# Does wearing a bicycle helmet really not effect the head? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366 "2016-12-10T18:18:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/21 "2016-12-10T23:24:47Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I get this from first-hand experience. Admittedly, the helmet was a mid-'80s standard Bell, but I typically rode pretty hard and it got pretty hot, even in winter. I had one of those back in the day. Yes, they were awful, especially on hot days. But then someone got the bright idea to put some vents in them. At first the vents were fairly small and not terribly effective, but they soon improved. Nowadays, they have so many that there’s almost more vent than helmet. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/22 "2016-12-10T23:28:31Z")
> [@TheSundial](#): > > I think I explained myself pretty clearly, because the helmet is pressing up against the head for sometimes hours and doing that day in and day out. > > If all it takes too have scoliosis is sitting on an angle a lot then it seems like the body is easily effected by something being repeated. Where on earth did you get that information on scoliosis?? B/c it runs in my family, I’m nearly 4" shorter b/c of it and if I could have simply sat on flat surfaces instead of spending 23 hours a day for 5 years in a brace from my chin to my hip that would have been a lot easier. I wonder why the doctors didn’t tell me that. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/23 "2016-12-11T00:22:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Bike helmets are not uncomfortable, so I conclude that they’re not doing any harm. They also help prevent the police from coming along and taking money from you. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/24 "2016-12-11T00:31:40Z")
> [@Cugel](#): > > They also help prevent the police from coming along and taking money from you. fyi, they are only mandatory in some countries/states: > **[Bicycle helmet laws by country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_helmet_laws_by_country)** > > The wearing of bicycle helmets and attitudes towards their use vary around the world. The effects of compulsory use of helmets are disputed (see Bicycle helmet laws). Four countries (Argentina, Cyprus, Australia, and New Zealand) currently both require and enforce universal use of helmets by cyclists. Partial rules apply in some other jurisdictions, such as only for children (e.g. in France), in certain states or sub-national divisions (e.g. British Columbia in Canada), or under other limi Aus... ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/25 "2016-12-11T00:44:04Z")
We may have set a new low for “nonsense question with most replies”. If OP can be loosely called a “question”. A “bicycle helmet causing scoliosis” is a new record for CT, even in the age of Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/26 "2016-12-11T00:55:03Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > We may have set a new low for “nonsense question with most replies”. > > If OP can be loosely called a “question”. > > A “bicycle helmet causing scoliosis” is a new record for CT, even in the age of Trump. Except you’re the only one here saying that. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/27 "2016-12-11T01:58:00Z")
Ultra-marathon cyclist do sometimes develop a condition called “Schermer neck”, in which the neck muscles become fatigued to the point that the rider no longer can lift their head. Not sure if there is any evidence one way or the other of helmets contributing in particular to this. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/28 "2016-12-11T14:15:49Z")
I actually wonder if the OP has every worn a bike helmet. His (?) question seems pretty hypothetical and experience-free. OTOH, here is one actual factual possible issue: If the liner of a helmet (bike, motorcycle, hardhat, etc., doesn’t matter) is the wrong shape for the user’s head, it can produce a small (1/4" - 1/2") area that’s being squeezed pretty hard. The tighter you strap the helmet down on the head, the worse that gets. Which can be a bit painful after a few minutes and real uncomfortable after an hour or more. Far more uncomfortable than anyone would put up with for recreation. The solution is to get a better-fitting helmet or to slightly relieve the padding at that spot. Since the skull is incompressible, we’re talking about squeezing the very thin layer of skin & sub-tissue outside the skull. Which is only a few mm thick. So removing even a mm or two of padding material over the “hot spot” is probably enough to get relief. Beyond that the idea that a 1 or 2# helmet has any deleterious effect on a 100-200# human is silly. It’d make more sense to fear ordinary shoes due to all the extra effort required to swing one’s legs while walking with those heavy weights attached to the feet. ---
**Author:** ![Vicsage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e68b1a/32.png) [@Vicsage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicsage)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/29 "2016-12-11T14:40:25Z")
Read a study decades ago where they put rubber bands around chimps heads. Chimps went bald. I suppose a helmet that pinched or restricted blood flow to the scalp might result in thinning hair. Not saying it does, but might be an area of research. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/30 "2016-12-11T14:59:20Z")
> [@Vicsage](#): > > Read a study decades ago where they put rubber bands around chimps heads. Chimps went bald. I suppose a helmet that pinched or restricted blood flow to the scalp might result in thinning hair. Not saying it does, but might be an area of research. That’s far tighter than any properly sized and fitted helmet. ---
**Author:** ![Vicsage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e68b1a/32.png) [@Vicsage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicsage)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/31 "2016-12-11T15:12:51Z")
Key word is “properly”. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/32 "2016-12-11T15:19:13Z")
> [@Vicsage](#): > > Key word is “properly”. Any helmet that creates a pressure sufficient to cut off blood supply would be far too painful to wear. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/33 "2016-12-11T15:21:32Z")
