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I crashed on the weekend at about 50kms p/h, head first into the dirt and was unconscious for about a minute. Big scratches all over my helmet. I'm assuming by these posts I probably should get a new one .....
Kirra
I replaced mine after getting knocked cold in a bad one. I think we can all sort of judge when it might need replacing.
Only after a head first jump over a camelgrass bump in Morocco, after which i got my arm straight into the running rearwheel and ended on my face downwards with the bike on top of my upper body.
I felt mighty alone there lying there for 1/2 hour till next competitor found me...
That helmet is sitting nog on a place of honor on a shelf.
It was an Arai btw.
2. Signs of possible concussion and I go Max 1 or 2 hits and then helmet is done
3. Replace every 3 year even without crashes
Foam lose their ability to flex from sweat and water. Also getting micro compressed when riding and it moves back and fwd/up and down.
It's really common sense. If you don't remember a crash, then replace it. If you fall and scratch it, but it's a cosmetic scratch and the internal liner is not damaged then you are pretty safe to use it again.
I believe a handful of people in this thread are honestly being hypocrites. The average person could not afford to replace their helmet with another high end EVERY single time they go down.
Had to put it on the shelf after calling Shoei. If I'm not mistaken with Shoei and others if the black paint on the foam shows visible white or spider web the recommend replacing it.
Jason
PS, are you Jaybird from Reflex back in the day? If so, you are the one who told me I should sign up for mxonline tournaments. Had a lot of fun battling you in those days.
Pit Row
Sweat, and multiple smaller crashes compress the foam to a level where it looses it's absoring functions.
If you look at a heavy crash with severe concussion, but without cracks in the foam (I have had 2 of those), you might not even see the foam has been compressed.
It is like people trying to determine the health of a piston by just looking at it. You need tools to measure it, and maybe even do an x-ray to expose flaws. Specially if we are talking about sweat and long term overall compression to the eps-foam that is not area specific.
I would love to see some scientific data on foam after various impacts, would be really interesting. You can do a cheap mini study by crashing your head into regulator eps-foam and see the effects ?
First of all with Street helmets it’s very possible to have an easy low side and scuff the helmet but not actually ‘impact’ the helmet. I saw this many times when I roadraced and after thorough inspection the helmet wasn’t compromised. Now if you ground down the shell any appreciable amount you’d still replace the helmet but with superficial scratches it was no big deal. I’ve also crashed roadracing and had zero scratches on the helmet but the EPS was compressed. For example a crash in the rain and you tumble into the mud.
Second of all, off road helmets are not designed to take multiple impacts. This isn’t to say every single time it touches the dirt it needs to be shelved though. We have all had easy tumbles through the dirt, but If you didn’t feel much if any of that impact and you pull the liner out and inspect the eps, the shell, etc then you’re good to go. Pretty much every manufacturer paints the inside of the eps black so it’s pretty easy to see if the eps has been compromised in any way.
And yes I’ve got a row of helmets in my garage that have been retired from crashes and literally wore one helmet for one lap roadracing before hitting the ground and it was put on the shelf.
But then their is people like JS7 who will grab a brand new helmet and give it a nice scratch on the ground before even putting it on.
i've actually seen a few pro's do it. Deegans kid was another i seen do so.
No clue why, maybe goodluck? ahaha
Most helmet companies will inspect a helmet for you if you are unsure.
Post a reply to: Do you replace your helmet after a crash....??