Bicycle Mechanics - Did I ruin my new helmet?

Hi,
I was going up a long hill, and I ran out of breath. I pulled into a driveway to stop, but I was foggy enough that I couldn't seem to get unclipped. I remember thinking, 'here we go again'.....BAM.
I'm fine, but I landed on my back. My Ghisallo helmet has these
pointy bits at the back, and the middle point got a little chewed.
it's a beefy area, the pointy bits are just there to make it look racy. But I was hoping someone could reassure me that it's still ok.

Most likely your helmet is OK, if all you did was a no-speed prat-fall and the helmet just got a ding. Inspect it carefully, particularly inside, looking for cracks. If you find a crack, the helmet instantly becomes wall art.

If you are EVER in doubt about a helmet, err on the safe side and buy a new one. It's very cheap compared to the cost of repairing your head.

Been there, done that!

Fingers crossed, and as Davet suggests, it may be just fine. However, being a 1,000 miles away and not being able to "see" the helmet I'd be hard pressed to suggest if it was OK or not without giving it a really hard look over. Did the plastic shell disbond? Did any of the strap holes get damaged? Are the anchor points still firmly seated in the helmet and are the straps still firmly attached to the archors?

But, when in doubt, Take it to your LBS and have them look at it and give you an opinion.

Just some things to consider beyond the cosmetically obvious "chewed-up" point.

If you are really worried about this I believe Bell has a crash replacement policy. You could get a new helmet that is not chewed and peace of mind for minimal money.

I'd replace it, period.

The purpose of a helmet is to protect you from a concussion. The way that it does that is by compressing the polystyrene and consequently slowing the rate of decelleration of your skull and your brain. In other words, a bicycle helmet is designed to sacrifice itself to save your brain. A casual examination of your helmet is not adequate to determine the degree to which the compressability of the polystyrene has been compromised by your fall.

Helmets are cheap. The first time using one keeps you out of the hospital, you have probably paid for a lifetime of helmet purchases.

Originally posted by georgesnatcher
If you are really worried about this I believe Bell has a crash replacement policy. You could get a new helmet that is not chewed and peace of mind for minimal money.

Yes Bell has a replacement policy go to their web site and check out the details. The danger you have here is that there may be internal damage that you cannot see. So if you had an impact replace it!

http://www.bellbikehelmets.com/main/index.html

Thanks for the help, guys!
I'm on it. Hope I still have the receipt. I have a credit at my LBS if I don't.
Thanks again

Originally posted by livngood
Fingers crossed, and as Davet suggests, it may be just fine.

But, when in doubt, Take it to your LBS and have them look at it and give you an opinion.



Damage to a helmet is not always visible or apparant and I doubt a bike shop would be prepared to accept responsibility for making this sort of determination.

I would suggest sending it back to Bell.

Justen