A Cycling & bikes forum. CycleBanter.com

Go Back   Home » CycleBanter.com forum » rec.bicycles » Recumbent Biking
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Can't Use Helmets in the Sun????



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old May 8th 06, 02:15 PM posted to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent,rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.misc
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Can't Use Helmets in the Sun????


Okay, so I got a nice new helmet for club rides and such. Luckily, so
far, no one's been a Helmet Nazi about it -- just mild chiding
comments, but I just smile and keep pedalling and no one's pulled me
over yet or kicked me out. =)

Thing is, I actually like this helmet. It's so comfortable I not only
wouldn't mind wearing it if I had to, but I almost want to wear it just
for the heck of it! Maybe in winter-time I will, for a bit of head
warmth (which I really don't need, but it's a $100 helmet, after
all...). =D

Anyway, I'm reading the manual -- am I the only guy who likes reading
manuals with his cereal?? -- and I notice in Giro's one-size-fits-all
Owner's Manual that they explictly state *twice* that direct or
indirect heat might damage the helmet.

Could that mean that the summer sun's going to damage the helmet????

Are we supposed to replace our helmets every year or two, even if they
aren't banged up, simply due to, I dunno, UV-induced deterioration of
the styrofoam's molecular structure??? (Materials Science is such an
interesting field...they're building the world's biggest Neutron
Smasher or whatever-it's-called down in TN or somewhere...they hope to
come up with all kinds of exotic materials due to understanding and
then manipulating subatomic physics!)

I still hope no one forces me to wear a helemt...but this Giro Roc Loc
4 is so comfy I would hardly mind wearing one now. Just funny to think
that it might not do any good anyway due to prolonged exposure to
direct sunlight!

Ads
  #2  
Old May 8th 06, 02:22 PM posted to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent,rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.misc
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Can't Use Helmets in the Sun????


NYC XYZ wrote:
Okay, so I got a nice new helmet for club rides and such. Luckily, so
far, no one's been a Helmet Nazi about it -- just mild chiding
comments, but I just smile and keep pedalling and no one's pulled me
over yet or kicked me out. =)

Thing is, I actually like this helmet. It's so comfortable I not only
wouldn't mind wearing it if I had to, but I almost want to wear it just
for the heck of it! Maybe in winter-time I will, for a bit of head
warmth (which I really don't need, but it's a $100 helmet, after
all...). =D

Anyway, I'm reading the manual -- am I the only guy who likes reading
manuals with his cereal?? -- and I notice in Giro's one-size-fits-all
Owner's Manual that they explictly state *twice* that direct or
indirect heat might damage the helmet.

Could that mean that the summer sun's going to damage the helmet????

Are we supposed to replace our helmets every year or two, even if they
aren't banged up, simply due to, I dunno, UV-induced deterioration of
the styrofoam's molecular structure??? (Materials Science is such an
interesting field...they're building the world's biggest Neutron
Smasher or whatever-it's-called down in TN or somewhere...they hope to
come up with all kinds of exotic materials due to understanding and
then manipulating subatomic physics!)

I still hope no one forces me to wear a helemt...but this Giro Roc Loc
4 is so comfy I would hardly mind wearing one now. Just funny to think
that it might not do any good anyway due to prolonged exposure to
direct sunlight!


The marketeers would like you to believe that you should replace your
helmet if:

- You drop it
- You leave it in a hot car
- It is exposed to UV
- It is more than X years old
etc., etc.

The truth is that most helmets are *very* profitable and thay will say
and do nearly anything to get you to ditch the one you have now and buy
a new one.

Just use common sense

  #3  
Old May 8th 06, 02:38 PM posted to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent,rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.misc
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Can't Use Helmets in the Sun????

NYC XYZ wrote:
Okay, so I got a nice new helmet for club rides and such. Luckily, so
far, no one's been a Helmet Nazi about it -- just mild chiding
comments, but I just smile and keep pedalling and no one's pulled me
over yet or kicked me out. =)

Thing is, I actually like this helmet. It's so comfortable I not only
wouldn't mind wearing it if I had to, but I almost want to wear it just
for the heck of it! Maybe in winter-time I will, for a bit of head
warmth (which I really don't need, but it's a $100 helmet, after
all...). =D

Anyway, I'm reading the manual -- am I the only guy who likes reading
manuals with his cereal?? -- and I notice in Giro's one-size-fits-all
Owner's Manual that they explictly state *twice* that direct or
indirect heat might damage the helmet.

Could that mean that the summer sun's going to damage the helmet????

Are we supposed to replace our helmets every year or two, even if they
aren't banged up, simply due to, I dunno, UV-induced deterioration of
the styrofoam's molecular structure??? (Materials Science is such an
interesting field...they're building the world's biggest Neutron
Smasher or whatever-it's-called down in TN or somewhere...they hope to
come up with all kinds of exotic materials due to understanding and
then manipulating subatomic physics!)

I still hope no one forces me to wear a helemt...but this Giro Roc Loc
4 is so comfy I would hardly mind wearing one now. Just funny to think
that it might not do any good anyway due to prolonged exposure to
direct sunlight!


Well UV rays damage lots of things, the most important being your skin
plus rubber, plastics and painted surfaces, just to name a few. So it
sounds logical that the foam in your $100 plus helmet might be damaged
by those blasted UV rays also.

