I'm new to triking, and my Dumont did not come with a standard Catrike headrest, so getting a headrest seemed like a great way to enhance comfort when riding in a recumbent position. The T-Cycle headrest construction is second to none, and the modular design means you have tremendous flexibility in how you attach it to the trike, as well as lots of options to attach other accessories (I've attached a old 'seat-post' bag I had lying around). It's also a great location for lights, as the headrest is the highest point on the trike frame. After trying it out for a few weeks however, I'm not sure how people are riding with their head cradled by the headrest, as all vibrations and bumps in the road are transmitted directly into your head, which you can only tolerate for a few seconds at most. The foam obviously dampens this a bit, but it's not a sustainable way to ride. I suspect it comes in handy when you're stopped, or maybe coasting slowly on a smooth surface, but for vigorous riding I can't see how this offers any benefit. But all that doesn't really matter when you consider the primary reason I think a headrest is important while riding a recumbent: getting rear-ended by a car. If a car strikes you from behind, it would almost certainly result in a whiplash injury, or worse: paralysis. The beefy construction of the headrest, and tightening it down correctly on the seat frame, will surely offer some protection in this scenario. Given its robust attachment on the seat frame, and the fact that it can rotate around that attachment point means the G-forces your head would experience are far less than having nothing there. Think about it: your head weighs 10 lbs. A 6-G impact turns it into 60lbs of force ...backwards....on your neck. You absolutely need something there to protect against that. Just look at every new car coming off the assembly line these days...almost every seat (front and rear) has a headrest for this purpose. So for me, this headrest is mostly about providing some protection against a potentially serious injury scenario. It happens to also double as a convenient place to attach things to. Get one.
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