Helmet Life
Bill Collins
Hi everyone,
I have heard from various sources that helmets might have a certain
lifespan, that the styrofoam in the helmet degrades over time and the
helmet eventually cannot provide adequate protection. Is this true, or
just propaganda from the helmet manufacturers in order to make us buy new
helmets every so many years? Obviously this assumes that the helmet hasn't
been in a crash. Anyone have any objective information on this subject?
Thanks in advance..
Bill Collins
wcol...@mindspring.com
--
Bill Collins
wcol...@mindspring.com
Douglas & Kristen Nelson
Yes it's true you should replace your helmet every 3 - 5 years. The
helmet will lose its ability to absorb the impact of a crash because it
will become more and more brittle as it ages. Also, $50 to $125 every
few years is just cheap "brain" insurance, plus allowing one to upgrade
to the latest designs.
It would also be advisable to destroy an old helmet to end any pretense
of its ability to work.
Doug
Frank Krygowski
Doug, do you have any objective evidence that what you say is true?
We've been through this before, but I'll repeat: Bell's web site
says to replace your helmet to take advantage of new designs and possibly
new standards, NOT because the foam becomes more brittle.
What Bell is saying is the same thing the Detroit automakers said in
the '60s: "Wouldn't you rather have THIS year's model?"
The correct answer, I believe, is "no."
I ride about 3000 miles per year. If I averaged just 10 MPH, there's only
300 hours of exposure to sunlight on the shell, not the foam. The rest of
the time the helmet's in controlled conditions indoors. I believe that if
you keep solvents away from the foam, its properties will not change
measureably. And as a matter of fact, the only test of an old helmet that
I've heard of (by the BHSI, if I recall) had it pass handily.
If you have actual data on reduced impact absorption from "brittle" foam,
post it.
--
Frank Krygowski ae...@yfn.ysu.edu
Thomas H. Kunich
In article <wcollins-150...@news.mindspring.com>,
Bill Collins <wcol...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>Hi everyone,
>
>I have heard from various sources that helmets might have a certain
>lifespan, that the styrofoam in the helmet degrades over time and the
>helmet eventually cannot provide adequate protection. Is this true, or
>just propaganda from the helmet manufacturers in order to make us buy new
>helmets every so many years?
Basically it's propaganda. It's difficult to fault the manufacturers
who are just doing their jobs. The real problem is that this stuff
from the maufacturers is added to and embelished by the helmet zealots
who want everyone to JUST LOVE HELMETS.
Thomas H. Kunich
In article <335431...@madison.tds.net>,
Douglas & Kristen Nelson <dne...@madison.tds.net> wrote:
>Yes it's true you should replace your helmet every 3 - 5 years. The
>helmet will lose its ability to absorb the impact of a crash because it
>will become more and more brittle as it ages. Also, $50 to $125 every
>few years is just cheap "brain" insurance, plus allowing one to upgrade
>to the latest designs.
This is pure an unadulterated BS. Styrofoam changes hardly at all with
time. If there was the slightest case for this claim Bell Helmets would
have run tests and published results. Instead they claim you should
replace your helmet to "take advantage" of the increased technology.
(Which BTW hasn't changed noticeably either.)
>It would also be advisable to destroy an old helmet to end any pretense
>of its ability to work.
I see, you work for Specialized or Giro?
Eleanor MacMaster
What I have read on this subject (and I am sorry to say I can't
remember in what publication or book) is that it is important
to get a new helmet if you have crashed in such a way that there
has been an impact on it that may have weakened the styrofoam
shell. About shell fatigue, I can't say -- but, I find that
before this happens I would usually have bought a newer model
anyway to get the benefits of ever-improving technology (lighter,
stronger, better ventilated, etc.). I buy a new one about every
3 years.
(and have no scientific indication that this should suffice).
Gregory E. Rose
I echo this... I called Bell and they told me that stryofoam does not
degrade at all. If the helmet is not subjected to a crash where the
stryofoam compresses, then it will last for your entire life.
Greg Rose
--
Gregory E. Rose
AT&T Solutions, Cambridge, MA
gr...@att.com
Eric P. Salathe, Jr.
Bill Collins wrote:e,
>
> I have heard from various sources that helmets might have a certain
The following is excerpted from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute,
http://www.bhsi.org/
--
,
Eric P. Salathe, Jr. sal...@atmos.washington.edu
Seattle WA
One of our most-asked questions is "Is it time to replace this helmet?"
