What kind of helmet do you use?

That was $120 for the conversion of a busted kettle he supplied.

Be warned, this is not an easy helmet to wear.
It's heavy and probably the last thing you'd want on your head in a crash.
The Bakelite handle is fragile. This one is unbroken so reinforced with carbon fibre and epoxy where the others broke. (at the top mounting stud)
The aerodynamics are good though. I can feel that compared to my other helmets.
People will look. They'll stop you. They'll stare. They'll ask to take your picture. They'll laugh at you but mostly they do a double take and smile while poking their companion and pointing.
It's good to have a few witty comments ready. "What's the matter, you never seen a pot head before?", "Yeah, you can pick me up and pour me out."
"It was CSA certified" usually shuts-up the helmet nazis.
I once noticed a guy staring and was just about to say, "WTF are you looking at?", and then realised I was wearing a kettle on my head.
So be careful.
 
Be great if you could bow and actually have liquid pour out! Very cool, as all good art is. Wish I had free income so I could get back to art in serious way.
 
I have done alot of research on the net trying to decide which one to buy as mine flew off and got run over before I could get back to it. The Bell City and Trek Vapor both have good test records as well as good reviews from those who wear them. I wanted the Citi but the shop I was in had the Vapor so that's the new one for now. Comfortable, adjustable and easy to secure. It's also pretty cool with all the vents. That could be a good or bad depending on the weather around here. I had no idea the kettle that Zoot had was a real helmet. Thought he made it just for fun. ;^) Another blast from the past I guess. ;^) We was crazy in the 70s.
As an added note in favor of helmets I had a woman on a smallish motorcycle race out a driveway and run into the front passenger door of the work van I was driving through an intersection. She flew up and forward of the bike striking on and near the side view mirror. The helmet even at the 10-20mph she hit saved her from becoming some type of vegetable or saved her life easy. As it was with a few minute of sitting on the sidewalk she had recovered well enough not to want medical and managed to ride off on the slightly damaged bike. Expect as hard as she hit she had some kind of damage though.
 
biohazardman said:
. . .I had no idea the kettle that Zoot had was a real helmet. Thought he made it just for fun. ;^) Another blast from the past I guess. ;^) We was crazy in the 70s.
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It's a real helmet in the sense that it's hard outside, soft inside and has a chin strap. I guess it could be called a "novelty helmet" like the tiny skull caps Harley riders wear. No governing body in its right mind would certify this thing for road use. The CSA certified it as a kettle but that was later pulled when the old worn out cords and connectors began starting fires. The strap is there so it doesn't fall off and break the handle.

It's had the exact effect I'd expected. It makes people smile when they "get it". Some people don't even notice. Hipsters try hard to not notice.
Many strangers have been moved to say, "I like your helmet". ("so do i"). Some ask questions and some ask to take my picture. "cool" is the most frequently used adjective. It was made just for fun and it's been lots of fun.

I live in a mandatory helmet law jurisdiction and no cop has ever said boo. They usually don't even say boo if you're not wearing any helmet at all. They can use it as a reason to stop you. When touring, my helmet (a Romer kayak helmet from the 70's) was a bee catcher and bear chaser.
The kettle helmet in the city is a honey catcher and pig chaser. (Oddly, hipsters like the Romer.)
 
dogman said:
Be great if you could bow and actually have liquid pour out! Very cool, as all good art is. Wish I had free income so I could get back to art in serious way.
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hmmm, you got me thinking about a bladder type hydration system with the hose routed out the spout.
I mounted a single white blinky to a neoprene and hard rubber gasket that plugs into the spout.
Turning it into an incense burner wouldn't be too hard or it could hold a small chunk of dry ice simulating steam.
Adding a coiled cord pigtail with a plug at the end has also passed through my mind. I just gotta find one in grey.
 
The helmet is real, indeed. When Zoot's avatar consisted of his likeness (sporting the tea-kettle), it really struck a chord in me - at multple levels. My first impression was the obvious and superficial one - Zoot must be an eccentric sort with a sense of humour, I thought. I still smile every time I think about it, as I did when I actually SAW it for the first time. I was moved to send a complete stranger a PM via this forum to ask "what's up with that?".

As time passed, I came to appreciate the thing in a deeper context. I've seen this debate too many times, and I have opinions that stem from the same sensibilities that Zoot has expressed on more than one occasion (here and elsewhere). I live in Ontario. Helmets are NOT mandatory here for "adult" cyclists (I turn 50 next year - still dunno if I qualify as an "adult"), though are posted as a requirement for "power assisted" cyclists of any age. The final laws regarding this latter should become more "real" in the next year.

