How annoying..The media & helmets

[bean fidhleir]

You really ought to replace it..... most of what I've read indicates that helmets should be replaced every 5 years whether they've been crashed in or not.

I've read that too, E, but I've never really seen anything to support the idea, just the flat statement. Have you ever seen any support for the claim?

I wonder whether it isn't one of those dogmatic "everyone should drink 8-10 glasses of water a day" things that has no real basis but everyone repeats because it sounds good. (Maybe I'm just overly suspicious of recommendations that sound like Full Employment For Helmet Makers?) I can understand the idea of replacing a helmet that spends most of its time getting UV-baked in some place like Arizona, because even a UV-stable plastic will eventually degrade. But that doesn't seem as though it would apply to me in Mass, where I ride in rain as often as not and the helmet lives indoors with the bike when I'm not riding.

Of course the idea of having my skull break like a dropped pumpkin isn't too appealing, so I haven't discarded the idea of a new helmet. It would also be nice to have modern fitting, since one of my ears is further back than this helmet likes and the difference is uncomfortable. I know that if I do go for one, I want a bright yellow one like Knot's Citi to match my rain cape.


EDIT from helmet.org: "The Bell V-1 Pro was designed to today's standards, but the foam is very stiff, and if you are over 65 you probably should replace that too.

...

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."

I think maybe I'll look around and see who's selling the Citi cheapest (the Metro seems to have gone extinct *sigh*)