One of the reasons I suspect the OP is thinking about something he’s never experienced is his thought that bicycle helmets are worn “day in and day out”. Which phrase I interpreted as meaning “all day every day”. Which may be overactive imagination on my part, or may be what he really meant. Which is an inappropriate use case for bike helmets except in the rare case of professional bike messengers and racers. Certainly many workers wear occupational helmets of one sort or another for many hours per day and per week for many years. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/34 "2016-12-11T15:33:39Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I don’t know where you get this. A proper bicycle helmet is well ventilated and also shades the head from direct sun. > > And in the winter, I often wear a skullcap under my helmet as the wind takes heat from my head. > > Personally, I’ve never felt “safer” ( in regards to taking chances) wearing a helmet, it’s there in case something goes wrong. This is exactly my position as well. A decently-fitted modern bicycle helmet will not really be noticeable. The only way I could see a bike helmet causing comfort issues is if you cinch it up too tightly, or not wear it properly - such as people I see wearing it backward (yes) or so loosely that it has rotated way to the back of your head, nearly resting on the back of your neck (and exposing your forehead). ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/35 "2016-12-11T16:33:29Z")
There is no actual evidence that bicycle helmets actually provide any overall benefit. For every study that says they help there is another study that says they don’t. There are also studies that indicate helmets may actually increase the injury rate, partly due to risk compensation (riders taking additional risks because they feel safer). Read the label inside your kid’s cycle helmet – the helmet is to be worn only when riding a bike because it is dangerous to wear it off the bike ??? – think about that. Note that many states have eliminated their mandatory motorcycle helmet laws because several decades of insurance statistics showed no overall benefit to helmets; sometimes they help, sometimes they don’t, and sometimes the rider would have been better off without the helmet. Riding a motorcycle is dangerous because of the speed. Riding a bicycle is about as dangerous as walking; billions of people all over the world do it every day and the bodies are simply not piling up in the streets. The current kerfluffle about head injuries and football seems to indicate helmet use increases injuries rather than reducing them. Olympic boxers didn’t wear the headgear this past year because they simply don’t work. The death rate of pro cyclists during races has gone up since helmets became mandatory in 2003. There are places and activities where wearing some sort of hard hat can be helpful but there are also activities where it really makes no sense; riding a bicycle is on of those activities. Just forget about cycle helmets. ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/36 "2016-12-11T17:11:22Z")
I’ve been wearing bicycle helmets for about 250 hours every year since the '70s. The good things have happened including three wrecks that ruined the helmets but protected my head. One was bad enough that I still had a concussion but not skull fracture. For Christmas I’m getting a new helmet with MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System). It’s supposed to protect from getting concussions better. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/37 "2016-12-11T19:07:12Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > Riding a motorcycle is dangerous because of the speed. Riding a bicycle is about as dangerous as walking; billions of people all over the world do it every day and the bodies are simply not piling up in the streets. Bullshit. Bicycles can get going plenty fast. I regularly went 20mph on level ground while riding my mountain bike, and had a wreck at that speed. I bruised my head through the helmet, which cracked while doing its job. Without it, I would have had a massive cranial injury, as pretty much my entire weight came down upon my head. I’d probably be a corpse if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet. Dress for the fall, especially your head. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/38 "2016-12-11T22:20:50Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > Just forget about cycle helmets. …we are in General Questions: is this your opinion, or objective fact? If you think it is the latter, can you provide some cites? If it is the former: don’t you think it is a bit dangerous offering up this sort of opinion without substance in a forum like this? ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/39 "2016-12-11T22:41:48Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Ultra-marathon cyclist do sometimes develop a condition called “Schermer neck”, in which the neck muscles become fatigued to the point that the rider no longer can lift their head. Not sure if there is any evidence one way or the other of helmets contributing in particular to this. Good point. That would be Micheal Shermer who is now the publisher of Skeptic Magazine. He was doing RAAM, Race Across AMerica, trying to cross the USA on bicycle in about 9 days. That certainly is an extreme example of helmet use! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366/40 "2016-12-11T22:52:45Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Ultra-marathon cyclist do sometimes develop a condition called “Schermer neck”, in which the neck muscles become fatigued to the point that the rider no longer can lift their head. Not sure if there is any evidence one way or the other of helmets contributing in particular to this. > [@JerrySTL](#): > > Good point. That would be Micheal Shermer who is now the publisher of Skeptic Magazine. He was doing RAAM, Race Across AMerica, trying to cross the USA on bicycle in about 9 days. **That certainly is an extreme example of helmet use!** The human head weighs [10-11 lbs.](http://www.brainstuffshow.com/blogs/how-much-does-the-human-head-actually-weigh.htm) My helmet weighs just under 10 ounces. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-wearing-a-bicycle-helmet-really-not-effect-the-head/774366.md?page=3)