Advocacy & Safety - helmut life- span

SNELL and the bicyle helmut safety institute have coflicting ideas on when to buy a new helmut. Manufacturers say bet. 3-5 years and SNELL says 5 years. Anybody have experience with this theme?

I meant, of course, "helmet", not "helmut", although I have German friends named "Helmut".

i'd heard 4-5 yrs. (but since a friend just took a major header that knocked her out for ~ 5min :eek: everyone i know that rides has upgraded their noggin protection, no matter how old)


also, anytime you bang the helmet i've been told it should be replaced

j

http://www.helmets.org/replace.htm

Ihre Angaben ist sehr gut, and vielen dank für die Deutsch Übung. Und ich brauche viele Deutsch Übung...

...aber, meiste Leser heir können Deutsch nicht verstehen. So, eine Übersetzung, bitte.

Ja, ja. Ich weiß, es ist ein Witz für der ,,helmut" Rechshreibfehler! :D

Danke!

*Uses Leo for every word* jkjk. So, would dropping your helmet constitute for a "fall" and be replaced? I used a skateboard helmet and it had 1/8" plastic and squishy foam so I was fine since there was no styrofoam to kill

Dad: d.h.= Der heißt... didn't know if you got that. Leo said that was it

personally I have never had a Helmet last much over 1 year. I expose it to about an hour and a half of UV light each day and the sun bakes the plastic coating right off. This year I was just about ready to trash it when i wiped out in the woods going down a hill, didn't realize I had hit my head but a few days later I see a couple of cracks in the foam. Someone who does less mileage probably gets more time out of their helmets (I do 6 - 7000 a year).

I think 8 years is the current helmet recommendation. Most modern helmets have foam treated against UV...

Isn't Helmut Lifespan the guy who directed City of Angels? Who am I thinking of?

how do i keep the padding from falling apart for five years? i'm using a cut up sock to make mine work now. :(

I think 8 years is the current helmet recommendation. Most modern helmets have foam treated against UV...

Had a Giro 2 years ago, after a year every time I touched the plastic over the foam it would crumble and chunks would fall off (probably a good sign it is time for a new helmet me thinks). More Recent Helmet was a Bell Furio, Great helmet, slowly went from solid yellow to a two tone with a color fade to white as you got further back on the helmet (I ride west in the morning). Foam was fine (a little ding here and there from life as a bike accessory but no major dents until I cracked it). I think they do have some degree of UV protection but nothing can permanently delay UV aging I think.

Incidentally my pads went south after less than half a year and I couldn't get replacements, it was about the time I started wearing a do-rag/cyling cap so it really didn't matter.


Just my experience. UV is powerful stuff.

I have left over padding from old brain buckets I try and use to make a better fit in current lids. I will say my newest helmet fits way better than my first did. They've definitely improved the design over the years.

I just got my third since 1993 or so, so that's about 6 years apiece for an average - though in actuality, I used the first one (for mtbng only) from 1993ish to 1995ish and thereafter hardly ever till 2000. Bought the second one in 2001 for urban commuting, used it regularly and the insides disintegrated over the next three or so years. The outer sheel still looked fairly good.

I had to replace it this year as it had turned into an 'Iron Maiden for the head' - the inner plastic cage thingys snapped off until there were just little spiky edged things jabbing me in the scalp as I rode......plus I slid under an ice cream truck on my head (sort of an interpretive break dance) last May, so I figured it was time.

If money was no object - and it really shouldn't be with your brain - a new helmet once a year sounds okay. Many of us replace our tires that often whether they need it or not.

I meant, of course, "helmet", not "helmut", although I have German friends named "Helmut".
Darn, I was hoping to start talking about my new German bib shorts!:D

Er, I bought my second helmet on clearance with a 8/2000 marker inside (Specialized Allez helmet) and havent' had any issues with it; of course, I buy helmets about 2-3 times a year, depending...

I think 8 years is the current helmet recommendation. Most modern helmets have foam treated against UV...
:eek: What kind of mushroom-looking toadie helmet are you wearing?
Clickhttp://www.kclproductions.com/images/nintendo/8htoadie.gifMe (http://www.gamezero.com/offline/smbss/MIDIS/SMB/smb-go.mid)
Seriously the longest I recommend people go on a skid lid is 5 years MAXIMUM. I normally suggest replacing them every three years or so as the ventilation and other tech trickles down to the lower price points

OK, I have to clarify. Post #4 was originally in German, hence my response. I replied:

Your advice is very good, and thanks for the German practice. And I need German practice.

However, most of the readers don't understand German, so a translation, please.

I know, this is a joke on the "Helmut" misspelling. :D

Thanks!

So let me ask - The soft foam inserts inside the helmet - they quickly deteriorate and fall out. Does the helmet still meet its ANSI protection standard without the inner soft-foams?

It would seem that the harder, less-compressable styrofoam shell is where all the serious protection occurs and that the inner soft foams (which are fully compressed when you have the helmet on anyway) are cosmetic only.

If the inner soft foams are actually structural, then I'd probably need to replace a helmet every month!

I think hours of use is as important as elapsed time. I wear my helmet for about an hour every day, and they last about 18-24 months before the insides crumble.

the amount of use, and crashes, will contribute to helmet lifespan, but in my experience riding daily, that after 18-24 months ANY modern microshell/foam helmet begins to show obvious signs of wear and tear and fatigue and should be replaced. And after a big melon crash, I replace them, not after the usual bangs and slips etc, but from a real headbanger I'll replace it. My last helmet lasted 3 weeks! before I had a major noggin thwacker, hated to replace such a new helmet, but better safe than sorry..

Replace every 1 1/2-2 years for daily riding or sooner if you whallop your noggin good. I label helmets with month and year I buy them so I replace around the right time, but it's usually obvious when they need to go. And for everyone riding around with an 8 year old helmet, YIKES !Q!

....I for one am not buying a new helmet every 3-5 years unless I see wear and tear on it... I figure if it protects your mellon for that one crash... so be it... then it's time to buy another... NOW... if it is falling apart... by all means.. buy a NEW one!