Helmet Change - How often?

[600+]

Well I decided to get on the bike today :)

I'm sat here looking at my helmet AGV Ti-Tech which I bought about 5 years ago and thinking should I change it?

Has never been dropped and is in spot on condition from the outside. Still fits nice and tight as well.

So how often do you change helmets? :)

[Stig]

So long as they are looked after I wouldn't bother changing mine unless I simply fancied something different. Not that currently my helmets have lasted anywhere near thinking about changing them because of age. :roll:

[G]

So long as they are looked after I wouldn't bother changing mine unless I simply fancied something different. Not that currently my helmets have lasted anywhere near thinking about changing them because of age. :roll:

I was always under the impression that they had a 5 year shelf life after which time the contruction starts to degrades and becomes brittle. That why 2 year old helmets in shops become heavily discounted.

Part of me even remembers being told during my DAS that there is a manufactured date on them somewhere... I may have imagine that though.

I have only ever had two and I broke my previous one.

[philbut]

5 years is the rule of thumb, but it all depends on usage I guess. UV and weathering will age a helmet more than it's time in existence. My Arai looks very second hand after only 3 winters. I will retire it after another 2 I think. Summers don't seem to age it so much, but you can't see what's going on under the shell.

If your lid only comes out at the weekend and is well cared for and covered up away from UV light then it's probably fine for another year or two. TBH, even if it was a £500 lid, thats £100 a year for a comfy and well made helmet. i'm happy paying that. good excuse to get a nice new one too!

[dizzyblonde]

G is correct. Seems I am continuing helmet conversations from last night.
According to my mate whose business it is to sell good quality helmets and gear to the likes of us, says it is recommended to replace a helmet within five years. If it is dropped or damaged in that time, always replace immediately and never reuse it.

[600+]

It was a £300+ helmet when I bought it and it has mainly been used weekends. Defo not during the winter :)

Sounds like I will use it for another year and maybe try grab a new one at the NEC show next year

[philbut]

The other comment I'd make is that soem lids don't fit very well after a while. My Caberg V2 was so loose after just 1 year (but lots of miles) that I retired it and got the Arai (which still fits like a glove). Would never buy a cheap lid again, its a false ecconomy as they just wear out quicker.

[Stig]

Sorry, I seem to have misled you there. I was not stating that a helmet is good indenfinetly, I was only stating what I do as that is what the question asked.

I change mine earlier than 5 years normally either because I have broken the current one or because I just want a new one just because I can. At the moment I seem to be changing them because I have broken them before I want to change them.

[600+]

Stig I know we are expressing personal opinions so no worries there :) decision is mine at the end of the day as it's my head and my risk :)

[fastdruid]

There will be a label somewhere on the lid with a manufactured date. Of course depending on where its located it may not still be readable after 2+ years ;)

I try to go for a max of 5 years but in the past my lids were well past their best by about 3 with the number of miles I used to do. If you're only doing nice weekends, leave it somewhere cool, dry and out of sunlight when stored should be good for 5 years.

Druid

[Dicky Ticker]

Would some knowledgeable person please explain to me how a fibre glass/composite
car or boat,even motorbike plastics don't have the same short alledged life span as a helmet.
Is it a manufacturers ploy,or is there independent scientific evidence of the deterioration. By independent I mean a reputable body no way involved in the manufacture or retail of helmets.

[philbut]

All plastics will degrade over time, especially when exposed to UV and contaminants in the air. Cross linking of the polymer chains will occur naturally over time and thus cause the plastics to become more brittle. Cross linking is used to make a polymer matrix more rigid, which is good for some application (boats etc require a rigid polymer, which is NOT required to absorb energy as its main function - it is designed to keep it's form and resist shock WITHOUT plastic deformation). Natural rubber for example can also undergo cross linking (called vulcanisation) and that is how we get the harder rubber that you might find in a tyre for example.

In a helmet however, the expended polystyrene (or similar foam / composite) that is used to absorb the majority of the impact energy will become embrittled over time, and thus will not absorb the same amount of energy - thus it may look fine but will not actually do it's job when required.

As an aside, if you have ever stripped a mid 90's (or older) bike, you will notice that many of the lugs etc seem to snap off without much force. This is the same process of degradation. Any synthetic polymer will alter over time, but in a helmet this process is very important due to the enrgy absorbing requirement.

