# Evangelical helmet nazis - Are you one?



## gideon (May 24, 2007)

Hi there,
I am fairly new to mtbr (but not to hardcore riding, doing it about 27 years)
From the brief reading/interacting I've done, it's seems a lot of people on here like to bark at others for not wearing helmets.
I think that they feel they are looking out, but in reality they are just telling ppl how to live.

Personally, I am not for or against helmets or body protection in general
When doing dh/freeride, I wear a full face
When riding park, protec
When riding dirt/street sometimes yes/sometimes no, depends if I am pushing my limits
Road biking, yes a lightweight one
XC, well I dont do that too much these days, but prolly lightweight one too

What I am against is ppl telling others what to do, it's their life to live or loose, not yours
I am sure I'll get some nasty responses, but whatevs, I said what I had to say

PS: I never wear spandex as an outer layer


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## njhcx4xlife (Jan 9, 2006)

gideon said:


> PS: I never wear spandex as an outer layer


that should be the only thing that matters...


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## Qfactor03 (Dec 8, 2005)

*Well, I assume you are an adult and...*

can make your own decisions.

I make a point of saying something to those without helmets on our local trails that specifically have rules about wearing them. Too many people have invested too many hours into getting approval from local and state governments and put thousands of man hours into building mountain bike specific trails in our parks to run the risk of losing everything due to a lawsuit from someone who suffered an "unnecessary" head injury because they refuse to wear a helmet.

If it is not an area that requires that you wear a helmet, it's your choice, go ahead and sport your bare melon. I'd rather not take my chances.


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## Ojai Bicyclist (Nov 4, 2005)

I'm with you. I know it's a good idea, and I usually do wear one, but if I don't feel like it it's not others' place to tell me what to do.


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## presslab (Jan 5, 2007)

If someone has enough cash to pay for their medical care and ride in their back yard I don't give a crap if they wear a helmet. As soon as they become a burden on society that's where I draw the line.

When they split their head open on public trails they make us responsible bikers look bad, and when they go into the ER with no money they take money out of my pocket.


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## trevorh (Jul 31, 2006)

its your head not mine


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## Speedub.Nate (Dec 31, 2003)

I'm not an "evangelical helmet nazi", but I'll offer up this post by MTBR member Sliceback. You can read his post linked below, but to cut to the quick, he went out for a quick ride around his neighborhood and ended up looking like this.

Now I'm not suggesting I wear my helmet every single moment I'm on my bike, nor am I suggesting this is the likely result of a helmetless ride. However, the potential is always there.

As with most other choices we make on a daily basis, we take calculated risks constantly. Part of that "calculation" is knowing the potential outcomes.

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


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## robscomputer (Mar 21, 2005)

When I rode bmx, I never once wore a helmet in 15 years of riding. I was never a crazy rider but I also never had any major head injuries just chin scrapes. Actually my worse injury was to my wrist from a dirt bike crash which still borthers me 20 years later. 

Now getting back into riding I'm wearning a helmet, shin/knee, gloves almost everytime I ride. I just feel a tad bit safer and more confident. I try to use gear that doesn't feel like it's on, the helmet is very light, shin/knee guards are vented and light so I don't get bothered by them.

As for other people wearing gear. It's totally up to the person themselves. I posted some pictures of a street ride in San Jose and only 3 people out of 10 were wearing helmets. There was a MTBR person commented about the lack of helmets but in the end it's up to the rider.


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## Kyoseki (Oct 26, 2004)

Unfortunately not everyone who rides without a helmet is willing to take the consequences of doing so.

It only takes one jackass who ****s himself up and then sues the park to get everyone else's fun shut down.


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## gideon (May 24, 2007)

i guess it's the self righteousness of telling ppl how to live that I find most bothersome
not helmet wearing/not wearing per se

as far as posting gnarly pics of stuff, BTDT, being the picture taker and takee
https://media.putfile.com/gidlegbreak


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## HTR4EVR (Jun 15, 2007)

Is not my problem if you don't wear a helmet...


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## Kyoseki (Oct 26, 2004)

HTR4EVR said:


> Is not my problem if you don't wear a helmet...


It is if they decide to sue.

With all the litigious nonsense in this country, we end up with nanny state laws not to protect people from themselves, but to protect the general public from the lawsuits of these idiots.

