Helmets on Sportives

Darkglasses

Newbie question...Do you have to wear a helmet on sportives, like the Wicklow Way 200/100?

I'm trying to convince a friend of mine to do a couple of sportives with me, but he's not a helmet guy.

I'm also trying to think of a good Christmas present for him, so maybe that would be a good idea!

Cookie_Monster

w200 they say you do though I saw a couple of people without

Darkglasses

I've just had a flick through the galleries on the wicklow200.ie website, seems to be few people with no helmet going around anyway. Moreso in the 2005 pics than 2011

smacl

From the WW200 conditions of entry

4 All participants must wear protective helmets while riding the event.

From previous threads, organisers need this for their insurance, same way as clubs do. IMHO, if you're an entering the event, you should adhere to the conditions. You don't want to wear a helmet, don't take part. Simple as that.

Cookie_Monster

it doesn't say where you have to wear it though
you could wear it on your knee

iregk

Was talking to a chap one day who helps organise the W200 and asked him about the TT bikes and helmets etc... He said specifically they discourage TT bikes but can't do anything about them but as it's in the rules if you do enter and don't wear a helmet you are not covered for any insurance. Kinda like telling your insurance company your BMW 320d is a Toyota Yaris, when you crash you'll not be covered.

Incidentally in France TT bikes are barred from sportives.

HivemindXX

smacl wrote: »

From the WW200 conditions of entry
From previous threads, organisers need this for their insurance, same way as clubs do. IMHO, if you're an entering the event, you should adhere to the conditions. You don't want to wear a helmet, don't take part. Simple as that.

In addition you are far more likely (although still pretty unlikely) to have the sort of crash that helmets are actually useful for. A no-car-involved fall either due to pushing too hard or a clash with another cyclist.

I do not ordinarilly wear a helmet but I do for sportives mostly because of what Smacl said, if I don't want to follow their rules I shouldn't enter their event. Every sportive I've entered has required the participants to wear helmets.

Jawgap

I wish they'd enforce the rules on tri-bars - don't like being draft by someone sporting those on their bike.

Lusk Doyle

Jawgap wrote: »

I wish they'd enforce the rules on tr-bars - don't like being draft by someone sporting those on their bike.

Hater.

Jawgap

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

Hater.

Nope.....I just value my kidneys!

Plus I figure anyone who is actually behind me must be pretty sh1t and therefore not competent to be using tri-bars and therefore more likely to crash.......

check_six

Keep an eye out for the Lidl/Aldi bike bits sales (should be one before next summer), they often sell bike helmets in the sub €10 range.

They meet all the (limited) safety requirements that the more expensive ones meet, fit fine, and look ok. If you're not going to wear the thing outside of a sportive, there's not much point splashing out on the fancy-dan ones.

crumliniano

Darkglasses wrote: »

Newbie question...Do you have to wear a helmet on sportives, like the Wicklow Way 200/100?

I'm trying to convince a friend of mine to do a couple of sportives with me, but he's not a helmet guy.

I'm also trying to think of a good Christmas present for him, so maybe that would be a good idea!

Get him a helmet regardless of whether he is going to do the W200. You'd want to be a nutter not to wear a helmet on the roads at any time. It's not like in the 80's when they were uncomfortable leather contraptions. Helmets today are light and breathable. You can fit skullcaps under them for the cold. They won't protect you in all eventualities but you have a better chance. The only reason I can see not to wear one is vanity.
Rant over

TheBlaaMan

crumliniano wrote: »

Get him a helmet regardless of whether he is going to do the W200. You'd want to be a nutter not to wear a helmet on the roads at any time. It's not like in the 80's when they were uncomfortable leather contraptions. Helmets today are light and breathable. You can fit skullcaps under them for the cold. They won't protect you in all eventualities but you have a better chance. The only reason I can see not to wear one is vanity.
Rant over

7.5 out of 10

Tonyandthewhale

Darkglasses wrote: »

Newbie question...Do you have to wear a helmet on sportives, like the Wicklow Way 200/100?

I'm trying to convince a friend of mine to do a couple of sportives with me, but he's not a helmet guy.

I'm also trying to think of a good Christmas present for him, so maybe that would be a good idea!

If he doesn't like to wear a helmet he's probably not going to want to get a helmet as a gift. Personally I don't wear a helmet 90% of the time when I'm on the bike (I do when I race because thems the rules but I very rarely race) and I hate being nagged about helmet wearing and I might be inclined to view a gift of a helmet as an extension of this nagging.

monument

crumliniano wrote: »

Get him a helmet regardless of whether he is going to do the W200. You'd want to be a nutter not to wear a helmet on the roads at any time. It's not like in the 80's when they were uncomfortable leather contraptions. Helmets today are light and breathable. You can fit skullcaps under them for the cold. They won't protect you in all eventualities but you have a better chance. The only reason I can see not to wear one is vanity.
Rant over

I hope you also wear body armor, high-vis all over, knee pads, elbow pads and also that your helmet is a full face helmet -- You'd want to be a nutter not to wear a full face helmet, high-vis all over, body armor, knee pads, and elbow pads on the roads at any time.

You should also have at least six lights on your bike, three front and three at the rear -- you'd want to be a nutter not to.

All of that stuff won't protect you in all eventualities but you have a better chance.

