Giro helmet replacement after crash?



DevilMan

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Oct 23, 2002
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I crashed with my bike last week (which made me salto forward with the bike) , i injured my shoulder and needed some surgery :-\

However, my bike is still in perfect shape, the headset needed some reajusting, and the left STI shifter has a dent and some scratchmarks... other than that there doesn't seem anything wrong with the bike.

I guess my body perfectly 'absorbed' the impact :)

My Giro Pneumo helmet does have some scratchmarks, no dents or anything.. Should i replace it??

Does anybody know if Giro has some kind of 'crash replacement' program ?

I also have a (obseenly expensive) Deda Synapsi handlebar on my bike, and there seems to be no visible damage anywhere on it (even the handlebar tape is still 100% perfect), apart from the damage on the shifter.

Should i just continue using it, or should i have it replaced ??
 
I'd replace the helmet. Most manufactures recommend replacing if the helmet has hit the ground in a crash.
 
I visited the Giro facilities here in Santa Cruz a few weeks back, and was treated to a demonstration in their helmet testing lab. They have a large apparatus that drops a weighted helmet with a spherical metal fixture to approximate a human skull in it, on top of a collection of different shaped objects to duplicate rock, curb stone, flat street impacts, etc.... A gauge in the metal sphere in the helmet measures the amount of g-forces over time transfered through the helmet into the human skull and displays it on a screen.

In the demo I saw, the first impact of a helmet on a flat surface was well under the US CPSC guidelines for helmets. The force was spread out over safe period of time (milliseconds), and the peak force was safely buffered. The helmet looked fine to the eye after the first impact.

However, each subsequent impact in the test apparatus had much higher g-forces transfered through the helmet, and the duration of the impact shortened with a sharper ramp, meaning that the helmet's ability to protect was diminished after each hit. The second impact on the Giro helmet was still under CPSC guidelines, but the amount of force transfered thorugh to the skull fixture had nearly doubled over the first impact.

The lesson here? Giro builds really safe helmets, that do a great job of protecting your noggin. They beat the safety guidelines by a big margin. But each impact significantly reduces the helmet's ability to do it's intended job, and there is no real way to tell how badly your helmet was affected in your accident. Replace the helmet after that first impact. Hang the old one up on the wall and tell your grandkids about it some day...

Cheers,
 
Most defiently buy a new helmet. Bicycle helmets are made for one impact only.

As far as the bars. check them yourself and you decide. I doubt they may be damaged. But best for you to make sure.
 
I took a closer look at my helmet..

I already noticed some scratches at the front and side of the helmet, but while checking it out i noticed a big crack in the underlying styrofoam (or whatever it is) going almost completely trough (and the helmet would probably break in half if i were to apply some pressure..

Guess i hit the ground harder than i thought... i feel lucky now :)

Sooo.. the helmet definatly needs replacement..

Should i stick with the Giro Pneumo, or maybe try something like a MET Stradivarius which looks good too (and should be good in a crash too..right?)
 
Met Strad a great helmet - my girlfriend took a fall (thanks to some stray dogs), broke the foam of the helmet in three places and was concussed but sufferred no further damage.

She replaced it with another Strad & I bought one immeadiately!

It also looks good and rides "cool" thanks to all the ventilation holes

gaw
 
It's good to see that people take the issue of wearing a helmet seriously. Well done guys!
 
Man ...it saved you once in a crash, what more can you ask. Keep the faith...the pneumo deserves it.


Oh yes and it looks better than the rest.


Giro, there is no competition...there are just other helmets.
 
Good to see everyone is on the same sheet of music regarding replacement. A helmet is something so important, it should be replaced if you suspect anything is wrong, even if it look fine.

Here's a great pic to check out if you want to see how well a helmet holds up in a "real" crash!!!

http://www.mesothel.com/pages/labor_vic03.htm

It's a little bloody. If you have a weak stomach, don't look at it!!!

Later!!!
 
Kupa:

No, I'm not on Labor. Labor dominates and they ride with panache. They even set a new 40k team time trial record with a 49:49 (30 mph) at Fiesta Island in San Diego. Not bad for a Masters team!!!

Too many Masters racers have low expectations as far as performance goes. They think because they are over 30 or 35, they can't race as fast as the best. You can FLY on the bike at LEAST into your 60's, and I'm talking about at the Cat 1, Cat 2 level!!! There are plenty of real life examples in the world right now to prove it. It might take longer to recover and heal from injury, but power output declines very little over time for most people.

My apologies for going off topic...
 
I went to my local LBS today for a chat (and some coffee :) )

They had contacted the Distributer for Giro about the 'crash replacement'.

It seems i need to write a letter about the crash, and give that with the damaged helmet to my LBS. They will send it back to the distributer, and they will send a new replacement helmet back.

And how much is this gonna cost me, you ask ?! According to my LBS i will be getting a new Giro Pneumo for around 20 Euro's ! (normal price for a pneumo here is around 170 Euro's)..

I guess i'm sticking with Giro as my helmet brand :D
 
Originally posted by J-MAT
Kupa:

No, I'm not on Labor. Labor dominates and they ride with panache. They even set a new 40k team time trial record with a 49:49 (30 mph) at Fiesta Island in San Diego. Not bad for a Masters team!!!

Too many Masters racers have low expectations as far as performance goes. They think because they are over 30 or 35, they can't race as fast as the best. You can FLY on the bike at LEAST into your 60's, and I'm talking about at the Cat 1, Cat 2 level!!! There are plenty of real life examples in the world right now to prove it. It might take longer to recover and heal from injury, but power output declines very little over time for most people.

My apologies for going off topic...

J-mat, You don't need to apologize. I'm the one that veered off topic :rolleyes:

I agree with your sentiment about Masters though... :D

back on topic, with apologies to all...

Devilman, Glad to hear about the replacement.
 

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