Believe me, I'm all in favor of repealing helmet and even seat belt laws, I think you're an idiot if you ride or drive without them, but I respect your right to be an idiot


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## HTR4EVR (Jun 15, 2007)

Kyoseki said:



> It is if they decide to sue.
> 
> With all the litigious nonsense in this country, we end up with nanny state laws not to protect people from themselves, but to protect the general public from the lawsuits of these idiots.
> 
> Believe me, I'm all in favor of repealing helmet and even seat belt laws, I think you're an idiot if you ride or drive without them, but I respect your right to be an idiot


I always wear my helmet... It is not my problem if you don't wear a helmet ...


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## gideon (May 24, 2007)

Kyoseki said:


> I think you're an idiot if you ride or drive without them, but I respect your right to be an idiot


thanks for the personal attack


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## Kyoseki (Oct 26, 2004)

gideon said:


> thanks for the personal attack


That's not how I meant it, sorry.

A lot of people consider most of us idiots for riding mountain bikes at the speeds we hit, I get blank stares from people who think I'm crazy for riding a motorcycle in LA, everyone does things that other people think are foolish or crazy, but it's their absolute right to do so.

The only reason those rights get infringed on is because their results have a negative impact on the public at large, like jackasses who get hurt and then launch lawsuits at people who weren't doing anything wrong (my friend is involved in just such a lawsuit).

If they tightened up the rules on frivolous litigation, I'd be even more in favor of repealing helmet and seatbelt laws because like you, I resent the intrusion into my own right to be stupid


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## pavement_hurts (May 13, 2006)

i don't usually harp on someone for not wearing a helmet. to me, it's the same as telling someone how to raise their kid. i may see it differently, but it's not my place to butt in. one thing i've always wondered about is helmet laws. i don't think we have one in texas and i don't know what states do, but do most people even follow them? do people not wear helmets in defiance?


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## Jareth (Jul 28, 2006)

Personally, I always wear a helmet.
If I ride with someone on anything fairly technical I usually try to make the point that they should wear a helmet. I really don't want to have to deal with them injuring themselves and then me having deal with it. Its not that I won't help someone who is injured, it is that they could have avoided the problem entirely or partially by wearing a helmet.

Bottom line, if you don't wear a helmet for yourself wear a helmet for the people around you.


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## Muggsly (Nov 9, 2005)

I will never infringe on your rights to do whatever it is you want to do but in return I ask the same respect. And if you get hurt on a public trail because you didn't wear your helmet and I lose the right to ride there because they shut it down then you are infringing on my rights.


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## SnowMongoose (Feb 18, 2007)

I always wear one...
and wont ride with someone who doesn't.
I don't care if you don't value your life enough to wear a helmet, but at the point that my ass has to drag you out of the woods/Djs/whatever after you are too concussed (or worse) to ride out, that's my business.


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## presslab (Jan 5, 2007)

I thought I'd share what I saw on this evening's ride... On the dirt road to the trail there was a guy who came around a corner and his front wheel came out of the dropouts. Forgot to tighten the skewer or somesuch. Anyway he had blood all over his head and said he couldn't remember a thing about the accident. Also he pissed himself when he blacked out, piss all over under him. No helmet. I stopped and gave him some tylenol, cut into about 10 mins of my ride time. Then I passed by an ambulance and a fire truck (which I pay for with my tax dollars) coming to take this guy away.


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## mace2 (May 3, 2004)

i always wear a helmet... if some random person doens't wanna wear one, fine, that's their choice... but if it's someone i'm gonna ride with it's not okay. i don't want to be the one to see them split their head open because they're being foolish. i wouldn't ride with a person not wearing a helmet.


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

i always wear one just because looking cool isn't worth the possible outcome to me personally..i did a nice face plant today and was happy i had it on for my head's sake, as i have been in other similar instances. it doesn't look cool or impress the ladies when you wear one but to me it's worth it. that said i don't care what other people do. it's their life, their choice.


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## robscomputer (Mar 21, 2005)

I wonder for the people who don't ride with non-helmet riders, are you talking about cross country, dirt jumping, or urban stuff? Seems like street riding, I rarely see helmets and if you didn't ride with anyone who didn't wear a helmet, not many people to ride with.


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## crakbot (Nov 5, 2005)

If there are kids around at the jumps/park with no helmets I will mention in an easy going way they should wear a helmet. As for adults, they are free to do whatever they want IMHO.


