Listers,
The Bell Biker helmet that Dick has FS is ONLY good as a wall-hanger. It has been unsafe to wear since 1979-80...
ALL styrofoam and styrofoam-lined cycling helmets have a limited life span of 3-5 years even if they have never been crashed or "used" in other ways. This is why helmets have date stickers inside them. Any "period" helmet (made before 1983) is unsafe to wear.
Any helmet that is more than 5 years old (5 years past its manufacturing date) should be retired, replaced, rendered unwearable, and discarded. Cut off or remove the straps before throwing it away, and/or smash it into small pieces. (One can reuse or repurpose the nyloin straps as accessory straps if desired.)
The styrofoam liner degrades over time -regardless of the use conditions - and the helmet offers about as much protection against concussions as a tinfoil hat after just a few years of use. (This is in addition to the heat, incidental bounces, drops, or other incidental dings that reduce a helmet's protective capability along the way.
Of course, any helmet that has been in a crash must be immediately retired and rendered unusable. It has given its life to protect yours and cannot protect you any longer. (The only way to find out if a helmet that has been worn is still safe is to x-ray it., so any helmet that has been "used" should be discarded after you have removed its straps and buckles.
BTW, I have seen the "chain-saw massacre" sutures and scars on a friend who did not wear his helmet in a "safe" neighborhood: he was hit from behind by an unlicensed driver, landed on his head, and his life has been changed - for the worse - ever since. He was not killed but he did lose his livelihood and now seems destined for a life on disability with an addiction to the pain-killers he was prescribed over 7-8 rounds of (unsuccessful) brain surgery.
Please always wear a helmet that meets the US safety standards and is of current manufacture. I'd hate to see you wearing the scars of neurosurgery or in need of a caretaker just because you wanted to be "period correct."
Jon Spangler Not a fan of brain surgery or of old, unprotective helmets in Alameda, CA
Message: 3 Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:21:17 -0500 (EST) From: dicwrijr@aol.com Subject: [CR] For sale and, Helmets that look ok with classic bikes! To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Message-ID: <8CD9DC0862D5E28-15A0-58B60@webmail-m127.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
My favorite is the Bell Biker circa '75 which I just happen to have for sale...Lightly used by my son for only two rides, Number 00073 stamped inside small size. I will throw in a set of foam pads.. $45. shipped.
Dick Wright Berwyn, Pa.
-----Original Message----- From: Kerrigan Bennett <kerriganbennett@gmail.com> To: classicrendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Fri, Feb 18, 2011 8:23 am Subject: Re: [CR] Helmets that look ok with classic bikes
That was the Bell V-1 Pro, introduced in 1983:
http://www.bellbikestuff.com/
I think we should be able to do better than that with modern alternatives.
Kerrigan Bennett Pleasant Hill, CA USA
Jon Spangler
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