Dropped my helmet
Discussion
Like an newbie novice idiot 
Unfortunately, I'm a bit prone to doing stupid things, and yesterday I stopped for a few minutes in a layby, and instead of getting off the bike as I usually do, remained on it and hung my helmet on the mirror stalk as per usual.
Obviously, in hindsight this was not clever, as it immediately fell off before I could catch it, bounced on the lay-by then started rolling towards the road
. I got off the bike, without dropping that too, fortunately, and chased after it.
On the face of it, the helmet appears ok, there's a little mark where it hit the road, but the polystyrene inside is perfect.
I know the perceived wisdom is that it should immediately be scrapped, but I'm a bit reluctant if there's no real damage done. The Snell foundation seems to suggest that it'll 'probably' be ok, which I guess is them hedging their bets just in case.
My other thought is that it's probably been bounced around a bit in transit from the manufacturer to the shop anyway, so a small drop is probably well within its capabilities.
I've emailed HJC for their advice which will no doubt be that it requires replacing, but just thought I'd open it up to the forum to see how many different opinions we can drag up
What do you all think?
Unfortunately, I'm a bit prone to doing stupid things, and yesterday I stopped for a few minutes in a layby, and instead of getting off the bike as I usually do, remained on it and hung my helmet on the mirror stalk as per usual.
Obviously, in hindsight this was not clever, as it immediately fell off before I could catch it, bounced on the lay-by then started rolling towards the road
. I got off the bike, without dropping that too, fortunately, and chased after it.On the face of it, the helmet appears ok, there's a little mark where it hit the road, but the polystyrene inside is perfect.
I know the perceived wisdom is that it should immediately be scrapped, but I'm a bit reluctant if there's no real damage done. The Snell foundation seems to suggest that it'll 'probably' be ok, which I guess is them hedging their bets just in case.
My other thought is that it's probably been bounced around a bit in transit from the manufacturer to the shop anyway, so a small drop is probably well within its capabilities.
I've emailed HJC for their advice which will no doubt be that it requires replacing, but just thought I'd open it up to the forum to see how many different opinions we can drag up
What do you all think?
FWIW it's not damage to the outer skin that is the concern with a dropped helmet.
The inner of a helmet, the bit the absorbs the impact, is basically a dense foam which compresses on impact. The concern with a dropped helmet is that the outer shell can have no visible damage, but the inner could be compressed - which means in an accident that part of the helmet will offer reduced protection, as it's ability to absorb impact has been used.
That is also why it is generally recommended not to buy second hand helmets.
There is obviously a doubt in your mind, which suggests to me you think you should replace it.
The inner of a helmet, the bit the absorbs the impact, is basically a dense foam which compresses on impact. The concern with a dropped helmet is that the outer shell can have no visible damage, but the inner could be compressed - which means in an accident that part of the helmet will offer reduced protection, as it's ability to absorb impact has been used.
That is also why it is generally recommended not to buy second hand helmets.
There is obviously a doubt in your mind, which suggests to me you think you should replace it.
gregs656 said:
FWIW it's not damage to the outer skin that is the concern with a dropped helmet.
The inner of a helmet, the bit the absorbs the impact, is basically a dense foam which compresses on impact. The concern with a dropped helmet is that the outer shell can have no visible damage, but the inner could be compressed - which means in an accident that part of the helmet will offer reduced protection, as it's ability to absorb impact has been used.
That is also why it is generally recommended not to buy second hand helmets.
There is obviously a doubt in your mind, which suggests to me you think you should replace it.
Yeah, I kind of knew that, more or less The inner of a helmet, the bit the absorbs the impact, is basically a dense foam which compresses on impact. The concern with a dropped helmet is that the outer shell can have no visible damage, but the inner could be compressed - which means in an accident that part of the helmet will offer reduced protection, as it's ability to absorb impact has been used.
That is also why it is generally recommended not to buy second hand helmets.
There is obviously a doubt in your mind, which suggests to me you think you should replace it.