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## Kyoseki (Oct 26, 2004)

robscomputer said:


> I wonder for the people who don't ride with non-helmet riders, are you talking about cross country, dirt jumping, or urban stuff? Seems like street riding, I rarely see helmets and if you didn't ride with anyone who didn't wear a helmet, not many people to ride with.


The guy I ride xc with seems to have a tendency to go over the bars at least once per ride (blamed it on his brakes last time ), I'm guilty of that as well, we both ride with helmets (actually, can anyone recommend a lightweight full face helmet for xc? something a lot more lightweight than the motocross style downhill lids?).

When I go out sport riding on the motorcycle, I'll wear full leathers and won't ride with anyone who doesn't have full coverage (skin coverage, not insurance, but medical couldn't hurt )

Hell, even during my lunchtime rides which are mostly pretty quiet residential streets (and yes, a few miles on the venice bike path, don't hate me ) I'll still ride in a helmet - I've heard of one guy who was killed at a complete standstill - fell over doing a trackstand, cracked his head open on a curb.

Helmets only really protect in the fall to ground and at lower speeds, if you plow into something at 40mph, your biggest survival factor is sheer dumb luck, helmet or no helmet, you're probably going to get hurt, very badly, but seriously, who wants to remembered as that guy who died at under 5mph?

That said, mountain biking is a sport, it carries an inherent level of risk. Not choosing to minimize that risk is essentially foolish, but it's every adult's God given right to put themselves at risk.


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## mace2 (May 3, 2004)

robscomputer said:


> I wonder for the people who don't ride with non-helmet riders, are you talking about cross country, dirt jumping, or urban stuff? Seems like street riding, I rarely see helmets and if you didn't ride with anyone who didn't wear a helmet, not many people to ride with.


pretty much everything. maybe let it slide for XC if it's mellow. i'm not sure about where you live, but where i am everyone wears a helmet (van, bc).


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## Kyoseki (Oct 26, 2004)

mace2 said:


> pretty much everything. maybe let it slide for XC if it's mellow. i'm not sure about where you live, but where i am everyone wears a helmet (van, bc).


It's the same here (socal), everyone out on the trails wears helmets, it's actually the law for kids, so you don't tend to feel like a dork for wearing one


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## yoginasser (Sep 14, 2006)

*Last time I checked,our health care system was not socialized...*



presslab said:


> As soon as they become a burden on society that's where I draw the line... and when they go into the ER with no money they take money out of my pocket.


The ER won`t treat them if they don`t have money or insurance so it won`t cost you a thing if the do have an injury.See,no reason to bark at people


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## yoginasser (Sep 14, 2006)

I think that most of us are missing the point of this thread.I don`t believe that anyone here thinks that using a helmet is not wise so discussing the benefits of helmets is not so important IMO.The point is that do you attack someone verbally for doing something that is unwise or do you just keep quiet?Although I don't think that it is helpful to just bite ones own tongue on the matter,I do believe that we can find a more respectful way for us to remind each other to wear a helmet rather than using the issue of wearing a helmet as an excuse to ventilate hostility and aggression via barking at cyclists who don`t wear them.Otherwise we risk the possibility people rejecting the logic of choosing to wear a helmet simply for the sake of defying of an illegitimate attempt at authority and control or aggression.


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## Joules (Oct 12, 2005)

yoginasser said:


> The ER won`t treat them if they don`t have money or insurance so it won`t cost you a thing if the do have an injury.See,no reason to bark at people


you might want to check again. An ER will never, by law, ask if you can pay before giving treatment in a life threatening case. When you can't pay, the hospital eats the cost, meaning they pass it on to those that can pay.

I look at it this way: I've got a lot invested in my brain, and it's pretty valuable - worth protecting. Some people, I guess their brains are not worth the price of a helmet. When someone gives me $hit for wearing a helmet it just proves my point: that my brain is worth more than some others. Its a great thing believing you are smarter than everyone: it's pretty easy to ignore other opinions


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## yoginasser (Sep 14, 2006)

Joules said:


> > you might want to check again. An ER will never, by law, ask if you can pay before giving treatment in a life threatening case. When you can't pay, the hospital eats the cost, meaning they pass it on to those that can pay.
> 
> 
> Thank you for bringing that to my attention,so does that mean that it passes the cost on to tax payers or does the hospital pay for it out of their profits?
> ...


