Polystyrene foam is notorious for its longevity in the environment; it is not harmed by salt water, and it won't react with sweat. Not many microorganisms will eat the stuff, and they generally won't be found on human skin anyway. Polystyrene does degrade from sunlight, it's almost entirely protected from sunlight by the outer shell. The shell itself will gradually degrade due to UV and high intensity visible light, but the shell really functions to hold the EPS foam, and the foam is what dissipates impact force. I replaced my last helmet when the integrated sweatband was wearing out, which was after three years. The helmet was becoming uncomfortable, but the parts of the helmet that actually protect the head could go years longer. With an intact shell and no impact damage the helmet will probably outlive the rider.
Great video! 3 biggest factors to me in determining replacement as someone who rides 3-6 times a week in N.Van/BC 1 - crash, dropping and general care - if you throw your helmet around, drop it replace it more often. Any crashes - replace it 2 - UV - where you store it, how much UV it takes will affect the integrity of pretty much every component so dry, cool if possible to get longer life 3 - Sweat - if your like me and sweat a lot and my sweat tends to destroy pads and adhesives that leads to premature degredation of the helmet and often pads becoming trash, stinky or unusable. Only helmet that has made it to 5yrs for me was a Specialized Ambush with 2 sets of bomber pads. IMHO EVERY helmet over $75 should come with 2 sets of pads and they should all be durable enough to be regularily washed by hand or in a laundry bag. Wildcard reason - signifgant design and safety improvements in a product may encourage/justify an update.
Thank you! I agree, it is important to be conscious about not chucking your helmet around in the car, etc. Coming out of this video, I got curious about how to extend helmet life and preserve them, before they "expire." My next video is "tips" on how to do this and funny enough, all of your points are in there!
I crashed hard headfirst on my road bike wearing an MET rivale helmet that was 2 years after its expiration date and it was totally destroyed…….but I lived so I feel no need to replace mine that soon if kept in good condition
Very helpful! I bought a helmet 5 years ago and never used it until this year. It was stored in a cool/dry place inside a helmet bag, so I'm going to assume my expiration starts counting down after the first use.
Thanks! That seems like a safe assumption, all confusing information considered. My next video is going to be on "tips for making a helmet last longer." It seems like you have are on top of that, since you have stored the helmet carefully.
thanks for making the video, but it seems you gave equal weighting to all sources and did not really take on baord the full scientific studies - i.e is there proof/evidence that plastic or the foam degrades to a degree that makes the helmet unsafe. degradation of 25% in relevent characteristics would be an issue, 2% would not. There is no mention anywhere of how much less safe they become. The only research that looked at unused old helmets clearly meant they were not exposed to UV outside, so not that helpful. I think changing a helmet after 5 years makes some sense but only due to lack of evidence that we dont need to. The manufacturers should really be making stuff that is designed to be used outside but degrades in 24 months. PS i've had my head saved (and smashed helmets ) from two accidents over a decade in the city, so i always wear one.
Thanks for the watch and feedback. You are right, I could have weighed the scientific studies findings heavier. Maybe next time I’ll do a weighted scorecard! I agree, these helmets must be durable and versatile to suit the average consumer. It would be cool too see a manufacturer apply “increased” durability features to a helmet, even if it sacrificed weight and aero dynamics a bit. I’m glad your noggin is okay from those accidents!
Partly... It's also partly fear of litigation. If someone has an accident and the product fails to keep them safe the manufacturers have more of a chance of winning a case saying instructions weren't followed, we advise to replace etc.
Well i won't listen to manfuacturers for sure. Got my Uvex EdAero for 5 years already and it's still in great shape. I will replace this helmet after crash or if the BoA or Straps will deteriorate and impact how well helmet fits. If manufacturer points on UV light degradation a main factor, wouldn't then mileage/riding time of a helmet be a better representation? I got answer for you already. No one did good science on that for sure, and expiration date is just planned obsolesence.
