About that thing on your head…

[pfunkallstar]

I replace my helmet just about every two years or so – but that is mostly due to the smell and chinstrap goo. Even if you buy an expensive helmet, which you should because the keep your head way cooler, $100 or so over two years is a small price to pay for having a round, or in my case semi-round, skull.

[eminva]

@DSalovesh 17367 wrote:

Basic commuter helmets are $45-65, enthusiast helmets are $100-120, and it’s hard to spend over $200 on any helmet.

I’ve always wondered: what does the more expensive helmet get you? I’ve always bought the cheaper models — I’m not setting the world on fire with my blazing speed and I have little hope of winning any style contests. What I have seems remarkably light. My only complaint is that the straps are cumbersome to adjust. What would an upgraded model add?

Liz

[jrenaut]

@eminva 17370 wrote:

I’ve always wondered: what does the more expensive helmet get you? I’ve always bought the cheaper models — I’m not setting the world on fire with my blazing speed and I have little hope of winning any style contests. What I have seems remarkably light. My only complaint is that the straps are cumbersome to adjust. What would an upgraded model add?

Liz

Easier strap adjustment is definitely one of the things that the nicer helmets add over the cheap ones.

[OneEighth]

More expensive cycling helmets generally give you lighter weight and better venting.
Fit can also vary between manufacturers and models.
Pick what fits you best and is intended for your activity.

[Greenbelt]

My mid-price commuter helmet (see avatar) has built-in rear-facing blinky lights! The GoPro and helmet strap are not included.

[PotomacCyclist]

@aflapr 17350 wrote:

About once I week I see someone wearing a helmet backwards with the straps dangling. I never know if I should offer to help or if this is yet another fashion trend that has passed me by.

Just be glad they aren’t doing that baseball upside-down rally cap thing. That would be interesting to see with a bike helmet, but not too safe.

[CCrew]

I pretty much have a bit different mindset about helmets and their cost vs replacement.

Buy a $100 helmet once every two years. That’s a mere $50 a year or just over $4 a month. Is your brain not worth that?

Buy a Trek Helmet and crash it they’ll replace it free inside the first year. Dunno about other brands.

[acc]

And that other thing on your head….

I usually have the good sense to wear a scarf over my hair under my helmet, BUT not yesterday.

I was coming home from work and riding the sidewalk with traffic along Lee Highway near Fairfax Circle. (After some deliberation, I decided rush hour and that road were not compatible with me on a bike.) I had to duck underneath a row of cherry trees. The fact I had to duck tells you how seldom anyone walks on the sidewalks there. I came in the door, started sorting the mail and absently fluffed my hair. That’s when I discovered one of those little inchworm sort of creatures clinging to the back of my hand.

After a little squealing freakout I’m feeling much better.

I will not forget my scarf again.

ann

[DSalovesh]

I don’t disagree, and I did okay with basic helmets for a long time. I’d usually wear them, but I’d also find excuses not to – it’s TOO hot, it’s a short and / or casual ride, I had a meeting and didn’t want helmet head, you know.

One year I couldn’t find a basic one that felt right, so I upgraded. Not only was the fit better but the adjustability and comfort were too. I was done with basic helmets.

Next time there was a sale so a higher end helmet was the same price, and I preferred it over the others because it was lighter and more ventilated. And sure enough, though I wasn’t closely tracking it, I realized that I wasn’t finding those excuses as often. Putting on a helmet was less of a chore, so I did it more.

Next time I went all the way to the top, and what I got was no longer something where I felt it was remarkably light or extremely comfortable – it was like it weighed absolutely nothing on my head and I could hardly feel it. No excuse needed.

I don’t know what that’s worth, but I know what it costs. In the end I did the math and realized that across a few years the cost difference was negligible. If “spending” $0.16 a day got me a helmet I’d use, and “saving” $0.08 a day got me one I’d hate, there might come a day when using a helmet was better than hating it.

(The only claim a helmet can make for protection is that it passes the applicable certification tests. I know one super-light helmet maker has – well, they can’t publicly announce the testing and results, but they have provided them as training materials for retailers – tested the lightest ones and demonstrated just how much they exceed the standards. It’s pretty amazing, really, though the answer they give in the shops is always “these all meet all applicable standards”.)

[rcannon100]

According to Bart Simpson…

[ATTACH=CONFIG]869[/ATTACH]

So I read everyone’s answer…. and I’m not buying. It’s styrofoam. I made styrofoam in the lab during college. It’s not affected by sweat. It doesnt dry out. It doesnt age, well at least in terms of 3 to 5 years. So I thought I would see if I could find something authoritative. This is from the Bike Safety Helmet Institute …. it’s probably not a credible group. According to its “about us” page, “We are the helmet advocacy program of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.” Probably an astro-turf front group. Anyway, they say…..

Newer helmets from the late 1980’s and the 90’s may or may not need replacement. First look to see what standards sticker is inside. If it’s ASTM or Snell, the helmet was designed to meet today’s standards for impact protection, and you may even find that Consumer Reports tested it in one of their articles. Most manufacturers now recommend that helmets be replaced after five years, but some of that may be just marketing. (Bell now recommends every three years, which seems to us too short. They base it partially on updating your helmet technology, but they have not been improving their helmets that much over three year periods, and we consider some of their helmets since the late 1990’s to be a step backwards, 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 actually 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 in some cases may even be more protective. For an alternate view that agrees with the manufacturers, check out the helmet FAQ of the Snell Foundation. Snell knows a lot about helmets and their views on this subject should not be dismissed lightly, even though we disagree with them.

