Helmet-£5 from a boot sale

[Bill_on_a_bike]

Mate of mine's trying to get in to biking, he's got himself a honda CG and he's insured and stuff. Today he bought himself a helmet from a boot sale for £5.

How can I express to him enough what a bad idea this is?

[Jixerman]

Bill

Get him to join the forum and let everyone work on him

[Pete]

Chuck it down some stairs and then say "there, you can't use it now". In all fairness he must know the risk and if he wants to die then there's not much you can do. Maybe tell him you won't go out for a ride with him unless he gets a new helmet. Maybe he'll get bored with no mates to go with!

[Guest]

Bill

Get him to join the forum and let everyone work on him

 

I take it you have told him he is a wally?

[Bill_on_a_bike]

It's one of my better bets atm.

He's trying to do the WHOLE bike thing on £10 a week pocket money from his parents for gods sake. He refuses point blank to get a job, and I've told him y'know, unless you're filthy rich you're going to need more income than that.

I feel kinda proud that he's seen me get it together with the bike thing, and it's spurred him on to do the same. but I'd hate him to be half arsed about it and get hurt.

[Guest]

Get him on here Bill.

[Pete]

Tell his parents? I don't mean phone them up and be a douchbag about it all. Maybe just drop it out in conversation "oh yeah it's good that he's got a bike and all, gives me someone else to go riding with...but a helmet that was £5 at a car boot, you guys must be worried?"

[Guest]

5 bucks for a used lid

the first thing that springs to mind ... is it full of nits?

and the second is he could have the most minor of spills and that thing could do more harm than good you just dont know and its not worth the risk.

helmets must not be skimped on.

i think a sit down serious chin wag about how sorry you`ll be to loose a mate if he were to have a prang and it all go nasty should do it.

[Voodoo]

Whats more dangerous, sliding down the road head first in a £5 full face helmet or sliding down the road head first in a £300 open faced helmet?

Also is it more dangerous riding along in a £5 helmet that allows you to turn your head right round so you can see behind you, or in a £300 helmet that has such a large chin piece that you can not physically turn your head far enough round to see behind you?

[Guest]

All you can do is advise etc. etc. - at the end of the day its his decision and if anything happens well you can't say you didn't tell him

[Foz]

Get him on here Bill.

he wont have to use any of his pocket money for that £10 a week! if only

[Bill_on_a_bike]

Whats more dangerous, sliding down the road head first in a £5 full face helmet or sliding down the road head first in a £300 open faced helmet?

Also is it more dangerous riding along in a £5 helmet that allows you to turn your head right round so you can see behind you, or in a £300 helmet that has such a large chin piece that you can not physically turn your head far enough round to see behind you?

 

Was your helmet £5 from a car boot sale voodoo?

[Susieque]

There must be some vids on YouTube that point out the dangers??

[Bill_on_a_bike]

I haven't actually seen him since, I haven't heard is arguments for it. I can understand being on a tight budget, believe me, but even a brand new £50 lid, that fits right ofcorse, would be miles better than that.

I'm not saying buy the latest rossi rep. for £450 or anything, just, new atleast.

[Voodoo]

Whats more dangerous, sliding down the road head first in a £5 full face helmet or sliding down the road head first in a £300 open faced helmet?

Also is it more dangerous riding along in a £5 helmet that allows you to turn your head right round so you can see behind you, or in a £300 helmet that has such a large chin piece that you can not physically turn your head far enough round to see behind you?

 

Was your helmet £5 from a car boot sale voodoo?

 

Lol, what I'm saying is sometimes a £5 helmet is safer than a £300 one. I think he's doing well and using his intiative to get himself on the road. I'm sure if he had loads of money he'd go out and buy an expensive helmet.

If he rides safely and can work out exactly where the dangers are on the road then that'll be worth a lot more than any protection a helmet can offer.

[Bill_on_a_bike]

Well you've been riding for a while, you know where the dangers are on the road, why don't you use a £5 lid?

He's brand new to all this, he doesn't know the roads atall, he needs all the protection he can get.

I'm all for doing things on a budget, I had to, but when you're new and it's your head?

[Ingah]

Whats more dangerous, sliding down the road head first in a £5 full face helmet or sliding down the road head first in a £300 open faced helmet?

Also is it more dangerous riding along in a £5 helmet that allows you to turn your head right round so you can see behind you, or in a £300 helmet that has such a large chin piece that you can not physically turn your head far enough round to see behind you?

 

Was your helmet £5 from a car boot sale voodoo?

 

Lol, what I'm saying is sometimes a £5 helmet is safer than a £300 one. I think he's doing well and using his intiative to get himself on the road. I'm sure if he had loads of money he'd go out and buy an expensive helmet.

If he rides safely and can work out exactly where the dangers are on the road then that'll be worth a lot more than any protection a helmet can offer.

 

Just want to say that whilst i understand what your getting at Voodoo, i really think Bill is right to do all he can to encourage this guy to get a new helmet (it's one of the few things i agree is not worth skimping on, especially for an accident-prone newbie rider - e.g. it only took me 2 months from getting started to "test" the back of mine on the floor, at 20mph... Needless to say £120 of correctly-fitted helmet probably saved me from the reaper).

