Anyone remember expanded polypropylene helmets?

[y_p_w]

I remember when we had a discount on one company's helmets for our club. It was a small company called Aria Sonics, which I'm thinking is defunct by now. There was a mechanic at a bike shop saying that their testing showed that it could take multiple (up to 3) impacts while most helmets could take a single impact before the helmet would crack and not be able to reasonable take another impact. State of the art for other helmets included soft shells and something like a plastic "skeleton" (forgot what the marketing phrase was). Giro might have been the first to have that.

It was a little bit different. Anyone who has seen suitable styrofoam for bike helmets knows that they're kind of hard - much harder than packing styrofoam. And I've seen a few helmets damaged by impacts where there was a clear dent or where there was a dent and a crack. These EPP helmets were a lot like expanded polypropylene packaging. Kind of squishy to a degree, but certainly harder than most packaging materials.

Bicycle Helmet Update Newsletter for May, 1997

Aria Sonics continues to produce helmets from Expanded PolyPropylene (EPP), a material which recovers after a crash, confirmed by independent test lab results which Aria Sonics has provided to us. That makes it ideal for multi-impact sports such as aggressive skating. Other manufacturers have been slow to pick up on EPP due to its technical characteristics and requirement for expensive new molding equipment. Note added later: Aria Sonics went out of business in 1997 and their products are no longer available.​

 

[doitmyself]

I do not.

I do remember the helmet I wore for my very first (and last) sanctioned criterium race in Chicago. What was I thinking? I mostly trained for a road race. Naive beyond my 19 year existence. Sigh.

 

[AZjeff]

Nope. My first bike helmet in the '80s was a Bell that looked like this. They copied the look of the leather hairnet @doitmyself had.

 

[y_p_w]

Nope. My first bike helmet in the '80s was a Bell that looked like this. They copied the look of the leather hairnet @doitmyself had.
View attachment 147894

Ah. The Bell V1 Pro. I had one in white that I got with my first serious bike. Mine was a later version that had a little door at the Bell logo where sliding it would allow air to enter the forehead. I can’t find an exact photo of a white one (only with a sticker) but this is a black version.

 

[y_p_w]

I do not.

I do remember the helmet I wore for my very first (and last) sanctioned criterium race in Chicago. What was I thinking? I mostly trained for a road race. Naive beyond my 19 year existence. Sigh.

View attachment 147888

Those were pretty useless. I do remember being in a club in the late 90s where one member recounted a season racing in Europe. Said that people came up to him saying “You’re American?” because he was the only helmeted racer or rider.

I do recall a buddy who had this weird hard shell helmet, but it came up with four prongs towards the center top.

 

[CR94]

... There was a mechanic at a bike shop saying that their testing showed that it could take multiple (up to 3) impacts while most helmets could take a single impact before the helmet would crack and not be able to reasonable take another impact. State of the art for other helmets included soft shells and something like a plastic "skeleton" (forgot what the marketing phrase was). Giro might have been the first to have that.

It was a little bit different. Anyone who has seen suitable styrofoam for bike helmets knows that they're kind of hard - much harder than packing styrofoam. And I've seen a few helmets damaged by impacts where there was a clear dent or where there was a dent and a crack. These EPP helmets were a lot like expanded polypropylene packaging. ...

Were those polypropylene helmets capable of passing ANSI or CPSC standards? If not, that's a good reason for them to be extinct.
Most legitimate bike helmets, including the original mid-'70s Bell Biker, use expanded polystyrene as the energy-absorbing core.
Soft-shell (actually shell-less, with a cosmetic lycra cloth cover) helmets were a fad in the 1980s. They passed standard drop tests of that era, but were discredited because of their tendency to stick to pavement on impact instead of sliding. I had doubts about their structural integrity, as well.

 

[AZjeff]

Bunch of dang old farts around here. Since I retired I got back into mountain biking pretty hard. Not as fast but more miles. Any other old guys still at it pretty good? Besides slotown?

 

[y_p_w]

Were those polypropylene helmets capable of passing ANSI or CPSC standards? If not, that's a good reason for them to be extinct.
Most legitimate bike helmets, including the original mid-'70s Bell Biker, use expanded polystyrene as the energy-absorbing core.
Soft-shell (actually shell-less, with a cosmetic lycra cloth cover) helmets were a fad in the 1980s. They passed standard drop tests of that era, but were discredited because of their tendency to stick to pavement on impact instead of sliding. I had doubts about their structural integrity, as well.

Yeah. They passed the ANSI standards and had the Snell Foundation certification with the licensed sticker. Their problem was that they were a boutique company and they were really expensive.

Yeah - I remember the original Giro helmets and its imitators. And the thing about "helmet stick". Giro and Bell came out with thin polyester shells, like the original Giro Air Attack.

