Helmet Checking

[MrLongbeard]

An interesting way to check your lid rather than relying on your own judgement, and 40 quid is a decent price point I reckon;



https://helmetinspection.co.uk/?utm_sou ... ice-review

[JackyJoll]

If you’ve got a forty quid head…

[Yorick]

Arai do a free check for the life of the helmet.

[MrLongbeard]

Arai do a free check for the life of the helmet.

Kind of;
https://support.whyarai.com/support/sol ... hed-in-it-

Is there a service for testing my helmet if I have dropped it/crashed in it?
Modified on: Tue, 8 Dec, 2015 at 5:47 PM

Unfortunately there isn’t, we can only assess the surface damage to the helmet and give our opinion. From our experience of racing and road accidents you are often best placed to make a decision on whether to continue using your Arai as you were wearing it at the time.

Arai shells are made to be really strong so a drop from a low height is usually fine depending on the surface of course. The part of the helmet you can’t see is the EPS polystyrene liner; this absorbs energy during an impact, and as this is not removable there is no way of telling if the helmet has been damaged internally. Again, you are the best person to judge whether the helmet will be safe or not, if in any doubt buy a new helmet!

The scanning goes a little deeper.

[DefTrap]

I'd just buy another if I was that worried

[Yorick]

Arai do a free check for the life of the helmet.

Kind of;
https://support.whyarai.com/support/sol ... hed-in-it-

Is there a service for testing my helmet if I have dropped it/crashed in it?
Modified on: Tue, 8 Dec, 2015 at 5:47 PM

Unfortunately there isn’t, we can only assess the surface damage to the helmet and give our opinion. From our experience of racing and road accidents you are often best placed to make a decision on whether to continue using your Arai as you were wearing it at the time.

Arai shells are made to be really strong so a drop from a low height is usually fine depending on the surface of course. The part of the helmet you can’t see is the EPS polystyrene liner; this absorbs energy during an impact, and as this is not removable there is no way of telling if the helmet has been damaged internally. Again, you are the best person to judge whether the helmet will be safe or not, if in any doubt buy a new helmet!

The scanning goes a little deeper.

That's changed then. I've sent 3 lids off for testing. All came back OK.

[iansoady]

40 quid? That's about what I pay for a helmet. As far as I'm concerned if it's passed the ECE tests it's likely to survive anything I can subject it to. If I had an off where it was impacted or dropped it from any height I'd just buy a new one.

[Bigyin]

40 quid? That's about what I pay for a helmet. As far as I'm concerned if it's passed the ECE tests it's likely to survive anything I can subject it to. If I had an off where it was impacted or dropped it from any height I'd just buy a new one.

If you have an Arai, Shoei or other higher price bracket helmets then maybe 40 quid to see if its ok after it fell off the back seat of the bike onto the floor (one of my pet hates seeing helmets balanced on bike seats) isn't that bad rather than assuming the worst and paying for a new helmet.

[Skub]

40 quid? That's about what I pay for a helmet. As far as I'm concerned if it's passed the ECE tests it's likely to survive anything I can subject it to. If I had an off where it was impacted or dropped it from any height I'd just buy a new one.

Can you get a helmet for 40 quid?

It's about £50 for an Arai visor.

[Bigyin]

Can you get a helmet for 40 quid?

It's about £50 for an Arai visor.

Cheapest ECE rated full face helmet i have found was 29.99 from M and P

[Skub]

Can you get a helmet for 40 quid?

It's about £50 for an Arai visor.

Cheapest ECE rated full face helmet i have found was 29.99 from M and P

Heh,I bet that's a lovely thing.

[The Spin Doctor]

I seem to recall reading an interview with a helmet tech four or five years ago who said that the impact from seat to ground won't accelerate the helmet enough to cause any damage inside the shell, particularly since you don't have the weight of your head inside it.

[Bigyin]

I seem to recall reading an interview with a helmet tech four or five years ago who said that the impact from seat to ground won't accelerate the helmet enough to cause any damage inside the shell, particularly since you don't have the weight of your head inside it.

I tend to agree having watched the drop they use for impact testing and the sharp metal wedge or spike but i find it helps telling novices to look after their helmets by not balancing them on the seats

I have an Arai that hit the deck at about 70-80 mph with my head in it at the time ....... i might cut it open to have a look at the EPS layer as i know it took 3 impacts , 1 direct on the top from the landing from height and 2 glancing blows judging by scrapes in differing directions on the back

[MrLongbeard]

I'm half tempted to send my Shoie in, it looks like crap but I don't think I hit (well my head) the road with any force, and see what the report says

IMG_20180920_123936 by MrLongbeard, on Flickr

[Screwdriver]

I used to buy all my lids secondhand. Arai of course (only the best )

If it looks ok it probably is ok. That Shoei is fucked. It has a significant stress riser in the jaw protection. Clip that against the road and it will snap at that point (if you hit it hard enough to require protection). If it snaps at that point, the jagged edge will go right through your face, most likely severing the carotid.

I believe that is, or used to be, a common failure for the full face lid (among all possible failures). A good condition undamaged one would not snap at that point and (I assume) is designed to crush at the very worst. Chances are by the time a good helmet is crushed, the rest of your body is also having a pretty rough time but to have such significant damage at that point - forgetaboutit.

[Horse]

A good condition undamaged one would not snap at that point and (I assume) is designed to crush at the very worst.

The level of force needed to crush the chin bar would probably not be great for the neck, or strap against the windpipe.

[Horse]

When I said DOT earlier, I meant Snell.

https://jalopnik.com/snell-relaxed-its- ... 365421/amp

[Screwdriver]

A good condition undamaged one would not snap at that point and (I assume) is designed to crush at the very worst.

The level of force needed to crush the chin bar would probably not be great for the neck, or strap against the windpipe.

Which is why I said:

Chances are by the time a good helmet is crushed, the rest of your body is also having a pretty rough time...

However the entire thrust of the argument is that a severely damaged helmet, with a weak spot (aka stress riser) in a full face helmet is going to snap off BEFORE you even reach that level of force.

The design is compromised, impact forces are no longer evenly distributed. I would not expect anyone without some background in engineering to fully grasp the idea but you can try an experiment with an egg. Try and crush it in your hand, they are surprisingly strong. Now put a little nick in it with a file....

The mechanism behind stress risers is also a surprisingly powerful phenomena, well worth Googling because the underlying principle for force magnification is actually quite interesting.

[DefTrap]

Not that I want to start a helmet war and how much is your head worth and crying from the fashion police but
These are 50 quid delivered
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303861575607 ... Sw7dZgEBP9 and get 4/5 on the sharp rating.

They're comfy enough. Are they safe enough?
One of the better (imo) visor attachment systems, durable anyway.

[iansoady]

If I wanted a full face and it fitted well I'd be perfectly happy with that.