Californian

My gf spoiled me this xmas with a new Giro Ionos in the white color I've been craving for so long. She bought it from REI online and, for better or worse, paid top dollar.

The online help told her it was the new "2010" model of the Ionos, so in her mind she felt good about the purchase because the color was right and it was the latest version, and it got here by xmas etc...

Looking at the helmet that arrived, it has a manufacture date of 2008 (November if I remember). Looking at the Giro web site..there doesn't seem to be any changes with the newer models other than some additional colors available from what I can tell. The white version appears unchanged since its original release.

Here's my questions: I've read that helmets, being more or less styrofoam, do have a limited life...so does paying top dollar for a helmet that's already over a year old make sense? Also...is there a 2010 version of this helmet? and if so...was there any qualitative or design changes made other than the color?

Thanks in advance! Can't wait to feel the breeze through this thing on a 105 degree summer day

johnybutts

I think I'd call up an REI store and see what they'd do. Don't let them tell you that the helmet is "fine" - even though it may honestly be perfect and last another 10 years. Just see what they'll offer. If they refuse to offer anything, maybe go into the store and check the other "new' helments and compare and see if they'll do something in person.

I think it's pretty ****ty of any company to market something as 2010 if its already 3 years old... even though I love Giro products and my own Ionus

njkayaker

The dude bought it in 2009. It was (apparently) made in 11/2008. That makes it about 1 year old.

It would not surprise me about the manufacturing date. Typically, "2010" models come out in mid/late 2009 and those things have to be made and shipped and distributed (all of which could take months).

(It's OK asking REI about it but I'd guess that what is going on is normal and not deceptive.)

AngryScientist 

meh, if it were me i wouldnt even stir the pot. if you like the new lid and your girlfriend i'd just let it drop, take it as a gift you have no control over and enjoy it. just my 2 cents tho.

DScott

Can't really see that there's a whole lot of difference between the '09 and the '10 Ionos models: https://www.competitivecyclist.com/ro...elmets.10.html

What's cool, though, is their new Prolight, at +/- 200 gms:

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/ro...6809.10.1.html

teterider

This is simple.

The don't stir the pot suggestion is a very fine choice.
However, it is REI and they will take it back no questions asked. If you need to deal with this via their online system, I would go with option A above. But if you have a store nearby, then go in, tell them you're not happy with a "2010" helmet from that date, and see if you can find a newer one on the shelf to exchange. If yes then great, if no then just keep it. Also remember that in reality the best you will find anywhere will probably be made in July of 2009, so about 7-8 months newer. Big deal.
My 2009 Atmos bought in May 2009 was made August 2008. Thats just the reality of the distribution timeline.

I know what you are saying about the so called time expiration of these (made up so we buy more helmets), but that helmet has been in a dark box and not exposed to elements. Look into the lifespan of styrofoam and you will see that 1 year in a box will have done nothing to it.

Oh yeah, and take the advice from above and leave your girlfriend out of this quest. All she needs to think is she bought you a great gift you love.

The helmet you want, the color you want, leave this one alone.

jwible

When I did tech inspections at motor cycle races one of the things we always checked was the manufacture date on helmets. If it was over 5 years old riders weren't allowed on the track with it. I don't know of helmet age rules in bike racing but I wouldn't keep a helmet more than 3-5 years tops from the date of manufacture.

Californian

Thanks Tete and Angry...sometimes you just need to hear the echo of what is already in your head...and you both provided that

njkayaker

This is a "better safe than sorry" rule. (Note that a date imprinted in the helmet is really the only available date that could be used.)

The rule might be sensible for something in-use and exposed to sunlight and other forms of abuse. The OP's issue isn't that situation. Manufacturers don't ship helmets still-warm from the assembly line by airfreight. It can easily take months to get it into the consumer's hands.

teterider

Found in Taipei Times:

"As far as replacing it every three years, manufacturers and consumer groups disagree. Bell Sports, the largest manufacturer of bicycle helmets, does recommend buying a new one after three years.
"When a helmet is well-used, it's dropped, jammed into bags, stuffed in hot cars," said Don Palermini, a Bell spokesman. "Even if it's not used, it might be baking in a garage."