EDIT - your point about the composite shell is the same. The matrix will degrade and become brittle, thus allowing de lamination of the composite either on a micro scale or in some cases on a macro scale as well. A strong composite requires a certain amount of flexibility in the matrix to allow for it to remain well bonded to the fibres. If the matrix becomes brittle, the matrix can no longer flex with the firbes and thus will separate - this will greatly reduce the desired properties of any composite.

[fastdruid]

IMO it is partly a ploy, in the same way there are best before/use by dates on salt...

In others it isn't, cars/boats/fairings aren't reliant on a crushable filler and can lose a lot of strength before having any issues.

Any decent fibreglass should have some kind of UV protection, either in the resin or in the top coat/paint. Apart from degregation over time the only thing that might affect things is compression of the inner shell from use and possibly oil from hair/skin.

Druid

[Dicky Ticker]

I still think it is more commercially orientated than necessary to replace an undamaged helmet in this time scale

[philbut]

I still think it is more commercially orientated than necessary to replace an undamaged helmet in this time scale

Maybe. But would you want to find out the hard way? Polymers are a very complicated system of molecules, and helmet manufacturer cannot control the environment that they are used in. I imagine the 5 years is stated with a safety margin, to allow for those people who use their lids day in day out. Modern polymers and composites are designed very well, and far better than 20 years ago, but still will degrade. I'm a researcher in the polymers group at Oxford uni, so this is not just speculation ;-)

I'm not one to talk. My cycle helmet states it was manufactured in 1997!

[tigersaw]

Usually replace when the visor gets scratched up, since a quality last years style helmet is only about 3 times the visor cost. Then it becomes the spare for the pillion.
As it happens I bought a discounted Nolan from infinity yesterday, they also threw in the pinlock visor thingy, gave me a glossy one instead of dull black and a free helmet bag. :)

[fastdruid]

One advantage of buying the same shell 'type'[1]/make, the same visors fit, I've now got about 5 spares for my Ti-Tech. :)

Druid

[1] AGV 'Q3'

[G]

I'm not one to talk. My cycle helmet states it was manufactured in 1997!

My canoeing helmet is the same one I have had from when I first started canoeing many moons ago... complete with a big melted patch where it melted to a radiator in Llangollen.

[johnnyrod]

What are you supposed ot do with the old one that's duff?

[Biker Biggles]

I dont know the truth of the five year rule but I never take any notice of advice from those with a vested interest,therefore I dont believe that a lid should be replaced after five years because it is the vested interest telling me.

[simesb]

I still think it is more commercially orientated than necessary to replace an undamaged helmet in this time scale

It is commercial, but probably not in the way many first think. Rather than simply to boost sales, it also avoid ruinous (and idiotic) legal activity.

"I crashed my 10 year old, home modified, helmet that has been kept in the microwave on the sunny side of the kitchen, and I got hurt. You never told me I shouldn't use it so I sue."

[Quedos]

I will have had mine 5 years this year and replacing it.
Why? because the cushioning has flattened and it has been dropped a few times from knee height and banged about a bit. Personally I wouldn't risk it. I know the Nolan tech's recommend every 5 years here or 3 if you're in a sunnier climate due to UV.
IP changed his last year but thats cos he got a great deal on one. but I'll admit that we have always had a spare.

[Stig]

The lining in most more expensive helmets are interchangable. Just because a helmet becomes a bit loose does not necessarily mean you need to change the helmet. Just buy new lining. But I think a loose fitting helmet is as good an excuse to change it for a nice shiny new one anyway. :wink:

[Viney]

Not that currently my helmets have lasted anywhere near thinking about changing them because of age. :roll:
Ditto

Its apprently every 5 years according to erm, probably the Helmet manufacturers.

[Viney]

What are you supposed ot do with the old one that's duff?Make em into hanging baskets for Mothers Day :) I'll be doing that with the 2 i have when i get the new one... :)

The idea was from Mrs Grinch

[LK-SV]

Using the bike most days means that after about 2 years my helmet is well past its best, and feeling really loose ... could change the liner as said ... but its nice to have a change ...

[embee]

It might have been mentioned on here, can't recall, but I remember someone saying the fire-brigade use old helmets in training exercises, always worth an ask at your local station if they want it before casting into the bin.

[yorkie_chris]

According to my mate whose business it is to sell good quality helmets and gear to the likes of us, says it is recommended to replace a helmet within five years.

Not that people in that line of work would accept biased information :---)