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@arnodegroote asks:
Q3. I asked about favourite gear a few weeks ago, and in the same category I just thought of another one to discuss!
What's the most overrated piece of gear in the cycling world?
@spacehobo @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite ding, ding, I think we have our winner. While I do believe they’re valuable, it’s also true they’re overrated
@dgodon @spacehobo @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite
There are two types of bicyclists in the world,: those whose helmet saved them from major injury, and the ones who haven't experienced it yet. #bikenite
@artemesia @dgodon @spacehobo @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite
#BikeNite
I really do despise the internet "bike helmet wars."
The ONLY time I ever got into an unfriendly conversation here on the Fediverse is when I imprecisely described the time a helmet almost certainly saved me from serious injury, and then someone grilled me on the details. It is something for which consensus is likely impossible IMHO.
@MartyCormack @dgodon @spacehobo @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite
There is a consensus among ER staff.
Many fediverse instances prohibit posting misinformation that can lead to physical harm. Dumping on bike helmets is an instance of that. #bikenite
@artemesia @dgodon @spacehobo @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite
#BikeNite
And my visit that time to the ER added a tiny bit to that consensus. It was the triage nurse who told me that my helmet, which she removed from my head, probably saved me from serious injury. I won't ever ride without one. But I have a cycling friend who will never wear one, ever.
@MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @spacehobo @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite #BikeNite my dad keeps a shattered helmet for show-and-tell. Head was unscathed! I figure, as long as I use my head for my job, it's worth the protection for me.
@iris @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @spacehobo @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite
Nobody will argue that bicycle helmets don't prevent head injuries in serious crashes where people hit their heads.
The debate is whether the likelihood of a serious head injury while cycling is significantly higher than other activities to warrant personal head protection.
Bicycle crashes aren't high on the list of activities that result in head injuries. Showering, walking and car crashes are at the top of the list and are activities that notably we don't consider require a helmet people to wear helmets.
If you slip in the shower and hit your head you'd be really happy to have been wearing your shower helmet.
@jessta @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @spacehobo @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite #BikeNite I see your point. Certainly there's some unusually strong focus on helmets specifically for cycling, so I see the argument that it's overemphasized, but I'm not convinced that's the same thing as unwarranted.
I guess my perspective boils down to, I currently have and use a helmet, it's deeply ingrained habit, and I'd prefer to keep it that way as long as it is more likely good for me than bad. I don't have such a system for walking or showering. If I did, and it wasn't a source of friction, I'd probably want to maintain that too. Since getting on my bike already involves unlocking and gearing up, wearing a helmet isn't a source of friction currently, so it makes sense for me.
I also think it makes sense for kids, where presumably the math works out a bit differently, and their parents who want to set a good example. Otherwise, once you're grown up you can make your own decisions.
@iris You could keep a helmet in your car and put it on when you put on your seat belt, that would have little friction and provide significant protection to your head in the case of a car crash
@jessta looking ridiculous would be the main point of friction there. If it was commonplace, I'd do it. I'm glad I don't feel ridiculous wearing a helmet on a bike.
Invite mountain bikers to this discussion... ;)
If I were to bike on flat and even ground and none of the drivers would not want kill me, I would ditch the helmet.
But road conditions in the place where I commute regurarly are bad, I already injured a bit myself and it could have been worse if I didn't wear a helmet. Drivers regularly push me to the side and I like having helmet in these situations.
There's infrastructure allowing to bike to the crucial parts of the city good enough to ditch helmets, but it is not enough for everyone, so I guess I would say be prepared for current conditions.
@realSiegfried @iris @jessta
@szpon @realSiegfried @jessta Really good points. I've done plenty of quick maneuvering to avoid cars, including once deliberately falling to my right to avoid getting sucked into logging truck wheels, and that definitely factors into my risk analysis.
Garden @iris @szpon @realSiegfried @jessta
I have a hard-hat hanging in the workshop. Do I use it as often as building site regulations would require? Of course not. Regulations attempt to cover all and compromise themselves as a result.
Of course we should all be free to wear cycling helmets wherever we feel vulnerable or they're needed. Novices should even be encouraged to wear them until they have a better developed risk awareness.
But carte-blanche advocacy on them? Ha!
@szpon @iris @jessta I fully agree. I always wear a helmet myself. Infrastructure can highly avoid that cars will/want to kill me, though.
My boss were from the Netherlands. He always made jokes, when he saw me wearing a helmet in Germany. I said: "If I were cycling your infrastructure, I would often ride without, but here I feel that I better do wear a helmet!"
