I replace my helmets when the thin plastic shell starts to deteriorate, usually lasts more than 5 years. Would replace if had an impact.

For my last helmet, about 5 years ago now, I bought into two things: (1) High visibility green color; and (2) MIPS. Saw enough data on both to believe that (1) was safer for the road riding I mostly do and (2) was safer if I did have a crash with head impact. I wasn't buying Walmart helmets anyway, so neither of those choices really was much of a price impact.

My wife likes the visors, I don't - I either take them off or buy helmets without them.

I tend to buy good helmets on sale, which often means the manufacturer will be discontinuing that model. The only downside is that I sweat like a pig and always wear out the foam cushion strips before the helmet needs to be replaced - often hard to find the replacement pads 5 years after a model was discontinued, or you find them and they are crazy expensive. So, I try to buy an extra set when I buy the helmet - and put them somewhere I will be able to find them years later...

I too, am contemplating a new helmet purchase. I have been using the Bontrager Specter wavecel helmet (bought it the day it was released). It’s been a good helmet, looks good, feels good, but I’ve worn out my second set of pads. I’d like to get something lighter with better ventilation. I’m about to pull the trigger on a POC Ventral Air Spin I think.

(Emphasis added)

Just where is that? I found some 20 year old pads last summer -- hadn't been able to find them while the helmet they went with was still viable.

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...ormchaser.html
Here are some helmets I bought in the last year and some detailed description of helmets others bought too.

- I dont think its really necessary to replace a helmet that has not had an impact, unless the strap/buckles/retention system is starting to wear out. It obviously doesnt hurt to get a new helmet though, so get one if you want. I would decide on a budget and look for the best fitting helmet in that price, rather than look for specific features first. Helmet fit really does vary- some are round, others oval, some are deep, others shallow, etc.

- The benefit of MIPS is definitely unclear. What is clear is that it doesnt reduce safety, so from that perspective there is no downside to getting it. Cheaper MIPS helmets seem to restrict some ventilation due to the MIPS cutout not being designed/placed well. Independent testing doesnt seem to include the impact that MIPS is designed to help, so its tough to put numbers to the various rotation safety tech(MIPS, Wavecell, SPIN, etc). Then there is the reality that skin moves over your skull and so there is a sort of MIPS layer already. And everyone with hair has another layer that sorta does what MIPS was designed to do. Anyone riding with a cycling cap has yet another layer that again does the motion that MIPS is designed to do. Are all or any of those as effective as MIPS?...who knows- independent test data hasnt been released.

- If a visor is annoying, dont buy a helmet with a visor. Or buy one that has a removable visor. Use a cycling cap with brim maybe. Some helmets fit deep on the head and others are shallow- so If you have a really deep fitting helmet, that may restrict vision in certain riding positions.

- I currently have an Abus Stormchaser that does not have MIPS, but is crazy light and I love the retention strap design. I also have a MET Rivale with MIPS as it fits great and has really nice materials. Neither was available locally. I mention that just because whats local may work for you, but I wouldnt hesitate to look elsewhere- buy on Amazon or WesternBikeWorks where you have free returns if needed. That was you can try different sizes if you are between sizes or try a couple of helmets to see how deep or how oval they are, for example.

MiP's, Wavecell and other newcomers are probably marginal gains on helmet protection. But since there are MIP's and Wavecells out there for the same cost as everything but the cheapest of helmets, why wouldn't you buy one or the other for that marginal gain?

I did.

UVA and UVB attacks the molecular structure of plastics (polymers). Some plastic resins incorporate UV stabilizers, and some colorants do so also.
Black color is one of the best (carbon black) for UV ******ing UV degradation.
It is cheap insurance to replace your helmet every few years.

Now if you ride strictly at night, that is another story

Oh, Walmart helmets are not that bad, In Guatemala, I have a Black Walmart helmet (sunny every day

Keep on riding!
gm

I just bought a new Smith Persist (MIPS) last week, and I'm loving the fit. At only $100 retail, it's easy to justify a new lid every year.

OP: It comes in orange.

MIPS is for real. POC and Bontrager have their own proprietary equivalents (Spin, Wavecell).
I have a Lazer Genesis (G1 in some markets) MIPS which is really light and well ventilated. Scores very highly on independent impact testing too:-

https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicyc...t-ratings.html

My advice on helmets:

Find a brand that fits your head then look at the products in their line. As someone previously stated, look for one of their high end ones that might be discontinued in the near future. Also, a particular color might not be selling well. If you can tolerate it, that can save you a few bucks.

For instance, I bought a Bell Falcon MIIPS last year. I think it was in the $110-130 range. Now it's out of stock on the website. Listed in the $60-90s range on search engines.

