Artkansas 

I just retired my old school Bell helmet a year ago. It served me well for decades. But when I joined the bicycle advocacy group, I just had to update my look a bit and went for a Bell Metro.

Digital Gee

My God you look smashing!

Tom Bombadil

I like the look of the Metro. I would have got one, except my large melon head fit better inside of the Bell Triton XL helmet.

oilman_15106

And the quick lube says your car will die if you don't change the oil every month while Mercedes has had a 12,000 oil change interval for years. If Giro could say it with a stright face they would want you to buy a new helmet every month.

RockyMtnMerlin

Me thinks that ain't Arkansas.

Tom Bombadil

What, you don't recognize the Ozark Mountains, where the Razorback Palm tree grows?!?

lhbernhardt

My gawd, an original Bell Biker. I remember when they first came out. No wonder bike racers at the time absolutely refused to wear hard shell helmets. I never wore a Bell Biker because it made you look like a mushroom. I remember seeing groups of touring cyclists, all wearing Bell Bikers, ambling into the country store, looking like a walking mushroom bed. Very ugly. Pass the manure!

To this day, even with the more stylish and manly helmet designs available nowadays, I still take off my helmet as soon as I get off the bike. You will never catch me wandering around the country store shelves with a bike helmet on. There's still something I find both stupid and unfashionable about wearing a helmet when not on a bike.

- L.

RockyMtnMerlin

justablurr

i've had a couple of giro atmos' that i used for about 3 or so years each before retiring them (no crashes, but after so long even washing the pads and soaking the straps has diminishing returns of cleanliness, plus it's inevitable in 3 years you've dropped it or bounced it off the door more than a few times.) i recently purchased a LAS squalo which has a dial adjustment which fits much more securely...and two (winter/summer) one-piece liner/pads which are a breeze to r/r for washing. i figure whatever rationale you need to justify buying new bike gear is always right!

RockyMtnMerlin

Two comments. As we used to say in the Navy, "We are just like mushrooms; feed us B***S*** and watch us grow." And; When I lived in Spain (1981-1983) I actually wore a precusor to the Bell with the hard shell. It was a Bell with a net covering. The Spaniards all thought I was crazy,

tcs

I'll buy into that when the manufacturers start putting build-date codes on the helmets and retailers discount the price based on how much of the "life" has been used up sitting around the warehouse and display shelf.

TCS

stapfam

Good point- I once bought a helmet because I liked the look of it and it was cheap. So it should have been as I later found out that the helmet had been discontinued 4 years before.

Time for touching wood as I have not bought a new helmet for a couple of years. It does not take me too long before I find a tree or bounce along the track and in doing so- finish up going the shop for a new helmet. It has got to the stage where I have 2 helmets now- just so I can ride midweek- even though I have a helmet that has a crack in it or parts of it are littered on the trail

BrooklynRider

Interesting thread.

I've been doing some searching on simply replacing the foam liners that Velcro to the inside of the foam shell. My helmet I think is around 4 years old and never concussed or dropped hard but the black foam "fitting" liners with the lycra cloth layer have all deteriorated from sweat, age and ozone here in NYC.

How do you folks replace those foam liners? My head is itching from the velcro hook parts on the inside of the Helm awaiting some padding against my near 'Baldy' hair cut!

I was at the LBS today, and forgot to ask for the "Fitting Foam" discarded by the new Spring helmet buyers. I think I'll ask tomorrow. I'd pay 2 bucks for someone's disposed of helmet fitting foam bits.

FWIW, My red helmet doesn't match my bike, but it fits. That's fashionable enough. I wear it whenever I ride a bike. I rinse it in cold water after every workout since my skin gets really itcy if I leave it sweaty.

How do you'all fix the foam liners!?

ticwanos

That is definitely NOT Little Rock. Where was the picture taken?

jcm

Some of this stuff has me paranoid, too, George! But I think bike crashing is a full contact sport, so I'll stick with my tried and true hardshell climber from 1977. Sorry about that, Fashion Gods, but I don't buy the Marketing/Industry poop. Maybe I'm already brain-dead from years of football and hockey . Seems like if a hardshell works for that, it should be good enough for taking a tumble off a bike.
https://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=34r9jqw

RockyMtnMerlin

Especially cool that your shirt and harshell are matching colors.

Digital Gee

OMG you go out in public with that helmet???

Fashion Gods be damned!

jcm

Hey! Come to think of it, we could be cousins! If I took it off, my Helmet Hair would look just like yours, DG!

BrooklynRider

Well for what if worth, I've realized the helmet I own is probably past it's "Use by" date. It must be 8 years old at least. I did some more figuring, and realized it's way older than 4.

Nashbar has a deal on the Bell Metro helmet from 2005 in my size. Comes with a few doodads like a mirror, visor, winter ear-muffs and rain fly for the price of regular helmet. I'm retiring my old one, disintegrated foam liners and all.

Rather have my brain in something current at least.