Food for thought ...

colintrav

If anyone happend to read the interview ... in the mbuk with the forest ranger who works at Glentress and other places

Ill quote the most stand out part ...

MBUK --
you must see some right dickheads - are they allowed to ride legally like that

Andy wardman - Unfortunately Yes , We can't stop it , we can only advise the benifits of wearing one . It's fustratiing having attended accidents where Helments have disintergrated on impact , the value of wearing a well fitting one is obvious




If a helmet disintergrates on impact it's down to poor build quality and serious lack of stringent testing and safety documents are doctored and then sold ,, whereby the such laws in the UK aren't strict enough that stop piss poor gear that is legally sold on the Uk market .. ...

And nor does the magazines highlight the dangers of buying such shite EQ that is supposed to save your head .

yoohoo999

i think his use of "disintegrates on impact" may have been exaggerated to emphasize his point - that if a helmet breaks when it hits the ground, your head will instead if you decide not to wear one.

Helmets are not designed to be indestructible, if they were then they would not have the same effect of reducing the impact to your head.

think of crumple zones on a car, it's a similar principle, it's all about achieving as gradual/long decelleration as possible (and of course a helmet limits the external damage caused by whatever you hit, like rocks, trees or small children)

at the end of the day, a polystyrene helmet is designed to stop your skull splitting in two or your brain rattling around too much, who cares if it breaks when you hit the ground?

had you not been wearing it, bits of your hair and brain may be stuck to parts of the trail.


it may also interest you to know that your own bones are designed to break. a snapped arm is better than having the organs in your body hit your chest at 30mph in an instant.

Skonk

The short of it is this; in a large impact the helmets job is to break, this absorbs the forces and prevents your skull for being the thing that breaks.

They are tested to make sure that they DO break on impact.

If the helmet didnt break, your head would in its place.

Raymondavalon

Skonk wrote:

The short of it is this; in a large impact the helmets job is to break, this absorbs the forces and prevents your skull for being the thing that breaks.

They are tested to make sure that they DO break on impact.

If the helmet didnt break, your head would in its place.

+1 on that.

I rode motorcycles (superbikes and big bore enduro bikes) for 11 years as daily transport in the old country and always bought the best helmets I could afford.
If I ever knocked a helmet off a table or dropped it, I'd replace it almost immediately and replaced 3 helmets due to them falling off the bike's mirror or saddle where I had foolishly put them over the years.

Today I still apply the same principles with my cycling. I have three helmets, one for commuting, an open face and a full face for off road riding.
If I were to ever drop any of these helmets, or subject them to impacts I'd replace them instantly as a helmet does destroy itself whilst protecting your head.

Who cares if the helmet came apart, if you're head (and face [where applicable to the FF variety]) are in one peiece, the helmet's done its job.

mac_man

Raymondavalon wrote:

Today I still apply the same principles with my cycling. I have three helmets, one for commuting, an open face and a full face for off road riding.
If I were to ever drop any of these helmets, or subject them to impacts I'd replace them instantly as a helmet does destroy itself whilst protecting your head.

Who cares if the helmet came apart, if you're head (and face [where applicable to the FF variety]) are in one peiece, the helmet's done its job.

Serious question...

I came off my bike a few weeks back (fractured my arm) but my helmet also took a hit. There's some scratches on it but I can't see any cracks anywhere. You saying I should bin it?

Or would anyone else on here do the same?

Northwind

colintrav wrote:

If a helmet disintergrates on impact it's down to poor build quality and serious lack of stringent testing and safety documents are doctored and then sold ,, whereby the such laws in the UK aren't strict enough that stop wee-wee poor gear that is legally sold on the Uk market .. ...

It's alrady been said but this is pure nonsense, helmets are sacrificial protection designed to break. It's harder to make a helmet which collapses well than it is to make an overly-rigid one which will offer less protection.

Andy knows his stuff, and he's spot on here.

colintrav

Interesting views on this .

homers_double

Yours isn't though.

Helmets are designed to absorb the forces of impact, fact.

If those forces result in faliure so be it, but the head its protecting will recieve a lesser impact. Fact.

Raymondavalon

mac man wrote:

Raymondavalon wrote:

Today I still apply the same principles with my cycling. I have three helmets, one for commuting, an open face and a full face for off road riding.
If I were to ever drop any of these helmets, or subject them to impacts I'd replace them instantly as a helmet does destroy itself whilst protecting your head.

Who cares if the helmet came apart, if you're head (and face [where applicable to the FF variety]) are in one peiece, the helmet's done its job.

Serious question...

I came off my bike a few weeks back (fractured my arm) but my helmet also took a hit. There's some scratches on it but I can't see any cracks anywhere. You saying I should bin it?

Or would anyone else on here do the same?

I most certainly would.. but that's me.

supersonic

Poor fitting helmets is another matter - they can be ripped off or not provide the adequate protection to certain areas.

As for impacting on impact - yes, they are designed to do this as has been mentioned. All helmets sold i the UK must pass certain safety tests. You can find info on this via google and the various standards.

Northwind

mac man wrote:

I came off my bike a few weeks back (fractured my arm) but my helmet also took a hit. There's some scratches on it but I can't see any cracks anywhere. You saying I should bin it?

Depends how hard you actually hit it. Thing is, it's the foam that does the protecting, and it's really a one-big-hit deal. The plastic shell can be in near-perfect nick but if the foam's compressed significantly, next time you hit it (if there is a next time ) it'll absorb less force. And it does tend to be the same bits we keep on hitting.

Only thing I'd say about this, is that it's the exact same logic with motorbike helmets- but I had a helmet that suffered a big crash, and which I had little doubt was dead. I sent it off to the manufacturers for checking and they confirmed it was actually not structurally damaged, and safe to use- I nearly binned it. But is it worth taking a risk? Your shout. You only get one head.

dave_hill

mac man wrote:

I came off my bike a few weeks back (fractured my arm) but my helmet also took a hit. There's some scratches on it but I can't see any cracks anywhere. You saying I should bin it?

Or would anyone else on here do the same?

I'd certainly bin any helmet that had suffered a moderate impact.

The question you have to ask is - are you willing to risk having to be fed through a straw or having to have someone else wipe your harris for you for the rest of your life; or would you rather spend 40 nicker on a new brain bucket?

I know what I'd rather do...