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When do you get a new helmet?

Trasselkalle

Monkey
Oct 28, 2014
138
25
Sweden
Gah. I hate buying new helmets!

But, one head and all... I ofc see the argument for being careful with whatever is left in there.

When do you guys go for a new helmet? Cracked helmet is a given, but scars without cracks, or only very minor cracks (2-3 mm or so)? Where do you guys draw the line between the risk not being 'worth it' and grabbing a new one?

In my case, I think I'm already leaning towards a new one, but it's been eating at me for half the season after I got a minor concussion from a low-speed crash in a rock garden. At higher speed and with a bigger more violent crash, it would have been an obvious choice. The low speed is bugging me, as well as the whole 'it was just a stupid mistake' part. However, slamming the helmet into the rocks still resulted in a super-thin 2 mm crack high up in the helmet on one side and a small but clearly more visible crack in the chin piece on the same side. I still hate buying new helmets.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,504
In hell. Welcome!
If you already got concussed earlier this year, I'd say you are playing with fire. You only have one brain, there's always helmets on sale somewhere, get a new one.
 

Trasselkalle

Monkey
Oct 28, 2014
138
25
Sweden
Oh, I do understand how they work and that they loose much of the energy absorbing properties, so it's not really that part that I'm asking about. I'm just curious to hear where everyone else draws their line.
 

gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
1 crash=new helmet (even if you don't get a concussion). The EPS foam is designed to compress plastically (not elastically). So once it's compressed, it's toast (in that spot). The don't lose "some" or "most" of their energy absorbing properties, they basically lose all.

Riding in a helmet after even the mildest of concussions is really really really dumb.
Riding in a helmet with even a tiny crack is really really really dumb.

If you hate buying new helmets, don't ride. It's your brain, don't roll the dice with it. I buy helmets in bulk (no seriously, I have a stack of 2 or 3 helmets in rotation currently, and 4 brand new ones sitting in their boxes in my garage) and replace them every 12 months even if I don't crash in them, just to be safe. But 80% of the time the helmet is replaced before then after minor crash. Helmets are cheap, brain damage is expensive. And brain damage is cumulative. It's not "the big hit" that you have to really worry about. Concussion research is showing more and more than it's the cumulative sub-concussive impacts that are the most common cause of long term brain damage. And if you're having even minor crashses in a used helmet, it's probably starting to add up.
 

Kevin

Turbo Monkey
Ill admit that if i take a small hit in a helmet (for the record, riding DH this has been d2s for as long as i know)
I wont run to replace it. Multiple small hits or one big hit tho, and ill buy a new helmet asap.
Thinking about going d3 now as they just seem to be generally safer.
It sucks to spend the cash i know, but in our case i think its better to be safe then sorry...
 

Trasselkalle

Monkey
Oct 28, 2014
138
25
Sweden
I hate buying new helmets because they are a necessary, boring, and expensive thing, that adds nothing to the performance of myself or the bike. Are everyone as good at replacing helmets after crashes as gemini?

With my own story, I was just trying to make the whole point of stupid and low-speed crashes sometimes results in it feeling less 'worth it' to get a new helmet from, despite the answer being kind of obvious. I see quite a few that seem to ride the same helmet for a long time, despite likely crashing in between, so my own slow crash and this made me wonder if I was maybe overly cautious or not.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,536
5,470
UK
Replace after every crash? Surely you mean after a significant blow to the head. I rarely even wear one.
Hit my head way less without.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
Replace after every crash? Surely you mean after a significant blow to the head. I rarely even wear one.
Hit my head way less without.
Yeah. I'm not going to replace my helmet every time I fall over, but any significant head hit, and it's time for a new one.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
I tend to use them for a few seasons unless I really knock the shit out of one. Generally if the foam isn't cracked, or completely smoothed over from being compressed/packed out, I don't.

Ever since I quit using D2s, it seems like helmets work. Little bumps and crashes don't invalidate a helmet. Even a beat one is better than none.
 

