mrblue

I was reading that most helmet manufacturers, along with the Snell Foundation, suggest replacing your bike helmet every 3 to 5 years. While an Italian helmet manufacturer (I can't recall the name) suggests replacing helmets every 8 years. Of course the longevity of a helmet is based on a lot of things, i.e. storage temperatures, exposure to UV, chemicals (sunscreens, lotions, insect repellents, sweat, etc), physical damage, etc.

I've always replaced my helmets well within the 3 to 5 year range due to upgrading to a better helmet. At that point, my old helmet still has a couple of years in it, so it gets donated to the Goodwill or something. I can't imagine getting to the point where I'm dropping close to $300 (after tax) on a Giro Synthe, then having to ditch it at around 5 years.

Given some of the prices (>$200) of upper end helmets it seems pretty wasteful to toss a helmet every ~5 years. I know it's better to be safe than sorry but...

Does anyone have any input on this? How long do you keep your helmets before replacing them?

kc0bbq

Part of the compromise in making a helmet that's practical, with the materials we have now, is that they break down over time. If you don't like replacing a $300+ helmet, get a $50 or $100 helmet, they still all pass the same minimum standards.


Every one of them needs to be tossed if they're ever used for their purpose - that $300+ helmet might only last a day. It's just how it is.

noodle soup

After any wreck that involves the helmet contacting the ground, the helmet gets replaced. Most helmets never make it to the 3 year mark.

redfooj

So apparently people crash often

mcours2006

I commute with my helmet every day, so I'd probably replace sooner than the 3-5 year recommended use period. Gets pretty sweaty and sticky during the summer months.

howheels

I replace them when I can longer find foam pad replacements. Which is usually about 3-4 years. Maybe I should just buy a dozen replacements now while I can.

roadwarrior

Suggestion...and honestly, when I tell people this they look at me like I discovered a miracle...wash your helmet out periodically to get the sweat salt out of it. It will also extend the life of the pads. The sweat salt eats at the inside of the helmet. You also get a side benefit in that it does not stink.
I stick my helmets in the kitchen sink with a bit of dish detergent then rinse them out and let them dry.

Ogsarg

The recommendation to replace is based on the manufacturers testing and certain assumptions about how the helmet is used and likely has a large safety factor to prevent liability issues but I don't think anyone can tell you exactly how long you can safely use a helmet or how much protection you are sacrificing if you keep a 5 year helmet for 6 or 7 or more years.

I've always believed in following manufacturers recommendations about this kind of thing. Yes. I may get rid of a helmet that still has a few years of life, but there really is no way of knowing what that life is and I'd rather not find out after a head injury that I should have replaced the helmet sooner.

I'm also not a fan of giving helmets that may not be safe to Goodwill. Not sure that is doing anyone a favor. We used to give old motorcycle helmets to the Fire Department and they would use them to teach trainees how to remove a helmet from someone that had crashed.

JohnDThompson 

Once within three years is all it takes.

bo31210

Replace it every 3-5 years or if in a crash. You only have one gourd and regardless of how thick it is, traumatic brain injury can really put a damper on the rest of your life.

Camilo

Huh? This doesn't make sense. Are you saying that most riders' heads hit the ground every three years? That's crazy.

As for helmet longevity: I'd like to see actual unbiased studies (not by the manufacturers or their supporters) covering the degrading of helmet materials over time. I call BS on helmet manufacturers self-serving recommendations otherwise. And how do those recommendations possibly make sense for the person who rides around the block 5 times per year vs. the serious cyclist who rides 2-5 hours per day, hundreds of days per year? Useful life is probably more like 1 - 10 years.

I use my helmets until the retention system or padding breaks down and is not replaceable, about 10 years of use. The first time this stuff goes, say within 5 years, I can almost always get replacements. Second time - probably 10 years or so, not so easy.

As for the foam and outer plastic skin - I can't see or feel any degradation whatsoever. I keep my helmet indoors when I'm not using it and ride only about 1,000 - 2,000 miles per year (northern climate). Mileage may indeed vary for those who ride 5-10,000 miles per year and/or leave their helmet outside 24/7.

Yea, I can't believe people who whine about sweaty dirty helmets but never think of just washing them! I also wear a skull cap (various weights depending on season) and wash them with my cycling clothes, usually one use per wash dependign on whether I sweat or not. That eliminates a huge amount of sweat and filth in the helmet itself (and protects my thin haired head from too much sun).

I wash the pads by putting them in a garment bag with the regular wash. I wash the helmet and straps in the sink when needed (not often for me - every year or so).

Bah. This is such an old chestnut - nobody in the world disputes the fact that TBI is bad. It doesn't need saying. But show me how that if everyone who owns a helmet buys a new one every 3-5 years TBI is actually reduced any meaningful way.

Seriously, show me how that works.

It sure benefits the helmet industry, but show me how it benefits the people shelling out the money. Just saying TBI is bad isn't relevant at all. Wasting money and putting perfectly good helmets into the landfill for no good reason is not good.