Well, that depends.
Some older helmets like the Bell Biker were reasonably good ones, but
are not quite up to current standards. If you still have a Skid Lid or
any other helmet without a styrofoam liner, trash it now before it
trashes you.
The only old helmet we have ever seen actual test results on was an old
Bell Biker. It was ancient, yellowed from the sun, yucky inside, all
that. It was a hard shell helmet of the old style. It performed about as
well in the lab as it would have when brand new. That's a sample of only
one, however, and we don't try to generalize from that....
Most manufacturers now recommend that helmets be replaced after five
years. Some of that may be just marketing. Bell now recommends every
three years, which we think is just plain greed on their part. They base
it partially on updating your helmet technology, but they have not been
improving their helmets that much over three year periods, so we would
take that with a grain of salt. Deterioration depends on usage, care,
and abuse. But if you ride thousands of miles every year, five years may
be a realistic estimate of helmet life. And helmets have been improving
enough over time to make it a reasonable bet that you can find a better
one than you did five years ago. It may fit better, look better, and may
even be more protective....
Douglas & Kristen Nelson
Frank Krygowski wrote:
> >Doug
> >
>
> Doug, do you have any objective evidence that what you say is true?
> We've been through this before, but I'll repeat: Bell's web site
> says to replace your helmet to take advantage of new designs and possibly
> new standards, NOT because the foam becomes more brittle.
>
> What Bell is saying is the same thing the Detroit automakers said in
> the '60s: "Wouldn't you rather have THIS year's model?"
>
> The correct answer, I believe, is "no."
>
> I ride about 3000 miles per year. If I averaged just 10 MPH, there's only
> 300 hours of exposure to sunlight on the shell, not the foam. The rest of
> the time the helmet's in controlled conditions indoors. I believe that if
> you keep solvents away from the foam, its properties will not change
> measureably. And as a matter of fact, the only test of an old helmet that
> I've heard of (by the BHSI, if I recall) had it pass handily.
>
> If you have actual data on reduced impact absorption from "brittle" foam,
> post it.
>
> --
> Frank Krygowski ae...@yfn.ysu.edu
Unfortunately, I don't have actual data to support the idea of reduced
impact absorption in foam over time. I was recalling a lecture in
college discussing the platicisers used in polymers and the rates at
which they escape the "form" over time leaving the "form" less supple.
Has anyone proven the degradation of helmets over time? I don't know.
Yet it seems safe to say a helmet sees a large temperature range over
its "5" year life span. Also let's not forget the "little abuses" from
transporting a helmet. It all adds up. I for one replace my helmet on
average every 3 years.
Doug
Alan Paxton
Of course 3000 miles at 10mph translates to 300 minutes of sunlight on
the helmet, in Scotland. I shall hang on to my 5 y.o. Sub-6 for a while
yet, it still isn't heavy.
--
Alan Paxton (http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/alanpx/)
Andy Dingley
The moving finger of to...@netcom.com (Thomas H. Kunich) having
written:
>Styrofoam changes hardly at all with time.
I have no knowledge on this subject, so I'll break with Usenet
tradition and shut up 8-)
>they claim you should
>replace your helmet to "take advantage" of the increased technology.
Find a 5 year old helmet and take a look at it. _I_ would pay real
money to get rid of one of those heavy old head-boilers and get a
modern helmet with good ventilation and a roc-loc (or similar).
--
A drowning surrealist will not appreciate a concrete lifebelt.
Thomas H. Kunich
In article <335beff3...@news.demon.co.uk>,
Andy Dingley <din...@codesmiths.com> wrote:
>Find a 5 year old helmet and take a look at it. _I_ would pay real
>money to get rid of one of those heavy old head-boilers and get a
>modern helmet with good ventilation and a roc-loc (or similar).
5 years ago I bought my Bell Cyclone. I still wear one even though
they have moved on to BETTER (read much more expensive) technology.
No modern helmet can cool my head any better (I need to wear a
cap under the helmet to keep from either freezing my head or getting
a sunburn through the vent holes). No more modern helmet can protect
my head any better. The Cyclone doesn't develop lift and slide back
on your head in a fast downhill like "Roc-Loc" is designed to
counter. Of course it doesn't have little fangs molded into the
helmet vents and cutesy names either.
Why do you call this helmet a "head boiler"?
