Do helmets go bad over time?

Scrumpy Joe wrote:
jtaylor wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Jun 2006 23:35:39 -0700, RS wrote:

So I walked into a LBS today and while making a minor purchase the
sales guy looks at my helmet and says that it looks more than 5 years
old and the foam goes bad, it just crumbles and I should buy a new
helmet. Is this true or is the LBS owner have another boat payment
coming due?

Rick
Dear Rick,

Ignoring whether it does any good or not, Bell recommends that you buy
a new Bell helmet every 3 years:

'Course they do.

They're the ones that saw a way to make money from foam hats in the first
place.

They are not interested in saving lives, just in making money. If they
thought they could get away with recommending you buy a new one for every
ride, they'd do so.

If they thought they could get a law passed that forced everyone riding a
bicycle to wear one, they'd do so.

I would dispute that. My hard-hat for site work has a 'not to be used after
date' stamped into it. I would have no reason to suspect that my bike
helmet plastic would not be subject to the same UV degradation over time as
my hard-hat is.

Besides the pads in mine have always got quite grotty after about three
years so its new helmet time

Stan Cox

Stan Cox wrote:
Scrumpy Joe wrote:
jtaylor wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Jun 2006 23:35:39 -0700, RS wrote:

So I walked into a LBS today and while making a minor purchase the
sales guy looks at my helmet and says that it looks more than 5 years
old and the foam goes bad, it just crumbles and I should buy a new
helmet. Is this true or is the LBS owner have another boat payment
coming due?

Rick
Dear Rick,

Ignoring whether it does any good or not, Bell recommends that you buy
a new Bell helmet every 3 years:

'Course they do.

They're the ones that saw a way to make money from foam hats in the
first
place.

They are not interested in saving lives, just in making money. If they
thought they could get away with recommending you buy a new one for
every
ride, they'd do so.

If they thought they could get a law passed that forced everyone
riding a
bicycle to wear one, they'd do so.

I would dispute that. My hard-hat for site work has a 'not to be used
after
date' stamped into it. I would have no reason to suspect that my bike
helmet plastic would not be subject to the same UV degradation over
time as
my hard-hat is.

Besides the pads in mine have always got quite grotty after about three
years so its new helmet time

Stan Cox

Shells are affected by UV - although shells on modern helmets aren't
actually adding much to their crash-worthiness. The padding and foam are
both affected by sweat. Therefore, it's not so much the age of the
helmet as how much it's been used.

3-5 years is gonna be about right for most users.

druidh

Scrumpy Joe wrote:

I would dispute that. My hard-hat for site work has a 'not to be used after
date' stamped into it. I would have no reason to suspect that my bike
helmet plastic would not be subject to the same UV degradation over time as
my hard-hat is.

But one would assume that a work helmet expiration date must assume
that the helmet may be in use e.g. 10 hours a day 6 days a
week....possibly in sunnier climates ;-)

I think cycle helmets get a lot less exposure.

Scrumpy Joe typed



True enough, I queried the stamp on initial training and was told, rightly
or wrongly, that it was regardless of exposure to UV and that simply
storing it in a dark locker for the same period would still mean that it
would have to be replaced if the date had expired. I have learned over the
years never to apply the logic and judgement of an engineer to something as
fickle and seemingly random as a risk assessment.

Who am I to question my H&S masters ;-)

I'm no expert, but it strikes me that plasticisers and other chemicals
slowly leach/evaporate over the years, causing degradation.

Some of my household plastics are not the same now as they were at the
time of purchase.

They just get replaced when I judge they've 'had it'.

They aren't safety-critical (or as pricy as a lid). They get replaced
without any H&S input. You H&S masters may have a point though.

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

"jtaylor" wrote in
news

I've had my helmet for just over 45 years and it is stronger than it was
when it was 10 years old. It was probably at it's peak at 20 years old, but
I haven't noticed a significant degradation since then.

--
Stuart

"end user" v. A command regrettably not implemented in most systems.

Tunku wrote on 18/06/2006 18:07 +0100:
"jtaylor" wrote in
news

I've had my helmet for just over 45 years and it is stronger than it was
when it was 10 years old. It was probably at it's peak at 20 years old, but
I haven't noticed a significant degradation since then.


I would imagine the leather is getting a bit old by now.

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

Tony Raven wrote in
:

Tunku wrote on 18/06/2006 18:07 +0100:
"jtaylor" wrote in
news

I've had my helmet for just over 45 years and it is stronger than it
was when it was 10 years old. It was probably at it's peak at 20
years old, but I haven't noticed a significant degradation since
then.


I would imagine the leather is getting a bit old by now.


Yes, but massaging it with oils keeps it young.

--
Tunku Stuart

"end user" v. A command regrettably not implemented in most systems.

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Jun 2006 23:35:39 -0700, RS wrote:

So I walked into a LBS today and while making a minor purchase the
sales guy looks at my helmet and says that it looks more than 5 years old
and the foam goes bad, it just crumbles and I should buy a new helmet.
Is this true or is the LBS owner have another boat payment coming
due?

Rick

Dear Rick,

Ignoring whether it does any good or not, Bell recommends that you buy
a new Bell helmet every 3 years:


'Course they do.

They're the ones that saw a way to make money from foam hats in the first
place.

They are not interested in saving lives, just in making money. If they
thought they could get away with recommending you buy a new one for every
ride, they'd do so.

If they thought they could get a law passed that forced everyone riding a
bicycle to wear one, they'd do so.