I`m glad that you value your brain and that you have invested a great deal into it and are protecting it wisely.But from what you have said,it seems to me as though you think that you are smarter than everyone (well,at least me),as you have neglected to use your nice valuable brain to read my next post further down the thread(or so it appears).I say this because I feel that you have ignored my opinion in that post,is this true Joules?Please tell me if it is not,your opinion is important to me
BTW:Who gives you $hit about wearing a helmet?


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## Joules (Oct 12, 2005)

yoginasser said:


> I`m glad that you value your brain and that you have invested a great deal into it and are protecting it wisely.But from what you have said,it seems to me as though you think that you are smarter than everyone (well,at least me),as you have neglected to use your nice valuable brain to read my next post further down the thread(or so it appears).I say this because I feel that you have ignored my opinion in that post,is this true Joules?Please tell me if it is not,your opinion is important to me
> BTW:Who gives you $hit about wearing a helmet?


uh, it's a joke. I don't really think I'm smarter than everyone, nor do I care if people wear helmets or not, for the most part. The only exception is I will not ride with someone who doesn't. The reason for this is that I will not go through the hassle of getting medical attention for someone who could have easily prevented their injuries. Purely selfish there - frankly if I found someone with their brain hanging out of their head on the side of the trail with no helmet-remains in sight, I'd consider leaving them there (not really. don't take $hit too literal 

about the ER visit: hospitals don't make profits. They have insurance against non paying patients, but ultimately it's those that do pay, either out of pocket or through their insurance, or with medicare that pay the insurance premium. Just saying, if someone hurts themselves and can't afford treatment, those that can, do end up paying for it. It's so indirect, and non-insured, non-helmeted bike riders are such a small percentage of the population, I doubt the effect is even worth mentioning - this isn't like... seatbelts for example (most everyone drives or rides in cars, most drivers will be involved in an accident sometime in their lives).


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

I personally always wear one to jump. The skateparks are too small to be worth the bother here, the local BMX track requires us to wear one(not a problem, I always bring it), on street rides where I know there will be a lot of coming and going in traffic I wear it also.


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## yoginasser (Sep 14, 2006)

Thanks for explaining.


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## geoffss (Mar 23, 2004)

My friend would have snapped his neck if he wasnt wearing his full-face. He crashed coming up short on a big double deep in the woods that he was very comfortable on. Did a flip and landed on his back/shoulders and flipped over. Chin piece hitting his chest saved his neck from folding in half from the impact.

Sadly his back took most of the impact and he ended up completely shattering a vertebre. Hes now off a bike (or anything for that matter) for at least 1.5 years.

blah blah blah, I always wear a helmet and my friends and I dont ride with anyone if they are not wearing a helmet. I laugh at idiots on the trails without helmets, but I dont lecture them.

Its your body to either cherish or fcuk up, do whatever you want.


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## Tarekith (Mar 9, 2005)

Getting into mountain biking a few years ago, I was floored at the number of helmet nazi’s out there. Not angered, just really surprised at how vehemently people were about it, and in the weirdest situations (to me anyway). I grew up skateboarding, doing freestyle bmx, and was even a sponsored snowboarder for a few years. Never wore a helmet unless we were at a park that required it, riding the vert ramps, or learning something new where you knew hitting your noggin was a very real possibility. We weren’t shunning helmets then, it just wasn’t even something myself or any of my friends saw a need for back then. We knew to tuck and protect our heads instinctively in a fall, just seemed like second nature (not using this to defend lack of helmet wearing, so please don’t bother giving me counter-arguments, I know them all already). I’d do the hugest airs at icy Midwest ski resorts, never once even thought about a helmet, just wasn’t something you did then. We were doing dangerous activities, and getting hurt is always a factor when you push yourself. We accepted that, and progressed slowly to minimize the risk.

Fast forward many years, and I decide to get into mountain biking to augment my marathon training (I don’t wear a helmet while running either, even though I’ve tripped on roots and could have taken some nasty tumbles down hills doing that too). Most of my riding was on totally flat 8 foot wide crushed limestone trails with soft grassy edges. Pure endurance XC kind of riding, and to me, almost the same as walking in terms of potential for injury. Needless to say I was completely surprised when I was stopped one day by another MTB rider, and literally berated for not having a helmet on. I mean, this guy was flabbergasted and getting all worked up about it. I just figured he was some weirdo, and continued on my way after telling the guy to relax before he exploded.