Thanks for the info. I do agree that more studies on light exposure would be great. I agree, it would back up manufacturers claims if there was a 30,000 km rule or something like that. Of course, that is hard to regulate if you live in California vs Vancouver, where it rains half the year.
The tour de france, didn’t require helmets until 2003, why because the percentage of people involved in crashes that hit there heads is less then 1%. Multiple studies show helmets give a false sense of security and people who wear them cycle faster then what is safe based on a subconscious thought that they are being protected by helmets, which leads to more deadly big crashes then would have otherwise have happened. With all that being said I wear a bike helmet, in fact have multiple but i’m aware that the chances of me hitting my head in a bike crash/collision is so small that it ridiculous.
This is complete nonsense. Helmets have saved my life, my brothers life, and many others in accidents I've personally witnessed. All of these were caused by falling off the bike and hitting my (our) head, and I can guarantee it wasn't because we were being unsafe because we had a false sense of security due to the helmet.
@@jalenoutside please note that these stats on head injuries have predominatly come from situations/countries where bike/pedestrian, bike/bike, bike/stationary object collisions are common. Not bike/car collisions like in the USA. The number of cyclists in the usa is smaller but it is proportionally made up of more people cycling for recreation/sport than Europe where the average person on a bike is commuting in areas with actual cycling infrastructure.
That is an interesting point on digging deeper into the cycling infrastructure surrounding the regions. Especially looking at car related collisions vs non-car. Thanks for this call out, maybe I have a future video topic!
Polystyrene foam is notorious for its longevity in the environment; it is not harmed by salt water, and it won't react with sweat. Not many microorganisms will eat the stuff, and they generally won't be found on human skin anyway. Polystyrene does degrade from sunlight, it's almost entirely protected from sunlight by the outer shell. The shell itself will gradually degrade due to UV and high intensity visible light, but the shell really functions to hold the EPS foam, and the foam is what dissipates impact force. I replaced my last helmet when the integrated sweatband was wearing out, which was after three years. The helmet was becoming uncomfortable, but the parts of the helmet that actually protect the head could go years longer. With an intact shell and no impact damage the helmet will probably outlive the rider.
Thank you for the information. Did your helmet not have a removable/replaceable sweatband?
Had a Specialized helmet. After some 8 years, the foam started to disintegrate. So, not sure all inner shells last that long.
Great video!
3 biggest factors to me in determining replacement as someone who rides 3-6 times a week in N.Van/BC
1 - crash, dropping and general care - if you throw your helmet around, drop it replace it more often. Any crashes - replace it
2 - UV - where you store it, how much UV it takes will affect the integrity of pretty much every component so dry, cool if possible to get longer life
3 - Sweat - if your like me and sweat a lot and my sweat tends to destroy pads and adhesives that leads to premature degredation of the helmet and often pads becoming trash, stinky or unusable. Only helmet that has made it to 5yrs for me was a Specialized Ambush with 2 sets of bomber pads. IMHO EVERY helmet over $75 should come with 2 sets of pads and they should all be durable enough to be regularily washed by hand or in a laundry bag.
Wildcard reason - signifgant design and safety improvements in a product may encourage/justify an update.
Thank you! I agree, it is important to be conscious about not chucking your helmet around in the car, etc. Coming out of this video, I got curious about how to extend helmet life and preserve them, before they "expire."
My next video is "tips" on how to do this and funny enough, all of your points are in there!
thank you for compiling this, ive been trying to tell my mom that her wearing a 90s bell helmet has been a bad idea for like 10 years.
Glad that the video was useful! I love a good Bell bucket lol.
I crashed hard headfirst on my road bike wearing an MET rivale helmet that was 2 years after its expiration date and it was totally destroyed…….but I lived so I feel no need to replace mine that soon if kept in good condition
Wow glad you’re okay! Thanks for sharing.
