old helmet usage

pliskin

Likes Dirt
While quite a few people still ride bikes that are over 10 years old, at what age limit should you consider retiring safety gear.
i have an Old Bell fullface helmet that was purchased around 2009, it got a few years usage. then it sat on the shelf in the garage for the last 8 years . i only ever crashed once while wearing it, and when that happened , the helmet itself never hit the ground.

what is everyone's thoughts, should i just cough up some money and just buy a new helmet?
 

ashes_mtb

Has preferences
Never given it much thought before now, but it just occurred to me that I've owned 3 mtb helmets since I first started racing in 1993. Can't remember what the first one was, but the second was a top shelf Giro in 1996 and the current Fox one around 2006/7. Also bought a motocross helmet in 2000 for downhill but only used it a few times.

I'm probably due for a new one.
 

pliskin

Likes Dirt
Perfect , the kind of answers i was looking for . i take it you mean the foam under the helmet shell, not the foam in the padding .
 

Boom King

downloaded a pic of moorey's bruised arse
IIRC, most helmet manufacturers recommend replacement after 5 years due to degradation of the impact absorbing material.
 

safreek

*******
IIRC, most helmet manufacturers recommend replacement after 5 years due to degradation of the impact absorbing material.
Oh come on, what would they know.
I have it on good authority that your helmet works for as long as it protects your head. :p
 

Litenbror

Eats Squid
I'm running a $250 fox proframe even on xc loops now. heads and teeth are super expensive to fix and difficult to get replacement parts for so worth spending the dollaroonies up front.
 

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
If you haven't crashed it (landed on it), and have stored them in a cool/dry/dark cupboard, changed the inner padding, then they should have a good life span.

I'm ok still using my 6 year old helmet in rotation with my newer helmet (which is already 3 years old). But, I probably will retire it soon as its black and has absorbed a lot of sun over the years - but no visible signs of perishing. If it had been in a cupboard all those years, I'd keep using it.
 

Scotty T

Walks the walk
I bought a new one roughly 6 years ago after lbs told me old ones degrade and the foam "shatters". I decided to break the old one and it took a lot of force, it definitely didn't shatter.
 

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
I can see the point but can't recall any helmet foam or shell I've had look like it is decomposing. I have only bought new padding to stop them going manky.

If you are fine to shell out a AU compliant helmet at chain store for $30ish then it isn't an issue. Forking out ten times that amount on helmet pr0n then it has a different feel to it.

I'm assuming the same must also apply to helmets used in other sports like MX, skiing etc?
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Wonder what Trek will be advising with their new helmet system... Might even be a shorter lifespan.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Wonder what Trek will be advising with their new helmet system... Might even be a shorter lifespan.
A single wear policy. Did you know that sweat is the natural enemy of helmet materials? We hear at a trek do, and we have committed a lot of resources into making sure you believe us. Our tests show that once a helmet makes contact with sweat it begins to deteriorate. The rate is different depending on which type of sweat it, but the outcome is the same and 100% unavoidable, being an unsafe safety product. There is no way to know what type of sweat you have been producing until it is too late. That's why we have developed this thermal image colour changing band for the inside of all out helmets that indicates when the helmet is expired.


The neck brace of the xc generation. Just wear a hat!
 
Top