Helmets

north said:

*unless your going really big on a unicycle, your not gonna put
yourself in a position where your likely to bang your head...*

And now is the time where you get the stories of people who have hit
their heads.

Anyone who has seen me ride a unicycle would hardly accuse me of "going
big." As a matter of fact, while I was in Moab, Nathan Hoover was
looking at the aluminum cranks I had and stated that for a lot of
riders, they wouldn't hold out very well, but that for me, they would
probably work fine since I'm very gentle on my equipment. At first, I
was a little offended, 'cause I like to think of myself as a hardcore
rider. But then I had to begrudgingly agree that I'm too chicken and
too lazy to try anything really hard.

That didn't stop me from hitting my head the other day.

I was in a rock and sand "quarry" the other day (I don't know if it was
actually used for these reasons, but the slopes seemed to be steep
enough for that sort of thing), and I found a hill I wanted to try. It
was made of fine sand/dirt, and was about as steep as it could possibly
be (think Moab but made of semi-soft dirt). I found that if I held back
as I rode down, I would slide around too much. The only way to overcome
this was to ride as fast as I could and not brake with my legs. So I
did.
The problem came when I hit the spot where the track turned. On the
side of this dirt path was a patch of rocks and gravel. I tried to make
the turn but I didn't make it, and as soon as I hit the more solid and
uneven ground, I went flying off with the unicycle behind me.
I tried to play Superman, but I forgot that I don't know how to fly. As
I crashed down, I hit my hands first (fortunately I won a pair of wrist
protectors in Moab), followed by my left arm (unfortunately I still
don't own any arm armor) and then, since that wasn't enough, my head
followed suit.
It was just a glancing blow, but with the gravel and rocks in the area,
I was very glad to be wearing a helmet. My arm got a nice cut on it and
by the time I stopped falling, I was ten feet or so past where my
unicycle decided was the safest place to stop. It's possible that I
wouldn't have hurt my head when I landed. But I'm certainly glad I
didn't take the chance!
Don't wear a helmet if you don't want to. But here's one person who is
very glad that they did!

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i wear a helmet mainly to provide the illusion of safety. I have never
even come close to hitting my head ever. a few times though i have been
out riding without a helmet, never doing extreme stuff, of course, and
seen somthing that i wanted to try but decided not to since i was not
wearing a helmet. often when people watch me ride they say, "thats
crazy!' or "dont hurt yourself!" while the stuff i do would be crazy or
dangerous for one who lacked the skills to do so, i feel comfortable
about every move i make and rarely fear injury. but since these
people's perception of the sport is based entirely on me, i want them to
realize that the sport is only as dangerous as one makes it and by
wearing a helmet, i am not "crazy" or risking injury but ust doing
something i enjoy. also, i am in dc and cops and security people are
EVERYWHERE (literally hard to go 30 seconds without seeing a squad car
on a busy street). by doing trials with a helmet, i am showing the cops
that i am not trying to be a nuisance, and that they will not have to
worry about me worrying (sorry for the lack of decent vocab) local
businesses about an accident or whatever they may think.

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i wear a helmet mainly to provide the illusion of safety. I have never
even come close to hitting my head ever. a few times though i have been
out riding without a helmet, never doing extreme stuff, of course, and
seen somthing that i wanted to try but decided not to since i was not
wearing a helmet. often when people watch me ride they say, "thats
crazy!' or "dont hurt yourself!" while the stuff i do would be crazy or
dangerous for one who lacked the skills to do so, i feel comfortable
about every move i make and rarely fear injury. but since these
people's perception of the sport is based entirely on me, i want them to
realize that the sport is only as dangerous as one makes it and by
wearing a helmet, i am not "crazy" or risking injury but ust doing
something i enjoy. also, i am in dc and cops and security people are
EVERYWHERE (literally hard to go 30 seconds without seeing a squad car
on a busy street). by doing trials with a helmet, i am showing the cops
that i am not trying to be a nuisance, and that they will not have to
worry about me worrying (sorry for the lack of decent vocab) local
businesses about an accident or whatever they may think.