Then I was invited to a group ride at another park, similar type of terrain. My buddy came with me, and both of us kept getting dirty looks from some of the other riders. Thought maybe it was a newbie thing or something, but eventually someone else explained to us they weren’t happy we didn’t have helmets on. My friend and I started laughing, we were like “for this?”. I mean, to us this was simple stuff, wearing a helmet just seemed overkill. Actually it didn’t really seem like anything at the time, because neither of us ever thought it was needed, so didn’t even enter into our thoughts. Anyway, we obviously were not fitting in with this cliché of riders anyway (mostly spandex single speeders, which is all well and good, but obviously not the type of crowd we were meant for), so we just went our own way and had fun by ourselves.

This type of situation kept getting repeated when we’d meet up with other groups of riders, and before long we eventually realized that sometime during the last 10 years, helmets were just sort of expected if you were going to be on a bike, regardless of the terrain. I mean, again watching the videos and seeing North Shore riding, or back flips in the park stuff, it made sense to wear a helmet to us, but not for what we considered flat XC rides on perfectly groomed trails. Or riding to the store real quick, that sort of thing.

Eventually we got helmets when riding more technical single track, in part because we now saw more of a need for them based on what we were doing, and partly because it just gets old constantly having to listen to the preachers (even those we weren’t even riding with). I’m still surprised at how worked up people get about it, they take it almost personally, like you just spit in their mother’s (unhelmeted) face.  It’s a shame people can’t evaluate the risks they personally feel when riding, and choose to dress and protect themselves appropriately, without feeling the need to project their worries on others. To an extent I understand the feeling of not wanting society to pay for other’s mistakes, but at the same time there’s so many other areas of our daily lives you’re more likely to get hurt (statistically, and in terms of risk), that it just seems a bit hypocritical to me. I mean, why not get mad at people that don’t use a handrail walking down stairs? Or those that cross in the middle of the street? You don’t really see people getting mad at others for jaywalking

Honestly I still don’t wear a helmet for casual street cruising, or my flat boring xc rides. If I’m riding singletrack, hitting jumps, or doing anything else “I” consider a risk to myself though, I grab the helmet. To each his own I say, too bad the same doesn’t apply to other people’s preferences….


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## EliM (May 6, 2006)

Maybe...maybe not.
I always wear a helmet except when tuning derailers, shocks, etc. in the backyard. 
On the trails and stuff I always wear one, even though I very rarely crash on my local trails. 
If you don't wear a helmet while riding, there must be nothing up there worth protecting.

I've seen too many stories of "a helmet saved his life" to not wear one.


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## opjones (Apr 11, 2007)

Something I made up a while ago. The photoshoped people are some of the higher ups in the mmba.


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## gideon (May 24, 2007)




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## K4m1k4z3 (Jan 5, 2007)

SnowMongoose said:


> I always wear one...
> and wont ride with someone who doesn't.
> I don't care if you don't value your life enough to wear a helmet, but at the point that my ass has to drag you out of the woods/Djs/whatever after you are too concussed (or worse) to ride out, that's my business.


Word.

I do always wear my lid (14 stitches on my head could tell you the whole story of my stupidity). I Also think that everyone needs to experience "it" himself.


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## burtronix (Jun 5, 2006)

gideon said:


> i guess it's the self righteousness of telling ppl how to live that I find most bothersome
> not helmet wearing/not wearing per se


I make my kids wear helmets, because it's smart & it's the law for them. I always wear a helmet, because its smart & I want to set a good example (the law says I don't have to if I don't want to). I've never had to force them because they immediately saw the sense of it from an early age.

When I go out riding around the neighborhood with my kids & one of their friends joins us without a helmet, I ask "where's your lid?" Sometimes they outgrew it over the winter & haven't bought a replacement yet. Then we'll stop by our house & loan them one of our spares - we always have plenty on hand. So I wouldn't say I'm a Nazi, but I'm definitely an enabler.

Hey, if you're over the age of accountability & can take responsibility for your own decisions, I'll respect that, even if I disagree. I'll even help you cross the street in your wheel-chair after you recover (if you recover).


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## robscomputer (Mar 21, 2005)

mace2 said:


> pretty much everything. maybe let it slide for XC if it's mellow. i'm not sure about where you live, but where i am everyone wears a helmet (van, bc).