Nevertheless, I am a bit sick of these helmet discussions.
@szpon I agree! Just last week I've seen a guy going head on into the car door, because of a classic SMIDSY. He had a helmet! Luckily, because he hit head first. He was like 10m in front of me...
I personally only ride road/gravel bicycles (even for commuting) and I find helmets cool and stylish. Every time I see someone on a road bike with no helmet they look like they stole the bike.
@realSiegfried @iris @jessta A3 In the Netherlands, I overheard my cousin’s wife discuss the merits of helmets. She named a few people she knew that had died due to a lack of helmets on bikes - and she volunteered at the local hospital. When I’m there, it’s 50:50 whether I wear one or not: rural and bike lanes, I’m more inclined to risk it. Interestingly, Dutch road cyclists there definitely do wear helmets. They are going a lot faster than the other cyclists, though. #bikenite
@PamelaSchure @iris @jessta ... I am that tourist that wears a helmet. 
@realSiegfried @iris @jessta We wore helmets, too on our slow bike tour through the Netherlands. When I’m staying with a cousin in the middle of nowhere and borrow a random bike, I’m more flexible.
@jessta @iris @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @spacehobo @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite there is also debate about why helmets' proven impact protection doesn't result in significantly reduced population head injury rates with increased helmet use. I suspect helmets increase the crash rate in several ways, because I crash less since I stopped using them.
@mjr @jessta @iris @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite This is also a problem when discussing the topic with the general public, because people think of "danger" as some quality that goes up or down, when actually it's more multivariate than that. At the very least we balance risk against danger.
Head injuries are dramatic, but extremely rare on bicycles. They're actually more common when riding in cars. If we did risk/danger analysis for motoring we'd probably start by advocating something more like what rally car drivers wear/use during races, and ignore people cycling to school or down to the shops. Perhaps sport racing and stunt cycling would still find benefit from helmets, but we've seen from the Netherlands data that reducing risk through good street design is far more effective than trying to mitigate consequences on the victims' bodies themselves.
@spacehobo @mjr @jessta @iris @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite I completely agree that good street design does eliminate the need for helmets. But those of us that live in the US and we do not have good street design due to car brained design so I wear a helmet.
@InkySchwartz but you know most CPSC helmets are for falls and not collisions, don't you? It's a problem that many don't realise that. @spacehobo @jessta @iris @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite
@mjr @InkySchwartz @spacehobo @jessta @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite tangent pet peeve activated... when I broke my foot in an accident (I hit a buckle in the pavement that stopped my front wheel and went over my handlebars) the medical people I interacted with later kept reframing that I "fell off my bike," and I maintain that is NOT an accurate description of events.
@mjr @spacehobo @jessta @iris @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite Well according to the CSPC, though I have not checked if this has been updated/"improved" by the current yahoo administration, says bot falls and crashes.
@InkySchwartz crashes, not collisions. Helmet manuals are clearer on that, as it's the maker that would be punished for false advertising. @spacehobo @jessta @iris @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite
@mjr @spacehobo @jessta @iris @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite Can you please show me this?
@iris @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite I am really sorry to hear that your father had such a violent collision, and I am happy to hear that there was no visible head injury.
But the "shattered helmet as show-and-tell" is a common phenomenon that gives a misleading impression of how bicycle helmets work. They are commonly constructed from dense polystyrene foam, similar in grade to the material used as packing for printers and other heavy objects for shipping. This material absorbs energy through compression up and until the point when it fails and breaks into pieces.
So a shattered helmet is a failed helmet. The moment it cracked, it failed to protect the wearer any further. The real evidence of energy absorbed is the shapes and types of dents in the plastic foam. A proper "this helmet saved my life" demonstration would be an intact hat with a dramatic impression in the polystyrene!
I appreciate that this sort of anecdote is more of an emotional storytelling device, keeping a memento of a traumatic memory (or possibly to supplant missing memories: one of the effects helmets can have is the replacement of surface injury such as abrasions or skull fractures with concussion and brain damage: https://youtu.be/druJDI6hiiY). But I think that people who advocate for helmet wearing at all times should be honest about what makes a good helmet, a bad helmet, a failed helmet, or a helmet that successfully protected someone from injury.
@spacehobo @MartyCormack @artemesia @dgodon @ascentale @arnodegroote @bikenite Also good points. I should have specified, the plastic layer was shattered, and the foam did its job, if my own memory is accurate. But I'll think more carefully about it the next time I see a helmet post-crash. Thanks for the detailed explanation and kind tone.