When out riding, every responsible biker will wear a bike helmet. However, they may degrade with time and provide less security than they did earlier. Certain helmet safety criteria must be met. The safety groups evaluate a range of aspects, such as how well a helmet remains on and how fast do bike helmets expire, the level of protection supplied, how impact energy is handled, and so on. When a helmet has completed testing and meets specific standards, it will be stamped by the Snell Memorial Foundation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, or the American Society for Testing and Materials. Replace your bike helmet if it does not meet the standards of one of these organizations.
How Could You Understand Whether Your Bike Meets The Safety Standards?
According to the Bike Helmet Safety Institute, a good bike helmet should include the following features:
- A sturdy external plastic shell with no visible signs of wear or breaking;
- An intact and unbroken foam liner;
- Robust straps with a solid grip and no signs of breaking;
- A rear stabilizer that is adjustable and has robust structural integrity;
- A certification sticker issued by the CPSC, ASTM, or Snell.
Do Bike Helmets Expire?
If you own a bike helmet, you will definitely have this question, “how long do bike helmets last?” Bike helmets are sometimes recommended to be replaced every few years rather than having an expiration date. This is based on studies that looked at the helmet’s overall build quality and impact resistance.
Healthy critics believe that some manufacturers provide unrealistic deadlines in order to ensure that their customers continue to buy helmets. This is a distinct possibility. But healthy skepticism is no longer healthy when it leads to risky behavior, is it? Estimate the helmet’s durability based on the brand’s reputation and how frequently you wear it. If you ride regularly, it will most likely need to be replaced within the next three to five years. If you do not bike regularly, an age range of 5-8 years may be appropriate.
What are the Reasons for Replacing the Bike Helmet?
How long are bike helmets good for? A bike helmet’s purpose is to protect you from accidents. If you are in a crash and your helmet saves your life, it has most likely already sustained the same amount of damage as you would. It must be altered. A helmet can be damaged by a variety of factors other than collisions. They, like other things, suffer from general wear and tear as a result of regular use. They erode with time and give less protection. For example, ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun damages the shell of your helmet. They don’t deteriorate the polystyrene foam inside, which can survive as long as a Styrofoam cup in a landfill, but they do make the hard shell on the outside more fragile and crack-prone. Again, perspiration will not harm the foam cushioning within the helmet, but it contains salt and acid, which will corrode the strap and fasteners. These are required for your helmet to work correctly.
Ideal Moment to Switch Out Your Helmet
Following a Crash: For your safety, you must know about bike helmet expiration. You are only supposed to be protected from one impact with a bike helmet. When tested, they frequently pass the first hit with flying colors. However, when testers require that the helmet resist a second blow, they fall short.
Before the second blow, you must take off your helmet.
The polystyrene foam inside the shell provides protection. It shrinks as it comes into touch, acting as a cushion to prevent your head from slumping. It does not, however, decompress. The foam becomes too tightly packed after a collision to provide a cushion. It’s made much more difficult by the potential that you’ll emerge from a collision feeling your head wasn’t touched at all if the helmet does its job. There are no problems here; the head feels normal, and the helmet looks excellent.
Wrong. You might be wearing a helmet made of firmly compressed foam, which would explain why your head feels OK. Thank your helmet, then go out and purchase yourself a new one.
Minor Impacts: Every day, your helmet takes little blows. Though they don’t always need to be replaced, keep in mind that they do accumulate.
You could drop it if you open your backpack on a concrete floor. You could knock it against the corner of a Starbucks table. Each of these little items has the potential to harm your helmet. A regular inspection is the best line of action. Look for small hairline fractures in the outer layer. By pressing on the shell, ensure that the foam is springing back. Examine the internal lining for tears. If you detect any of these problems, replace your helmet.
Weakening of the Straps: You must know how often to replace bike helmet. The strap and its fasteners are a critical part of helmet maintenance that is often overlooked. Check the straps and closures once a year to verify that sweat hasn’t affected them. If your helmet is not fitting snugly and securely on your head, you should replace it. It cannot do its role if it is loose or moving about.
Conclusion
Bicycling isn’t the safest pastime; therefore, bike commuters should take care to be safe. It is obvious that wearing a helmet can assist you in surviving a catastrophic accident. But do bike helmets expire? Of course, they do! Then why take the chance? Wear a helmet if you want to ride for an extended period, and make sure it meets the guidelines in this article to be beneficial if necessary. Hopefully, now you know how long does a bike helmet last and when to replace bike helmet.
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