Lifespan of cycle helmet's ? .

IT66T · April 2012

I was just wondering how long a bicycle helmet was good for nowadays if any one knows as it use to be 3 years back in the 80's and i've been off the bike scene for some time until now and wondered if this had changed as i know this isn't the most exciting question but it's still an important one none the less .

chazkayak · April 2012

Three's about right, as long as you buy it brand new and can verify the date of manufacture with manufacturers mark/sticker inside.

cooldad · April 2012

I normally crash more often than that.
Bet loads sit on shelves for years sometimes.

Lakesman · April 2012

it depends what size and direction of impact you intend to use it to protect you from. any research out there showing the same helmet under the same test conditions before and after 3 years ? if not, then the whole thing is totally subjective. mine's 15 years old. it's still rigid, so it will absorb a blow which still may or may not go through to my head and may or may not injure me. easy answer.

Mojo_666 · April 2012

After a year and about 1500k the padding stinks as as thin as paper and it makes my head itch, I got spares so I give it another year maybe.

IT66T · April 2012

Cheers for the response guys as tbh i thought the life span of a cycle helmet might of improved some what due to developments in the cycling world but according to comments it hasn't and no one seems to bothered just as long as their helmets feel and look ok which is understandable so as long as i buy a decent one then i should be ok until i have a crash out on the trails

.

Wily-Quixote · April 2012

The australian standard simply says:
■A helmet has a limited lifespan in use and should be replaced when it shows obvious signs of wear
This may be a case of taking the manufacturer at their word and replacing the lid as per the company's recommendations.

felix.london · April 2012

Wily-Quixote wrote:

The australian standard simply says:
■A helmet has a limited lifespan in use and should be replaced when it shows obvious signs of wear
This may be a case of taking the manufacturer at their word and replacing the lid as per the company's recommendations.

And I'm sure they'd like us to replace our helmets as often as possible...the b@astards

diy · April 2012

Heat and UV make a big impact on the strength of polystyrene. So if you lid is left in the back of a baking car on a regular basis its likely to have a much shorter life.

IT66T · April 2012

Wily-Quixote wrote:

The australian standard simply says:
■A helmet has a limited lifespan in use and should be replaced when it shows obvious signs of wear
This may be a case of taking the manufacturer at their word and replacing the lid as per the company's recommendations.

This was basically the information that came with my last helmet but i can't remember what the make was so maybe it was made in Australia and i do remember it having a warning regarding keeping your Helmet away from heat sources and not leaving it in direct sunlight as diy has also stated and it was also mentioned that you shouldn't adhere stickers either as this could have an effect on the shell of the helmet

so it looks like these companies don't really know what the limit of these helmets are or maybe they actually do which sounds more likley to be the truth and they don't want people to know that a decent helmet that's looked after could be good for up to 10 years or so as it would cause a drop in sales .

angry_bird · April 2012

As a rule I'll replace them every 2 years unless they obviously need replacing sooner. I've smashed a fair few helmets

felix.london · April 2012

IT66T wrote:

This was basically the information that came with my last helmet but i can't remember what the make was so maybe it was made in Australia and i do remember it having a warning regarding keeping your Helmet away from heat sources and not leaving it in direct sunlight as diy has also stated and it was also mentioned that you shouldn't adhere stickers either as this could have an effect on the shell of the helmet so it looks like these companies don't really know what the limit of these helmets are or maybe they actually do which sounds more likley to be the truth and they don't want people to know that a decent helmet that's looked after could be good for up to 10 years or so as it would cause a drop in sales .

Doesn't exactly fill you with confidence..the thing that I wear to potentially save my life will melt if left in the sun for 5mins and disintergrate if you put a sticker on it :?

.blitz · April 2012

cooldad wrote:

Bet loads sit on shelves for years sometimes.

Bought a bargain lid from Chain Reaction last year. The sticker on the inside of the helmet said it was made in 2008.

YeehaaMcgee · April 2012

.blitz wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Bet loads sit on shelves for years sometimes.

Bought a bargain lid from Chain Reaction last year. The sticker on the inside of the helmet said it was made in 2008.

