Simpson helmets

[Toecutter]

Does anyone know where I can get my circa 35 year old Simpson helmet relined?

[Olde Coney]

If it's leather lined then it will probably be pig skin so a good saddle craft specialist could do it for you , alternatively you could buy a skull cap and wear that instead

However, I wouldn't recommend wearing a helmet of that vintage and expecting it to protect you in the event of an accident

[H2R]

From a nostalgia POV it would be nice to do. I have my old 1974 AGV full face, complete with dead flies from the 76 MGP, that could do with a reline, but I'd never wear it.

I agree with Old Coney and recommend you splash out on a new one, and check inside the lining for a date code to make sure it really is new!

Stephen

[Neil the Don]

The shell will be fine. It's the expanded foam insert that degrades.

Its the " soft " foam part thst absorbs and spreads a lot of the intial force of an impact and spreads it across a grester srea. Minimising skull damsge to a specific point.

I must have been lucky . Any time I fell off while racing , in spectular wide open front end away lowside crash or lower speed over the bars as front end stops suddenly by immovable object ,. I never seemed to hit my head ..........


( So tyat doesnt explain anything ? )

See if Simpson Facfory offer a relining service ? Arai do.

[Olde Coney]

Yep, that's sort of correct Neil, I still wouldn't chance it with any helmet over 5 or so years old, I found this explanation


Your helmet is made up of an outer shell, often made up of polycarbonate or multi composite materials. Under the shell is a layer of foam which varies in thickness and density. This is called the Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) lining. The EPS Lining tends to be what limits the age of the helmet to 5 or so years. The EPS lining is hugely important as it compresses when the helmet takes a large impact and stops you from having what would probably be the biggest headache of your life.

Now the issue with the lining is that it degrades and hardens between 4-5% a year, this is something that happens naturally and is sped up if the helmet is used regularly, or if the person has greasy hair or uses solvents and sprays. By the time the helmet is 5 years old the EPS lining effectiveness could have decreased by 25%. At this stage there will now be a gap between the EPS lining and your head, if the helmet now takes an impact this could increase the risk that more force is transmitted through to the skull, increasing the likelihood of traumatic brain injury…. Ouch!

[kwak1261]

i still wear my 40 year old simpson Bandit. well oiled seaboot and all that.
i contacted Simpson about 10 years ago to make the same request and was told
No sir, its too old. so i scrubbed it out and let it dry and it still gets used..
and the rivet counters need not tell me how unprotected my head is..

[Mitsui Spy]

It's easy to renovate an old helmet.

Take out the old lining, put a plastic bag over your head, then a balaclava. Put the helmet on and then get a mate to squirt expending foam into it. Wait for the foam to set and hey presto, a perfectly fitting helmet.

[Triple Parts]

It's easy to renovate an old helmet.
Take out the old lining, put a plastic bag over your head, then a balaclava. Put the helmet on and then get a mate to squirt expending foam into it. Wait for the foam to set and hey presto, a perfectly fitting helmet.

Darwinism at work, perfect fitting helmet but you have suffocated by the time it sets

[Tartan Triple]

It's easy to renovate an old helmet.

Take out the old lining, put a plastic bag over your head, then a balaclava. Put the helmet on and then get a mate to squirt expending foam into it. Wait for the foam to set and hey presto, a perfectly fitting helmet.

now, that was funny !!!