Discussion
I made a couple of school boy errors today,
Went to fill up at the local petrol station, placed my helmet on the wing mirror went inside to pay and bang it fell to the floor - no cracks but a few hefty scratches.
2 hours later stopped at a cafe, almost same again landing on roughly the same spot.
Now I feel like a cock anyway, with all the ribbing I got off the lads throughout the day with not learning my lesson the first time it happened.
I turn to you guys to rip the piss and receive advice, how many drops would be to many?
Went to fill up at the local petrol station, placed my helmet on the wing mirror went inside to pay and bang it fell to the floor - no cracks but a few hefty scratches.
2 hours later stopped at a cafe, almost same again landing on roughly the same spot.
Now I feel like a cock anyway, with all the ribbing I got off the lads throughout the day with not learning my lesson the first time it happened.
I turn to you guys to rip the piss and receive advice, how many drops would be to many?
Scrap?
Really?
We've all done it and some of us continue to do it!
I dropped mine but luckily it fell on the visor and I caught it on the small bounce!
New visor ordered.
ETA. That "dropped lid = scrap" was around in the 80's when helmets were made of basic fiberglass. I'm sure they've moved on leaps and bounds now.
Saying that, if it's over say 3 years old I'd be inclined to replace anyway.
Really?
We've all done it and some of us continue to do it!
I dropped mine but luckily it fell on the visor and I caught it on the small bounce!
New visor ordered.
ETA. That "dropped lid = scrap" was around in the 80's when helmets were made of basic fiberglass. I'm sure they've moved on leaps and bounds now.
Saying that, if it's over say 3 years old I'd be inclined to replace anyway.
Edited by GTIR on Sunday 17th June 19:34
HereBeMonsters said:
It depends if you're of the opinion that a helmet is something you have to wear to comply with the law, or the single most important piece of safety equipment you will ever buy...
It is not the damage that you can see that is the issue, it's the micro splintering of the shell that will only become evident when your head hits the floor at speed and the already weakened shell disintigrates or goes soft and summat pierces it. Game over.As Bell used to say, "If you have a $10 head by all means wear a $10 helmet" same logic applies to damage.
I know that it will hurt financially as helmets are not cheap but hopefully you have learned to always put your helmet flat, preferably on the floor as it can fall no further.
A
magpie215 said:
bananarob said:
Chipchap said:
1 drop = scrap.
Ditto, that's quite a drop (twice)... I was in France and it blew off the seat in a petrol station and sounded nasty when it landed.
When I got back to the UK I sent it back to Arai, they do a free inspection, you just have to pay the £12.50 postage, and got it back with a clean bill off health and a certificate saying it is safe to use.
If others fancy buying a new helmet if they drop it once that's fine, but I agree with GTIR, technology has come on a long way, and helmets are made to withstand high speed impacts, I think they're going to be able to survive a drop of a few feet. Have you ever tried cutting into one with an axe? Just make sure it doesn't bounce back and hit you in the face!
If Arai gave it a clean bill of health (when for them obviously it would have been better if I had bought a new one) then I'll take my chances and buy a new one in a few years!
http://www.ashonbikes.com/forum/helmet-drop
Kevin Ash said:
Ride magazine did a test on helmets being dropped a few years ago and it was something I wrote about too - helmet manufacturers clearly have an interest in encouraging you to buy a new helmet if you drop one, and they also have
to cover themselves as it can in theory be damaged in a drop, if it lands on a hard, sharp edge for example. But Ride lobbed helmets out of a first floor window onto a concrete floor then took them apart to assess the damage, and there was none in any of them. Nor should there be, a helmet is designed to take a hard impact while containing a 5kg head, and yes, I know it absorbs the higher forces by permanent collapse, but still when it's dropped while empty the forces are far less, there's much less inertia to deal with. Dropping it is also a very low speed impact for a helmet compared with what it's expected to deal with in a crash, and frankly even if it lands on a sharp edge from half a metre or so it's unlikely to sustain significant damage.