Not much UV on a shelf in a warehouse though.

IT66T · April 2012

.blitz wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Bet loads sit on shelves for years sometimes.

Bought a bargain lid from Chain Reaction last year. The sticker on the inside of the helmet said it was made in 2008.

That means it was already 3 years old when you bought it :shock: so how much did you pay for it ? .

cooldad · April 2012

I buy cheap Bells off Ebay - no idea how old they are but they do their job.

YeehaaMcgee · April 2012

cooldad wrote:

I buy cheap Bells off Ebay - no idea how old they are but they do their job.

Bit of a campanologist, are you?

Red.Devil.Ghost · April 2012

What's a helmet? Just man up and take the bashing..

I am joking before anyone has a go at me.

I do actually need to get a new one. Time to find some bargains.

.blitz · April 2012

IT66T wrote:

That means it was already 3 years old when you bought it :shock: so how much did you pay for it ? .

£15 it was a THE F-14

tbh I always look at the date on the sticker 6 months old is almost inevitable and a year is by no means uncommon.

YeehaaMcgee · April 2012

.blitz wrote:

IT66T wrote:

That means it was already 3 years old when you bought it :shock: so how much did you pay for it ? .

£15 it was a THE F-14

tbh I always look at the date on the sticker 6 months old is almost inevitable and a year is by no means uncommon.

Same when you buy food, or women.

cooldad · April 2012

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

cooldad wrote:

I buy cheap Bells off Ebay - no idea how old they are but they do their job.

Bit of a campanologist, are you?

Should have known you'd be an expert on dongs

YeehaaMcgee · April 2012

yeah, well, you're a bellend.

Anonymous · April 2012

3 years I think Giro still say.

I suspect they'll last a lot longer without a crash impact but depends how you treat them. Don't know as haven't had one last without a big crash for long enough.

Other question is how long a full face should last. They're a bit more expensive to replace every 3 years. The shell is different but the inside still has poly stuff with in theory degrades.

If you're thinking of replacing though, have a smash first and then you can get a discounted crash replacement

And yeah, avoid last year & older models.

.blitz · April 2012

deadkenny wrote:

3 years I think Giro still say.

MET say their crash helmets are good for at least 8 years if not mistreated or crashed.

mak3m · April 2012

no help whatsoever but

Construction site hard hats should be replaced every 3-5 years with 5 years being the very maximum.

Each hat has a stamp molded into the rim which gives year of manufactuire and 1-4 dots to give you the quarter it was manufactured.

If you work daily on site helmets are replaced every 3 years, if you are a visitor and your hat spends a lot of time on the shelf then its 5 years.

Its to do with the degredation of the plastic, this is effected by sunlight and dust, dirt etc but it only required contact with air for degredation to take place. So if your lid contains plastic I assume the time scales would be similar

obviously any impacts on lid or construction site hard hat would require it to be replaced immediately

.blitz · April 2012

Do you not think that's more of a H&S at work issue?

Would like to see some non-apocryphal evidence that crash helmet shells and polystyrene liners degrade during normal use.

mak3m · April 2012

.blitz wrote:

Do you not think that's more of a H&S at work issue?

Would like to see some non-apocryphal evidence that crash helmet shells and polystyrene liners degrade during normal use.

I did quantify it by saying it was no help whatsoever

just demonstrates though that lids, hard hats etc do only have a limited lifetime

YeehaaMcgee · April 2012

.blitz wrote:

Do you not think that's more of a H&S at work issue?

Would like to see some non-apocryphal evidence that crash helmet shells and polystyrene liners degrade during normal use.

If I hadn't thrown my old one away I would show a picture to you. The shell was all discoloured, and the outer plastic layer had become brittle, and transparent in some areas. The visor was also very brittle and cracked, and the interior polystyrene felt odd.
It was about 7 years old, at a guess.

IT66T · April 2012

I through my last helmet away after having it 5 years and it looked fine other than looking a little dull but i didn't replace it so i still need to get a new one and if the MET ones are suppose to last 8 years then it would be a worth while investment .

Lifespan of cycle helmet's ? .

Comments

Categories