No need to get rid of your retro helmet

New study proves age does not have as much of an impact as usually believed

http://bhsi.org/up1505a.htm

There are reasons to replace your helmet, but simple age is not one of them.

Extensive testing of used (but not crashed) bicycle helmets shows that the foam liners retain their performance over many years. MEA Forensic announced at a May ASTM F08.53 technical meeting the results of their testing of 675 bicycle helmets, some as old as 26 years. "There is no justification for two to ten year replacement recommendations based on impact performance," said MEA's Alyssa DeMarco.

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Aww that's interesting .Am glad I've kept all my old helmets now

Ah, me old orange metallic Bell may ride again...

I like this line in particular:

It is a welcome antidote to the strident marketing claims that foam deteriorates with age. There are other reasons to replace a helmet--crash damage, strap deterioration, improving fit--but simple aging of the foam liner is not one of them.

Click to expand...

Can I say this is completely against what I believed until now?

The industry will go length into proving the findings are wrong..

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Always thought this was boll.x too as the styrene lasts ~ 50yrs before degradation.

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From what I recall of the arguments put forward by helmet manufacturers as to why helmets need to be regularly replaced were based on extreme theoretical circumstances. For instance always leaving the helmet on the parcel shelf of a car in hot weather or storing it for years in a loft where the temperatures fluctuate between extreme heat in summer, and cold in winter.

I still own a helmet from 1986 which has been sensibly stored over the years and shows no sign whatsoever of degradation. And as it has an extremely tough polycarbonate shell it I would expect it to provide better protection if impacted against a sharp object like the edge of a kerb than a modern helmet.

In fact I have long believe that modern helmets are over rated. And there seems to have been little useful development over the years apart from improved fit and ventilation. Many are seriously overpriced and I wonder if you get any more protection from an expensive helmet than you would by simply strapping a block of polystyrene to your head?

Despite years of cyclists wearing helmets in countries where their use is compulsory there has not been an associated fall in incidents of concussion and brain injury. Though incidents of skull fracture have reduced. Perhaps its time that the cycle helmet industry did some serious R&D to improve the effectiveness of their products? Instead relying on the easy profits of manufacturing and selling crudely engineered polystyrene bowls.

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Great news. Pity you can't get spare pad kits for a '90 Air Attack though!
That's the major downside. You have to find a modern one you can chop up to suit!

Mike

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Spent my entire childhood riding everywhere w/out a helmet, throughout the sixties and seventies; fell off bikes and skates and skateboards and out of trees countless times, getting bounced down roads and cliffs and rocks ... and made it through it all reasonably intact ...

... and now, the authorities impose a helmet law and want to force me to wear a helmet ...

Amazing how much sway insurance company lobbiests hold. :roll:

I did my thesis on head impact injury, very interesting topic. First thing i would say is dont trust the standsrds, they are a very simplified model so just because a helmet passes the test, new or old, means zip.

As has been mentioned before the helmet won't stop the knocks and bumps but it should reduce the likelihood of serious injury ie fracture. That's the way the design and test is set. The severity curve is based in likelihood of death or disabling injury.
Age is an element to consider but, depending on the material, it's the use thst dies the damage, ie the repeated loading / compressions.

Find the oldest carpet in your house. The bit in the corner or under the cupboard is still like new, the bit thats knackered is the high wear doorway and stair edges, the bit that gets battered.

Protect from light (UV mostly), damage and extremes of temperature and materials tend to last.

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The whole concept of renewing your helmet after a certain period was certainly suspicious when, as I purchased my last helmet, a Giro, a sticker inside recommended something like "Discard 3 years after purchase date", meaning they don't want to hurt the retailer that bought stock and only managed to sell it 5 years later, but once you buy it yourself, it will magically self-destroy in the time recommended by the manufacturer. Yeah, right...

I still have a 1992 Trek helmet that, outside of the black painting covering the white foam peeling off, seems to be in good condition. My friends laugh at it when they see it. But as the famous quote says, "you laugh at me because I'm different, I laugh at you because you are all the same".