The statistics that support the REASONs for wearing a helmet, to me, are completely f..., er, "biffed' in my opinion. I work with numbers and statistics as part of my "day job". I find some of the stats regarding cycling helmets (or many other items of "safety gear") laughable owing to how they are qualified and presented. EVERYBODY has some anecdotal evidence that helmets are good/bad that works for THEM. The "numbers", however, seem to convey a message that is akin to putting "paper cuts" and "certain death" on the same plane.

I *do not* wear a helmet most of the time. Pushing one of my bikes to an "unexpected" speed (overvolting the motor, etc.), I see a helmet as reasonable safety kit. The "self-preservation" thing runs pretty strongly in me. I have what I think should be an average amount of common sense. If I don't feel comfortable, then there's something I need to address.

It might just be where I live, but toodling from Point A to Point B (or just riding around with family) isn't really any more perilous than WALKING the same route. I tend to avoid routes that involve heavy traffic. Perhaps this a luxury. But if someone is going to press me to be worried about my craneum meeting the pavement while cycling... I think I was more frightened of the consequences of falling off my platform boots in the 70's than I am about the consequences of just falling off a bike. (I was 6'5" tall wearing those things!). If it comes to getting KNOCKED off the bike (by a motorist), I'm not convinced that a helmet is what I need.

Sorry - I know I'm belabouring the same old points, here. But I'm beginning to feel the "social pressure" thing when I'm riding a busy (cycling) route without a helmet. I'm not interested in debating it with the people that shoot me the looks - hell, I don't foist my opinion on THEM. So, again, the subtlety of Zoot's teakettle helmet quietly strikes out at these people with an understated message, while all at once being stylish and whimsical... It's brilliant.

I feel like someone peed in my Corn Flakes today.

Oh yeah... http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9211&start=6... I did...
 
philf said:
. . .
Sorry - I know I'm belabouring the same old points, here. But I'm beginning to feel the "social pressure" thing when I'm riding a busy (cycling) route without a helmet. I'm not interested in debating it with the people that shoot me the looks - hell, I don't foist my opinion on THEM. So, again, the subtlety of Zoot's teakettle helmet quietly strikes out at these people with an understated message, while all at once being stylish and whimsical... It's brilliant.
. . .
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I'd even go to court over the kettle helmet if I were ticketed.
Though we have a law on the books, there is no, none, nada standard by which a bicycle helmet is deemed acceptable. The law just says that a certification standard may be adopted or created by the government. IOW, this hat is as legal as any other, IMO.
A judge who's read critiques of Thompson/Rivera study everybody uses as rationalisation for their fixation could probably be persuaded to throw it out.
Since I'd worn a helmet for more than two decades before the law was enacted, I just resent it.
 
Hello People
I try to look at this subject a little differently than the rest of you.All the satistics and stories are only to persuade others to accept an opinion.An accident involving a head injury is possible while riding a bicycle.I like riding my bicycle .I do not like getting a head injury.So I will ride my bicycle in the safest manner to avoid accidents and I will wear an appropriate helmet for when things go wrong.
EDWIN
 
Just bought a helmet at the local Korean scooter store. $ 25 Must have a big head, only one of 2 that even fit. The other did not have enough protection in the back, looked like a baseball cap..

DK
 

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Maybe all the bigger helmets had already been sold.
Looks like a nice thick shell.
Sweat will rot the foam padding in the leatherette covered straps.
I know I don't like face shields and particularly tinted ones at night.
Hope you never have to test it.
 
I live in California where is is mandatory to wear a helmet when riding any motorcycle, moped or scooter (sit-down type) and mandatory for anyone under 18 to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. I would choose to wear a helmet even if it was not the Law because I like to use my head for something other than just a convenient place to store a helmet while riding, and think it's contents are worth protecting :wink:

I wear a Bell X-Ray bike helmet when riding my Dahon Helios folder bike and either of my 20+ MPH electric scooters, and I wear a full face MX style motorcycle helmet when riding my faster (40+ MPH) gas scooters.
 
Sheriff Jon said:
I live in California where is is mandatory to wear a helmet when riding any motorcycle, moped or scooter (sit-down type) and mandatory for anyone under 18 to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle. I would choose to wear a helmet even if it was not the Law because I like to use my head for something other than just a convenient place to store a helmet while riding, and think it's contents are worth protecting :wink:

I wear a Bell X-Ray bike helmet when riding my Dahon Helios folder bike and either of my 20+ MPH electric scooters, and I wear a full face MX style motorcycle helmet when riding my faster (40+ MPH) gas scooters.
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With California thinking, you would think they would require helmet use whenever you are out on the streets or sidewalks.

