Head Rest Poll

[trikeman]

When I had the foam and plywood seat on my DW I had the really cooll-looking headrest on it, per the plans. I found that everytime I hit a bump the head rest would smack me in the back of the head. When I went to the mesh seat I had to remove the head rest and I never put it back on.

I am trying to decide if I want to put a head rest on my next build, so I wondered how many of you like the head rest (beyond it looking cool).

[KoolKat]

I prefer a neck rest vs. head rest.

[AtomicZombie]

A head rest does not work on a recumbent unless you don't mind having your teeth shake loose! All vibration will be transfered directly to the back of your skull. The neck rest on the other hand, works great.

Brad

[trikeman]

You are both right. After I wrote that, I went out and just a temporary neck rest on my DW. It was really just a 1x4, but it was pretty comfortable. I think I had the old one too high, which transformed it into a head rest with the effects Brad describes. I think I will put a neck rest on it, because I don't like having to hold my head up all the time.

Thanks.

[gbbwolf]

Agreed I prefer a neckrest.

If you look on my delta-wolf thread you see the picture of the headrest I got off the old wheelchair.

It is set to where it conforms to my neck and is very comfortable,and fully adjustable.

I may take some close up pictures to show how it was built for others to use.

It would be very easy to duplicate.


Nelson

[John Lewis]

The law here is you wear a helmet.
Most modern helmets are designed for upright bikes. They interfere with neck and headrests. So while I like the idea I have found bith neck and headrests to be impractical.

John Lewis

[greenevegiebeast]

John alot of us prefer to keep our brain inside our skull in one peice. though there are neck rest that would not interfer with some helmets. like those of the 3/4 verity AKA"Brain Bucket"

[trikeman]

I was thinking about the whole helmet thing last night. When my son got into motorcycles I did a lot of research on helmets. Apparently most of the force on the head that is created in an average motorcycle accident is from the head falling from 5+ feet in the air to the ground, as opposed to the head hitting something from horizontal motion. Usually, you just slide along the ground (once you hit it), as my son did for 200 feet in his motorcycle accident a few months ago. Thanks to good protective gear he has now recovered fully from the broken collar bone he got falling. That is probably even more true on a bicycle. There are exceptions obviously if you ram into something solid with your head.

So.. do I really need a helmet to protect my head if I am riding a tadpole or delta wolf or a quad? A seat belt might be more protective. You are almost sitting on the ground in these machines, and not many people fall over and hurt their heads while sitting on the ground. Of course since you are moving (hopefully at 10+ mph), you could fall out, and thus the need for a seat belt, rather than a helmet.

In my state, only kids are required to wear bicycle helmets, but I always were one on my wedgie ,which I have fallen over on several times, when I forgot unclip from a pedal at a stop (Doh!).

Just musing, not recommending anything to anybody.

[macka]

The law here is you wear a helmet.
Most modern helmets are designed for upright bikes. They interfere with neck and headrests. So while I like the idea I have found bith neck and headrests to be impractical.

John Lewis

If you get one of those aerodynamic brain buckets, the protrusion will hit the rest, however there are Xtreme MTB helmets that look more like helmets and less like teardrops, and they can take more then one hard landing.

like these ones

http://www.ridesfo.com/servlet/the-Protective-Gear-cln-Helmets-cln-Dirt-Jump-Buckets/Categories

[trikeman]

At least this one plugs into your ipod

http://www.ridesfo.com/servlet/the-857/Azonic-O%27neal-Surround-Sound/Detail

and whatever you do, do not run into cars, or let them run into you. I knew there was a reason I don't ride on the road

http://www.helmets.org/stats.htm#ny

[savarin]

tried a head rest but found I was more unstable using it. A neck rest is better.
Bike helmets on a recumbent are a waste of time. They are hot, sweaty and uncomfortable. (at least they are up here)
If a car hits you your probably toast, if you fall off your butt gets sore.
I've had many motorcycle crashes in my life (some were my fault:mad: but not all)
The only time I ever hit my head was when I was wearing a helmet. Some may say "there you go, it saved your head"
Actually the weight of the helmet made my head flop around as I rolled and I couldn't tuck as normal.
On a wedgie they make a little more sense but search the real stats on bike accidents and check the figures. They are very surprising.
(RANT)
I'm a little sick of being told its for my own good. I can make a risk analysis and then decide.
Most bike accidents end in grazed knees, ankles, elbows, hands etc, maybe we should all be wearing full body Armour to protect these areas so as not to place an extra burden on the hospitals. (the usual response to these kind of statements)
(/RANT)

[John Lewis]

I don't think I want to get into the helmet argument as such. It seems to always lead to agro.

Over here the highschool kids won't wear them. Not Cool. The police do nothing. If I ride up the road without it I'll be booked. I asked a copper about that. His reply was that they'ed be wasting their time as they can't do anything with the kids.

As I understand it, at least in this state, the riders of motorcycle trikes are classified as cars, ride on a car licence and are not required to wear a helmet. It has also been suggested that a helmet is not required on a bent trike. I've not bothered to check it out. Rules vary State to State.

John Lewis

[savarin]

I don't think I want to get into the helmet argument as such. It seems to always lead to agro.

Over here the highschool kids won't wear them. Not Cool. The police do nothing. If I ride up the road without it I'll be booked. I asked a copper about that. His reply was that they'ed be wasting their time as they can't do anything with the kids.

As I understand it, at least in this state, the riders of motorcycle trikes are classified as cars, ride on a car licence and are not required to wear a helmet. It has also been suggested that a helmet is not required on a bent trike. I've not bothered to check it out. Rules vary State to State.

John Lewis

Its helmets on everything up here, the cops try to stop the kids and make them walk their bike but they always fine an adult for not wearing.
We even have to wear them on waste ground and cycle tracks (that our council is actually building more of)