What the Helmet? Part III
Staff Writer Mike DeBonis shows a lot more respect to his cranium than he does to stop signs. He gets around town on bike, mostly, and the only time he didn't wear his helmet was during the inauguration, when he was in a tux. Fortunately, he's not often in formalwear. He's been using this particular lid for six years; a friend gave it to him when he left town. Note the back—duct tape is holding one side together, and the other is a problem duct tape can't solve. When I suggested he buy a new one, he strapped it on and began to slap himself repeatedly in the head. The helmet did not move, but I was a little freaked out.
He has agreed to crowd-source the question: Should he buy a new helmet?
9:07 am
I think you should phone vid DeBonis head slapping to uTube
9:40 am
The quick answer is: Mike needs a new helmet.
Sure, it might be tight on his head, but the foam that makes up the lid degrades over time. In fact, most helmet manufacturers recommend replacement of a helmet every three years if it hasn't been in a crash due to the fact that stiffer, more brittle foam provides less reliable protection. Having had a helmet save my bacon more than once, I'm not willing to err on the side of frugality.
My guess is that, if Bell, Giro or another of the helmet manufacturers saw this pic, they'd laugh. First, the duct tape job on the straps mean that the straps are no longer street worthy. Secondly, if they knew the lid was six years old, they'd cringe.
And, truth be told, Mike could find a much better looking helmet these days for not a lot of money: many good deals can be found on nice looking lids right now.
4:58 pm
Mike needs to get a new helmet. You should also never use a helmet that has lost the plastic covering. This is going to sound a little sick, but the plastic is there so your head will slide on the pavement. Without it, styrofoam tends to catch on the pavement and and lead to a broken neck.
5:22 pm
If you drop a helmet from a distance of more than three vertical inches, it *must* be replaced. There is internal damage that cannot be gauged by the naked eye.
Also, if you bump it with something semi-soft. Or if you expose it to temperatures greater than 85dg F, or less than 32 deg.
5:26 pm
> Or if you expose it to temperatures greater than 85dg F, or less than 32 deg.
So I am forbidden to ride my bike unless if within those temps??
10:55 pm
I think ibc was joking, but I'm sure the helmet manufacturers would make those recommendations if they could get away with it.
11:36 am
I always wear one, my choice. I think laws for mandating helmets are foolish and silly. And I am not foolish enough to believe the helmet is a cure-all. It is designed to protect the head from low speed falls, not getting hit by cars. Thus, ironically, it will do nothing to protect me against getting hit by that driver who runs the stopsign -- only protect me, somewhat, against the secondary impact with the street, assuming my head hits the street and I don't land on my arm and break my shoulder.
It seems to me much of the blame for lack of helmet use must go to not cyclists but our car culture. people wearing basketball jerseys and ball caps are considered normal; people wearing cycling gear are mocked. That's the way it is. Is it any surprise that in a culture such as the US where if you get around by bike you are regarded as at best a misfit and at worst as a freak, that many casual cyclist do not want to arrive at work looking like a "bike dork" after they get off the bike?
Also, some blame must go to helmet advocates, who like to talk of helmets as if they are some kind of magic protection. Maybe for a kid they are, which explains why among helmet boosters you find an inordinate amount of pediatricians! But, although many bike wrecks are solo crashes, adult bicyclists, expecially experienced riders, should be more concerned about gettin' hit by cars or jaywalkers rather than falling. And since experienced cyclists know that a helmet designed for low speed falls won't save you from a Hummer parking on top of you, many get turned off to helmets by the constant preaching by people who seem to think that statistics relevant to kids moving at a walking pace are relevent to a grown man zooming along at 20 mph in traffic. In this way the helmet advocates overstatement of helmet's benefits end up discrediting them with many who know that a helmet helps, but not that much.
I'd say wear a helmet if you think it will help -- I do. But let's not blame cyclists for a culture of dissing bikers that by and large they did not create, nor should one blame cyclists for the logical results of the overstatement of helmets' benefits by people who are thinking of little kids skinning their knees and not me being body-checked by a chevy impala.
11:46 am
As to that helmet, buy a new one if you are going to wear one at all.
If your idea is buy it and forget it, consider hardshell bmx helemts. They last longer and are sturdier although they have fewer vents.