December 2010 - Page 3 of 3

This week I test a Power Balance bracelet.

So. I’ve been wearing one of those little silicone wristlets imbedded with two small holograms for a fortnight now. I felt compelled to test one. Power Balance bracelets are like Zumba – a phenomenon that crept up without my noticing. One day I woke up and everyone was wearing one. Or dissing them. Do they work? Do they make life better? I suppose I had to find out.

It’s been an interesting sociological experience. There are a lot of people out there who love to hate an energy adornment and tell you all about it. Day one, I was tyre-kicking at an open for inspection down the road and the real estate agent scoffed at me: “The only good thing about those bracelets? They help you spot a wanker”.

Oh, like Bluetooth earpieces, I almost said. But didn’t.

On the flipside, wearing a Power Balance bracelet is a bit like owning a vintage Peugeot. You attract other owners (who wave at you when they pass). So it was that I kept meeting strangers sporting a PB who wanted to welcome me into their little club. They emerged at the gym, from behind the lat-pull machine, nodded at me, and asked, “How you finding it, eh? Performing better?”.

There are several of these energy bracelets on the market, but the Power Balance is the original and has attracted the most parochial following – Shaquille O’Neil and David Beckham wear one, so does, seemingly, every second AFL player. They’ve also attracted the most impassioned disdain. The Australian Skeptics seem hell-bent on exposing them as a scam, demanding scientific proof that they work, and Today Tonight has waded in.

The PB claim is that the holograms are ”embedded with frequencies that react positively with your body’s natural energy field” to improve flexibility, balance and strength. The company doesn’t reveal exactly how this occurs. But, as I write this column this morning (literally!), I received a press release announcing such claims contravene the Therapeutic Goods Act and the company have been forced to pull their advertising.

So. This aside, do I think they work?

OK, I’m back on the Campaign to Ride a Bike, a loose gee-up I’m waging on my blog – and beyond – to get more people riding. You can catch up on some of my rants here and also here.

But a big barrier for a lot of people is the goddamn helmet. How to preserve one’s vanity and the planet?

(PS. The cat in a melon hat was sourced by my new (!) assistant Jo Foster who has an incredible knack for finding obscure factoids, cricket trivia and pictures for this blog. She also likes threatening me with Dance-off Tuesdays and Sing-a-long Wednesdays in my office. Performance terrifies me. Jo finds this funny…ANYWAY…)

I personally struggle. I promote riding unencumbered by style restraints. But helmets just ruin the whole flow, especially for a chick. Plus. Um. Confession: I don’t always wear a helmet. Like when I scoot down the road for dinner, or to the beach in the morning. Illegal I know. And irresponsible. But I must come clean. I sometimes debate the protective worth of them (the Sydney Morning Herald ran a story recently on whether bike helmets do any good if you’re interested). And I rationalise things in my own head thus: I’ve been riding for 32 years (and have never pranged); if I have an accident, I want my brain to go along with my body; and riding sans headwear makes for some very defensive riding.

That said, if I’m going far, or cross-country, or racing, I wear one.

And I’ve recently found some styles that are getting me a little more excited about wearing them more regularly. I’ll share a few:

sunday life: does a power balance bracelet make you stronger, better?

a guide to hot bike helmets (you asked for it!)