At the risk of starting a long thread on this topic, I will beg to differ. Even with a shell covering the foam, I can't believe that 30-year-old styrofoam would not be so brittle that it would fail to properly compress during an accident.
As with many topics on this list, there are many opinions, including whether or not to wear a helmet. As for me, I choose to always wear a helmet, to change them out every few years, and to replace them if they're damaged in any way. I only have one brain (such as it is), and I want to protect it. Riding with a helmet from the 1980s to avoid the minimal cost of new one is a poor way to save a few bucks. And that's my last word on this subject. --Eric Sent from my iPad On Jul 25, 2010, at 9:16 AM, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote: > > On Jul 25, 2010, at 8:58 AM, Eric Norris wrote: > >> I still see guys using Bell Bikers here in Davis. I'm sometimes tempted to >> let them know that 20-or 30-year-old styrofoam won't do a thing to protect >> their brains if they crashed. > > There's little reason for those helmets to be any less effective now than > they were back when they were purchased. > > "The Snell Institute recommends replacing your helmet every five years. > "There will be a noticeable improvement in the protective characteristic of > helmets over a five-year period due to advances in materials, designs, > production methods and the standards," SI explains. Manufacturers put UV > inhibitors in helmets to prevent structural degradation. If colors are > fading, the UV inhibitors are failing and the structural integrity might be > compromised. Replace faded helmets as soon as possible." When you read that, > bear in mind that the Snell Institute and other such industry groups exist to > help sell helmets. > > The Bell Biker shell just about completely covers the styrofoam, so UV > degradation should be a very minimal issue with those helmets. These helmets > should probably not be any less effective than they were when they were > bought. Whether they provided much protection to begin with is a > conversation for another forum. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