--
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The Hell on Wheel Unicycle Gang owns you!!

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I have not yet worn a helmet, but one is coming my way very soon via
UPS... i'm not wearing it to be a wuss, i'll be wearing it to eliminate
one worry from my mind. if i'm wearing saftey gear, i'm not thinking
about the pain that i might experience if i fall. since i'm not
worrying, i'm thinking about pulling the biggest possible tricks. theres
nothing gay about the confidence boost a helmet can provide.

--
TheBadger587 - Level 4

Well i Guess not the retarded ones... but how could you even say
something like that? jeez cleveland, there's edgy and then theres
offensive. Good day sir!
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north said:

*i feel it is my place to make the controversial statement here...
helmets are gay... *

By this do you mean that helmets are attracted to safety gear of same
gender? ...or is it just that your vocabulary is limited to homophobic
statements?

I'm guessing that there's a few hundred people that read these boards,
and probably 20-30 are non-hetrosexual.

Are you implying that only these people should wear helmets, or were you
just trying to be offensive.

north said:

*ok all you safety concious trials losers... start flaming me now...*

I assume from this that you're just trying to be offensive. Looks like
I fell for it.

[edit] Perhaps you meant that the users of helmets are happy, probably
because their brains haven't been damaged. If this is the case, I agree.

--
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mscalisi said:

*
probably 20-30 are non-hetrosexual.
*

As there are only two options here, I'd suggest that the usual term,
"homosexual", would suffice. (There isn't a third option (bisexual) as
we're obviously all unisexuals here.) :p

We've had this debate before. Saying, "Anyone who wears a helmet is
gay," or (even less likely) "Helmets are gay," is stupid - every bit as
stupid as, "Anyone who wears a helmet is black," (or Jewish, disabled,
etc.).

Everyone is entitled not to like members of minority groups, but to use
a term like "gay" (or black, Jewish, spastic, etc.) in a public forum
which may well be read by members of that group is gratuitously
offensive.

Back to the helmet argument. Helmets undoubtedly prevent some injuries.
Those injuries are thankfully pretty rare anyway, but they are often
life changing in their severity. It is up to each individual to assess
the risk and make his/her own decision about if and when to wear one.
Anyone who is completely dismissive of the benefits of a helmet probably
has little to protect with one anyway.

--
Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling

So many pedestrians tell me I've lost a wheel.
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Mikefule said:

*

As there are only two options here, I'd suggest that the usual term,
"homosexual", would suffice. (There isn't a third option (bisexual)
as we're obviously all unisexuals here.) :p
*

I disagree. I'm 16.6% bi. (5 unicycles, 1 bicycle) ;-)
...I whole-heartedly agree with the rest of what you said.

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Only gay people can get away with saying something's gay. Same way that
only minorities can get away with their own racial slur. So North, I
can safely say, you are so gay.

ps. I'm only kidding. I really don't know you. But you don't look all
that macho in the picture I saw on the board today.

snicker 😉

--
digigal1

Omni for Uni and Uni for Omni!
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north said:

*for the last seven years ive ridden mountain bikes (downhill and dirt
jumping) bmx (dirt jumping and street) quads (motoX, dirt jumping and
commuting) and unicycle (trials and street) and i can honestly say the
only time ive ever hit my head is when ive been wearing a full face
helmet, the extra weight pulls you head down when you hit the deck.*

Hmmm. I've been driving cars for over 25 years, and riding in them for a
lot more. I don't think I've ever been in an accident where seat belts
really had to do their job. I guess this means I don't need them,
right?

I'm sorry your full face helmet got in the way of your riding enjoyment.
I suppose if you hadn't been wearing it you wouldn't have "hit the
deck?" :p

Yes, those helmets definitely have more weight to them. The reason why
is obvious, as even you may have found. Hopefully the helmet did its job
and protected you without injury.

We must all make our choices of when we want to protect ourselves and
when we don't. I respect anyone who prefers to to ride protected, as
long as they understand the situation.

