[Another New Fourm, Sprouting Like Weeds!]

There is a lot of information and technology in this area. We have had some good data show up in the tires section to start, Tuning should do that too, but would be good to get some up here too.

 

Here is one example of lack of information/wrong information: Talked to a student that was not allowed to continue his day, as he had fallen and the helmet had contacted the ground. Our policy, if the head and helmet hits the ground, he is not going back out that day.

 

In talking with this rider, he was asked his understanding of helmets and how they work. He went on to talk about the integrity of the shell being the big factor, and since it was a pretty minor scratch, he actually crashed twice more in that helmet. I pulled my jaw off the floor and then we went over the compression of the material on the inside. That is what cushions the head in an impact, and it's a one-time use deal.

 

I'm not a helmet expert, so that's a very rudimentary understanding.

 

It would be great to get a helmet (like Shoei) manufacturer to comment here

[Another New Fourm, Sprouting Like Weeds!]

There is a lot of information and technology in this area. We have had some good data show up in the tires section to start, Tuning should do that too, but would be good to get some up here too.

 

Here is one example of lack of information/wrong information: Talked to a student that was not allowed to continue his day, as he had fallen and the helmet had contacted the ground. Our policy, if the head and helmet hits the ground, he is not going back out that day.

 

In talking with this rider, he was asked his understanding of helmets and how they work. He went on to talk about the integrity of the shell being the big factor, and since it was a pretty minor scratch, he actually crashed twice more in that helmet. I pulled my jaw off the floor and then we went over the compression of the material on the inside. That is what cushions the head in an impact, and it's a one-time use deal.

 

I'm not a helmet expert, so that's a very rudimentary understanding.

 

The idea will be to get some good information up here, aside from general discussion on riding gear.

 

How's that sound to you guys?

 

Best,

Cobie

 

hmm, I'm not a helmet expert either and certainly less expert than most in riding per se. That said, I never heard of the "one time use". It seems like it would be a matter of degree like most other things. It would make sense to disqualify the lid if you knew for certain that the helmet protection was compromised --shell or padding. But would a little scuff ("minor scratch") as a result of a fall where your head contacts the pavement disqualify that helmet absolutely? How many of us would trash can a $700 helmet for that? How many helmets have fallen off bikes and gotten scratched. There no head in it, in that case but still...

 

I am not suggesting we be cavalier with our head safety but there must be some reasonable way to decide that without a black & white, yes or no rule for helmet contact. I know Shoei (for example) will inspect your "damaged" helmet and let you know if it is still doing its job as specified and therefore safe to continue using. You don't see riders throwing away racing suits after an off (usually). I respect that you have your rules at Superbike and maybe you are right to have them. It just seems like DQ'ing a helmet for any contact is a bit extreme.

 

I'm not an expert either, but I have read up on this, mainly researching whether the costlier helmets really provide any better protection than the mid-range helmets, so here is my understanding:

 

The problem is that the material inside the helmet is crushable, that's how it absorbs impact. After being crushed, it doesn't spring back to shape and thus has lost its ability to protect you in another impact. That crushable material is between the outer shell and the inner padding, you can't see it, so the ony way to check it is to send it (as you say above) for inspection by the manufacturer.

 

In a crash, the inner material is crushed by your head's inertia inside the helmet - so the shell hits the ground, but the crushable stuff between head and shell cushions the impact, slowing your head down and helping to keep your brains from slamming into your skull, and /or your skull crushing on impact.

 

Personally, if my helmet fell off a bike, I would be a little concerned about its protectiveness after that but I probably wouldn't junk it - since there is nothing heavy INSIDE the helmet to crush the inner liner in the fall. And yes, that could potentially scratch the helmet paint a bit, but in my limited experience, that does not look like the broader scuffs that occur from an actual crash impact.

 

However, if a student crashed, hit their head, and there was visible damage to the helmet, I would absolutely not think it was wise for that person to continue riding, it's too difficult to tell if someone has a head injury or not; they might think they are fine when they really are not.

I agree with your explanation entirely about how the helmet components are supposed to work. . BUT, still, isn't it a matter of degree? How much of a scrape on the pavement compresses the liner? How much compression is acceptable? My uninformed opinion is that a scratch like we're talking about here won't compromises the practical effectiveness of that helmet one little bit. I may be wrong here, but there are probably instances when the liner either is not crushed or is crushed in such a minimal way as to not matter. And if its your Shoei X12 with the little scratch are you really going to throw it away? I doubt it. I'm all for safety. We all are. But that's just too extreme for me. However I will bring my nice new, unscratched lid to a Superbike school!

[Another New Fourm, Sprouting Like Weeds!]

There is a lot of information and technology in this area. We have had some good data show up in the tires section to start, Tuning should do that too, but would be good to get some up here too.

 

Here is one example of lack of information/wrong information: Talked to a student that was not allowed to continue his day, as he had fallen and the helmet had contacted the ground. Our policy, if the head and helmet hits the ground, he is not going back out that day.

 

In talking with this rider, he was asked his understanding of helmets and how they work. He went on to talk about the integrity of the shell being the big factor, and since it was a pretty minor scratch, he actually crashed twice more in that helmet. I pulled my jaw off the floor and then we went over the compression of the material on the inside. That is what cushions the head in an impact, and it's a one-time use deal.

 

I'm not a helmet expert, so that's a very rudimentary understanding.

 

The idea will be to get some good information up here, aside from general discussion on riding gear.

 

How's that sound to you guys?

 

Best,

Cobie

 

hmm, I'm not a helmet expert either and certainly less expert than most in riding per se. That said, I never heard of the "one time use". It seems like it would be a matter of degree like most other things. It would make sense to disqualify the lid if you knew for certain that the helmet protection was compromised --shell or padding. But would a little scuff ("minor scratch") as a result of a fall where your head contacts the pavement disqualify that helmet absolutely? How many of us would trash can a $700 helmet for that? How many helmets have fallen off bikes and gotten scratched. There no head in it, in that case but still...

 

I am not suggesting we be cavalier with our head safety but there must be some reasonable way to decide that without a black & white, yes or no rule for helmet contact. I know Shoei (for example) will inspect your "damaged" helmet and let you know if it is still doing its job as specified and therefore safe to continue using. You don't see riders throwing away racing suits after an off (usually). I respect that you have your rules at Superbike and maybe you are right to have them. It just seems like DQ'ing a helmet for any contact is a bit extreme.