Occasionally somebody spreads rumors that sweat and ultraviolet (UV) exposure will cause your helmet to degrade. Sweat will not do that. The standards do not permit manufacturers to make a helmet that degrades from sweat, and the EPS, EPP or EPU foam is remarkably unaffected by salt water. Your helmet will get a terminal case of grunge before it dies of sweat. Sunlight can affect the strength of the shell material, though. Since helmets spend a lot of time in the sun, manufacturers usually put UV inhibitors in the plastic for their shells that control UV degradation. If your helmet is fading or showing small cracks around the vents, the UV inhibitors may be failing, so you probably should replace it. Chances are it has seen an awful lot of sun to have that happen. Otherwise, try another brand next time and let us know what brand faded on you.

At least one shop told a customer that the EPS in his three year old helmet was now “dried out.” Other sales people refer to “outgassing” and say that the foam loses gas and impact performance is affected. Still others claim that helmets lose a percentage of their effectiveness each year, with the percentage growing with age. All of that is nothing but marketing hype to sell a replacement helmet before you need it. There is some loss of aromatics in the first hours and days after molding, and helmet designers take account of that for standards testing. But after that the foam stabilizes and does not change for many years, unless the EPS is placed in an oven for some period of time and baked. The interior of your car, for example, will not do that, based on helmets we have seen and at least one lab crash test of a helmet always kept in a car in Virginia over many summers. Helmet shells can be affected by car heat, but not the foam. The Snell Memorial Foundation has tested motorcycle helmets held in storage for more than 20 years and found that they still meet the original standard. EPS is a long-lived material little affected by normal environmental factors. Unless you mistreat it we would not expect it to “dry out” enough to alter its performance for many years.

I had a local bike shop tell me my helmet had “dried out.” I did not bite. You wanna replace your undamaged helmet every 3 to 5 years? It may look sharp – but its doubtful you are buying any additional protection.

[CCrew]

@rcannon100 17393 wrote:

I had a local bike shop tell me my helmet had “dried out.” I did not bite. You wanna replace your undamaged helmet every 3 to 5 years? It may look sharp – but its doubtful you are buying any additional protection.

Really tho. All scientific studies aside.. if you can’t get a definitive answer, What’s your head worth to you?

Personally I’d risk being $100 lighter in the wallet if indeed it breaks down, which clearly no one really knows. Clearly beats the cheaper alternative where it really does break down and someones wiping your chin when you drool. But dayumm, ya saved a few bux

[acc]

Disclaimer: I feel naked without my helmet.

However, the best evidence out there does not indicate that helmets save lives. Go figure.

A majority of the world’s cyclists do not wear helmets and they manage to get through just fine.

Kids: Wear your helmets. Someday your parents want to transform your room into a study.

Adults: It’s your choice.

For me, I need gloves. I fall enough that gloves and long bike shorts save my skin. As for my helmet, only once in two years have I hit hard enough to hear *Pop* *Pop*. That one time probably saved me some stitches and a concussion. Do I wear my helmet every time? No. I don’t. But I’ve made the tough decision. And if something happens to me, it’s my fault.

ann

[PotomacCyclist]

@rcannon100 17393 wrote:

According to Bart Simpson…

[ATTACH=CONFIG]869[/ATTACH]

So I read everyone’s answer…. and I’m not buying. It’s styrofoam. I made styrofoam in the lab during college. It’s not affected by sweat. It doesnt dry out. It doesnt age, well at least in terms of 3 to 5 years. So I thought I would see if I could find something authoritative. This is from the Bike Safety Helmet Institute …. it’s probably not a credible group. According to its “about us” page, “We are the helmet advocacy program of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.” Probably an astro-turf front group. Anyway, they say…..

I had a local bike shop tell me my helmet had “dried out.” I did not bite. You wanna replace your undamaged helmet every 3 to 5 years? It may look sharp – but its doubtful you are buying any additional protection.

You may not be buying additional protection, but would you really want to put anything that is 5-years-old and not easily cleaned on your head? As the quoted statement indicates, helmets will definitely get very nasty after riding a lot in hot weather. I plan to replace helmets occasionally just for that reason.

[OneEighth]

@rcannon100 17393 wrote:

According to Bart Simpson…

[ATTACH=CONFIG]869[/ATTACH]

So I read everyone’s answer…. and I’m not buying. It’s styrofoam. I made styrofoam in the lab during college. It’s not affected by sweat. It doesnt dry out. It doesnt age, well at least in terms of 3 to 5 years. So I thought I would see if I could find something authoritative. This is from the Bike Safety Helmet Institute …. it’s probably not a credible group. According to its “about us” page, “We are the helmet advocacy program of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.” Probably an astro-turf front group. Anyway, they say…..

I had a local bike shop tell me my helmet had “dried out.” I did not bite. You wanna replace your undamaged helmet every 3 to 5 years? It may look sharp – but its doubtful you are buying any additional protection.

When I started this thread I had a primary and a secondary goal.
The primary goal was to make sure that folks understood how to wear their helmets correctly so that their helmets would function as designed and protect them as much as possible.
The secondary goal was to give folks some practical and generally applicable advice to help ensure that the helmet they are relying on actually does what they need it to do.
Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be much debate about the right way to wear a helmet.
As for the second point…
Given the intent to provide general advice about helmet replacement, what would you recommend? Or, if you would rather not make a recommendation but want folks to each assess the risk for themselves, how often do you think you ought to replace your own helmet? And, what basis do you use for determining when to replace your helmet?
Thanks.

[brendan]

Gotta ask: are helmets dishwasher-safe?

Brendan

[Author]

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