet reinspected but I doubt it would be cost effective.

What amazes me about motorcycle helmets are the "plastic shelled" ones. Competition (motorcycle, kart, car racing) helmet shells are fiberglass and have a snell rating. When dropped they don't bounce. When I shopped for my last helmet I knocked a helmet off the shelf. It hit the tile floor and bounced up nearly to my waist! The shell was plastic. You could see the seem where the two halves were 'welded' together. If your body is going to bounce that high, what is going to happen to your head while wearing it? The helmet cost ~$50. The one I purchased for racing was $299. Just remember $5 helmet for a $5 head.