Another reason I am getting away from Triathlon.
They’ll let every overweight 50 yr. old with $300 drown themselves on the swim and then micromanage what goes on my head. Eff that.
Straight from the USAT rules, I see nothing about a 3 year limit.
5.9 Helmets.
(a) Type of Helmet. All participants shall wear a protective head cover, undamaged and unaltered, which meets
or exceeds the safety standards of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Helmets manufactured
prior to March 10, 1999 must meet or exceed the safety standards of (i) the American National Standard
Institute (ANSI Z-90.4), (ii) The Snell Memorial Foundation (Protective Headgear for Bicycle Users), or (iii)
ASTM F-1446 or F-1447, and which is clearly labeled by the manufacturer as satisfying such standards.
Removal of helmet cover, if required for that helmet to meet such safety standards, shall constitute an
impermissible alteration in violation of this Section 5.9(a). Any violation of this Section 5.9(a) shall result in
disqualification.
Of course I also went and checked the USAT website and their current rules don’t say anything about 3 years.
I also checked my helmet and it is old enough that the year of manufacture has rubbed off. Now it just says June, so I figure I’m good.
I just sent a note to a USAT rep to get to the bottom of this.
I’ll get back as soon as I get a response.
jaretj
I’d like to know too, as I just bought a NEW 2006 helmet.
Now, I’ll not be racing in it, but this rule makes no sense to me. I can mistreat a helmet in 6 months that makes it a whole lot more dangerous then a 4 year old helmet that is taken care of. Do we all need a new bike every 5 years too? Older bikes can develop cracks, break and cause accidents.
When was the last time someone had a head injury from a crash, from a helmet that was “TOO OLD”?
Go check out the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute – the results are inconclusive for helmets built after about '99 but the earlier ones took a hit in tests (no pun in intended!) The basic issue isn’t how new or nice the helmet looks, or how many times a year it gets worn, or how much sweat degrades the interior, but the fact that after several years all the little air pockets in the foam are gone and the crash impact effectiveness of the helmet is reduced by up to 90%. I have seen somewhere else on this same site the 3 year argument but can’t seem to find it now.
I’ll bet most new aero helmets are less safe than any well maintained 4 yr old road helmet. Rounder helmets are safer.
And I’ll bet nobody wears an aero helmet for the safety reasons. They wear them because helmets are required, and an aero helmet is the fastest available option.
I just don’t get why we have to play by their rules, when we already have to sign a few liability waivers saying we are responsible for ourselves.
Found part of it! Quoted below from this link: http://www.bhsi.org/workshop.htm
“Even if you don’t crash, most manufacturers recommend replacement after three to five years. We think that depends on usage, and helmets given reasonable care are good for longer than that.”
I’ll keep looking for the test results link. It was interesting.
i find it laughable that people don’t want to spend 100-200 bucks for a new helmet ever three years to protect their brain but will spend 1000 every 3 years for new wheels cause they saved 20 seconds over last years model.
forget that…what about the people that have to upgrade $8000 frames every year to get the latest and greatest?
“Forget that P3 I bought last year, I’m going to get the new P4 this year because it will save me 10 seconds that I will waste with water bottles, tubes, gels, suitcases, etc strapped to the frame.”
forget that…what about the people that have to upgrade $8000 frames every year to get the latest and greatest?
“Forget that P3 I bought last year, I’m going to get the new P4 this year because it will save me 10 seconds that I will waste with water bottles, tubes, gels, suitcases, etc strapped to the frame.”
I know… i was going to say that but then everyone would be like i never upgrade my frame. i’ve got the same one that ive had since 1992 and i put out 400 watts while riding it… So i decided to use wheels and by the number of classified threads each week on wheels i was going with that being a safe bet 
Its also kinda funny cause people are like well my helmet is fine and ive had it for 5 years… yeah well you really dont know if its fine till you take a patch of concreate to the head so do you really want to risk it.
I agree with those statements about the wheels and frames. But there is a point to be made about buying a brand new helmet that is a already a year old that you race in 5-10 times a year. Not trying to be cheap, just seems like a waste of money and resources. Everyday helmets should definitely be changed out often. Race helmets are different though.
