Icy roots, a broken light and a new helmet...

miss notax

All in a night's ride :?

Managed to hit some icy tree roots on a nice fast descent last night, resulting in a nice over the handlebars 'off' and one rather bashed Miss Notax (including a black eye which is great as our company directors are in the office today :roll: ). Hobbled back to the pub and sat there with a large glass of wine until the others had finished their ride, which with hindsight hid how much everything hurt until this morning!!

Anyway, I have broken my Exposure Maxx D light (phone call to Exposure later...) and given my bike helmet a good bash. I have a massive bruise on my head, but the helmet itself seems ok? A few marks, but the inside it still complete, no cracks that I can see etc. Should I replace it? It's a Giro E2 and i'm not even sure if they are made anymore? Any idea what the new equivalent is?

Am feeling rather sorry for myself

Wooliferkins

Yes change it. Winstanleysstill have some E2s at a sale price.

cooldad

Sympathies.
Replace the helmet if you hit that hard.
I came off on Sunday, don't remember anything until I saw the paramedics in the carpark.
Helmet was smashed though, in my befuddled state ordered a new one on Sunday evening, just arrived today.
Don't take the chance.

ps if Mr Notax left you to carry on riding I would dump him. Or at least suspend favours for a while.

.blitz

icy roots OTB black eye bruise new lid wine sounds most excellent

GWS

miss notax

Wooliferkins wrote:

Yes change it. Winstanleysstill have some E2s at a sale price.

Thanks! They are 2005 hemets - daft question, but I guess the material doesn't degrade or anything like that?

welshkev

OW!!!!, i hope you recover soon and that the company directors believe you fell off your bike

miss notax

cooldad wrote:

Sympathies.
Replace the helmet if you hit that hard.
I came off on Sunday, don't remember anything until I saw the paramedics in the carpark.
Helmet was smashed though, in my befuddled state ordered a new one on Sunday evening, just arrived today.
Don't take the chance.

ps if Mr Notax left you to carry on riding I would dump him. Or at least suspend favours for a while.

Ouch! Ha, Notax guides the rides so if he came back with me it was 'game over' for everyone! Fortunately another buddy came back with me!

antfly

I think they have some sort of helmet replacement scheme where you can get a new helmet cheaper after a crash.
Edit: they have to be under 3 years old apparently and you need proof of purchase and have to send it in and still don't get much of a discount. The Specailized replacement scheme looks better.

GHill

miss notax wrote:

They are 2005 hemets - daft question, but I guess the material doesn't degrade or anything like that?

UV will affect the foam (according to some helmet manufacturers, and this is why they suggest you replace helmets every 3 to 5 years). If it's been on display I'd probably avoid, if it's been in a dark stockroom then maybe not so bad.

If it was my head, I'd be looking for something newer (no sense risking it to save a few quid).

miss notax

welshkev wrote:

OW!!!!, i hope you recover soon and that the company directors believe you fell off your bike

They have been giving me VERY strange looks all morning (I think they're waiting for me to keel over!)

Northwind

If in doubt, replace...Is the helmet marked? The foam won't neccesarily show any damage even if it's knackered so better to be safe than sorry.

miss notax

Northwind wrote:

If in doubt, replace...Is the helmet marked? The foam won't neccesarily show any damage even if it's knackered so better to be safe than sorry.

There are a few scrapes on the outside, but no marks inside. I don't get how my head is so bruised though? My helmet stayed on (obviously!), so how come i've got a massive comedy bruise above my temple? Very odd :?

cee

a black eye and a bruise on the head....OTB....

Good Work!

treat yourself to a new helmet.

camerauk

def replace the helmet
you got any pictures of the nice black eye
hope the bike is not damaged

miss notax

Yeah, it was a good one I think! Danny-T off here was riding with us last night and apparently I flew quite a long way

Bike seems ok (apart from the light ) - and no, no photos of the black eye allowed!!

cooldad

antfly wrote:

I think they have some sort of helmet replacement scheme where you can get a new helmet cheaper after a crash.
Edit: they have to be under 3 years old apparently and you need proof of purchase and have to send it in and still don't get much of a discount. The Specailized replacement scheme looks better.

They mainly run these schemes to get data on what happens to helmets in a crash, which is a good thing I suppose.
Mine was a few years old, had protected me from numerous low flying branches, and while most of my body hurts at the moment, my head is 100%, so I figure I got my moneys worth. Replaced with identical make model and colour.

Northwind

miss notax wrote:

I don't get how my head is so bruised though? My helmet stayed on (obviously!), so how come i've got a massive comedy bruise above my temple? Very odd :?

Just more impact than the helmet could deal with most likely... Either that or it might have pushed out of the way if it was loose or illfitting. Good big hit either way, congratulations! Is there any space between the foam and your head when you put it on? What can happen then is that you still get an impact when the foam initially deforms, it's a bit like having a polystyrene container to protect something you're posting but then having the item inside loose, it can still get whacked against the sides of the container.

gb2gw

Oh blimey glad you didn't do your noggin more damage! Hope it didn't dent your confidence either...I'm not a big fan over the over-the-bars method of dismounting...!

Definitely replace the helmet. I'd go and try a few different ones on... sounds obvious but when I replaced mine I loved and bought the giro xen, whereas hubby liked the look of it but couldn't get on with the fit at all. You'd probably be ok with those 2005 e2's if you'd rather stick with what you know though.

Hope the black eye is starting to fade a bit x

captainfly

Yeah replace the helmet, if you have managed to bruise your head under it then it has taken a serious impact. I tend to keep my eye out for cheap deals on helmets I like just incase I crash (£35 for a bell ballistic 2010 ).

miss notax

Well, managed to spend a delightful 5 hours at A&E last night :?

Head felt worse and worse last night, Notax phoned NHS Direct who then pointed us in the direction of A&E. All ok fortunately, just bashed (spent about 3 minutes with some poor sleep deprived Junior Doctor after all of that!). Not the best way to spend an evening, but kept amused by a man who had stapled his hand next to me (about 8 staples - why wouldn't you stop?!) and the comedy questions; 'Are you confused?' Always

Am definitely getting a new helmet - I don't want to risk it with mine. Now got to decide whether to go for one of the Giro E2's or find something else.... Does anyone know what's the current version of the E2?

Shotsaway

miss notax wrote:

Does anyone know what's the current version of the E2?

The E2 was discontinued a couple of years ago. Any stock held by retailers will be a couple of years old. Although Winstanley seem to be the only place who still have them. I am an E2 user which I need to replace but I don't like the red colour. I think the E2 was replaced by the Giro Athlon.

I'm waiting for the new Giro Xar that is being released in the UK next month. I like the look of the helmet and hopefully the ventilation will be as good as the E2. It also offers better protection over the E2.

http://www.giro.com/us_en/xar.html