Exactly!

I see commercial fisherman use Styrofoam floats for crab pots and fish traps for years. They sit in salt water day and night, in heat and cold, and last forever. That's what helmets are made on so I don't see how sunlight, heat, and salt does much damage to them.

That said, I buy a new helmet every couple years just because I get tired on the one I wear and get a better looking, lighter and cooler one.

I remember that thread!! Unbelievable...

Just to make a small analogy with motorcycle helmets.

Motorcycle helmets are recommended to be replaced after 5 years. Plastic ones do degrade from UV rays.
Composite ones, with carbon, should last longer, maintaining shell rigidity.

Insides of motorcycle helmets will not fit tight after 5 years. So even if the shell stays strong, if insides don't fit tight, the helmet won't work well in a crash. Insides can also be replaced, but it's a matter of cost: all the new insides are about 150 euros, while a brand new helmet is about 300 euros. So when the helmet gets five years old and worn, I just get a new one.


However, I ride motorcycle helmets with a lot less sweat (always have balaclava beneath to soak up the sweat). So bicycle helmet is discarded when it starts stinking, not when it is worn! :)

I am not particularly careful with my helmet, though I try not to drop it. I wear Giro helmets and will replace it within 4 years or so. Not because I think the helmet is not good anymore, but because I'd rather not take any chances. I can always find some use for a backup helmet (usually for others to use). The old backup, I do throw away.

...are the same company.

Gosh, I've never given it one minute of thought and have never seen any sign of degradation in any helmet I - or any of my family members - have ever owned. I usually give them up when (a) I just feel like buying something shiny and new or (b) when the straps are just worn out or too disgusting to wash well enough. A neighbor's dog chewed on one once and I got rid of it a couple years later.

My guess - and I'd like to see actual testing and evidence to the contrary - that is the self serving helmet industry that sets these so-called standards for replacement, just like they somehow duped the public into thinking that cycling is a dangerous sport and requires routine and constant head protection. Bah.

no!

Thick work MSA V-guard safety helmets have a manufacturer recommended service life of 5 years for the hard shell and 1 year for the suspension that holds the helmet on top of your head. Our OSHA representative recommends a service life of 2 years. To ensure that our safety practices are in complete compliance with OSHA regulations and to limit our company's liability in the event of litigation, we have adopted a one year change out policy for our safety helmets being worn on a daily basis.

So, how long do you think you should be wearing your bicycling helmet before replacing it?

Do you think that the thin bicycle helmet would have a longer service than a thick work MSA V-guard safety helmet?

Since it is your head and your dollar, I guess you could wear it as long as you want. I would probably wear mine for two to three years before replacing it because I only ride about 100 to 150 days a year.

Mark

I love my 2008 Propero helmet, but I am taking a 1' pipe to it next year, just for the heck of it. And replacing it with another Specialized helmet.

Because their helmets suck. I had the strap retention area rot out of a Giro Pneumo after about 3 years. Destroyed the helmet, and I'm very careful with all of my equipment.

Yes