Myth number 1: Bike helmets must be replaced after five years for safety reasons.
Christiane Reckter: The Personal Safety Equipment Directive (89/686/EEC) requires helmet manufacturers to specify an expiry date for helmets. Depending on the manufacturer, this can be between five and ten years. However, this is a theoretical value. We have tested the damping behaviour of old helmets and found no significant loss of safety.
Myth number 2: Stickers damage the safety of the helmet.
Christiane Reckter: I doubt that a sticker on the outer shell of the helmet has any influence on the EPS damping body of the helmet. This is because the film over the EPS foam only has a decorative purpose. The sticker's adhesive would therefore have to penetrate the outer shell completely, but the quantities are too small for this. In short: stickers have no effect on the safety of a helmet.
Myth number 3: If the helmet falls to the ground, it has to be replaced.
Christiane Reckter: This is in the standard, but hand on heart: who doesn't constantly drop their helmet when packing it into the car or unloading it? But in this case, it's only the helmet with its own light weight that falls off. My personal opinion: It's a joke to replace the helmet because of this. My tip: To be on the safe side, check whether anything has broken. If not, you can continue to use the helmet.
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Stefan Frey
Editor
