Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

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rmurphy195
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by rmurphy195 »

Looks to me like impact damage of some sort, perhaps things dropped on it etc. or perhaps a liquid spillage of some sort.
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tim-b
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by tim-b »

Hi
I haven't seen damage like that before, especially in a three-year old helmet
I clean mine with mild soap and water, usually when I notice either a salty tidemark on the straps or visible dirt. The pads can usually be pulled out and washed as often as you like
Insect repellent and sunscreen from your hands are most likely to come into contact with a carefully used helmet and some of these chemicals can cause damage although it doesn't necessarily degrade performance (test link)
As a general observation that doesn't appear to be a moulded-on outer shell; I'd always go for one of those if only to guarantee that the plastic used in the shell is a better quality (a moulded-on shell has to withstand the more intense manufacturing process)
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tim-b
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Cyril Haearn
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Are you getting a new one, a different sort maybe? Might be worth reading the instructions, do they specify how long it should last, unused

Are there any other products that should be discarded as soon as they are 'used'? (impact)
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mikeymo
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by mikeymo »

Cyril Haearn wrote:Are you getting a new one, a different sort maybe? Might be worth reading the instructions, do they specify how long it should last, unused

Are there any other products that should be discarded as soon as they are 'used'? (impact)


It's used every time you put it on your head. Though I might not understand what the word "used" means. I'm just a simple country boy, not an intellectual.
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simonineaston
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by simonineaston »

As an aside, this being the work of that pesky radiation, wot comes shooting out of the old currant-bun, I was quite surprised to read somewhere recently, how short the expected life of tents made of plastic-based fabrics can be... I mean a handul of months total, if exposed to strong sun - fat chance of that in northern Europe, mind (at the mo' ;-)).
S
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Cyril Haearn
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by Cyril Haearn »

mikeymo wrote:
Cyril Haearn wrote:Are you getting a new one, a different sort maybe? Might be worth reading the instructions, do they specify how long it should last, unused

Are there any other products that should be discarded as soon as they are 'used'? (impact)


It's used every time you put it on your head. Though I might not understand what the word "used" means. I'm just a simple country boy, not an intellectual.

By "used" I mean hit, struck, when he comes off in an "accident" for example
The h****t could be hit accidentally, dropped for example. Perhaps it could be equipped with a soft cover that could also protect it from UV radiation
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mumbojumbo
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by mumbojumbo »

Re: Great Helmet Design
Unread postby mjr » 12 Oct 2020, 2:51pm

al_yrpal wrote:
My 10 quid Aldi job is still perfect after 6 years.

How do you know? Might shatter on first impact and I bet it's no longer under even limited guarantee.

I don't understand the mentality of helmet users who ignore the instructions. Worse than not using.
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Re: Great Helmet Design
Unread postby mjr » 12 Oct 2020, 2:51pm

al_yrpal wrote:
My 10 quid Aldi job is still perfect after 6 years.

How do you know? Might shatter on first impact and I bet it's no longer under even limited guarantee.

I don't understand the mentality of helmet users who ignore the instructions. Worse than not using.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
act

Helmets are designed to shatter even on first impact.
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mjr
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by mjr »

mumbojumbo wrote:Helmets are designed to shatter even on first impact.

No, they're designed to compress. If they shatter, they absorb very little energy before leaving the useful area.
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NickWi
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Re: Great Helmet Design

Post by NickWi »

Mike Sales wrote:All plastics suffer UV degradation, don't they? If the protection for the foam has gone it cannot be good.


Plastic moulders can, and indeed do put UV inhibitors into products proir to moulding to prevent UV degridation. I don't know if helmet manufacturers do, but it really ought be standard practice on anything that's regulalrly exposed to the sun. The plastic buckles that we used to supply for the chin straps certainly had a UV inhibitor in them.
Brucey
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by Brucey »

mjr wrote:
mumbojumbo wrote:Helmets are designed to shatter even on first impact.

No, they're designed to compress. If they shatter, they absorb very little energy before leaving the useful area.


yep.

The microshell may or may not be bonded to the polystyrene and it may or may not break when it hits the road. In some cases the shell is just cosmetic (because the polystyrene is otherwise tethered together by an internal structure so that it stays in one piece), in others it helps hold the polystyrene together even if it cracks.

FWIW I've broken more than one helmet (with my head inside it) and I probably would have suffered far worse injuries had I not been wearing one. In most cases the polystyrene has compressed during the impact. In one case the polystyrene cracked but stayed more or less in one piece.

I only found out about the way the polystyrene is held together in some (not all) helmets when I saw one being deliberately smashed to pieces; the polystyrene had clearly been overmoulded onto a kind of 'stringbag' made of what looked like strong braided nylon cord. After a surprisingly large amount of smashing action, what was left was still wearable, and would still have afforded some protection to boot. I wish I could remember which brand it was.

cheers
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mumbojumbo
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by mumbojumbo »

Fair dos -I stand corrected.I have been misinformed.
Bonefishblues
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by Bonefishblues »

mumbojumbo wrote:Fair dos -I stand corrected.I have been misinformed.

You have no place on here with that attitude :P
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tykeboy2003
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by tykeboy2003 »

Just another example of planned obsolescence to get people to consume more and waste more.
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Mick F
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by Mick F »

mumbojumbo wrote:Helmets are designed to shatter even on first impact.
Mine wasn't.

It eventually cracked.
Shattering would never have happened.

Read this about it.
viewtopic.php?f=41&t=79382&start=75

I calculated the weight of my head and used the figure to fill a bag of wet sand and strapped inside my helmet and dropped it repeatedly onto solid concrete to see what happened.
Mick F. Cornwall
mumbojumbo
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Re: Helmet outer casing has degraded in only 3 years

Post by mumbojumbo »

In did not think thyat custom survived the arrival of PC thinking in Cornwall.
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