The REAL reason why I never wore a helmet (but do now)

I grew up riding BMX in the 90’s, and thus, I did very dangerous things with no helmet on. Later in life when riding normal bicycles in the street, I also didn’t wear a helmet. The reality was, I had survived my childhood and was now doing something far less risky, yet people would lecture me on helmet use. I also knew that many places more bicycle-forward than the USA were lax on helmets. In this video I’ll explain why those lectures had no effect on me, why I changed my tune, and how to convince someone to wear a helmet without talking down to them.

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[jackp]

What timing. My dad is in his 70s and has been into extreme sports his whole life. Never wore a helmet and still doesn’t. Now he just cruises on his bike, but he still rides ~90 miles week. Just yesterday he wasn’t paying attention and hit some landscaping rocks on the side of the road. Big crash and huge gashes all over his head and fractured c1-3. Had to get surgery and will never be the same. All could’ve been avoided with a helmet but he hated getting told to wear one, especially coming from a time where no one wore helmets. Seth makes very good points here. I’m guilty of not wearing a helmet when I should and I’m going to change that.

[Nightowlh]

My father-in-law has always been a „No helmet“ person and just wore it because we told him to do so. Then, he had an accident and crashed with his head on the sidewalk - just on the edge where the traffic lane begins. The helmet broke into two pieces, but his head was completely intact. That is when neither him nor anyone else in our family started a discussion ever again about the cons of helmets, because the pros are obvious.

And, by the way, I have also discovered Leatt helmets last year and they fit perfectly!

Happy New Year from Germany and thanks for your videos😃

[tablatom]

Ok Seth, you have done it. Your brilliance has convinced me. I was a cycle courier for 6 years, i rode 50 hours a week back then, flying in city traffic.
These days i ride everyday again, i love down hill single track, commute, school runs. ALL WITHOUT a helmet.
Never hurt my head in all of these years, 100, 000's miles.
Seth you have done it. Buying a helmet today. Thank you brother.

[jafranswa]

I watched a stranger on a bike path fall after catching the edge of bike path with the front tire. When the paramedics arrived this grey haired older gentleman answered "1962" when asked what year it was in 2011. Despite my former inclinations about "uncomfortable helmets" I have worn a helmet since that day every time I'm on a bike. I'm really glad you made this video and I hope the unhelmeted stranger in everyones life puts on a helmet.

[MicahBrooksRozell]

My dad was mountain biking with my brother, i was not there but my dad turned his head around to make sure my brother was okay going down a pretty big hill, then he went off the trail at 20+ mph and his front wheel got stuck in some bushes and threw him over the bars and he went head first into a rock. The doctors said the helmet 100% saved his life and he was lucky to walk away with only one broken vertebrae

[AG.T]

Grew up in the Netherlands and never wore a helmet. Now that I’m living abroad I can finally understand why you would wear a helmet on a bike. Infrastructure and road etiquette make a huge difference.

[_onthemike_]

As a trauma nurse, I’m glad you’re making this video. I’m in S.FL and we constantly see unhelmeted traumatic brain injuries and they are not “cool.”

[downtoridemtb]

Grew up skateboarding and nobody wore a helmet. Biked around the neighborhood as a kid and never wore one either. Starting mountain biking in my 30s and it never even crossed my mind to ride without one. Got a family to provide for and I like my brain functioning as it should.

[mrcookiemonster]

I'm an 80's kid and no helmets in my childhood. But then started riding motorcycles in my teens and always wore a helmet, even on the road. Been on motorcycles for 20 years before I found mountain biking. While mountain biking I've always worn a full face bicycle helmet. Not only is my brain important to me, but so is my mouth and face.

[danielle]

In Australia helmets are mandatory. We also have an unwritten rule that if you pass a small kid on the trail you have to say 'cool helmet' to encourage them, especially if they are on the bike with an adult who is walking.

[mikek]

80's kid here.
Been riding helmetless all my life until recently. A kid jumped in front of me on a bike path as I was on a commute back home - no helmet, no pads, expensive laptop in a backpack, old brakes... ended up crashing to save the kid and banged my head agains the curb. Nothing bad but it made me realise things can happen on a ride that I can't control or forsee... long story short I have two helmets now and looking for a nice full-face for the trails :)

[GrantGoldpenny]

I used to not wear a helmet bc the ones I tried from Walmart were uncomfortable and not cool. Then I was skateboarding one day when I got hit and run by a car. Spent the next week in the trauma ICU with multiple brain bleeds and multiple facial fractures. I was lucky enough to make a full recovery and I don’t remember any of the incident or hospital stay. Now I have a fox dropframe helmet that I wear religiously. Seeing the stress I put my family and friends through by not wearing a helmet and the results of that choice was enough for me to change my ways and advocate for others to do the same. Thanks for making this video.

