Can't Use Helmets in the Sun????

On Mon, 08 May 2006 07:24:53 -0700, GaryG wrote:

Get a clue, NYC...many outdoor products have a "shelf life" (e.g.,
tents, lawn furniture, etc.), due to the effects of UV and heat.

In the case of helmets, there's also the fact that they are designed to
be light and comfortable. You could probably design a stainless steel
helmet that was not subject to UV breakdown...but, you wouldn't want to
wear it.

Gary, it takes *a lot* of UV exposure to break down plastics. We've all
seen styrofoam cups, coolers, and beach toys crumbling from exposure to
the elements, but we forget they've been lying around outside for decades,
and exposed to worse things than UV. Helmets may get a few hours a day of
exposure, a few times a week, if that. Newer ones have non-structural
plastic caps on them, and dyes in the styrofoam to protect from UV. So
the structural styrofoam is well protected. Basically this is not worth
worrying about.

Matt O.

What scares me most here is the near certainty that I'm the only one
who's reminded of that old Terry Jacks song;

We had joy
We had fun
We had helmets in the sun...

Man ... was that song a bag of downers or what?

wrote:
Matt O'Toole wrote:

Gary, it takes *a lot* of UV exposure to break down plastics. We've
all seen styrofoam cups, coolers, and beach toys crumbling from
exposure to the elements, but we forget they've been lying around
outside for decades, and exposed to worse things than UV. Helmets
may get a few hours a day of exposure, a few times a week, if that.
Newer ones have non-structural plastic caps on them, and dyes in the
styrofoam to protect from UV. So the structural styrofoam is well
protected. Basically this is not worth worrying about.

I agree that foam breakdown from direct sunlight is unlikely to be a
problem.

OTOH, I had a person show me her helmet with a cracked "microshell."
The thin vacuum-formed plastic that carried the decorations seemed to
have gotten very brittle. Or perhaps it always was brittle. In any
case, a very minor bump (she dropped the helmet from about three feet)
caused a chunk of that plastic to break off, and it was obvious the
rest was fragile.

I wondered if this was intended to sell helmets. In her case, the
broken-out bit wasn't very conspicuous, but I could see the helmet
looking bad after a few repetitions. Some people might buy a new
helmet just because the first looked ratty. Others might become
convinced the magic had leaked out.

Note, I recall reading an article where a man talked of quitting his
VP position at a consumer products company, in part (he claimed)
because he found out they purposely compounded plastic items to
degrade from UV exposure. Can't say for sure it was true, of course.
He never named the company, and it was just a remark in passing.

"She dropped the helmet from about three feet."

How convenient!

"Sorni" wrote in message
...
wrote:
Matt O'Toole wrote:

Gary, it takes *a lot* of UV exposure to break down plastics. We've
all seen styrofoam cups, coolers, and beach toys crumbling from
exposure to the elements, but we forget they've been lying around
outside for decades, and exposed to worse things than UV. Helmets
may get a few hours a day of exposure, a few times a week, if that.
Newer ones have non-structural plastic caps on them, and dyes in the
styrofoam to protect from UV. So the structural styrofoam is well
protected. Basically this is not worth worrying about.

I agree that foam breakdown from direct sunlight is unlikely to be a
problem.

OTOH, I had a person show me her helmet with a cracked "microshell."
The thin vacuum-formed plastic that carried the decorations seemed to
have gotten very brittle. Or perhaps it always was brittle. In any
case, a very minor bump (she dropped the helmet from about three feet)
caused a chunk of that plastic to break off, and it was obvious the
rest was fragile.

I wondered if this was intended to sell helmets. In her case, the
broken-out bit wasn't very conspicuous, but I could see the helmet
looking bad after a few repetitions. Some people might buy a new
helmet just because the first looked ratty. Others might become
convinced the magic had leaked out.

Note, I recall reading an article where a man talked of quitting his
VP position at a consumer products company, in part (he claimed)
because he found out they purposely compounded plastic items to
degrade from UV exposure. Can't say for sure it was true, of course.
He never named the company, and it was just a remark in passing.

"She dropped the helmet from about three feet."

How convenient!

I've seen the same thing. 3' just happens to be the approximate height of
the helmet if you sit it on the handlebars as some riders do or hook it over
the lever.

More wife, less usenet.

Problem solved. Two cents, please.



Paul Hobson wrote:


Honestly, NYC XYZ annoys the crap out of me. It boggles my mind that
people reply to this "former NYC messenger's" asinine questions. That
said, I'm confident that these posts belong neither in rec.bikes.tech or
rec.bikes.marketplace.

Maybe they do. Who knows?
\\paul

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:


No. What it means is that it may, in fact, "melt" if left in your car with
the windows rolled up. This does happen; car interiors can get incredibly
hot under certain conditions. Worse things happen than melted helmets inside
cars. Giro, and probably most other helmet manufacturers, get a lot of
claims (warranty demands) for helmets that were subject to such heat. The
materials used in a helmet are chosen for suitability in the environment
they're normally used.

But it absolutely, positively will not be rendered useless by riding in
normal conditions. If you were doing a tour on Mercury or Venus? Yeah, it
would probably melt. Don't do that.

As for warnings that the helmet is useless for any and all purposes, those
are standard disclaimers found on many safety products, meant to deflect
lawyers who would argue the absurd notion that the helmet should have been
able to protect in virtually any foreseeable circumstance; thus, helmets are
marketed as much as a fashion item as they are anything having to do with
protecting your skull. Don't blame the helmet companies for that one; in
general, the easiest way to be a target is to manufacture something,
anything, and claim it will make you safer.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com



Um, I doubt they'd get away with a disclaimer which disavows the
intended use of the product!

Wearing the helmet on your ass voids the warranty.



Martin Borsje wrote:


The UV rays will not reach the foam inside your helmet.....


--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu

NYC XYZ wrote:

Right -- I was only wondering, though, how they could sound as if
they're admitting that their helmets are useless! I mean, I was always
suspicious of mere styrofoam, but if even they themselves will say that
mere sunlight and heat can damage it -- and thus negate the whole point
of wearing one...well, I dunno, maybe helmets are for dummies who can't
see the contradiction in that!

Energy-absorbing car bumpers are made from EPS foam, like helmets.
Automakers don't seem terribly concerned about the implications of
exposing a car bumper to environmental levels of heat. Of course, they
know if they tell you "replace your bumper if it gets hot", then that
will make you less inclined to buy their particular product again,
whereas the functional monopoly on bike helmets makes any helmet
replacement an overwhelmingly likely sale for Bell Sports (who make
both Bell and Giro helmets).

Chalo Colina

While 90% of all accidents fall into that catagory you should probably
be aware that just falling over and hitting your head against a curb
will substantially exceed the protective capacity of a helmet.


Yeah, OK. So, what is your point. I would rather fall over and hit my hit
while wearing a helmet than while not wearing a helmet.

Sid

Sid wrote:
{somone else wrote}

While 90% of all accidents fall into that catagory you should
probably be aware that just falling over and hitting your head
against a curb will substantially exceed the protective capacity of
a helmet.

Yeah, OK. So, what is your point. I would rather fall over and hit
my hit while wearing a helmet than while not wearing a helmet.

But...but...you haven't STUDIED THE ISSUE. (Apparently it supplants common
sense after a while.)

HTH, BS