Strange Accessories 5: Handlebar Mounted Helmet

The issue of wearing a helmet to cycle is a contentions (and sometimes even political) one.

There have been studies which show that they can save your life in a crash if you happen to hit your head hard on something, and others which show that they do very little to help, or that they encourage less careful driving from cars around you. If a political leader wears one, or doesn’t, then the press deem it fit to comment, raising anything from them setting a bad example, through to setting a good example of personal choice. Personally I started wearing one through parental bullying, years and years ago and continue to wear one out of habit more than anything (combined with having seen a helmet smashed clean off a head in a crash and realising that it does have a use). It is worth remembering that you have to wear one to race, so arguably there is something in the argument for them, at least in the minds of the governing bodies.

So, choose to wear one or not, it’s up to you really, but what I don’t understand is taking a helmet along for a ride on your handlebars.

You see it over and over again, someone riding along with a helmet looped over the handlebar. Why? What made you bring it along and not wear it? Where were you intending on putting it on if not at the moment?

Some answers spring to mind, but none of them are satisfactory. Perhaps they’re on their way to a race? But at 9:30 on a weekday and riding a Brompton it seems unlikely. Maybe they are making a point to their kids? But then why not actually wear it to really drive the point home? Possibly there’s one hell of a downhill up ahead and they have body armour in the panniers? But I’ve not found it yet in the backstreets of North London. Maybe the left brake lever is far more sensitive to impact damage than their head, or the helmet improves the aerodynamics of the cockpit setup? Perhaps, finally, they’re buying some groceries and the last wicker basket in the house was full of fir cones so they’re relying on the helmet to carry home their purchases?

I just don’t know. Therefore, in more fool-proof FMFT advice I say either wear the helmet or leave it at home. Carrying it with you certainly won’t help if you do go through the windscreen of a car headfirst.

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