We could also see that a helmet could do a lot of good. I asked the more experienced racers if the hairnet we were required to use in races was protective, and they said "they don't help at all in the initial impact, but they keep your ears from being ground off while you're sliding over the pavement." Years later lab testing showed that their assessment from field experience was exactly correct.īy the early 1970's club and racing cyclists with shared experience could see that the injuries that were the worst and the major cause of death were head injuries. When I started racing in the 70's we called them "hairnets" and the nicest ones were made in Italy of beautiful soft leather.īy then the interior of the strip was a foam, but it wasn't very protective. Then the style evolved and the ring of leather around the head was supplemented by strips of leather arranged longitudinally on the head. Although it would probably break up on impact, there were few cars on the roads, so riders needed protection only against a single impact.Īround the turn of the century racing cyclists began using "helmets" made of strips of leather-covered padding, initially with a ring of leather around the head and a wool ring above that. Pith is a crushable material,Īnd was likely the best material available at the time. In the 1880's high-wheel users in clubs saw that head injuries were a problem and began using pith helmets. From cycling's earliest days there were head injuries.Īs more roads were paved it is likely that the head injuries increased, since macadam and asphalt are completely unforgiving as crash surfaces. Just one man's recollection of how bicycle helmets developed. Summary: This is a page of oral history on helmets,
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