Very helpful! I bought a helmet 5 years ago and never used it until this year. It was stored in a cool/dry place inside a helmet bag, so I'm going to assume my expiration starts counting down after the first use.
Thanks! That seems like a safe assumption, all confusing information considered.
My next video is going to be on "tips for making a helmet last longer." It seems like you have are on top of that, since you have stored the helmet carefully.
Turns out my helmet is expired!
Darn! Well, that’s what I’m here for.
thanks for making the video, but it seems you gave equal weighting to all sources and did not really take on baord the full scientific studies - i.e is there proof/evidence that plastic or the foam degrades to a degree that makes the helmet unsafe. degradation of 25% in relevent characteristics would be an issue, 2% would not. There is no mention anywhere of how much less safe they become. The only research that looked at unused old helmets clearly meant they were not exposed to UV outside, so not that helpful.
I think changing a helmet after 5 years makes some sense but only due to lack of evidence that we dont need to. The manufacturers should really be making stuff that is designed to be used outside but degrades in 24 months.
PS i've had my head saved (and smashed helmets ) from two accidents over a decade in the city, so i always wear one.
Thanks for the watch and feedback. You are right, I could have weighed the scientific studies findings heavier. Maybe next time I’ll do a weighted scorecard!
I agree, these helmets must be durable and versatile to suit the average consumer. It would be cool too see a manufacturer apply “increased” durability features to a helmet, even if it sacrificed weight and aero dynamics a bit.
I’m glad your noggin is okay from those accidents!
Expiring helmets and car seats ect is such BS. Just a way to keep selling a product and make more money
Partly... It's also partly fear of litigation. If someone has an accident and the product fails to keep them safe the manufacturers have more of a chance of winning a case saying instructions weren't followed, we advise to replace etc.
Well i won't listen to manfuacturers for sure. Got my Uvex EdAero for 5 years already and it's still in great shape. I will replace this helmet after crash or if the BoA or Straps will deteriorate and impact how well helmet fits.
If manufacturer points on UV light degradation a main factor, wouldn't then mileage/riding time of a helmet be a better representation? I got answer for you already. No one did good science on that for sure, and expiration date is just planned obsolesence.
Thanks for the info. I do agree that more studies on light exposure would be great. I agree, it would back up manufacturers claims if there was a 30,000 km rule or something like that. Of course, that is hard to regulate if you live in California vs Vancouver, where it rains half the year.
Helmet design technology does not stand still so, for me, I replace my helmet after four to five years to benefit from the new safety inputs.
Thanks for the feedback. Helmets are expensive but also critically important for safety.
The tour de france, didn’t require helmets until 2003, why because the percentage of people involved in crashes that hit there heads is less then 1%. Multiple studies show helmets give a false sense of security and people who wear them cycle faster then what is safe based on a subconscious thought that they are being protected by helmets, which leads to more deadly big crashes then would have otherwise have happened. With all that being said I wear a bike helmet, in fact have multiple but i’m aware that the chances of me hitting my head in a bike crash/collision is so small that it ridiculous.
Thank you for the information on this. I am interested now to dig into some of these studies you have mentioned!
This is complete nonsense. Helmets have saved my life, my brothers life, and many others in accidents I've personally witnessed. All of these were caused by falling off the bike and hitting my (our) head, and I can guarantee it wasn't because we were being unsafe because we had a false sense of security due to the helmet.
@@jalenoutside please note that these stats on head injuries have predominatly come from situations/countries where bike/pedestrian, bike/bike, bike/stationary object collisions are common. Not bike/car collisions like in the USA. The number of cyclists in the usa is smaller but it is proportionally made up of more people cycling for recreation/sport than Europe where the average person on a bike is commuting in areas with actual cycling infrastructure.
That is an interesting point on digging deeper into the cycling infrastructure surrounding the regions. Especially looking at car related collisions vs non-car. Thanks for this call out, maybe I have a future video topic!
BS expiration