Just recently there was a few accidents where pedestrians were struck. Helmets would have helped, might of saved the one guys life. Bicyclist can easily hit over forty MPH going down some of the hills around here (I know) they should be required to wear helmets too.

I think people driving cars should wear helmets, heck, they should require all the safety measures professional race car drivers use. They crash top fuel dragsters at close to 300 MPH and walk away.

I guess it's more important to us to not be inconvenienced then to be safe.

Deron.
 
IIRC in CA the code book says its required to wear a bicycle helmet when you ride a 406(b) ebike, even if you are older than 18.
 
vanilla ice said:
IIRC in CA the code book says its required to wear a bicycle helmet when you ride a 406(b) ebike, even if you are older than 18.
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Yeah, don't remind me, I'm just glad the cops do not know any better, or care.

Deron.
 
I just ordered this (Bell Ballistic). I've been looking for a full face bike helmet, that didn't cut off too much of your vision. I'll probably end up removing the silly duck-bill visor though......

bell_bellisticmatteblack_09_m.jpg
 
deronmoped said:
With California thinking, you would think they would require helmet use whenever you are out on the streets or sidewalks.

Just recently there was a few accidents where pedestrians were struck. Helmets would have helped, might of saved the one guys life. Bicyclist can easily hit over forty MPH going down some of the hills around here (I know) they should be required to wear helmets too.

I think people driving cars should wear helmets, heck, they should require all the safety measures professional race car drivers use. They crash top fuel dragsters at close to 300 MPH and walk away.

I guess it's more important to us to not be inconvenienced then to be safe.

Deron.
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I take it that you do not aprove of mandatory helmet laws in the states that have such laws. :evil:

I may have to tell the Shane Rooney story :shock:
 
has anyone thought of adding extra protection to a regular bicycle helmet to be more safe. we don't need those vent holes now do we?

we could buy an XXL size helmet and then put a S helmet inside it? or just add extra polystyrene.
 
monster said:
has anyone thought of adding extra protection to a regular bicycle helmet to be more safe. we don't need those vent holes now do we?

we could buy an XXL size helmet and then put a S helmet inside it? or just add extra polystyrene.
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Wear a nice thick knit tea cozy over your head under the helmet. Or go whole-hog and get a SNELL 90 rated motorcycle helmet. (I've broken two of those learning my limits.) The SNELL specs for ski helmets exceeds what's specified for bicycles and they allow for better peripheral vision. No vent holes plus you get ear protection.

Cheap helmets often offer better shock absorbtion than the expensive aero-slick bicycle helmets. They're generally heavier due to a thicker shell with fewer vents. I've been wearing skater style pots lately because they're cheap, have small holes, thick skins and they're good for more than one bounce.
I leave my ~$20 helmets locked with the bike.

My favourite helmet is a Romer kayak hat over 30 years old and it still works as well as it has ever been required to work.
 
I wear a "skating" pot helmet. It was the only white helmet I could find in the bicycle store (A color reputed to be one of the best for visibility), and it also had the advantage of being seemingly more protective and cheaper. I added yellow reflective strips all around it to enhance night-time visibility.

Anyways, here's a store page with the helmet I have. http://www.rei.com/product/747090

Oddly, though, it didn't cost anywhere near 40 dollars. That surprises me since I expect bicycle shops in Seattle to be inherently expensive and REI would be "cheaper" due to higher sales volume. :/
 
cheap and comfy

i rarely go faster than 18mph (unless im falling off a cliff), but i still feel like this might not be enough sometimes

still way better than nothing
 

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Last Saturday morning, about 1:30 am, a guy died in my front yard.
The cops found his buckled helmet under the witchhazel tree. He bled out nearer the holly tree about twenty feet further east.
Had he not hit the parking regulations sign he'd have probably landed in the holly tree and survived.
As it was, the crows had brain bits for breakfast.

(speeding motorcycle vs left turning drunk driver)
 
Zoot Katz said:
Last Saturday morning, about 1:30 am, a guy died in my front yard.
The cops found his buckled helmet under the witchhazel tree. He bled out nearer the holly tree about twenty feet further east.
Had he not hit the parking regulations sign he'd have probably landed in the holly tree and survived.
As it was, the crows had brain bits for breakfast.

(speeding motorcycle vs left turning drunk driver)
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That either must be an extreme coincidence or "My front yard" is metaphorical.
 
I've always hated seeing those road side shrines and now there's one on my corner.
The same corner I'd shovelled snow off of too many times this past Winter.
 
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