Luckily my 6 month old Pneumo is fine, but apparently there is a problem out there. While getting my bike inspected for Eagleman last month, the guy from Tri Speed told me there is a problem with the Pneumo and that they are cracking in that same spot.

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The Cuban Comet
(Comets are unbelievably slow over Cuba)

I think that the problem noted a little while back was the crack in the front-center, right between the 2 'nubs'. Was that posted on ST or on velonews, I can't remember but I think that the person got the helmet replaced free but it might have been less then 1 yr old. I check that spot on my pneumo from time to time to make sure no crack has started.

As an aside, notice that Lance's TdF helmet is different then the current Pneumo, maybe the 2004 style?

A

That's where mine is cracked. Well, one place at least.

The Postal is a new helmet with some Carbon Fiber in it and as I understand it, it is not a replacement for the Pneumo, but a new high end model all together. http://www.cyclingnews.com/.../features/giro_atmos Not sure I care though as this will likely be my last Giro.

DAMN IT!!! (and thank you guys). After reading this thread I went and checked my Pneumo when I got home and, sure enough, it's cracked right down the center front. Right in the thin section between the two nubs in the forehead area. Anyone know if Giro is replacing them out of warranty as a defect, or am I SOL?

Dude, sorry to hear that. That really sucks. I can't believe that if this problem is fairly common (as it seems to be) that we don't hear more about it. Recalls, consumer alerts, something...

Anyway, I went to replace my helmet tonight, and as I mentioned it is a bit over a year old. The guy at the shop told me I could buy a new one and send to old one to Giro. Apparently they usually give a $20 or so rebate in situations like mine. No thank you. I have no desire to spend $140 (with discount) on a helmet that I have no reason to believe will last longer than a year. So I tried on a couple different helmets and ended up with a Bell Ghisallo. I'm pumped too!! It fits me better than the Pneumo (it's very comfy) and comes in at about $40 less. Hopefully this one will last.

At least I got 2+ years of use out of mine (although who knows how long I've been riding around with this crack!). All the LBS's around here were closed by the time I discovered the crack, except for Performance bike. I needed a helmet tonight, since I'm leaving tomorrow morning to go out of town with the bike. Long story short... ended up with another Pneumo- in black this time. It was the only decent helmet they had in stock that fit my super-sized mellon. I wasn't crazy about shelling out another $150 for another helmet of dubious durability, but at least now I can get my ride in tomorrow. Can't wait for the new Atmos to come out so I can spend some SERIOUS bling in a lid ;-)

A quick update. I checked 2 Pneumos today at a club race and they were both cracked. One in the middle of the forhead (this one was pretty bad), and the other in two odd places on the top of the head. No, I'm not on a crusade or anything, but I'm very curious as to how common this really is. I wonder how many people out there are unknowingly riding around with broken helmets, and also how dangerous it really is. (If at all.) I guess I'm concerned as I think this is widely accepted as one of the best helmets out there.

After reading the post this morning, I asked one of my pneumo-wearing riding buddies. Guess what: cracked on the middle of the fore-head...

I had a piece on my Specialized King Cobra helmet crack a couple years ago and my LBS replaced it under warranty no questions asked. Looks like Giro has pretty weak customer service.

where I live. Just checked mine, and sure enough a crack right through the mid-forehead as mentioned... really pissed about it, but grateful for the 'heads up' ( no pun intended!). Guess I'll have to get my wife to crack the family safe open and get me a new one- boy will she be pissed, this one is only 16 months old.

Weeman

Seems like this is a big problem. Everyone should contact Giro and complain, also talk to you LBS and tell them the problem and that you know many others with this same problem. A $150+ helmet should not just crack for no reason.
I also think you should tell Giro and the LBS that you will be using another brand from now on.


A

Just browsing the posts and saw this one...what do you know?? My Pneumo is cracked in the front as well. LBS said to contact Giro and see what's up.

Mine is cracked as well. I'm pissed. Mine's a year old, got it at Performance I think. Guess I'll contact them. This sucks. I'll check the Giro website for any love.

Please post if you hear anything...

--ben

I called Giro customer service today, and they told me that they are aware of the cracking problem but they haven't issued a recall for two reasons:

1) they've tested helmets with the crack in the front between the nubs, and they claim the helmet is not compromised, so there's no reason for a safety recall (this doesn't comfort me, though).

2) Giro claims that when people hear about the problem, many people actually crack the helmet in the process of looking for cracks (riiiiiiight).

In any case, they referred me to their toll-free consumer customer service line and told me that, in some instances, they will replace the helmet free of charge. By the time I called, they were closed for the day, so I'll try them tomorrow.

My best advise is to call them and insist on a replacement, It sounds like they are fully aware of the problem and will to replace some, if not all, reported problems.

Thanks for the update Joey, I saw your other post. It's official, I'm a moron. After buying a new helmet, I gave the cracked Pneumo the old lets-see-how-strong-this-thing-really-is test and gave it a good squeeze. Let's just say that it has a lot more cracks in it now. I don't think Giro will be giving me a replacement. Good thing I'm happy with my new helmet.

It's good to hear that Giro is replacing cracked helmets, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the whole thing. There's been such a push to get riders to wear helmets that it has become the norm. That's obviously a very good thing. But what kind of message is being sent if a major helmet company is apparently being reactive to a helmet "defect" (for lack of a better word) rather than proactive? Are those who are trying to ride safely being misled? I hope that what they say is true and that safety is not being compromised. Then again, I'm reminded that my helmet had 4 cracks in it...

I think I'll give Giro a call tomorrow just to hear things first hand and to be counted.

I crashed about a month ago. my pneumo probably saved my life. I don't remember the crash at all from having a severe concussion. I sent my pneumo back to giro and they gave me a 20% discount on a new one (which I felt was a little on the lame side, they routinely sell these for 20% off in the winter!).

Anyway, I got my new pneumo yesterday and in the questionable front center section is something new. it looks kinda like a thick piece of scotch tape, or that liquid bandage stuff you can get now. Some kind of reinforcement has been added to this area. So some kind of change has been made, because my old helmet didn't have this. the sticker in the helmet said May '03, which I'm assuming is the production date.

just thought I'd let everyone know.

Very interesting! This must be a VERY recent change, because I went out and bought a new Pneumo last Friday night to replace the cracked one (didn't have time to wait for them to replace my current one) and the one I bought from Performance Bike didn't have what yours has. Not to be a pessimist, but I wonder if this is a reinforcement, or simply to hide the crack if/when it does form (since Giro maintains that cracking in this area doesn't affect the safety of the helmet).

check the sticker inside your helmet to see what the mfg date was. you never know how long that stock might have been sitting around.

my suspicion is that it would reinforce enough that it wouldn't just crack on it's own from normal wear and tear. it's still gotta be one of the weaker spots on the helmet since it's a thin connection quite a distance from any other bridges. it's a pretty hard piece about 1 inch square (though it isn't square).