£5 helmet for a £5 head, as they say

[Pete]

Can't believe what I'm reading!! Someone actually condoning the use of a £5 helmet from a car boot, are you mad?!

I've got to say that yes I'd MUCH rather slide down the road head first in an open face than a £5 one. Sounds mad but if that £5 one's been in a knock there's nothing but a thin piece of plastic between me and the trees after all the polystyrene's flaked away. At least with an open face the important parts of my noggin's mostly protected.

Keep on at your mate Bill. I don't know the sort of guy he is, whether being direct with him or more subtle will, help but it sounds to me like he just doesn't understand the risks. Maybe explain how a helmet works and how it is just polystyrene and once it takes a knock it's useless.

When's his birthday? Maybe you and a few mates could pitch in a fiver each to get him a £50 lid...

[Voodoo]

Well you've been riding for a while, you know where the dangers are on the road, why don't you use a £5 lid?

 

Have used a £3 lid in the past, back when I was 16

[queen bodecia]

If it fits him well, it's not the worst idea in the world. The real issue is that he won't know any history of the lid, but if he has no money beggars can't be choosers. I'm more cross about his refusal to get a job. What does he expect to live on for the rest of his life? There will come a time when mummy and daddy should rightly say, no more.

[Guest akey]

OK here we go.

Voodoo and others, sliding down the road in that £5 lid may be OK if:

The helmet has never been dropped.

It fits correctly (as this guy is very new, it unlikely he knows what a well fitted lid feels like).

It has never had any contamination on the strap.

The helmet is still within its shelf life - oh yes helmets have a shelf life!

I'm sorry but this is probably the dumbest thing I can think of anyone doing, if you cant afford to spend even £50 on a helmet then I'm sorry you cant afford to ride a bike on the road. A well fitted cheap thermoplastic helmet from a reasonable maker at £50 will be better than the £5 helmet.

A helmet is a once use item - by this I mean it will only absorb one real impact, and the result of an impact is not always visable from the outside.

Bill, please keep on at your mate, the best thing he can do with that helmet is give it to either the local fire station or paramedics so that they can use it for training.

[Guest]

OK - It's a £5 lid, but none of us (except maybe Bill) have actually seen it, and seen it on the guy who's bought it.

I'm not condoning buying a smashed up lid from a boot sale and kidding yourself it's safe - but the seller could be genuine, the helmet may have never been dropped, and the fit could be good. The poor guy could have found himself a bargain and we're labeling it a death sentence.

I would advise him to pop in to a bike shop and ask them to check the fitment and condition, just to be sure. That way if there are any concerns someone who is used to fitting helmets will point them out and he can make his own decision from there.

Horness

[MAGS]

AFter years of wanting a bike and not being allowed by my parents (My uncle wrote off a norton commando uprooting a lampost many years ago). I eventually passed my test i my 30's. As soon as I had passed my parents wanted a go on the back , so I bought my dad a Arai off Ebay for a tenner Hey its only my dad

[Pete]

OK - It's a £5 lid, but none of us (except maybe Bill) have actually seen it, and seen it on the guy who's bought it.

I'm not condoning buying a smashed up lid from a boot sale and kidding yourself it's safe - but the seller could be genuine, the helmet may have never been dropped, and the fit could be good. The poor guy could have found himself a bargain and we're labeling it a death sentence.

I would advise him to pop in to a bike shop and ask them to check the fitment and condition, just to be sure. That way if there are any concerns someone who is used to fitting helmets will point them out and he can make his own decision from there.

Horness

 

I understand your point, and if it was something like a back protector or other safety equipment it'd be a good idea. The only thing with it being a helmet is not even the manufacturer could tell you if it's been in a knock. The reason being that the plastic shell is designed to flex. Therefore the polystyrene inner may have crumbled, then the outside may have returned to it's usual unmarked appearance.

Personally I've got to agree with akey's comment "if you cant afford to spend even £50 on a helmet then I'm sorry you cant afford to ride a bike on the road".

Just a thought but maybe the people who're wreckless enough to take these sorts of risks with safety equipment are the ones more likely to take risks out on the road. It's very easy to have a "it won't happen to me attitude", but the fact is that sooner or later he (or anyone else in a similar situation) might have to put his life in the hands of that £5 helmet.

Put it this way. If you were round a mate's house and they offered you a go on their bike and then handed over a helmet that you knew was £5 off a car boot...would you wear it?

[Guest]

you pay more for a tank of fuel.... even if it was the bargain of the century, i wouldn't wear it.. might look good on a "fighter" chopped with a headlight in the visor.. but thats about it..

or get a hacksaw on it to show the internals.. M&P in Oxford had one in their dept showing after an accident.. (luckily the guys head wasn't still in it..)

Voodoo, i see what your saying, but a £3 lid at sixteen, and how old are you know... technology and traffic have come along way since then,

i used to ride in jeans and cowboy boots, but not anymore, thats age and experience for you.. something i believe this forum is trying to promote, experience to the newbies, as we (should..) know better..