I'm not talking about if you had an accident; I'm just wondering how long think a helmet can go before it "wears out" from normal use.

I was at my local LBS the other day asking if they had a replacement for the velcro and padding that goes in the front of the helmet. He said they didn't, and that I should replace the helmet anyway if it was older than 3 years. Does the padding inside the helmet really degrade that fast? It looks fine to me.

1) when I crash,

2) when something new and cool comes out,

3) when the existing helmet gets disgusting.


As for the 3 year bit, a helmet will lose its ability to absorb energy over time as it breaks down, and as it absorbs minor impacts, being dropped, thrown in trunks, etc.

But no one has good data on how much capability it loses, or how fast, so the manufacturers to cover ass, and sell helmets put out stuff, like replace your helmet every 3 years.

I have heard 5 and 10 years. I just recently replaced mine because I found a stellar deal. Not sure of any factual values. Completely off topic but I know for our structural firefighting helmets we have to replace every 10 years. I figure I wouldn't go much further than that.

I hear different things as well. But then again, I buy a new helmet when I see something cooler (to me) than what I am currently wearing, and that usually within 3-4 years. Sometimes it is much sooner specially when there is a sale.

Mine will have done 3 years when I'll receive my new smart helmet this september.

Since I rarely crash I can't use that as a time frame, so I replace it when either the padding wears out or the styrofoam starts to degrade leaving tiny pieces of it on my forehead after a ride. Padding today is not as durable as it once was, so I'm finding my padding now wearing out before the styrofoam degrades, it use to be the other way around. The older helmets the styrofoam would start to degrade between 5 to 6 years, now the padding is shot in 2 to 3 years; I'm sure that is a purposeful thing.

I bought my last helmet in 2004 so......

My helmet came with a spare set of padding and is now about 4 years old. Still looks as new, nothing degrading so it'll last for a couple of years more

I refuse to answer but will say I've replaced all the padding several times:-)

This I agree with; it is pretty much what I do.

Helmets don't lose the ability to absorb energy, unless exposed to extreme conditions. Since shells started to be in-molded, there is no harm from minor impacts. It used to be the little foam pellets were the only things keeping the helmet's shape and if it were cracked it would risk falling apart. Not anymore.

With a little information about what the helmets are made of, it is not hard to predict their lifetime (probably measured in decades, if not melted or exposed to chemicals). Manufacturers are not allowed by their legal departments, however, to state a lifetime (or predictions of protection ability outside the certification) because if someone held onto a helmet for a decade, crashed and got a head injury (most helmet crushing crashes still lead to head injury of some sort), they'd sue saying the helmet failed to protect from injury. The helmet company would be left with the unenviable task of explaining to a lay jury exactly how their helmets degrade using graphs and statistics your average person won't understand. 3 years is a good psychological time length. Your average person hangs onto something costing $50-200 for about 3 years before replacing it (think cell phones, computers, shoes, etc.), so it is a nice round number to give a lay jury or customer for a helmet replacement time period that won't get anyone in trouble.

My suggestion is to replace after about 3 years simply because technology keeps getting better. Strap systems get better, shell material gets better, helmet construction gets better, pads, ventilation, etc. But as long as the helmet is taken care of in some minimal way, it can live or a very long time.

One note: if you still have a helmet with that cheesy "taped shell" construction where the plastic shell is simply taped onto the helmet around the brim, then you should replace it asap. Almost every helmet sold outside a department store has an "in-molded" shell design. I've taken a hammer to both. They both protect to the same standards, once, but the in-molded shell will stay in one piece, on your head, ready to absorb the secondary blow as your head bounces as you fall. The old taped shell construction literally explodes to pieces (seen first hand) upon first impact leaving nothing to protect you against secondary impacts. The in-molded construction is the single most important evolution in bike helmet technology in the last decade.

As noted above, helmets do not really degrade over time, unless you really knock 'em around or subject them to extreme heat.

Also keep in mind that helmets can't be recycled.

In my case, I used the same helmet for about 5 years, and just picked up a new one. I'll use the old one for commutes for as long as possible. I don't think the technology has improved significantly over the past 5 years.

2004, it lasted almost 10 years? I've never had a helmet last that long since the first Bell Biker helmet that was made, that one lasted me 10 years before getting destroyed smashing a car window out (actually the shell held up the styrofoam did not). Since then they haven't lasted as long. I think the more a person rides the more frequently the helmet needs to be replaced. I also think that since I lived in So. Calif the foam degraded faster due to heat, UV, sweat, and ozone. Since I've moved to Indiana the foam hasn't degraded but the liner has, was this a change in construction of the helmet or a change in the environment? And perhaps body chemistry plays a role too, I may have a chemistry that makes helmets die faster. I don't use any chemicals on my body for sun, bug, or hair color or protection, so those are not factors for me anyways.

The padding has not lasted that long. But the helmet itself has.

I replace mine when I crash, which, luckily, doesn't happen too often. (I know, I just jinxed myself)

Well, I've got at least 3 of them, perhaps more (I'd have to get up and go look), and I wear them in rotation. Of those 3, my oldest one was purchased in 2007 shortly after I cracked my previous one in a bad crash.

Let's see. Chemically, the white polystyrene foam underneath the shell will last forever, which is why it such an environmental nightmare. But, the polycarbonate shell to which the polystyrene foam is bonded has finite lifetime. After being exposed to UV rays and heat for a finite amount of time, the polycarbonate chemical and molecular bonds will degrade and lose their molecular structure. The polycarbonate shell then becomes brittle and stops being an impact spreading shell to the polystyrene foam underneath. I would like to refer to OSHA regulations (U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Agency) that require construction hard hats that have a thick polycarbonate shell be retired after two years.

So, two years would be prudent.

Mark

I have a Giro and called the manufacturer and got new pads

I have also replaced my roclock system as that had failed as well

Not sure if this is a good idea or not rode this helmet since 08

Approx. once a year when things just look old a smelly

I've been wearing a helmet for 22 years, and I've never heard 5 and 10 years. I've always heard 1, 2, or 3 years.

Not saying I replace my helmet in 1, 2, or 3 years ... that's just what I've heard.

There was a site I read that recommended once every 3 years, but then another said once every 5 years, then another said 10 years, so I think it just depends on the level of degradation that is going on with the helmet. Like I said about my own personal ones I replace when the lining or the foam starts to deteriorate which ever comes first and lately that's been the lining material. This of course does not include impacting the helmet, if you have impacted the helmet it's probably wise to replace it even though you don't see any damage, foam does crush and crack and sometimes those issues can hide from the eye of inspection.

I think the 3 year replacement camp is probably manufacture driven, they want you spend your money. If the helmet is lasting longer without the foam or lining degrading then keep wearing it...I would keep wearing mine forever if one lasted that long.

what do you do with the old helmets? is there a way to recycle them or are you just adding to the landfills?

They are all in a bag in a closet. I've carried them in moves halfway across Canada, and had them shipped to Australia.


Well ... maybe not ALL of them. I don't think I have my first helmet anymore.

I just throw mine in the dumpster, there is no way that I know of to recycle it, I even asked several bike shops who all said to throw them away. We do have a recycle program but they don't accept styrofoam or that other type of foam they use.

I replace helmets when they need it. During the time in my life when I rode more than 10K miles per year, sweat, UV, and compression seem to mess things up after a couple years.

I've had my current helmet for two years but it still has quite a bit of life left in it. If you even question your helmet, it's not a bad idea to replace it. They are critical safety equipment and a very minor part of the cost of cycling.

lol
I still use my Bell Ghisallo bought in '03