First of all, I am aware that anything to do with helmets can be a contentious issue. Lock, delete or whatever lord mods.
I had a stack on Saturday and only noticed today that my helmet had lots of cracks inside. Of course it looks fine at a glance but all those cracks turned up in the helmet instead of my head. I’m glad it did its job and I’m pleased. So I need new helmet
Everyone knows that those cool catlike helmets are both hip and pro. I was looking on the forum if anyone had asked where to get them in Melbourne before. Some threads made mention of getting a helmet online. This leaves the issue of the ubiquitous AS2063 sticker. Aware that a helmet may be the same make and model, but visible AS compliance is required by law for safety equipment. Could be frowned upon by your health insurance lawyers if you are in a prang.
A suggestion was made to switch the sticker from your old helmet to the new one – I think this might be a bad option. If you look at this sticker on your helmet, you will notice another number on it. I checked up on AS2063 online and it does not make mention of this number HOWEVER I have looked at other people’s helmets (5 so far) and the number was different every time. If this number ties the sticker to the make, model and build date of your helmet there might be serious legal implications. Perhaps if you get two helmets that are the same model and made at similar times they might be the same (only useful if you busted an aussie helmet and then got one exactly the same make model and year online). Someone at a bike shop might be able to help out and see if that’s the case by checking more numbers than I did…
Long story short, you might get found out switching stickers. Probably not a good look as the only time this could really be discovered is if you are in an accident and in need of a few bucks for hospital bills and a new bike.
If anyone knows anything further about this mystery number please let me know or feel free to discuss.
To finish up, where do I get one of those cool catlike helmets in Melbourne?
dayne tried to do the old swapsies on his, no dice as mentioned, i’m not sure how big the differences are from OS versions to AS compliant models, you can’t race without the AS sticker, and i wouldn’t be surprised to find they’d be considered not legal by authorities, but not sure on that. i had an OS Giro Atmos until i crashed it, did what it is supposed to, would get another OS helmet no question
Yup nick has the compact pro and the whisper plus, both with approved stickers.
I think it’s worth shelling out for one locally, I hear the police and alike are pretty onto it, when mrs GM was hit that’s one of the first things they looked for
yep, when cops do safety blitzes and whatnot the AS sticker is something they definitely look at. which is kinda annoying seeing as sweat/hair oil/whatever eroded all the ink off the sticker in my australia-bought helmet after only a couple months (the actual foil sticker is still there, and i have the receipt somewhere)
if you want to get the sticker off with out ruining it, get a kettle, fill it up, boil it, use steam to loosen glue on back, i used to do this to envelopes from high school and such when living at home
Shit I’ve never even bothered to look, mine has absolutely no stickers inside it!
So in SA what am I looking at if I get caught, should I look into getting another helmet?
Really don’t want to cos’ it’s a cool Nazi shape one with bullets and skulls on it.
I don’t think the helmets overseas are made any different but the way in which they are tested here in Aus compared to the UK and the USA is what sets them apart. I believe our standards are higher but the helmets, if made in the same factory, will all be the same.
Funny thing is that the same issue comes up with OS bought motorcycle helmets for use on Australian roads, they must have the AS sticker but it’s written in the Manual of Motorcyclesport that you can use any helmet with any of the stated standard stickers from the different continents for racing.
There’s a fair chance motorcycle racers are gonna crash more and hit their heads, than road riders! My 3 ‘Ornamental’ helmets prove my point, once crashed in the helmet gets retired.
My question is, does every international rider/racer have to buy a new helmet when they want to compete here in Aus?
I believe the rule in canada was that if you could prove your helmet was the same model as one that had passed the required certification then you were ok. of course you had to do this after the fact…
as you said, the models dont differ between countries its the standards approved sticker (that the importer/distributor has to pay to get) that does. this is (apparently) why catlike helmets disappeared for a while. the sales didnt justify the expense of getting recertified for the range (plus it was the orbea distro and orbea had brought out their own helmets).
That whole AS sticker debacle is a scam… The $5 7/11 helmet is safer/better than a Giro bought from the US or UK? It extends to motorcycle helmets too, DOT and SNELL 95 standards are very high, yet somehow not good enough for Australia. How else can you add a 200% markup to an item already marked up 200%?