After I wrote about this in my MCN column, naturally there were manufacturers calling me irresponsible etc, but interestingly a few off the record, and Nolan on the record, said this was quite right, a helmet can withstand being dropped from typical bike tank and hand held heights without being damaged enough to need replacing.
Now Arai would claim their helmets are better than Nolan's, and Nolan says it's okay, so I think you're perfectly safe with it. I certainly wouldn't worry myself unless perhaps I'd dropped it right on the edge of a kerb or something, and even then I'd probably just shrug my shoulders. But if you're still bothered, Arai does offer a service of checking out for damage and can often repair rather than replace if there is anything wrong.
to cover themselves as it can in theory be damaged in a drop, if it lands on a hard, sharp edge for example. But Ride lobbed helmets out of a first floor window onto a concrete floor then took them apart to assess the damage, and there was none in any of them. Nor should there be, a helmet is designed to take a hard impact while containing a 5kg head, and yes, I know it absorbs the higher forces by permanent collapse, but still when it's dropped while empty the forces are far less, there's much less inertia to deal with. Dropping it is also a very low speed impact for a helmet compared with what it's expected to deal with in a crash, and frankly even if it lands on a sharp edge from half a metre or so it's unlikely to sustain significant damage.
After I wrote about this in my MCN column, naturally there were manufacturers calling me irresponsible etc, but interestingly a few off the record, and Nolan on the record, said this was quite right, a helmet can withstand being dropped from typical bike tank and hand held heights without being damaged enough to need replacing.
Now Arai would claim their helmets are better than Nolan's, and Nolan says it's okay, so I think you're perfectly safe with it. I certainly wouldn't worry myself unless perhaps I'd dropped it right on the edge of a kerb or something, and even then I'd probably just shrug my shoulders. But if you're still bothered, Arai does offer a service of checking out for damage and can often repair rather than replace if there is anything wrong.
Edited by Timbuk2 on Sunday 17th June 22:42
Mandown46 said:
What make is it, I think its Arai that let you send the helmet off to them to be x-rayed to see if its still ok.
I foolishly hung my Arai from the garage rafters; came back to find it lying on the deck. I was convinced it was a write-off.
However my local dealer, when telling them the tale and picking my new lid, said they could send it off to Phoenix f.o.c except for P&P. It cost me £10 for Phoenix to give it the all-clear, and no only that, they replaced the side pod f.o.c as well.
Great result (although I REALLY wanted that Banda Blue Arai as a replacement - maybe next time!
) 
;);)Stumps690 said:
The helmet is a NITRO N-PSI, budget lid from when I was commuting on a scooter.
Would arai Inspect an other brand?
I'm thinking hang on till pay day then bin it for a new one.
Probably worth getting something better then, if you're "proper" biking now, and more regularly.Would arai Inspect an other brand?
I'm thinking hang on till pay day then bin it for a new one.
Timbuk2 said:
Just out of interest where does 'One drop = scrap' come from anyway? Is there any data to back this up or is it just hearsay?
Even helmet sellers are saying their helmets can withstand drops without needing replacing?
I've heard that its different for car vs. bike lids - not that many car racers will be dropping their lids anyway. Apparently car lids are designed to take several relatively low-force impacts before failing - they're designed to bounce around inside a rollcage several times. Even helmet sellers are saying their helmets can withstand drops without needing replacing?
Whereas bike lids are apparently designed to just take one or two high newton impacts, and hence dropping them off the petrol tank damages them a bit more than a car lid would.
This is all hearsay from some numpties on another forum tho so take it for what its worth!
Good to know that manufacturers and hard evidence from RiDE indicate that its "fine" to drop a lid ie. at least you don't have to run out and go buy a new one immediately.
Mine fell off my bike a couple times and I didn't rush out immediately but bought a new one a few months later (my lid was 5 yrs old anyway).
Got an awesome deal for a Shoei X-11 Kagayama rep from revzilla.com for abour $400 USD (normal price about $800). Im not sure on the rules regarding VAT in the UK but it might be worth checking out if you decide to buy a new one
te now I've had a few beers and thought about it. Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff