Helmet life?

[Bibio]

i agree that there is a looooot of hype to boost sales but there are also some truths in there. this is why i explained about the shell internals. as by and large the external shells these days are pretty much good for years and years unless they are dropped. modern styrene however is not as it's designed to be eco friendly so breaks down faster.

think about how a bean bag gets crushed down after time, the same applies to the styrene in your helmet. so while the shells stay good the internals are not and it's the internals that save your head from impact and the shell from foreign objects.

[NTECUK]

Originally Posted by Bibio

think about how a bean bag gets crushed down after time, the same applies to the styrene in your helmet. so while the shells stay good the internals are not and it's the internals that save your head from impact and the shell from foreign objects.

Its also the wobbeling about on your head thats a distraction .
Pluss if it moves its not doing its job propperly

[Biker Biggles]

Originally Posted by NTECUK

Its also the wobbeling about on your head thats a distraction .
Pluss if it moves its not doing its job propperly

If it doesnt fit properly that is a good reason to replace it whatever the reason.But if you have a good quality undamaged lid that still fits I see no reason to replace it.

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by NTECUK

Its also the wobbeling about on your head thats a distraction .

well if its wobbling about on your head then its not the right thing to be wearing. simple test, fasten up your lid like you would any other day then grab the back and see if you can pull it off your head, then grab the chin guard and wobble it from side to side and if the helmet moves and your head stays still then get the burger changed pronto.

[Bluepete]

Rather than accept the well meaning opinions of the magnificent .org, why not contact the manufacturer?

http://www.airoh.com/Home

They'll know when their lids are supposed to be replaced.

GMP replace Shoei lids every two years. Then again, they do get a fair amount of wear and tear.

Pete

There is some truth to the UV degradation, but only to exposed polystyrene.

The outer shell will absorb a lot of UV, and as long as it's coloured, will also scatter some of the rest. Very little will get in contact with the polystyrene.
Add to that that most of the time the helmet is kept inside, in a dark cupboard (for me anyway) then you're reducing exposure even more.

Realistically, the polystyrene is just as likely to break down due to sweat and moisture over years and years of use, than it is to UV light breaking down the very outer.

These made for some interesting reading:
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc...9/eng99272.htm
http://www.bmw-motorrad.com/_common/...Y_2012_EAL.pdf - On this one specifically the 'Testing Helmets To their Limit' page, and the reference to UV resistance of the Paint...

Originally Posted by Bluepete

Rather than accept the well meaning opinions of the magnificent .org, why not contact the manufacturer?

http://www.airoh.com/Home

They'll know when their lids are supposed to be replaced.

You say that, but if the UV deterioration was so severe over a couple of years, don't you think they'd have produced some nice stats and graphs from scientific testing for their marketing team to make use of by now?

Plenty of bumf about how good and well made they all are but as you say SG not a lot about degradation over time. P as we know most police equipment gets replaced over a time scale as do many things in a working environment.
British Airways replace all the fitters tools bi-annually but I can assure you there is nothing wrong with them as 10 years later I am still using them and that was in a working environment.
I still recon that there is a lot of hype just to keep the sales figures up and they are scared to produce facts and figures for fear of loosing sales.
Yes,it is nice to have a new lid every 2-3-4 years but at the upper end of the market we are talking £500,fine if you can afford it but others like myself have to keep them a bit longer.

Thanks for all the replies.
I didn't go to the Airoh site as I was after seasoned biker opinion and experience over manufacturer (potential) sales. I can't remember what I paid for it but I think it was about £140, so not break the bank expensive, but I could do without spending if I don't have to. It's got a matte black finish so no paint to show fading and the inners still fit well on my head so I'm confident enough to carry on using it for a while longer. I'll keep a close eye on it's condition, strip it down for a thorough clean, and wear it again.
It would be interesting to see some proper research into this but I guess it would be etreemly expensive and I'm sure the helmet companies wouldn't be that interested in funding it.