I live in the Northern California Bay Area. From what I've seen in my area on the xc trails/park trails is almost 100% helmets, so are the roadies, but the street riding, dj world is a bit different. A lot of the street riders usually wear little to none gear, maybe skater helmets but that's it. Personally myself, I wear a helmet anytime I'm away from the house, even if it's a park trail or something faster. I may look like a fool but I rather get up from a crash than end up with ride stopping injury.

This topic is very similar to the full gear vs. no gear I read about in motorcycle forums. When I ride I wear full leathers or textile pants on my motorcycle. But others will only wear a half turtle shell helmet, t-shirt and jeans. It's really how much risk are you willing to take when you ride. For me, I rather wear my leathers and feel safe than risk wearing nothing. The same goes for my bicycle riding, I would rather spend a few minutes to gear up than deal with a serious injury. I'm not going bad mouth anyone who doesn't wear any gear, it's all a personal choice.

Speaking about the topic of bmx, I have a theory about the lack of helmets in the 20" and 26" world. Back in the 1980's everyone in the magazines wore full gear, which was then an open face helmet (with mouthguard), motorcross pants and jersey. As the popularity of bmx and ramp riding died (during the same time as the skateboarding ramp and parks died), the bmxer's moved towards street riding. Now street riding never used helmets before but now the media started exposing this side of riding.

Soon we were seeing riders in the 90's doing huge gaps and jumps without any gear. Even on the big contests, what used to be the norm of full face helmets and pads are now just skater helmets. Really, bmx started going back to it's roots of riding on the street and trails, instead of premade parks, and the gear followed from the street. Skating boarding followed the same path as well, moving towards the streets and using "natural" objects to skate instead of ½ pipes. Not saying this is the best idea for saftey but just from my observation.

As a flip side, mountain bikers generally came from the roadie side, where helmets/spandex were long considered normal gear (from my point of view, I came from a bmx background so this might be a bit off). To wear a helmet on the trail was the same as wearing one on a road bike, so they carried over well.

The hybrid now seems like the freeriders/dirt jumpers, who are mostly from the bmx generation. Here's the group of people who follow with the street style of gear and clothing (street pants, little gear) but ride 26" bikes. Again, I believe the lack of gear is from where the past riders who where from the streets and trails, where helmets where never the normal gear. I remember when freeriding was just starting to get popular and there were all of these complaints about baggy pants on the trails from the xc riders.

One side that I'm always amazed no one talks about it roadies. They blast down the same roads I ride on my motorcycle, at the same speeds in a helmet and spandex. I've heard of more roadie deaths than from bmx or xc combined. Guy here at work was killed when he ran into a guard rail and slammed into his head. Wearing a helmet didn't save him at high speeds.

Sounds like I'm rambling but hope it makes some sense.


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## norton05 (Sep 20, 2005)

I wear a helmet all the time, now. I've lost teeth in crashes where a helmet would have saved me. So when I see folks with no helmet, it makes me cringe and remember the emergency room. But I only say something if the other rider looks like he's a beginner, unaware of what he's getting into. It's not my brain to worry about.

A while back, dude asked me if I had any good reasons to NOT wear a helmet. I couldn't think of a single one besides the issue of cost. He asked, is my brain worth more to me than a $100 helmet? And again I had no answer. Still, it took losing 4 teeth (repair was$2700 total!) to an SUV for me to start wearing one consistently.


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

norton05 said:


> I wear a helmet all the time, now. I've lost teeth in crashes where a helmet would have saved me. So when I see folks with no helmet, it makes me cringe and remember the emergency room. But I only say something if the other rider looks like he's a beginner, unaware of what he's getting into. It's not my brain to worry about.
> 
> A while back, dude asked me if I had any good reasons to NOT wear a helmet. I couldn't think of a single one besides the issue of cost. He asked, is my brain worth more to me than a $100 helmet? And again I had no answer. Still, it took losing 4 teeth (repair was$2700 total!) to an SUV for me to start wearing one consistently.


Talk about learning the hard way, ouch


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## jonny290 (May 8, 2007)

I'm a complete geek and people call me nerdboy anyways, so I literally have nothing to lose by wearing a bucket. Plus, I've got an azonic surround sound so i can listen to tunes when I ride! (see, told you i was a geek)


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## trevorh (Jul 31, 2006)

Theres lots of people saying that helmets make you look like a geek or dum or something... but alot of the skate helmets and such theese days I think actually look cool. Maybe its just me but a helmet makes a person look more gnarly or something  I don't know exactly what im trying to say but I always wear one.