He also said that helmets improve every few years, becoming better-ventilated and increasingly lightweight.
"People say we just want to sell more helmets, which is true, but we also don't want to see people riding with a 16-year old helmet," Palermini said.

But the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute and Consumer Reports say it's unnecessary to buy a new helmet every three years.
According to the institute, sweat and ultraviolet rays will not cause your helmet to degrade. "Your helmet will get a terminal case of grunge before it dies of sweat," the group says on its Web site.
"It's marketing overselling," said Randy Swart, director of the institute in Arlington, Va. "There have only been minor changes to helmets since 1999. As long as they meet safety standards, you're fine."

As this excerpt from the Taipei Times states, we will all want a new helmet way before we actually need a new helmet. Plus those manufacturer recommendations on helmet expiration are designed to account for years of abuse and misuse, such as storing it in the car every day in a Florida summer, then doing 10 centuries through salt spray along the coast, tossing it repeatedly into the closest, and letting your pet hampster sleep in it, etc. So now throw in a conservative estimate of its lifespan under these conditions, multiply by the desire to sell new helmets, and voila, you have a stupid one-size fits all helmet expiration date without any basis in an individuals use or care.

Kind of like I was told with absolute certainty by the dealer my John Deere L110 would fail after 5 years and I should buy a LT series, yet after 6 seasons it looks and runs perfect. But had I given it to a teenager to make money and mow 20 yards a week, I bet it would have exploded after 5 years.

njkayaker

Yes, the "five year rule" for bicycle helmets is not a physical law!

Californian

I guess I'm my own case in point: my last helmet...a $40 Cat 5 Giro copy lasted through 3 years of constant use. The helmet shell itself is still fine; however, the cloth pads are worn and virtually gone, and the nylon straps are so frayed and worn I was starting to wonder if they'd hold for an impact. Toss in the incredible fit of the new Ionos and the enhanced venting, I couldn't be happier.

nitropowered

Just go out and ride. its fine. You are going to just be wasting everyone's time and money. Its not like its a carton of milk from 11/2008.

I typically go through a helmet once a year due to either crashing, getting stepped on, something new comes out, or smells so bad that nothing can de-odorize it. Just wear it and don't bother sending it back. For all you know, you may also get another helmet of similar manufacture date.

Guillotine007

Because of my lack of bike handling skills combined with my Boonen-on-cocaine legs, I doubt any helmet of mine will ever make it 5 or even 3 years. I went down hard in a paceline this summer and slammed the side of my head, cracked my Ionos for about 1/2 the length of the helmet.

Couldn't have been happier with the Ionos, it did an absolutely great job of keeping me from a broken skull. I'm Giro for life now...I'll probably give the ProLight a try in the spring.

Eclectus

Life happens.

I got an April 09 Ionos in August 09 from PricePoint. $153 + $15 S&H. The deal was offered on white only, which was perfect for what I needed, I thought, colorwise and max-vent-wise, because I was riding in 100+ heat-index Kansas. Then... before the helmet arrived, temps dropped precipitously, and never recovered. I just stuck with my old Bell Variant and closeted the Ionos until next summer. (Although a skull cap was included for cool-weather riding, that's not what I needed the Ionos for, the Variant was satisfactory except in very high, sweat dripping into your shades, heat.)

The upshot is, it will be June 2010 before I wear my April 2009 Ionos. I'm not worried about the styrofoam "aging". This stuff is durable, which is why it is a major environmental "villain". If tropical sunlight and saltwater don't break it down at sea, I don't think sitting in a box in a warehouse is going to bother it in the slightest.

OP, if you want a refund from REI, you can get it. If your GF did a mail order, I think you can get free return shipping by complaining that the 2008-mfrd helmet cannot possibly be a 2010 model, i.e. they sent you a wrong helmet, their mistake.

If you were to keep your helmet, you can wear it for many years, and it will protect your noggin. I crashed in a 6-year old Trek, no visible damage except to the outer coating--this was a hard enough impact to send my shades and iPod earbuds flying, and it definitely protected my head. Then crashed again, really hard, splitting the foam, once again it did its job. The thru-cracked foam told me I needed a new helmet.

Caad 8

I also bought a "2009" Ionos, but the sticker on the inside said "Jul '08". I really didnt care since I got it 50% off anyway, and I'm pretty sure there isnt much of a difference between the '08 and '09 models.