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Helmets

We stock mostly Lazer helmets in the store, with a few options from Abus for e-bike rated options and Woom for kids helmets.  Lazer, which is owned by Shimano, has the highest concentration of 4- and 5-star crash test rated helmets on the market, and that's why we carry them.  We can order from lots of other brands from Troy Lee to Leatt to Met.  Because we are not Trek/Bontrager or Specialized dealers, we do not carry and cannot order helmets from those brands.

Replacement

Sometimes I feel like companies are just trying to sell more products when they say you need to replace your helmet every X number of years.  But as the recipient of a life-changing head injury, I am a firm believer that wearing a good quality helmet saves lives and saves brains.

The Snell Foundation says helmets should be replaced every 5 years, every 5-10 years according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and as frequently as every 3 years per some manufacturers.  This varies with usage, storage conditions, etc., so we recommend doing an inventory of what you and your family have available to them for safety equipment and look at replacing/upgrading accordingly.  With safety in mind, if in doubt, replace it.

Safety standards  

Anti-concussion technology has improved over the years as well.  I strongly recommend using helmets that have some type of this tech incorporated. "MIPS" is the best known of these, but is not the only one nor the highest performing one.  MIPS is a brand name, and is sometimes used in conversation the way "Kleenex" is used to say "tissue".  

There are also ratings specific for ebike use that several organizations have started thinking about, but the only one specific to ebikes currently in the world comes from The Netherlands where biking is much more prevalent.  That standard is known as NTA 8776 (Netherlands Technical Agreement 8776). 

Resources

DC's own Washington Area Bicyclist Association created a specific group called the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute which has published a huge amount of info.  Check out https://helmets.org/ebike.htm for ebike helmet info and https://helmets.org/bikehelmetratings.htm for general bike helmet safety rating info.  

Virginia Tech (the college) has been doing helmet safety testing for years and years at https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu and is another great resource cited by helmets.org.  Virginia Tech's helmet testing lab is the premiere such organization in the country, if not the world.