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## pocon1 (Sep 17, 2005)

Whenever I see Tony Hawk pics, he is wearing a helmet. I started wearing one last year for skiing and snowboarding. The proliferation on the slopes is amazing. It's kind of hypocritical to tell a kid they should wear a helmet when the parent won't wear one. (Don't have kids, but will someday). 

About the smarter people wearing helmets; I may not be smarter, but I am obviously better at making smart decisions. Use it or lose it.


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## xray (May 5, 2005)

I figure this will shed some light on where (im guessing) most people's 'nazi-ness' comes from.

Since my childhood, my dad's stance on it was obvious. I wasn't allowed to ride my bike unless I had my helmet on, got grounded if I was riding with it off, etc. (when I was like 8) ...and this trend continues to this day, albeit he can't do anything if I don't wear one now, but he still hates it the same.

Anyways, when I was about 10 I found a box with his old report cards (school). One was quite odd, attendance was normal til Oct and then suddenly nothing... Out came the story. Back when he was 12 he got clipped by a van while on his bike, he ended up being dragged 70ft by the shirt with the back of his head on the pavement. He nearly died, spent 7 months living in a hospital & missed over a year of school. Luckily, he (don't ask how... it still amazes me) recovered with no brain damage. From then on I understood. He wasn't being an ass about it, he was just putting it on me to do what he 'learned' - wear a helmet. 

That being said, I don't really care what you do. People (myself included) are incredibly stubborn, we just have to learn the hard way. Even given my dads story I don't wear mine all the time...


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## SnowMongoose (Feb 18, 2007)

That's a crazy story Xray, especially since it brings up a point that a lot of people overlook about helmets...
even above and beyond cases of crashing due to rider error, or poor interactions with terrain, a lot of accidents are based on outside interferance...
AKA it you can be the smoothest, most skilled dude around and never 'need' the helmet until the day some hack comes barreling by and clips you. same goes for cars, LEOs, the elderly, and passing members of the clergy.
there are things that are out of our control, and the excuses of "they're too hot" and "they look lame" have been outdated by technological advances in the Lid world for years now.


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## Cru Jones (Aug 10, 2006)

I don't wear my helmet because I don't want it to get scratched.


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

Cru Jones said:


> I don't wear my helmet because I don't want it to get scratched.


Says the man who drinks beer in the air hahaha!:thumbsup:


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## dirtyharry (Jun 27, 2006)

*When I wear a helmet:*

-When I can get caught not wearing it by my folks going riding to my friend's houses in the neighborhood across and down the street

-When I'm going to go jumping , other than the half-ass backyard jump I made. I wear shinguards still though, since it was there I busted my knee and decided that 18 bucks for cheap shin guards and a ton of extra leg sweat kicked the ass out of possibly splitting the top of my shin under the knee (yes, SPLIT, not pedal pin cuts) and having to not do anything for a week cause of TWO LITTLE STITCHES!

-When I'm going into town. There's some law or something for someone my age.

-When I'm test riding stuff at the LBS. There's some law or something for someone my age.

-When I'm going street riding. Or trying to go street riding anyway . . .

*When I don't wear a helmet*

-Going to my friend's house across the road from me

-Going to return library books (or pick up) at the school next door (they have a public library on location).

-Going to my friend's houses at the neigborhood down and across the street a hundred yards or so from my house


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## george_da_trog (Jul 1, 2003)

The danger of helmet Nazis is that they make everything into something dangerous thereby dissuading people from getting off the couch. Every fricken thing.... "you better wear a helmet". It's a wonder kids spend all their lives in front of the tv. They've been convinced that the world is to dangerous to leave the house.

When did riding a bike become a dangerous activity? You helmet Nazis should take part of the blame when you see a pale fat kid. You've convinced him it's not safe to go out and play.

Shame.


george


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## Speedub.Nate (Dec 31, 2003)

Come to think of it, George, I don't know why my folks didn't epoxy a foam brain bucket to my scalp, what with the spills I was constantly taking, and trekking halfway across Oakland and Alameda on my Huffy BMX bike.

At one point, pop got a hold of a orange flag mounted to a 6' long fiberglass pole, and my mom wanted to mount it to my bike "for safety." I balked, and it never happened. But that's as far as it went.

My first helmet purchase was on my own.


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## gideon (May 24, 2007)

ironic
2 dudes armored out w/ xc helmets at northstar
at least he was smiling, with all his teeth!