. The inner doesn't seem to have any cracks, although whether it's compressed is difficult to tell.I'm not really leaning towards replacing it, more justifying why I shouldn't. I put my old helmet in the hold of an aircraft when I went to Vegas earlier in the year, I am confident the baggage handlers treated it more harshly than this little drop, and that never worried me.
I guess it would have to be really bad luck to have an accident and land on the part that took the impact this time. Chances are too that if it fails I won't know much about it
.I'm not using it for a few days anyway, so there's no rush to make a decision.
SAS Tom said:
It'll be fine, if it can't survive a drop with no weight in it how can it survive an actual crash?
Exactly. If a drop with no weight in it can in theory damage it what would happen in a crash where much bigger forces could go through the same area multiple times?If you crashed in a lid replace it, no doubt, but a drop from waist height is fine IMHO.
Have done the same myself and replaced it, it seems unlikely the plastic shell would flex enough to damage the foam but for the sake of a few hundred quid I'm not willing to chance it. In my case I had a nasty wipeout a few weeks later and was glad to have a good helmet, although slightly upset not to own any Arai shares after the amount I gave them that month.
I'd asked in a dealer about the Arai x-ray scanning a few years back and was told you need to pay for courier and it takes a few months, might be worth enquiring.
I'd asked in a dealer about the Arai x-ray scanning a few years back and was told you need to pay for courier and it takes a few months, might be worth enquiring.
Hooli said:
trickywoo said:
I'd be happy to keep wearing it.
Me too. Without any weight inside the lid there isn't really anything to compress the polystyrene bit.So it it was a cheap plastic lid, I'd keep it for a spare/occasional use helmet. With fibreglass you'd know if it's damaged, and with kevlar I'd be 100% confident that the helmet was still safe.
If all it's managed to do it put a mark on some lacquer coat I seriously doubt it's done anything to the structure.
Polystyrene is pretty flexible and soft stuff; it's in the helmet to sacrifically spread the impact over your entire cranium. If someone can tell me how a dropping an empty lid and chipping the shell has any effect on the ability of the inner part to perform it's function then I'd be interested to hear it.
Polystyrene is pretty flexible and soft stuff; it's in the helmet to sacrifically spread the impact over your entire cranium. If someone can tell me how a dropping an empty lid and chipping the shell has any effect on the ability of the inner part to perform it's function then I'd be interested to hear it.
Dog Star said:
If all it's managed to do it put a mark on some lacquer coat I seriously doubt it's done anything to the structure.
Polystyrene is pretty flexible and soft stuff; it's in the helmet to sacrifically spread the impact over your entire cranium. If someone can tell me how a dropping an empty lid and chipping the shell has any effect on the ability of the inner part to perform it's function then I'd be interested to hear it.
Chipping the shell isn't the problem. If the shell flexes inwards and crushes the polystyrene, then the polystyrene's ability to absorb an impact in future can be compromised. A chip in the lacquer coat is likely nothing to worry about.Polystyrene is pretty flexible and soft stuff; it's in the helmet to sacrifically spread the impact over your entire cranium. If someone can tell me how a dropping an empty lid and chipping the shell has any effect on the ability of the inner part to perform it's function then I'd be interested to hear it.
Thing is though, if it flexed enough to crush the polystyrene, with there being nothing behind the polystyrene to support it, it would likely crack or break.
As it is, there's no apparent internal damage which suggests it's fine.
Anyway, as others have said, if it gets damaged so easily then it wouldn't hold up to much in a proper accident.
As it is, there's no apparent internal damage which suggests it's fine.
Anyway, as others have said, if it gets damaged so easily then it wouldn't hold up to much in a proper accident.
jjones said:
graeme4130 said:
Depends how much you value your head
Wish people would stop spouting this s
te. From your profile pic looks like you value your head at around three hundred quid.Personally, I wouldn't take the risk myself
However, most helmets would take a small drop without problems, but you never know
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