Trasselkalle

Monkey
Oct 28, 2014
138
25
Sweden
Duh. I'm not born under a rock. Ofc I know what he meant with that, even if we have a different health and insurancy system here.

As I've been saying, I'm just interested in how ppl in practice think and where they draw the line. Thanks all for pitching in. I hope others that care about this topic will find the answers useful, even if the crash wasn't a big one.

I personally think the whole issue of many smaller blows possibly being just as - or even more - potentially dangerous for brain damage is particularly interesting. I'll have to find some peer-reviewed journal papers to read more about that. I haven't found much about DH helmets and crashes earlier though, and it would be great if anyone had suggested reading that wasn't only on moto helmets. The top of the line DH helmets are marketed as if they have much different properties, so actually seing research results on any differences in various conditions would be awesome.
 

Trasselkalle

Monkey
Oct 28, 2014
138
25
Sweden
It was hard to read your post like a compliment as it sounded more like someone assuming Swedes would be ignorant, rather than a positive wink towards our more generous health/insurance system. Either way, no worries, and no harm done, alright?
 

Carraig042

me 1st
Apr 5, 2011
732
353
East Tennessee
I get one every few seasons or earlier if it takes a nice hit. My DH helmet is a season pat due at 4 years. Definitely will be looking for them to go on sale this fall/winter.

-Brett
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,190
19,156
Canaderp
If my head hits something, then I'm buying a new one.

That said, aren't there a few companies out there that offer some sort of crash replacement program? Perhaps invest in one of those if you hit the ground often and don't have the cash to being buying 3 helmets a year.
 

Kanye West

220# bag of hacktastic
Aug 31, 2006
3,740
470
If you are content with having a damaged head, then by all means, wear a damaged helmet.

If the helmet hits anything, except for the chin part hitting some really soft sandy stuff from a soft front end fall, helmet gets replaced. Decent helmets can be had so cheap.
 

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,140
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
New trail helmet every year, dh/moto helmet every three, mainly because I only wear it a handful of times/year. Its a bit of a premature replacement schedule, but I like trying new helmets, hate when the pads start breaking down, and I keep the old one around as a spare, that way I don't have to get raped by the LBS if I need a new lid on a Sunday.

After a crash, if i have a headache, the foam shows signs of compression or there are scratches that can catch a fingernail, throw it away and get a new one.

The way I see it, I still spend less on helmets every year than brake pads, chains, cliff bars, and way less than tires, so it's making an expensive sport only marginally more expensive.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
I'm probably guilty of having left helmets too long, and D2s at that (best looking worst helmet ever). Got a D3 now which I feel safer about wearing since it's not held together with hopes and dreams. Now I have even more reasons to try and not land on my head, given the helmet is probably worth more than the thing inside it.

If it gets a crack (somewhere other than the visor) or you get a concussion I think it's definitely replacement time.

It was hard to read your post like a compliment as it sounded more like someone assuming Swedes would be ignorant, rather than a positive wink towards our more generous health/insurance system. Either way, no worries, and no harm done, alright?
He was just pointing out that the American healthcare system sucks, definitely a compliment to yurp. :)
 
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Trasselkalle

Monkey
Oct 28, 2014
138
25
Sweden
Hehe - I know the feeling, Udi. It was a D3 I crashed with. I've got a Rampage Carbon Pro on the way now.

He was just pointing out that the American healthcare system sucks, definitely a compliment to yurp. :)
I was expecting a "...does not have [or need] to know..." to add it up to that, but no sweat - I figured out he didn't mean it as I thought after his response. I got a bit too literal in my interpretation of the post.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,920
borcester rhymes
about 5 years for a trail lid, or any actual crash where I hit my head.

A bit less for a DH lid, maybe 3 years or any significant impact. I'm a little bit more generous with the DH lid because A) I'm not fast enough to hit THAT hard and B) the ASTM 1952 standard protects against multiple impacts. So, a low speed or gentle fall has me less worried than a high speed impact. I just replaced my remedy after several seasons and a few wrecks, one that literally took it on the chin. No cracks, and no foam compressions, but better safe than sorry.

I'm a big fan of buying cheaper helmets and replacing them at ANY crash rather than buying a $400 carbon fiber wunderlid only to waffle on whether it should be replaced with a crack and concussion.
 

Trasselkalle

Monkey
Oct 28, 2014
138
25
Sweden
Helmet cracked and a bell rung, easy answer but I'm guessing this isn't your first head trauma rodeo eh Punchy?
Heh. I had actually already hit 'buy' for a new helmet when posting, but as I've been saying a few times already, the fact that I see so many riding in the same helmets for a long time also made me curious about what other ppl felt in general - rather than my specific case.

In the OP, I wanted to invite ppl to actually share their thinking by also sharing how 'unnecessary' it felt for me based on the low-speed crash, but always knew it was needed as the small crack was where I drew the line. I haven't been able to ride for other reasons (traveling) after the crash, so I was fortunate enough to find a good deal for a tier 1 helmet this time around also. I still hold buying new helmets as the most boring thing to buy when riding, and in my case this put extra emphasis on how unnecessary it was of me to even crash when I did.
 

djjohnr

Turbo Monkey
Apr 21, 2002
3,001
1,693
Northern California
I often forget it's time to replace mine (in fact this thread reminded me I'm overdue on both my lids). For some reason I (thankfully) rarely hit my head in a crash; instead I seem to sacrifice my shoulders...I've had a LOT of torn rotator cuffs.
 

Trasselkalle

Monkey
Oct 28, 2014
138
25
Sweden
I often forget it's time to replace mine (in fact this thread reminded me I'm overdue on both my lids). For some reason I (thankfully) rarely hit my head in a crash; instead I seem to sacrifice my shoulders...I've had a LOT of torn rotator cuffs.
Haha - I know the feeling about sacrificing other body parts! I'm big on lower arm damage, and no stranger to shoulder damage from the old 'tuck-and-roll'. I've been trying to figure out why, but too may years skiing means that's how I fall from a bike as well, rather than walk off the bike as some seem masters of doing. Roll to flat, then underarms out to stop the cartwheeling works so much better on snow!
 

wood booger

Monkey
Jul 16, 2008
668
72
the land of cheap beer
It's time to get a new helmet when Robert "The Ripper" Reisinger starts making them!
http://www.6dhelmets.com/

Pretty smart dude; test rider for Kawasaki back in the day, started Mtn Cycle and Pro Stop disk brakes in San Luis Obispo in the early 90's.
Helmets look pretty interesting, The Ripper was always in love with elastomers.

Bit of a dick to work for though. I spent two years of my life forming monocoque parts and running the heat treat oven for this dude in his sweaty little tin roof "factory".
Homie didn't even recognize me at the Vegas show! :thumbsdown:
 

djjohnr

Turbo Monkey
Apr 21, 2002
3,001
1,693
Northern California
It would be great to know which companies manufacture their own helmets vs outsourcing. So much of how well a helmet performs and lasts comes down to how well it was manufactured.
 

gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
It would be great to know which companies manufacture their own helmets vs outsourcing. So much of how well a helmet performs and lasts comes down to how well it was manufactured.
I'm pretty sure it's the same as most things in the bike industry. 2 companies probably make 80%+ of the total product in the market. Everyone else just rebrands them. Or they make slight design tweaks for each brand that don't affect the actual protective function of the helmet significantly.

Could be wrong, just guessing.
 

Carraig042

me 1st
Apr 5, 2011
732
353
East Tennessee
Dang this thread it cost me money I don't have. Bought a new fullface helmet on sale.

But really, I did need it. Cracked clear on my carbon 661 was not safe.

-Brett