Even though you don't like helmets, it looks like you often wear one,
and believe it's the right thing to do at the time.

It's when people make invalid arguments about (in this case) helmets it
gets annoying. Helmets protect you. In a very tiny percent of crashes
(way under 1%), a helmet could do more harm than good. Same with seat
belts. People who use those as reasons not to wear them don't know what
they're talking about.

--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com"
www.unicycling.com

"Hey, could I have some of that spinach? I need to get this pork rind
taste out of my mouth." -- Ryan Atkins to Kris Holm, on the way back
from Moab after sampling some of my pork rinds. They grossed out the
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Petzolt sells a climbing helmet that is adjustable, fits perfect,
doesn't slide about the bean, has enogh gaps to breathe well, and is
feather light. Can't even tell it's on. I like it much better than the
other helmets I use for road biking.

JL

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vivalargo
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Mikefule said:

* Have you ever met someone who would refer to himself or herself as
"a minority", rather than a member of a minority?
*

Sorry, the semantics-checker on my computer must not be working!

--
digigal1

Omni for Uni and Uni for Omni!
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north said:

*ok all you safety concious trials losers... start flaming me now... *

welcome to the uni forum
since a vast majority of people here would not stoop to that level, u're
pretty safe from flaming

it's the unexpected event that neccesitates safety gear
while trying to skip rope on a giraffe recently i stupidly chose not te
wear a helmet, firmly believing in my ability to get a foot or feet
below me before hitting the ground in the event of a UPD from the
5footer
and so it would've worked only as i started overbalancing to the back
and eventually realised that i need to get some feet out there for a
landing, my foot slipped of the front of the pedal and made sure that my
behind was the first to hit the ground
with nary a foot in sight
except the one in my mouth, i guess
i didn't plan to slip my foot off the front of the pedal and rob myself
of my landing gear, it's not a skill i practise
but it happens
and it could've been a lot nastier than just feeling sorry for myself

for a whilenorth said:

*something about 'gay' helmets...?*

wear a helmet,
grow up
start with the helmet, at least u can buy that

😉

--
GILD - Waffle-[censored] (ocfopgm)

-ORIGINALLY POSTED BY A FELLOW UNICYCLIST IN A MOMENT OF SUBLIME
INSIGHT-

"On the subject of 'significant others' it is a matter of timing and
topic whether 'significant' or 'other' is the defining word in that
phrase."
'[image: http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/sp/84255.gif]'
(http://tinyurl.com/ywxgb)
Namaste!
Dave
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Helmets are an interesting issue. I'll practice freestyle on a 20" on
pavement downtown without a helmet. I'll only ride the 700c with 4"
cranks if I've got a helmet on (because top speed for a UPD for me was
20 kph... and as I can't run at 20kph...). I've defenitley fallen
backwards off my giraffe, with and without helmets and landed on my
back. It really depends what I'm doing, I suppose. Use your own
judgement.

I used to skateboard and broke both bones in my right ankle while
wearing a helmet. do I blame the helmet for 'dragging me down'? no. I
am glad that I was wearing it at the time, because something else might
have happened that day.

Get one that's comfy and wear it a lot. I've got a Bell 'aquila'
(http://tinyurl.com/ytt3b)

and I'm pretty sure that the climbing helmet that vivalargo was talking
about is the Petzl 'meteor' (http://tinyurl.com/2bfhs)

happy helmet hunting!

--
hopeful - revelling in the glory of 700c

a sawzall...!? why not just use an axe. -- Jagur

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Mikefule said:

*Have you ever met someone who would refer to himself or herself as "a
minority", rather than a member of a minority?*

I'm a minority, but that is by choice.

(I ride a unicyle)

But I don't usually worry about semantics, as long as the meaning gets
across and I'm not trying to impress anyone.

--
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I always wear my helmet when trail riding, but I don't when practicing
tricks and freestyle in my driveway on the 20". I probably should as I
have grazed my head once on the pavement when I fell backwards learning
to ride backwards. I also don't wear a helmet around town, but I am also
not at a level where I am doing trials stunts.......when/if I get to
that level I will certainly wear a helmet.

