The endgame for most helmets...
15/01/25 19:35 Filed in: Gear
Almost every road helmet I have owned has reached an end of life point when the pads perish. Pressure between head and foam, intense salty sweating and being really thin and light mean that the seams on helmet pads typically fail for me after something like 2 years of routine use. Instead of a pad, I end up with a multi-layer mess: inner pad stuck to the helmet, mid-layer foam held loosely in place because the foam is usually semi-rigid and front face fabric flapping in the breeze. They quickly become uncomfortable and unless replaced, call for the end of a helmet.
I try to replace the pads at least once in the life of my helmets. Sometimes that is easy. I've had a couple of helmets that came with spare pads even. I'm currently trying to replace the pads in my Bontrager helmet - a discontinued helmet as it happens - and Trek keeps pushing the due date for them back in time. Maybe they won't ever come? They are also a significant portion of the price of the helmet, about 20%.
The best practice to date has been the Fox Proframe. There are 2 shell sizes and 2 pad sizes. Together they make 4 helmet sizes (S/M/L/XL). My partner's Small comes with the thick pads installed and the thin pads in the box. My XL comes with the thin pads installed and the thick pads in the box. Between us we each have a spare set of pads for the other's helmet. Then replace the helmet a couple of times and we have a good selection of spare pads. These pads are easy to remove, run through a wash cycle, and reinstall without risking damaging helmet or pad.
Another pathway to spare pads was crashing in a race in my then-new Fox Speedframe helmet. I replaced the helmet with another straight away, leaving the soft pads from helmet 1 to be spares for the helmet down the road.
Neither of these is a great option for someone who has a helmet and needs spare pads. I believe the pads need to be readily available, and for a few years after the helmet is withdrawn from the market, at 10% of the helmet price or less.
I would really like to see a helmet that lacks fabric pads. I don't know quite how it would work - the bare foam sitting directly on the forehead of the cyclist seems suboptimal. But something like this would be fantastic. Even the best pads store up salty water and drop them onto lenses or eyes at the worst possible time. No pads should see no source for big drips.
I try to replace the pads at least once in the life of my helmets. Sometimes that is easy. I've had a couple of helmets that came with spare pads even. I'm currently trying to replace the pads in my Bontrager helmet - a discontinued helmet as it happens - and Trek keeps pushing the due date for them back in time. Maybe they won't ever come? They are also a significant portion of the price of the helmet, about 20%.
The best practice to date has been the Fox Proframe. There are 2 shell sizes and 2 pad sizes. Together they make 4 helmet sizes (S/M/L/XL). My partner's Small comes with the thick pads installed and the thin pads in the box. My XL comes with the thin pads installed and the thick pads in the box. Between us we each have a spare set of pads for the other's helmet. Then replace the helmet a couple of times and we have a good selection of spare pads. These pads are easy to remove, run through a wash cycle, and reinstall without risking damaging helmet or pad.
Another pathway to spare pads was crashing in a race in my then-new Fox Speedframe helmet. I replaced the helmet with another straight away, leaving the soft pads from helmet 1 to be spares for the helmet down the road.
Neither of these is a great option for someone who has a helmet and needs spare pads. I believe the pads need to be readily available, and for a few years after the helmet is withdrawn from the market, at 10% of the helmet price or less.
I would really like to see a helmet that lacks fabric pads. I don't know quite how it would work - the bare foam sitting directly on the forehead of the cyclist seems suboptimal. But something like this would be fantastic. Even the best pads store up salty water and drop them onto lenses or eyes at the worst possible time. No pads should see no source for big drips.