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## gideon (May 24, 2007)

this time, not so lucky
hey, at least he wasnt wearing spandex as an outer layer!
http://my.break.com/media/view.aspx?ContentID=321140


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## Strauss (Apr 27, 2007)

gideon said:


> Hi there,
> I am fairly new to mtbr (but not to hardcore riding, doing it about 27 years)
> From the brief reading/interacting I've done, it's seems a lot of people on here like to bark at others for not wearing helmets.
> I think that they feel they are looking out, but in reality they are just telling ppl how to live.
> ...


Nobody cares what you think


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## gideon (May 24, 2007)

*some hostility? relax bro ur bike will be here soon*



Strauss said:


> Nobody cares what you think


in the mean time use plenty of this


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## jonny290 (May 8, 2007)

> The danger of helmet Nazis is that they make everything into something dangerous thereby dissuading people from getting off the couch. Every fricken thing.... "you better wear a helmet". It's a wonder kids spend all their lives in front of the tv. They've been convinced that the world is to dangerous to leave the house.
> 
> When did riding a bike become a dangerous activity? You helmet Nazis should take part of the blame when you see a pale fat kid. You've convinced him it's not safe to go out and play.


Um, try this: XC is done at higher speeds, they televise BMX contests on ESPN now, dirt jumping is really popular, and urban videos are the fastest growing cycling category on Youtube. Add in the fact that a larger percentage of people are driving 6000 pound SUV's with terrible visibility as well as people using improved medical care as reasoning for pushing themselves harder "i'll just get choppered out if i wreck". MTB is not the butt-in-the-saddle Tomac nerdiness that it was 15 years ago. Even most XC bikes are built to get air more, look at the top tubes and stems. People also get more false faith from suspension forks and disc brakes these days.

That pale fat kid is likely addicted to video games and told that "he's a special angel" by his soccer mom. Don't blame us because he can't get off the couch. I was riding 50 miles a day by age 14 because my parents knew it was good for me and encouraged me at every turn, and I was definitely no rail-thin kid.


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## TrikeKid (Sep 1, 2006)

I can't be a helmet nazi when a bicycle helmet hasn't graced my head in years. I always (well, almost always) wear one on the motorcycle though. I just have a really hard time wearing pads and gear on a bicycle, it throws me off too much to stay upright, I have had one crash in the last 5 years that made me go "Man I wish I was wearing a helmet for that", I make a habit of not using my head as a braking system.


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## Strauss (Apr 27, 2007)

gideon said:


> in the mean time use plenty of this


If only google also had a witty response search. I'm un-impressed with your google image search abilities.


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## gideon (May 24, 2007)

Strauss said:


> If only google also had a witty response search. I'm un-impressed with your google image search abilities.


I'll try harder next time
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~tomhart/images/*******.jpg


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## Strauss (Apr 27, 2007)

gideon said:


> I'll try harder next time


Please do.


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## gideon (May 24, 2007)

*are u ever a nice person?*


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## LimaBean (May 15, 2007)

A Helmet literally saved my life, and I've seen so many people that, if wasn't for their helmets, they would be disfigured for life. 

I don't "TELL" people to wear a helmet. I just "ADVISE" them. I won't say anything to you if you are an adult because you should know the consequences. I do however, advise kids to wear one. If you have the right approach, they won't feel that you are imposing it to them, and they will understand that it is just a smart and safe idea to wear one.

Nobody should tell anybody what to do, but advising your fellow biker to be safer won't hurt. 

Peace,

Roger


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## aggiebiker (Apr 18, 2006)

i never ride without my lid


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## wako29 (Apr 3, 2007)

LimaBean said:


> A Helmet literally saved my life, and I've seen so many people that, if wasn't for their helmets, they would be disfigured for life.
> 
> I don't "TELL" people to wear a helmet. I just "ADVISE" them. I won't say anything to you if you are an adult because you should know the consequences. I do however, advise kids to wear one. If you have the right approach, they won't feel that you are imposing it to them, and they will understand that it is just a smart and safe idea to wear one.
> 
> ...


I second that entire post.

But, on the flip side, I ride my fair share of motorcycles and I can be a prick when it comes to riding with helmets. In fact, I call people who don't wear ones "organ donors." Ya, no forgiveness to people who don't ride with helmets on motorcycles, but bicycles I'm much more forgiving. In fact, I don't even wear one when I go to class.

:nono: on me


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