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I've always worn my helmet. The only kind i have is a bell skate
boarding helmet and it works (hopefully). i've come close to damaging my
head before. Luckily I always sacrifice my hands to take the beating
which my head and legs so greatly deserve. Any way it's your choice so
whatever.

--
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paco said:

*But I don't usually worry about semantics, as long as the meaning
gets across and I'm not trying to impress anyone. *

In the context of a discussion about attitudes to members of minority
groups, I thought the point was worth making.

I don't know where you are, but round here it's become fashionable to
refer to black or Asian people as "ethnics" (everybody is "ethnic"
something, so these people clearly don't understand the word), or as
"minorities". You even hear expressions like, "He's an ethnic minority,
you know." As a lover of the language, and a hater of bigotry, this
irritates me.

Perhaps I'm being too fastidious in the context of a unicycling forum,
but that's me all over - and I'm a member of a commonly overlooked
minority with no special rights at all: an atheist white middle aged
middle class able bodied heterosexual single male with no children.
Find me a reason to leave work early that my boss has to respect!

Ho hum! Back to the helmet debate.

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Well, I only turned unicyclist last July and started with all good
intentions with safety gear, wrist guards, elbow and knee pads which I
had anyway from when I did a bit of skating, after about 20 minutes I
found that they were uncomfortable so since then I havn't worn any
safety gear apart from wrist guards through the winter but now that the
weather is getting warmer I find that these are now uncomfortable. I've
never worn a helmet for MUni for comfort reasons, I always have done for
bicycles on and off road but seem to find myself taking it off for
climbs especially when its really hot, maybe my attitude will change
when and if I really hurt myself.
For commuting I don't wear a helmet as I stick mainly to the pavement as
I use my MUni for the 2 mile ride to work and as I am pretending to be a
pedestrian I think a helmet would make me look too much like a
bicyclist, but if and when I graduate on to big wheeled stuff and start
mixing it with the nasty traffic then I would certainly wear a helmet.

Matt

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Back when I was an avid bicyclist and owned a bike shop I learned this
bit of info...

The typical height of a bicyclist's head on a bicycle is a little over 5
feet off the ground. If you fall and your head hits the ground first,
the impact is hard enough that it could be a life threatening blow.
Seems like a good reason to wear a helmet.

Wearing a helmet is basically life insurance. If you ever fall and hit
your head hard, a helmet can make the difference between a headache,
paralysis or death (not likely, but certainly possible). We all have
experienced quite a few fast UPD's and have been amazed at how quickly a
person can be falling in an uncontrolled manner.

I don't wear a helmet when working on freestyle in the gym. I always
wear a helmet when riding with my 6 year old daughter. The rule is that
she must wear a helmet when on her bicycle or unicycle. So I need to
lead by example. Another good reason to wear a helmet.

The worst reason in the world to NOT wear a helmet is to wonder what
people think you look like.

Bill

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billham

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Aside from all the [censored] in this thread and in answer to the original
question:
I don't wear a helmet. I don't even own a helmet.
However, I don't think they look stupid, I don't think they are a waste
of time, and I think they probably do a lot of good.
They're not the height of coolness, but they're way up there compared to
brain damage.
I don't agree with those people who say that it is more important to
wear other safety equipment, especially considering your head's harder
to fix than the rest of you, but I don't own any other safety equipment
either.

I've never been in a situation where I needed a helmet, and I hope I
never will, seeing as I don't own one, So I have never seen the point in
the expense and hassle of buying a helmet and carrying it everywhere.
Apart from my pride the only thing I've ever hurt on a unicycle was my
ankle.

Like I said, I don't own any safety equipment, but like everyone else in
the same situation, I don't have a real reason, and I'm certainly not
going to have go at anyone else because they do.

--
theamazingmolio - A Unicylist, a juggler, and a prat

Luke Duller ([email hidden])
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