Macu3

Hello, I need a word of advise. I bought a Bell Zephyr helmet via online auctions. But when the helmet came, it turned out (I wasn't too surprised, though...) that it was a bit suspicious, since some parts of eps were missing on two lesser "ribs" of the helmet. These are not cracks (they do not run the full length), but evidently there's some polystyrene missing (more prominently at one side - somebody even tried to patch it up with some glue or something like that). Do you think this shortcoming can compromise safety or is it something rather insignificant with no bearing on safety?

I cannot post the pics url directy, so please remove the spaces I've put in this link: https :// imgur .com/a/hkJYp85

Thanks!

jadocs

If you didn't get what you paid for or the item was misrepresented in the auction, return it.

canklecat

There are lots of reputable outlets for buying genuine helmets that are heavily discounted -- manufacturers routinely discount prices on older models. No need to compromise safety on helmets that might be counterfeits or damaged.

sdmc530

This is the perfect response. I don’t get the cheapest helmet possible theory. Only got one brain and brain holder should probably properly take care of it.

canklecat

Well, I can understand needing to save money. When I resumed cycling in 2015 I was dead broke. I went a month without a helmet. When I could scrape together a few bucks I found a Bell Solar for $20. And it saved my noggin last year when I was hit by a car. My head smacked the street, just hard enough that it would have left a nasty knot, maybe split skin. But the helmet did the job. The EPS was deformed and the harder plastic shell delaminated at the contact point, but it didn't crush or break.

The only downside to the cheaper but good quality helmets is they tend to have more exposed EPS -- the soft styrofoam stuff -- so over time the crush/crumple zone material gets nicked and sometimes even small chunks are knocked loose.

But for only $25 or less you can buy replacement Schwinn or similar entry level helmets from Walmart. They'll do the job.

What I got for more money later with "better" helmets was more thorough coverage of the soft EPS with harder plastic protective shell, more comfortable straps and cushioning, MIPS, and, with my Bell Formula MIPS, nifty sweat channels that divert most sweat from pouring down my forehead into my eyes. OTOH, the "gutter" of the channel from which the sweat drips is about an inch in front of my face and now the sweat drips like big drops of rain! It's not bad, just odd to get hit with massive "raindrops" on a perfectly dry, sunny day and realize it's my own sweat. Usually I wear a bandana under the helmet, which solves most perspiration problems.

And I just bought a POC Omne, which adds some sophisticated design stuff without the high cost of their upper tier POC helmets.

But back in 2015, when I was broke, $20 got a good helmet, much better than the silly stuff we had back in the 1970s-'80s. Back then we had useless hairnets of padded leather or vinyl, field hockey helmets, or the then-new Bell mushroom things.

znomit

Visit the LBS and check out the finish quality of the Bell helmets there (mine are all excellent).