I find you laughable if you think $100 on a new helmet every 3 years is a reasonable way to ensure your safety.
theres like 90,000 things you could do every day that you never bother to, which are less inconvenient, cheaper, and will grant you more life expectancy than worrying about whether your helmet is 3 years or 5 years old.
this whole thing is just a way to continue selling more helmets and perpetuates a wasteful, slovenly, weak society.
so are aero goodies but at least nobody is forcing you to buy them!!
i find it laughable that people don’t want to spend 100-200 bucks for a new helmet ever three years to protect their brain but will spend 1000 every 3 years for new wheels cause they saved 20 seconds over last years model.
The study you quote says that it isn’t the age of current helmets, study done back in 1999?, newer helmets are different. Still doesn’t solve the new helmet that is 3 years old and no longer legal by the rules yet is safer then a 1 year old helmet worn everyday and degrading daily.
The rule is stupid : )
I’ve actually crashed very hard twice, on my head, with helmets that were 8 years old or more. It may have made me dummer then I was but the helmets did what they were designed to do. These were both early 90’s models, Specialized Sub-6.
If they enforce this rule, then they should also go back to what they did before and do bicycle checks at check-in. Lots of unsafe bikes out there.
If I crash on a helmet that is less then 3 years old and take head damage from the crash, the rules are basically saying it should not have happened. You know…good old sue happy USA. This could come back to bite them on the butt : )
Hard crash on a 10+ year old helmet. Cracked in two places. Melon perfectly
fine. Good excuse to buy a new helmet.
I suspect these are MORE durable than child car seats, and those are
probably good for 10 years.
-Jot
This is what I got:
there are no changes to any rules…there is quite a bit of red tape to go through to ever do that, and nothing has
come down the road for a long time.
The helmets MUST be CPSC labeled however, that has been in effect for many years, below is the link to the cpsc information
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml98/98062.html
this is the rule from our rule book:
5.9 Helmets.
(a) Type of Helmet. All participants shall wear a protective head cover, undamaged and unaltered, which meets or exceeds the safety standards of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Helmets manufactured prior to March 10, 1999 must meet or exceed the safety standards of (i) the American National Standard Institute (ANSI Z-90.4), (ii) The Snell Memorial Foundation (Protective Headgear for Bicycle Users), or (iii) ASTM F-1446 or F-1447, and which is clearly labeled by the manufacturer as satisfying such standards. Removal of helmet cover, if required for that helmet to meet such safety standards, shall constitute an impermissible alteration in violation of this Section 5.9(a). Any violation of this Section 5.9(a) shall result in disqualification.
I hope that this helps! Not sure how this rumor began??? And I am glad that you sent the question, thanks for the input, and always feel free to ask anything, and I will try to assist.
Yours in sport
Joyce Donaldson
USAT CAT 1 official
ITO USA International Triathlon Union
This is what I got:
there are no changes to any rules…
Ditto that. I’m a Cat 3 USAT Official and just got an email confirming that there are no helmet rule changes rgarding this 3 year thing. The email said it was dispelling a “rumor”, so I figured there had to be a thread on here somewhere talking about it.
Et, Viola!
Seth
Trouble is that makes it clear what USATs stance is. But if the previous posts are correct some RD are instituting their own rules. I don’t know what USAT can do about that, and more importantly if I showed up for a race and wasn’t allowed to race because of an old helmet, I’d still be pissed even if USAT somehow got me a refund.
Styrrell
I agree that a RD may institute their own rule but the response that Pickles got from the RD is clearly untrue about USAT putting a new rule in place.
Some people in FAST were asking me about it too so it got spread far and away from Slowtwitch. I felt that as a club officer I had a responsibility to check it out.
The response Pickles got from the RD:
That is correct. Thats a new rule that USAT but in place to get everyone thinking about having the latest and safest head gear! Bill Burke
–
Bill Burke
Race Organizer
Premier Event Management LLC