 

[MRC01]

Bunch of dang old farts around here. Since I retired I got back into mountain biking pretty hard. Not as fast but more miles. Any other old guys still at it pretty good? Besides slotown?

I resemble that!
I do a lot of x-country MTB, combination of ultra endurance with some fun blue/black technical.

My first bike helmet was back in the 1980s, when helmets could cause injury cuz other kids who saw you wearing one were likely to try to beat you up for being a dork. And when they were just starting to be required for local races.

 

[853okg]

I must have raced over a hundred times in a hairnet helmet. At the time, there was only one real bike racer I knew who wore a real helmet, Bob Cooke. He was a terrific climber and wore a Bell Biker. I think he went to MIT and worked on the heat shield of the space shuttle. Ironically, he died of a brain tumor.
I remember when Jim Gentes tossed a prototype of a Giro helmet at me. The instant I caught it I knew it was a million dollar idea. Then, they were made in America and came in about eight sizes.
In between I remember some odd things such as the East German trottshelm and the clunky Kucharik, which would have been like strapping a my pillow on.
I remember the helmet you referred to as well, because I often told anyone who would listen that the person who figured out how to make a helmet that, unlike EPS, could work more than once, would make a fortune. I recall they weren’t that expensive. But they didn’t catch on and I don’t know why. As far as I know nobody else has continued with the idea.
For my money the other big advance was the adjustment knob that Giro also invented and is now nearly universal. And MIPS, which I guess you have to take on faith pretty much.
Anyway it’s all much better than the hairnet or the Bell Biker.

 

[Number_35]

My first helmet was a Bell, purchased in 1985. It had a hard white shell with red trim, a styrofoam liner, and complex straps. I retired it after complex plastic routing bit for the straps broke. IIRC it was expensive - perhaps C$60 back in the day.

 

[tcp71]

I remember 80s and 90s helmets well. I'm not quite retirement age but riding in the rocky mountains west of Calgary makes me feel every bit of my 51 years. I try keeping up the climbs with my 17yo son and nearly die every time.

 

[Number_35]

I remember 80s and 90s helmets well. I'm not quite retirement age but riding in the rocky mountains west of Calgary makes me feel every bit of my 51 years. I try keeping up the climbs with my 17yo son and nearly die every time.

I've done Banff to Jasper once, Canmore to Lake Louise once, and the Canmore-Banff Legacy Trail several times.

Canmore to Banff, and Banff to Lake Louise, is definitely uphill.

And then there's a crazy steep section of the Icefields Parkway with the big switchback. Huff puff.

 

[CR94]

... I often told anyone who would listen that the person who figured out how to make a helmet that, unlike EPS, could work more than once, would make a fortune. I recall they weren’t that expensive. But they didn’t catch on and I don’t know why. ...

Because material that rebounds instead of absorbing the impact energy like EPS in a crash would increase (theoretically double, if perfectly elastic) the time the user's head is exposed to high g's, increasing concussion risk.
Remember Skid-Lid?

 

[853okg]

Yes, that would be the challenge: coming up with a substance that could absorb an impact as EPS does but slowly rebound to do it again. It never thought it would happen but then when it was actually released with approval I thought, look out! But it fizzled.
I do remember the Skid Lid. They sold quite well for a while. I also remember seeing quite a few MSR climbing helmets. When real helmets started catching on I sold quite a few Pro Tec and Monarch helmets, brands that I haven’t seen in a long time.

 

[sk_pete]

At 5y intervals helmets should be replaced. On mine not all straps were holding the shell correctly.

 

[IndyIan]

The recent POC ski race helmets use expanded polypropylene as they need to have a hard shell to meet the test specs anyways. I can see how it might not work with a regular xc or road bike helmet with a lexan cover as you need the stiffness of polystyrene to keep the helmets shape. I think some of the POC DH mtb helmets have polypropylene as they have a hard shell too.

 

[y_p_w]

Yes, that would be the challenge: coming up with a substance that could absorb an impact as EPS does but slowly rebound to do it again. It never thought it would happen but then when it was actually released with approval I thought, look out! But it fizzled.
I do remember the Skid Lid. They sold quite well for a while. I also remember seeing quite a few MSR climbing helmets. When real helmets started catching on I sold quite a few Pro Tec and Monarch helmets, brands that I haven’t seen in a long time.

There was an infant seat that had an air cushion side bolster. I don’t think it was meant for reuse after a collision. Some football helmets have air adjustments. Not sure if it was more about the cushioning or comfort.

 

[slo town]

Bunch of dang old farts around here. Since I retired I got back into mountain biking pretty hard. Not as fast but more miles. Any other old guys still at it pretty good? Besides slotown?

@AZjeff, I hit 70 this past March and have three centuries on my 2023 calendar, including Death Valley in November.

Scott