Had my helmet blown off last night

[Bytor]

blown off the mirror last night as I was getting on the bike I know it's a stupid thing to do, but it fell onto a concrete floor, just a few paint scratches but it's the hidden damage if any that bothers me. This is the second time it's been dropped onto a hard surface from a smallish height, my 3 year old dropped it on to a tiled floor a couple of months ago. Having just spent $500 on new tyres I can't justify another $500 on a new lid - don't want no cheap shit. Is there anywhere that can check if a lid has lost some of it's protection value?
B4 you all start I know it's my head that I'm playing with here - no pun intended.

[boomer]

you'll be right, you're in NZ now mate.

[marty]

get a 20c coin and tap around the area with it - it should sound solid. if it has a duller hollow sound, then it's delaminated or cracked. i'd use it if it sounded solid, but if it doesn't, it's an insurance job.

this process works for helicopter blades and carbon fibre propellors.

[Crisis management]

Ouch!

I know what you mean, but you can only destruction test helmets....

Your choice really, do you feel lucky? (I am sure some famous bastard said that first)

Look at HJC helmets for value for money.

[James Deuce]

Don't stick helmets on mirrors. The lining is what saves your brain, not the shell. Compress the lining, or dent it with a mirror and it loses a percentage of impact absorption.

Always put your helmet at the lowest point possible. It can't fall from there.

[McJim]

get a 20c coin and tap around the area with it - it should sound solid. if it has a duller hollow sound, then it's delaminated or cracked. i'd use it if it sounded solid, but if it doesn't, it's an insurance job.

this process works for helicopter blades and carbon fibre propellors.

Is that one of the new size 20c coins or the old ones?

Seriously though - good advice - I've got and old helmet that fell off the handlebars in my garage - I'm paranoid so when it bit the dust I bought a new one - thought I might be able to get a professional to check it out at a later date (so have kept it) but if this technique is good enough for the aerospace industry then it will do for my noggin.

Bytor - fully sympathise with you about the wee ones dropping your helmet on the deck - we keep ours on a shelf 6 foot up in our wardrobe.

[Coyote]

Don't be afraid of the cheaper helmets. My HJC CS-10 cost me $160 and it's survived 3 crashes and a few drops. I ought to replace it but my head isn't worth another 160 bucks

[Bytor]

Bytor - fully sympathise with you about the wee ones dropping your helmet on the deck - we keep ours on a shelf 6 foot up in our wardrobe.

Jamie, I do keep mine on the top shelf of the wardrobe, but Harvey insists on carrying it for me when I get home. He dropped it - no more carrying!!

[marty]

from the Cirrus aircraft site:

Coin tap test

A coin tap test is used to determine laminate damage in the composite. Just as with performing a tap test on other composite components, the tap test uses acoustic sounds produced when a small metal object is tapped on the surface. Mechanics are looking for a clear, sharp sound. A dull thud would indicate a void or delamination. Here are a few things to consider when performing a tap test. Familiarize yourself with the structure you are inspecting. A change in the sound does not necessarily indicate a defect. For example, if tapping different areas of the wing, you would get a slightly different sound for areas that are sandwiched laminate, non-sandwiched laminate, and transition areas between the two. Corrie Volinkaty, a technical instructor for Cirrus, shares, "You will get slightly different sounds as you transition between different areas of the aircraft depending on the structure. The thing to remember is that a delamination will not be just a different sound, it will be a dull sound or a thud. Knowing the structure beneath is very helpful when performing tap tests."

When performing a tap test, locate an undamaged area with similar structure to that of the area with suspected damage. Tap the known good structure and use that as a reference when tapping the suspect area.
Use a consistent rate and force when tapping the structure.
When performing the tap test, mark the outer edge of the damaged area with a Sharpie.

[Pex Adams]

fully sympathise with you about the wee ones dropping your helmet on the deck - we keep ours on a shelf 6 foot up in our wardrobe.

Is that the Kids or the lid???

[Ixion]

Does the coin tap test (I've seen folk do it on boats, too) work on all helmets , though? Or just fibreglass ones?

I don't think you can get delamination on a thermoplastic formed shell.

My old FFM helmet, the one before my present one, I hit the back of it hard on a rock, falling backwards. Head was fine but the whole lower back of the helmet went all sort of "spongy", you could feel it move when you pressed on it.

[McJim]

Jamie, I do keep mine on the top shelf of the wardrobe, but Harvey insists on carrying it for me when I get home. He dropped it - no more carrying!!

Do what I do with Alex "When you can hold the bike up then you can carry Daddy's lid."

Is that the Kids or the lid???

The lids of course! We keep the kids hanging from coat hooks on the back of the bathroom doors silly!

[Kendog]

A couple of years ago, my husband's drunken soccer mates decided it would be a really funny to pop my helmet on (must have been a squeeze, as I take a small child's helmet size) and kick each other in the head with it on. Little did they know that not only were they stretching the crap out of my helmet so when I put it on I could almost turn it completely around, but they were also in all likeliness stuffing it and putting my brains at risk should I have an accident. Luckily I caught them in the act and once they had sobered up I informed them of what they had done and my dear hubby suggested they replace my lid for me.... which they did with many apology notes.
But it doesn't pay to stuff about with head safety, you only get one brain and it is often quite useful! I wonder if there is some kind of Xray unit that can check your helmet for you? Good luck.
Mrs KD.

[Swoop]

What Jim2 said!!!

Put your gloves on the ground and then helmet on top of them for protection.

[Ixion]

That's OK, cept for then your gloves and lid get dirty from the ground.

Or some twat in a cage comes along and drives over it. Or some even bigger twat deices it's a big joke to kick it round like a football.Or a dog comes along and piddles on it. Or a little kid comes along and sits on it.

Seen all of the above.