What are the reasons not to wear a bike helmet?

There are many reasons not to wear a bike helmet, but the most common reason is the uncomfortable feeling it creates around the head. Many riders have reported that wearing a helmet makes them feel uncomfortable and that it causes distraction. They say that it breaks their focus during bike riding.

Whatever reasons there may be not to wear a bike helmet, the positive impact of wearing a bike helmet will always outweigh the negative ones. I love bikes and from my experience I can tell you that my helmet saved my sorry butt cheeks way more than I can count. I have been in situations where I hit my head first and I would not be here writing about it if I wasn’t wearing a helmet all those times. Although the helmet is a life saver, there are people out there who love comfort more than their safety.

Why don’t people want to wear a bike helmet?

There are a lot of reasons why people don’t want to wear a helmet when they ride their bike. I have many friends who prefer to ride without a helmet. They say the helmet ruins the fun and joy of riding a bike.

I have always been curious about safety in bike riding and people’s opinion on it. So I decided to make a note and list out a few points on why people don’t want to wear a helmet.

1. Helmets make them look uncool.

Riders who complain about bike helmets claim that bike helmets make them look like a boring person. Bike helmet offers protection and that is why wearing a helmet makes them look like an overprotective person who is too afraid to have a little fun. This complaint usually comes from 12 year old kids and teenagers from 13 to 16 year olds. What is surprising is that even some adults complain about bike helmets being old fashioned.

2. Helmet messes up the hair.

Apart from being an old fashion boring gear of a thing, helmets are bad for the hair. People spend so much time on brushing and grooming their hair only to get them messed up again by the annoying helmet. 

3. Helmets are uncomfortable to wear.

The most common complaint about helmets is that they are uncomfortable to wear, but those who say it never actually tried a helmet once. You see, modern day bicycle helmets are very comfortable to wear. They are designed ergonomically to adjust to any shape and size of head without making the rider feel discomfort. Reality is that those who don’t want to wear a helmet make this excuse to avoid wearing one. A good quality helmet is very comfortable.

4. You can’t wear a hat.

Should you wear the hat over the helmet or the helmet over the hat? I find it confusing and awkward why people want to wear a hat during bike riding. There is a good chance that the hat will blow away in the gust, but people really love their hat I guess. 

5. It increases risk taking tendency.

Now, this is a logical reason not to wear a helmet. Scientists have found that there is a part of human psychology that has a tendency to take more risks as protection against risks increases. Basically it means, the more protection a person has the more risk a person would be willing to take. Scientists call it “risk compensation”. Professor Ian Walker from the University of Bath made a research on cyclists wearing a baseball hat and a bike helmet, to see who has more risk taking tendencies. He gave them different tasks that involved risks and gambling. He found out that cyclists wearing a helmet had high risk sensation.

This could be a reason why many people suggest others not to wear a helmet during bike riding. It motivates risk taking tendencies and could potentially increase the chances of road accidents.

6. It attracts other vehicle drivers to hit you.

The same research made another conclusion that cyclists with protective gear were more prone to get hit by other road vehicles. Not intentionally hitting other bike riders but drivers on the road has a tendency to drive close to bike riders who wear a helmet and other protective gears. This is not the case with those who do not wear a bike helmet on the road.

Some drivers were asked about it and they explained that bike riders who wore a helmet looked more professional. For this reason they have this impression that these riders can take care of themselves. Also because they were wearing protective gears, drivers have this psychology where they think nothing would happen to the riders. Now, let’s not blame the drivers. It is a part of human psychology. It affects all of us.

From this research I think we are getting a clear idea why people try not to wear a bike helmet. But then again, a bike helmet can protect against a lot of misfortunes.

7. Helmets can cause brain dysfunctions.

There is a condition called “compression headache”. It happens when someone wears a very tight hat, head gear or a band on their head. Usually what happens is that the pressure from the headwear affects the Trigeminal nerve and the Occipital nerves under the skin. These nerves are responsible for sending signals from the brain to the face and then at the back of our head. When these nerves are pressured most of us feel dizzy, a sore throat or a little numbness, but in serious cases it can cause vomiting, nausea, blurry vision. The serious cases occur to very rare people, only 4% of the total population on earth. Usually most average people can sustain this pressure for a long period of time.

But the rumor of brain dysfunction intimidates a few people to wear helmets. If you want to know more about this medical condition and its symptoms and treatment, click here.  

8. People are becoming less interested in riding bikes.

Ever since wearing a bike helmet became mandatory, people’s attitude changed towards bike riding itself. It seems like the law that was made for public safety is now stopping people from bike riding as a healthy activity. People hate their helmet so much that they are willing to stop bike riding, just so they don’t have to wear a helmet.  

The effect of this law is clearly visible on teenagers. There was a research on the impact of the Mandatory Helmet Wear Law on teenagers’ attitude after 3 years of its passing. The research reported that it made most of the teenagers not ride their bike as often as they used to.

There are more reasons behind the disliking of bike helmets. It can be said that there are a few problems with the bike helmet design and how some people perceive it. However, the majority of the riders accept the helmet as what it is, a protective equipment. Hopefully helmet manufacturers will make a unique design for this minor fraction of these riders.

Do bike helmets expire?

Bike helmets don’t expire, but they should be changed. Solid materials don’t expire like other materials. Technically they last forever if you don’t break them or if they were broken in an event. 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) advised everyone to change their bike helmet every 5 to 10 years. It is wise to do so, because by this time new models of helmet will be available on the market which will have better and stronger materials. Also they will look better because of their new designs. So from a consumer standpoint it is wise to change a bike helmet or any kind of helmet or protective gear every 5 to 10 years.

If you want to change your bike helmet right now and are looking for one, then we suggest you the PHZ Adult Bike Helmet. It has really good quality and it is suited for both genders. It has adjusters to fit every size of head and has a rear light system. I personally recommend you give it a try.

Conclusion

Whether it is to not mess up your hair or look uncool, you should always wear a helmet during bike riding. You may think that you don’t need a helmet on a safe road with little to no one around, but accidents could happen anytime. In case of mountain biking, you must wear a helmet. It is always hard to control a bike that is going downhill. What if you lose control and hit something. Wear a helmet to protect your head because it is always better safe than sorry.

Anyway, I hope you are somewhat convinced to wear a helmet. All the things I have said up until now, came through my experience and also because I care for you. I understand why people try to find reasons not to wear a bike helmet. As an experienced rider I advise you to leave those reasons behind and wear your damn helmet.