Truthfully I get tired of my helmet long before it needs to be replaced. I seem to purchase a new one every year or so. Now I have a hankering for a giro atmos. Yay me. :(

The cost of a new helmet can seem kind of expensive.

But brain damage, employment loss, earnings loss from brain damage and head trauma, lifelong severe headaches, vision damage, skull damage, hair follicle damage, skin damage, hospital bills, and IQ loss are far more expensive.

You do the math, and get some good lights for night commuting. Halogen or ultra bright high-intensity LEDs in combination with a bright flasher or safety light in LED.

echo?

I dont' commute during the dark... I think the better investment is an ORANGE construction workers safety vest with reflexlite strips built in. Atleast for daytime riding. At night they are good as well. That's what I wear and everyone can see me.

As for helmets, YMMV. Some may abuse em to the point they need replaced every year or so... some may take good care of em, not ride much in the hot sun and store em inside and so on.. and they last 6 or more years. Feeling for dryrot and checking the plastic for cracks is enough IMO to determine if you need a new lid. Everyone, I think, knows to replace em after an accident. Atleast i hope they do.

My helmet is a Bell "Vita Pro" with a date of April 2000. The foam feels hard and not brittle, and I can't remember it ever feeling differently. I haven't been in an accident with it. Of course I was never a heavy rider until perhaps now as I've started to commute regularly.

Do you think I should replace it anyway?

I replace mine after every accident where I hit my head.

Hrmm I guess I'm especially bad then.. mine is 7 years old and has been in two accidents so far... I have been looking for a new helmet but I have a big head and it's hard to find one that fits.

You might want to stop chugging the bleach and battery acid cocktail!

To me, if you don't throw it around and don't leave it in your car, it should last a few years. I don't think hard polystyrene will be as easily degraded as the crappy plastic they use on steering wheels, so I wouldn't worry about the sweat. And if you get enough UV exposure in a year while actually wearing the helmet to degrade the polystyrene, I'd be more worried about skin cancer!

Still, you should get that acid sweat thing looked at. ;)

Thanks! I'll take a look for one!

Welcome to the Pumpkin-head group. Try a Bell Metro in large size, they're I think 59 to 64 CM. That's picking up at the high end of "universal fit" and going up a bit from there.

I have a Bell Citi which goes to 61cm, and BARELY fits me. It's cheaper if it fits you, about $40. Metros run about $70.

My two current helmets are about 4 years old and show no signs of degradation. They don't get very sweaty, since gravity, the pads, and my hair keep the sweat away from the helmet. I don't think the UV exposure on the foam is very severe, since I can't feel or see any difference.

I probably drop them once or twice a year but I am willing to bet my safety that they are fine, since there's no visible compression or cracking, or damage to the plastic shell. Dpending on how they look in a few years, I'll may replace them then-- but I'm really not convinced by the "new technology" argument. We're basically comparing molded styrofoam to molded styrofoam.

Must.....resist....making chauvinistic male joke....

Even if you get something expensive, $100/yr is a great investment in, you know, not eating out of a tube the rest of your life. I'm just going with the "yearly" number and calling it good, safety is something that's hard to put a price on.

In defense of my lbs: he's a shop mechanic and not the owner. He was telling me what the manufacturers state. As far as commuting bumps: I take a train and the helmet takes its fair share of light bumps. I think nashbar is monitoring this post as I got an email from them today, stating they have a great helmet sale w/ free shipping. They even have have the XL sized one on sale for the pumpkin heads of the group:) Sorry couldn't resist. Charlie