Ken
--
New cycling jersey: $49
new cycling shorts: $39
Not being a slave to the petrol pump: priceless.
  #4  
Old May 8th 06, 02:42 PM posted to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent,rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.misc
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Can't Use Helmets in the Sun????


Ozark Bicycle wrote:


The marketeers would like you to believe that you should replace your
helmet if:

- You drop it
- You leave it in a hot car
- It is exposed to UV
- It is more than X years old
etc., etc.

The truth is that most helmets are *very* profitable and thay will say
and do nearly anything to get you to ditch the one you have now and buy
a new one.

Just use common sense



Right -- I was only wondering, though, how they could sound as if
they're admitting that their helmets are useless! I mean, I was always
suspicious of mere styrofoam, but if even they themselves will say that
mere sunlight and heat can damage it -- and thus negate the whole point
of wearing one...well, I dunno, maybe helmets are for dummies who can't
see the contradiction in that!

  #5  
Old May 8th 06, 02:48 PM posted to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent,rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.misc
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Can't Use Helmets in the Sun????


Ken C. M. wrote:
NYC XYZ wrote:


Well UV rays damage lots of things, the most important being your skin
plus rubber, plastics and painted surfaces, just to name a few. So it
sounds logical that the foam in your $100 plus helmet might be damaged
by those blasted UV rays also.

Ken
--
New cycling jersey: $49
new cycling shorts: $39
Not being a slave to the petrol pump: priceless.



Yes, I know, but for a helmet maker to say that is tantamount to saying
that the helmet is...basically useless! I mean, it's supposed to be a
critical part of one's riding gear, but it's got an undetermined "shelf
life!"

  #7  
Old May 8th 06, 03:24 PM posted to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent,rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.misc
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Can't Use Helmets in the Sun????

"NYC XYZ" wrote in message
oups.com...

Ken C. M. wrote:
NYC XYZ wrote:


Well UV rays damage lots of things, the most important being your skin
plus rubber, plastics and painted surfaces, just to name a few. So it
sounds logical that the foam in your $100 plus helmet might be damaged
by those blasted UV rays also.

Ken
--
New cycling jersey: $49
new cycling shorts: $39
Not being a slave to the petrol pump: priceless.



Yes, I know, but for a helmet maker to say that is tantamount to saying
that the helmet is...basically useless! I mean, it's supposed to be a
critical part of one's riding gear, but it's got an undetermined "shelf
life!"


Get a clue, NYC...many outdoor products have a "shelf life" (e.g., tents,
lawn furniture, etc.), due to the effects of UV and heat.

In the case of helmets, there's also the fact that they are designed to be
light and comfortable. You could probably design a stainless steel helmet
that was not subject to UV breakdown...but, you wouldn't want to wear it.

GG



  #8  
Old May 8th 06, 03:30 PM posted to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent,rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.misc
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Can't Use Helmets in the Sun????

GaryG wrote:

In the case of helmets, there's also the fact that they are designed to be
light and comfortable.


Relatively light and not especially uncomfortable is nearer the mark.

You could probably design a stainless steel helmet
that was not subject to UV breakdown...but, you wouldn't want to wear it.


Knowing the specification to which cycle helmets are built, and knowing
they are considerably less comfortable than a cotton cap, and knowing
they don't have any track record of saving serious injuries, I don't
really want to bother myself with the polystyrene ones as far as normal
road riding is concerned.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
  #9  
Old May 8th 06, 03:32 PM posted to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent,rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.misc
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Can't Use Helmets in the Sun????


GaryG wrote:


Get a clue, NYC...many outdoor products have a "shelf life" (e.g., tents,
lawn furniture, etc.), due to the effects of UV and heat.

In the case of helmets, there's also the fact that they are designed to be
light and comfortable. You could probably design a stainless steel helmet
that was not subject to UV breakdown...but, you wouldn't want to wear it.

GG



The point, again, is that this is a piece of safety equipment --
CRITICAL, to hear folks speak of it -- which can somehow fail simply
from being in "heat"...which I take to mean sunlight as well, most of
all. Considering that most biking is done in the summertime, in
daytime, etc., this characteristic seems to fundamentally contradict
the very purpose of the product!

  #10  
Old May 8th 06, 03:35 PM posted to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent,rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.marketplace,rec.bicycles.misc
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Can't Use Helmets in the Sun????


UseNet via Cable Modem wrote:


By "heat", I would assume that they're referring to what it might get
sitting on a steam radiator in your house, or on the dash of your
closed-up car in the middle of the summer. Not what it would get from
you wearing it during the summer.

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).



That's the thing -- the exact wording is "direct or indirect heat" --
which I take to mean sunlight as well, and UV exposure in particular.

Just seems an astounding fine-print, if I'm reading this correctly! I
mean, we're talking about the most critical piece of safety equipment
for an activity that generally takes place at daytime in summer....

 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Children should wear bicycle helmets. John Doe UK 516 December 16th 04 01:04 AM
Bicycle helmets help prevent serious head injury among children, part one. John Doe UK 3 November 30th 04 04:46 PM
Elsewhere, someone posted this on an OU forum Gawnsoft UK 13 May 19th 04 03:40 PM
BRAKE on helmets Just zis Guy, you know? UK 62 April 27th 04 09:48 AM
Compulsory helmets again! Richard Burton UK 526 December 29th 03 09:19 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:24 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CycleBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.