The only reason I can see not to wear all of that is vanity... or that some cyclists are not dedicated enough to cycling / too lazy. Vain or lazy people should be made to walk.

jinkypolly

monument wrote: »

I hope you also wear body armor, high-vis all over, knee pads, elbow pads and also that your helmet is a full face helmet -- You'd want to be a nutter not to wear a full face helmet, high-vis all over, body armor, knee pads, and elbow pads on the roads at any time.

You should also have at least six lights on your bike, three front and three at the rear -- you'd want to be a nutter not to.

All if that stuff won't protect you in all eventualities but you have a better chance.

The only reason I can see not to wear all of that is vanity... or that some cyclists are not dedicated enough to cycling / too lazy. Vain or lazy people should be made to walk.

Now this,...this is trolling.

DaveyDave

I don't wear a helmet myself, just for mountain biking. I'd probably get one for sportives though. I'd imagine with the amount of climbing in the W200 there'd be a fair amount of 60kph+ descending? That's anough for me to get one.

Wouldn't mind picking up a cheap one from Aldi/Lidl though as they're too expendable for me at the moment. Had a €60 Giro MTB helmet collecting dust for 6 months then getting destroyed on a head first landing first use. Maybe after a year of straight trails I'll splash out on something nice just because :pac:

CramCycle

crumliniano wrote: »

The only reason I can see not to wear one is vanity.

I have severe recurring neck pain due to a helmet, in a crash 4 years ago. If I wasn't wearing the helmet, I would have missed the metal bar that hit my helmet which whipped my head back after I was knocked down. To be honest, the only lucky thing that day was that the helmet didn't do more severe damage to my neck.

Lusk Doyle

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

If he doesn't like to wear a helmet he's probably not going to want to get a helmet as a gift. Personally I don't wear a helmet 90% of the time when I'm on the bike (I do when I race because thems the rules but I very rarely race) and I hate being nagged about helmet wearing and I might be inclined to view a gift of a helmet as an extension of this nagging.

You should really wear a helmet you know, when taking part in a sportive.

Lusk Doyle

CramCycle wrote: »

I have severe recurring neck pain due to a helmet, in a crash 4 years ago. If I wasn't wearing the helmet, I would have missed the metal bar that hit my helmet which whipped my head back after I was knocked down. To be honest, the only lucky thing that day was that the helmet didn't do more severe damage to my neck.

What would your head have hit if it had missed the bar? The ground? Nothing?

Edit: Were you on a sportive at the time? (Phew - got away with that!)

Beasty

We've had plenty of "helmet debates" recently - let's not go there again so quickly (we all know that some posters have pretty entrenched views, which tends to simply wind a lot of people up), and stick to the topic of helmets in the context of sportives

Thanks

Beasty

Tonyandthewhale

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

You should really wear a helmet you know, when taking part in a sportive.

Possibly but then again I've never done any sportives.

Darkglasses

Thanks Beasty

Right, so we've established that it's in the WW200 rules that you need to wear a helmet, so I guess that's out unless my buddy changes his tune, although in the pictures it looks like it isn't strictly enforced.

Does anybody know a sportive where it's definitely not against the rules?

C3PO

Darkglasses wrote: »

Does anybody know a sportive where it's definitely not against the rules?

I'd be amazed if there were any sportives that didn't have compulsory hemet wearing as part of their T&Cs!

Beasty

C3PO wrote: »

I'd be amazed if there were any sportives that didn't have compulsory hemet wearing as part of their T&Cs!

I thought I had seen some UK ones where it was not compulsory, and checked the Lap the Lough website

From the rules of the Event

Every participant is urged to wear a cycle helmet for their own safety.

So it's not compulsory. You may find others in Ulster that don't make it a requirement, but like C3PO I would be surprised if there are any in the Republic

Darkglasses

Beasty wrote: »

I thought I had seen some UK ones where it was not compulsory, and checked the Lap the Lough website

From the rules of the Event


So it's not compulsory. You may find others in Ulster that don't make it a requirement, but like C3PO I would be surprised if there are any in the Republic

He actually lives in Newry so that would be fine..

I've never done a sportive, even though it's in the rules is it still normal to see people going without them?

Lusk Doyle

C3PO wrote: »

I'd be amazed if there were any sportives that didn't have compulsory hemet wearing as part of their T&Cs!

And hi-vis accoutrements also!

Lusk Doyle

Darkglasses wrote: »

He actually lives in Newry so that would be fine..

I've never done a sportive, even though it's in the rules is it still normal to see people going without them?

It doesn't matter where he lives. It's where the event is that is the key.

"Sir - you have to wear a helmet in this event."

"It's ok - I live in Newry!"

"?"

CramCycle

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

It doesn't matter where he lives. It's where the event is that is the key.

"Sir - you have to wear a helmet in this event."

"It's ok - I live in Newry!"

"?"

Possibly he meant that living up North this event would be close by and suitable to partake in for his friend?

smacl

Darkglasses wrote: »

I've never done a sportive, even though it's in the rules is it still normal to see people going without them?

Not normal, though you might see the very occasional exception. No good reason not to, once you've agreed to abide by the rules of the event.

But no one wears hi-viz. God, no. Never. Couldn't have that.



(From the 2011 WW200)

Darkglasses

Lusk give me a little more credit than that. Its what cram said.

check_six

I've seen people in sportives sling their helmets around the stem and their handlebars after the start of the event. To be honest, I'd be more annoyed by the rattling going over our not so smooth roads, but each to their own.

Your mate won't be too bothered when they turn up to an event and every other punter there is wearing a helmet too.