[fdfurlan]

Just like you, I grew up not using helmets, actually we thought it was kind of looser. One day, one friend that usually go to work using skateboard arrives at the office carrying a helmet. Someone mocked him, and he said: "I don't care, it’s MY head". Since that day, I started to use helmet every time I mount my bike for a ride, even a ride with my young kids. I'm not a looser, it's MY head!
Excellent video, as usual!!!

[CareFreeCommuting]

2:58 the no helmet beach cruiser wheelie into the bar spin, made my day.

[pinbike]

Before October 2014, I never wore a helmet unless it was absolutely required, say at a skate park, rip The Incline Club.

Some day in October of 2014, I was going to Allaire State Park, in New Jersey. I was riding my bmx bike.

Before I left the house my uncles house with my cousin, he told us to wear our helmets. When we couldn't see the house anymore, we took the helmets off and put them in our backpacks.


Anyways, there is a big hill you go down on hospital rd in Howell. Went down the road to the trails "lobster jumps, or lobster trails".

We saw the jumps, they were too big for us, so we left. Got back onto the road, and was going toward the big hill to now go up, so leading toward it is a slight hill and I got some speed.

I had mud on my back tire, the tires were semi slicks. No brakes. I was carving like a skater would. I was on an asphalt side path. My back tire slipped, I was still holding the handle bars being dragged by my knees, reaching for the brake lever, realizing there is not one. Fell to the left, hit the side back of my head, inches from my head landing on the grass, unfortunately my head hit the asphalt. I touch the back of my head with both my hands and they were covered in blood. Took my shirt off and put pressure on my wound.

This guy we met at the trail, maybe his name was Stirling, something like that. He had a was getting into his car when he heard me scream. He stopped and picked me up and put my bike on the rack and took me up the hill, to meet with my older cousin to take me home. I went to the hospital and ended getting 8 staples.

Thank you Stirling for picking me up, even though I got blood on your tan dashboard. Thank you, where ever you may be.

Anyways, my life has never been "normal" since then, I don't know what normal is anymore..

I was sensitive to light and loud noises in the beginning. Sirens were scary to me, sound and light, especially strobe lights.

10 years later, my equilibrium is off, after being on an elevator I get so dizzy or vertigo that I need to sit down. I see floaters in my eyes one pupil is bigger than the other. My eyes sometimes shake like if your looking at the perfect times, it feels crazy, my gf saw it and she said it was weird also I can feel and see it when it happens. I get killer migraines still.

Wear your helmet or end up like me or worse, end up like Scott Cranmer that was even wearing a full face.

If you don't protect your head no matter if your barley doing anything worth wearing a helmet, you could end up dead.

WEAR YOUR HELMET!!

My hand is numb, I've been typing so long, lol.

[Toastybear]

I used to not wear a helmet, I had one on just to mount a go-pro, crashed, the shattered helmet and lack of injury to myself is the reason I did my 180.
Thanks Seth.
Great video, very important indeed.

[markmartello]

A helmet saved my life. I was racing with a team when I was stationed in Hawaii. It was the start of a race, going into the first turn. I saw white jerseys at the front (my team wore white) coming out of the turn and thought to myself, I need to get up there and pull. I got around the corner fine and got out of the saddle and started to sprint to the front. Later I looked at the gps data and saw that I was doing 23mph when I came off the biile. I remember my right foot unclipping from the peddle. I remember thinking, "this will be bad." I remember falling forward and seeing the front wheel turned 90 degrees to the left. I remember waking up on the ground and people were telling me to stay down. I did a systems check. I had less skin than before the crash, but everything seemed to be working okay. My jersey, bibs, and gloves were shredded. When I took off my helmet I saw that all the styrofoam between the vents in the back was completely crushed, only staying in place because it was glued to the outsr skin. I was driven to the ER, had a chest and pelvic X-ray and a head CT. I walked away with only a dislocated rib and a concussion. One of the women on our team was right behind me when I went off. She later told me she was really shaken up by the crash because she thought I was dead. If it hadn't been for the helmet, I would have been. I still have road-rash scars, including one on my left cheek. From the scratches on my glasses and face I figure that I must have been sliding face down after I was knocked unconscious. But I lived through it and was able to finish out a 26 year career in uniform to include a deployment to Iraq.

[Sythemn]

In HS, a classmate died falling off a compact car hood going 10 mph from smacking his head on the road..
You can 100% kill or disable yourself on a bike without a helmet.
And yet in college this dingus continued to ride without one. It "looked dumb" and "was a hassle".

After 6 years of dealing with motorcycle gear everywhere I go, a bike helmet is comparatively not a hassle at all.
(At a minimum, much more substantial helmet, jacket, gloves, having to wear pants / boots mid summer)

[rotaxtwin]

This was an honest & objective look into bicycles and helmet use. Very refreshing, Seth!

[TypeIIAdventures]

There has been a massive shift in helmet use at ski resorts in the last 25 years. Our understanding of TBI has started to make differences and I think that will continue to spread to bikes.