79pmooney

+1 You can go a step further and wear a skull cap. That will keep your helmet far cleaner and necessitate far fewer washes. I wear the Pace skull caps for every ride, always starting out with a clean one. Gets tossed in the laundry when I get home. I have yet to find the weather conditions where I do not want that cap on and if I ever did, I'd just stuff it in my jersey pocket. (In winter, those caps keep my winter hats much cleaner.)

My old helmets are (and smell) far more attractive than they used to be!

Ben

noodle soup

I was answering the OP's question I ride over 10k miles every year, so my helmet's lifespan is going to be shorter than one that rarely gets much use.

OUGrad05

Why? are you crashing a lot?

UV rays might be a problem where you are, or they may not be, I'd recommend looking up some UV maps and seeing what it is. For example, UV in London peaks much lower both for the year and during the day compared with many areas in the US. Denver for example gets a lot of sun and generally has a comparatively high UV index.

If you're riding 10k miles a year in Denver you may need to replace it ever few years. If you're riding 10k miles in London? UV rays may not be much of an issue given the significantly lower UV indexes, shorter peak times and more overcast weather.

drewguy

Why? Putting aside the crash/discard situation, is the helmet wearing out because of sweat or general environment factors - i.e., exposure to air - which occur regardless of whether it's in use?

redfooj

It's much easier to make an appeal to emotion/fear.

noodle soup

No. Once every 30k-40k miles isn't that often


I ride in Phoenix AZ, usually over 600 hours a year. Between wrecks, accidental drops, and the UV exposure, my helmets rarely last 3 years.

kc0bbq

UV isn't the only thing that degrades foam plastic. Get a piece of Styrofoam and put a small drop of gasoline on it and watch what happens. There's a lot of chemicals that degrade this stuff over time, and while not as dramatic as the gasoline, they weaken the structure. If the foam is compromised, the outer shell can't do its job correctly and the energy that can't be dealt with by the degraded foam has to go somewhere.

FBinNY 

The reality is that the key impact absorbing elements, ie. the EPS and Shell are made of incredibly durable materials and don't degrade over time, even if left soaked in sweat for eons.

However, normal wear and tear may age them by partly compressing the EPS, and/or other elements like the foam sizing pads may break down. So, IMO it's not about any hard and fast rule but seriously considering the condition of your non crashed helmet.

Also keep in mind that features are still evolving and hopefully improving, or that newer standards might be adapted and a more modern helmet may protect better than an older one.

The rest is a combination of manufacturer CYA and hard nosed scare tactics marketing.

As to crash/head injuries per mile. I have hundreds of thousands of miles of cycling behind me, and yes, I've crashed multiple times. However, not one of all those crashes involved a head injury of any kind. In fact, while head injuries are serious, the odds of suffering one on a bike are amazingly low. (helmet or no)

Camilo

I think this needs to be recognized in every helmet discussion. Helmets just aren't that important since the chance of a head injury while cycling is just so low. They're easy enough to wear and cheap enough so as to make using one not a big deal and possibly reducing a very very slight danger to a very, very, very slight danger. But the whole helmet thing is a good way for sellers and manufacturers to make a lot of money for little or no benefit to public health. Opinion of course.

People who have come of cycling age since the early 80s know nothing other than riding with a helmet and think it's not only a "given" but crucial. Those of us who are familiar with the decades of cycling with no helmets with no harm understand that they really aren't critical for safe cycling.

Colin G

I had a Giro Ventoux. Bought it on a staff deal when they first came out a million years ago. Barely used it and it went into storage in a helmet bag and forgotten about.


I found it and pulled it out a couple months back and the foam padding turned to dust and the plastic cap came apart from the styro liner.


Time will kill a helmet even if it sees no use.

KDTX

I agree with this. I feel most of these "recomendations" are from the industry itself that does not profit if you do not replace your stuff every once in a while. Now.....with that said - if you crash and your helmet hits the ground, i'd replace it. If you see signs of degradation (however old it is), I'd replace it.

bo31210

Great thing about the ole USA is you have the choice to choose what you want to do. I can tell you (after 20+ years as a paramedic), I have seen the results first hand (and sometimes in my hands) Same thing with a seat belt. You don't have to wear them. But I have never cut a seat belt off a dead body.

As I said 100% your choice.

prathmann

Here's one such study based on collecting old used (up to 20 years) helmets and doing crash tests on them:
Age Does Not Affect the Material Properties of Expanded Polystyrene Liners in Field-Used Bicycle Helmets | Journal of Biomechanical Engineering | ASME DC
Their conclusion was that "Based on these data, the impact attenuation properties of EPS foam in field-used bicycle helmets do not degrade with the age."
My own helmets are considerably older than those studied. Still have my Bell Biker from when they first came out in '75 but mainly wear a newer Bell model bought in '93. They have hundreds of thousands of miles of use but I see no evidence that the foam has deteriorated.

redfooj

except you 100% skirted the point he made.

have you seen first hand the results of crashes on <5yr old helmets vs 5+ yr old helmets?