Cam
Thomas H. Kunich wrote:
> This is pure an unadulterated BS. Styrofoam changes hardly at all with
> time. If there was the slightest case for this claim Bell Helmets would
> have run tests and published results. Instead they claim you should
> replace your helmet to "take advantage" of the increased technology.
> (Which BTW hasn't changed noticeably either.)
>
> I see, you work for Specialized or Giro?
I bought a brand new Bell Fusion yesterday. It said right there on the
box that they recommend helmet replacement every three years.
Incidentially, I think that you will find that Bell and Giro are now one
and the same thing...
Cam
Thomas H. Kunich
>I bought a brand new Bell Fusion yesterday. It said right there on the
>box that they recommend helmet replacement every three years.
Gee, I hadn't realized how much hard science was on that box. "We
recommend that you replace your helmet every three years." Great.
I'm sure they would never use that as a marketing trick. The helmet
industry have shown themselves to be so honorable and truthful.
>Incidentially, I think that you will find that Bell and Giro are now one
>and the same thing...
Is this suppose to impress us about how closely you follow old news?
Sheldon Brown
Thomas H. Kunich wrote:
>
>Cam <lo...@geocities.com> wrote:
>
> >I bought a brand new Bell Fusion yesterday. It said right there on the
> >box that they recommend helmet replacement every three years.
>
> Gee, I hadn't realized how much hard science was on that box. "We
> recommend that you replace your helmet every three years." Great.
> I'm sure they would never use that as a marketing trick. The helmet
> industry have shown themselves to be so honorable and truthful.
A few years ago the boxes for the Bell Image claimed that it had
"massive air vents"...but since the air vents are holes, they
actually have no mass whatsoever!
Sheldon "Mass Delusion" Brown
Newton, Mass.
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| You can fool some of the people all of the time, |
| and those are the ones we're after! --Anon. |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/biz/hub/
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
(617) 244-1040 FAX 244-1041
Thomas H. Kunich
In article <335EDB...@sheldonbrown.com>,
Sheldon Brown <Capt...@sheldonbrown.com> wrote:
>A few years ago the boxes for the Bell Image claimed that it had
>"massive air vents"...but since the air vents are holes, they
>actually have no mass whatsoever!
Actually I like Bell Helmets. Specialized used to have very good fitting
helmets. They used the head form described as "long oval" which is
a common head shape. It worked well but they had to have lots of sizes.
A couple of years ago they decided to go to only a few sizes so they
changed to "round" head shape and fewer sizes and lots of pads in the
package.
Lost my business. Bell has a compromise shape and a better choice of
which (too few) sizes to fit.
Not to mention that Sheldon (Never had it better) Brown is the
Bell Biker type of guy.
You know, Vetta made a similar helmet for awhile and one of the better
riders in the club bought a couple so that he could live out the
remainder of his days as a member of the Silly Hat Club.
Sheldon Brown
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Thomas H. Kunich wrote:
>
> In article <335EDB...@sheldonbrown.com>,
> Sheldon Brown <Capt...@sheldonbrown.com> wrote:
>
> >A few years ago the boxes for the Bell Image claimed that it had
> >"massive air vents"...but since the air vents are holes, they
> >actually have no mass whatsoever!
>
> Actually I like Bell Helmets. Specialized used to have very good fitting
> helmets. They used the head form described as "long oval" which is
> a common head shape. It worked well but they had to have lots of sizes.
> A couple of years ago they decided to go to only a few sizes so they
> changed to "round" head shape and fewer sizes and lots of pads in the
> package.
I like Bell helmets too, just not the BS on the boxes, nor the BS that
you need to buy a new one every 3 years.
> Not to mention that Sheldon (Never had it better) Brown is the
> Bell Biker type of guy.
Naw, I retired my Biker years ago, when the Tourlite came out in RED!
I retired the Tourlite after banging it on the asphault, and bought
an Image. Alas, they didn't come in red, so I had to paint and
redecorate
it, as visitors to my Web site have seen
> You know, Vetta made a similar helmet for awhile and one of the better
> riders in the club bought a couple so that he could live out the
> remainder of his days as a member of the Silly Hat Club.
Sheldon "Oooh, is there a Silly Hat Club?! How Can I Join?" Brown
Newtonville, Massachusetts
+-----------------------------------------------+
| ...there is humour in all things and the |
| truest philosophy is that which teaches |
| us to find it and make the most of it. |
| --W.S.Gilbert |
+-----------------------------------------------+
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/biz/hub/
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
(617) 244-1040 FAX 244-1041
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