I also have been considering a new helmet because my helmet is 7 years old and came to the following conclusions:

The helmets I am most interested in are not available in the U.S. (MET and ABUS)
I was thinking that the foam in helmets degrades over time and that would be a reason to buy a new one - but it turns out not to be the case so the helmet I have is still good and I do not need to spend money on a new one.
There are no peer reviewed studies that prove MIPs is effective.
The studies that were done was with dummy heads, not real people.
There is no published data from actual accidents that shows that MIPs is effective.
I have no problem with people wanting a helmet with MIPs, but I have seen no proof that it makes a difference.
There are other factors that are probably more important than MIPs.

I have a MIPS Thousand for when I wear a cap, and a MIPS nutcase when I don't

ABUS helmets are available in the US on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ABUS+helm...f=nb_sb_noss_2

I buy a new helmet every 2 years or so. They start to get a little beat up just from banging around in my bags and shelves, etc. Also I don't know about others, but my helmets start to smell a little funky after a while.

My last two helmets have had MIPS. The two helmets I've purchased for my kid have also been MIPS. Does it improve safety? Maybe. I don't really see any downside, other than some models costing a few more dollars.

Helmet recommendations are tough - I've definitely had helmets that didn't fit my head shape very well. I also like to have enough room under my helmet to wear a winter hat or cap. I used to be really worried about having a "mushroom head" kind of look, but after trying a half dozen helmets over the years I think they all basically end up looking the same on my head.

Anyway, I have a Bell Z20 MIPS right now. It's been great. It's going on 2 years old so I'll probably be buying a new one in the next few months. I might just go with the same model but a different color.

This dummy head study was peer reviewed and strongly suggests that MIPs is effective at preventing rotational injury.: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6928098/
I don't know what you would consider to be "proof", but this is pretty good. Using real heads in experiments presents some ethical problems what with injuring the subjects, and I don't think cadaver heads are likely to produce anything significantly different from dummy heads. Data from real-world crashes would be too noisy to be of any use, we really would have no way of knowing what rotational forces any given crash victim might have undergone and, if you think about it for two seconds, the data would be heavily skewed towards reporting failures. The odds are excellent that a helmet success would never get reported as people will simply walk/ride away from most of those crashes. There's also a bit of selection bias possible--people who ride faster/more/harder may be more prone to seek out MIPs helmets than less "intense" riders and so you could see a disproportionately high level of injury among MIPs users even if the helmets were more effective.


Anyway, there's certainly no proof that MIPs does any harm, and it really doesn't cost (much) more at this point.

But, yeah, your 7 year old helmet is probably fine. That's not sarcastic, btw.

They are, but they are expensive compared to elsewhere online. I got my Abus from either Merlin or Lordgun and the models that are on Amazon are available for less at overseas retailers.
Itll be neat to see MET and ABUS have more visibility in the US. I am all for more options in the helmet category.

Latest helmet thread merged into The Helemt Thread 2.

We sell ABUS locks at our shop, so I would imagine their other products should be available to US brick-n-mortar retailers at some point.

I am sure MIPS helps reduce rotational forces on a hairless solid rubber headed dummy that the studies use. But most people already have a slip-plane between their scalp and the helmet, it's called hair. They also have some rotational slippage between their scalp and their scull. The incremental value of MIPS for real people with hair is not clear to me and I find the extra plastic layer unpleasant and prone to catching hair. Some of the other technologies that, in addition to facilitating rotation, crumple to absorb energy seem to make at least some sense to me, but MIPS seems marginal at best.

I still say to the anti helmet people, what is the big deal. Once I put my helmet on, I totally forget about it. And if it prevents even a little road rash on the head, why not?

Same for me , also the helmet saved my life once. So there is not a single reason to not use it

To use protection or not
 

Having recently fallen off my bike and ending up in hospital with a bleed on the brain and fractured cheekbone, I am so glad I was wearing my bone dome.

It made me think about those who don't/refuse to wear one and I am genuinely interested as to why.

This is not meant to be a thread advocating the use or otherwise, but more to try and understand why you wouldn't and, perhaps more crucially, what would make you change your mind.

I've suffered a few high speed crashes, the most recent summer 2020. I completely destroyed the helmet I was wearing, rebook my right humerus (only a crack), and bruised several ribs due to my shoulder being the second point of impact, my head being the primary. No concussion. That was probably the worst solo crash I’ve endured. I’ve also bounced my face off a car door, and hit a tree with my head, no concussions in those instances either. In each instance, I received emergency medical care, and I am confident saying the lack of concussions is due to a properly worn, and high quality helmet.

Thank goodness we have another helmet thread; there just aren't enough of them. OP, start with something a little more deadly, IE

Why do people:
Smoke
Over eat
Use drugs
Refuse to wear seat belts
Have random unprotected sex

The list goes on and on. They choose to do what they want and you choose to do things as you see fit, one doesn't effect the other. Do yourself a favor and identify why you crashed and learn to avoid or manage that type of risk better in the future.

Why is this posted 3 times?

People really should wear helmets during sex.