Specialized is calling on all riders to assess the condition and the age of their helmets, and has started a new helmet amnesty scheme to encourage riders to trade in their old helmets by offering up to 50% off a new lid.
“Whether you’re cycling on the road, the trails, or even just popping to the shops, we always recommend donning your helmet of choice for protection,” says Specialized. “When you’re riding as much as we all like to, we’d recommend a new helmet every 3 years or so, just to ensure it’s as fresh and as resilient as the day you got it.”
The brand adds: “You can trade in any helmet it does not have to be a Specialized one. Helmet Amnesty ends March 7th.”
The discount varies by helmet model. You can save 50% on the £240 S-Works Prevail II Vent, so your new price will be £120 – we have a review of this performance lid coming very soon…
The only other helmets the 50% discount applies to are the Ambush and Ambush Comp mountain bike options.
But there is a 40% discount on the Propero III, and a 30% one on the Echelon II MIPS, Chamonix MIPS and Align II as well as the urban Mode and Centro LED, plus the toddler’s Mio MIPS.
> Your complete guide to the Specialized road bike helmet range
This is a store only initiative so, at this time, you won’t be able to post your old helmet to Specialized, you’ll need to head to your local Specialized retailer, excluding Evans Cycles.
Don’t know where yours is? You can find out here.
If you’re wearing a bike helmet you’ll want to be sure it’s providing you protection, and so we asked the big helmet brands about when you should get a new cycling helmet in our feature over here.
Giro recommends replacing your helmet every three to five years depending on use and handling. “This is based on observation of the average user and factors like wear over time, weather, handling, the potential for degradation from personal care products like sunscreen or bug spray, and the simple fact that helmet technology does improve over time,” says Giro’s senior brand manager Eric Richter.
Bontrager’s product manager for helmets, April Beard, says: “There is no evidence that the EPS liner will deteriorate from age, but there are things such as solvents, chemicals, environmental exposure, that can degrade the performance of the helmet.”
-1024x680.jpg "“Clear anti-cyclist bias”: Lawsuit filed against Toronto police after cop doored cyclist… before ticketing rider over incident")
32 thoughts on “Specialized will give you 50% off a new helmet if you trade in your old one”
Seems to be a uk only thing.
Seems to be a uk only thing.
Christopher TR1 wrote:
I was about to write the same comment. road.cc authors don’t seem to realise they have subscribers in countries where the sun shines!
What is this ‘sun’ you speak
What is this ‘sun’ you speak of?
bikercat wrote:
It’s a Murdoch rag with a surprisingly high daily circulation of over a million. It’s also known for insightful political commentary with headlines such as “FREDDIE STARR ATE MY HAMSTER”
The subject matter of the
The subject matter of the classic song “It Says Here” by Billy Bragg…
True. Unfortunately I’m in
True. Unfortunately I’m in Germany, so no more sunshine than back in Blighty ?
Steady on the sun is shining
Steady on the sun is shining here today for a brief period between storm Dudley and Storm Eunice… who chooses the names for these things?
Ride On wrote:
The western European storm naming group.
My daughter was very confused
My daughter was very confused as had never heard of the name Eunice and had assumed it was spelled with a ‘U’.
That said, where did Storm Malik come from? The Time Vortex from six months in the future??
Malik was named by the
Malik was named by the northern group, as it’s track was most directly impacting Denmark.
Interestingly(?), they don’t restart their naming from ‘A’ each year, but just carry on going, and it’s taken them since 2013 to get to ‘M’. Seems unlikely that Scandinavia gets less in the way of storms, so I assume they’re a bit more hardcore and only name the really powerful ones.
Oh, OK; thanks for that
Oh, OK; thanks for that 😀
I’m guessing Specialized are
I’m guessing Specialized are not giving away money over this offer – makes me think the helmet is priced at well over twice what it’s worth.
Sriracha wrote:
Tests have shown that a brand’s £30 helmets are just as effective as the models costing £150 or more. And they all have to conform to the standards.
The title should say “up to 50%”.
And it’s a trade-in, not an amnesty. Poor choice of word by Specialized. But at least they have some headlines and get to sell more hats.
That’s very true about pretty
That’s very true about pretty much everything, but in my opinion, with a more expensive helmet you are usually paying for less weight, more aero, more comfort, etc.
Whether that renders it worth the extra is subjective and down to the individual’s choice. The cycling industry will always find a way of extracting cash from customers in the name of “lighter, faster, better”, and as customers we can pay our money and take our choice.
No better example than bikes themselves. A £1k bike as a conveyance from A to B will do this task as well as a £10k bike and have passed the same ISO accreditations, and going up the range, after £4k, you are saving around 100g in weight per £1k spent. Yet the market for these superbikes is bigger than it’s ever been and manufacturers are selling every bike they can make.
mark1a wrote:
This is not a surprise.
But with a helmet you might get slightly better venting, slightly lighter weight, but it’s marginal.
I don’t think many people would claim that the differences between a £1k road bike and a superbike are marginal.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t be able to choose. So-called freedom of choice has got us into the consumerist lifestyle/culture where everything has to be marketed, promoted, offered; we have to be persuaded, seduced, enticed…
But £240 for a plastic hat full of holes when the £80 model from the same brand does exactly the same thing? (and there will be a generous margin on the cheaper one)
Simon E wrote:
….and thrown into landfill after 2 years when we are once more seduced.
Simon E wrote:
It’s an excellent choice of word. From a marketing perspective.
‘Trade-in’ just suggests a discount, which doesn’t have much traction unless you’re already thinking about getting a new helmet. ‘Amnesty’ puts in someone’s mind that they’re doing something wrong by not replacing their old helmet, so motivates them to think about buying a new one when they wouldn’t otherwise.
Sriracha wrote:
Twice what it’s worth is being extremely generous. Helmets are made of raw materials that are extremely cheap, and the volume of sales means that development and set up costs are minimal per product. So helmets cost very little to make and transport, and most of the price is profit.
Helmets are one of the best demonstrations of disaster capitalism. First make your market afraid of something, then sell them something that makes them feel safe, whether it actually does so or not, and in this case, not. They even have exclusions with every helmet saying that it won’t protect you.
Helmets are a billions of dollars industry making something that no-one needs but is probably more profitable than drugs.
eburtthebike wrote:
I think you underestimate drugs – estimated at nearly 1% of the world’s total trade.
I like the term “disaster capitalism” though.
hawkinspeter wrote:
I thought he was talking about profit margin as a % of the sales price.
But if it were that profitable wouldn’t we be seeing more new entrants into the market?
wycombewheeler wrote:
Thanks, I was and I’ve edited my later post to say that.
hawkinspeter wrote:
— hawkinspeterBut I was talking profit, or profit margin, not size. Drugs have significant costs, growing, processing, distribution, political and police payments, money laundering, armed gangs, but helmets have none of these, and are promoted for free by misguided but zealous believers; and it’s all legal.
eburtthebike wrote:
Well, I’ll concede the point as I don’t have details on profits and/or costs, but I’ll leave you with this: can bike helmet purveyors afford hippos? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-58937415
eburtthebike]
Helmets are a billions of dollars industry making something that no-one needs but is probably more profitable than drugs.— eburtthebike
It sounds like you’ve never had a hard wreck with your head hitting the ground?! They definitely DO work, but they are more like an insurance product than a necessity, if thats what you mean. Myself and a few others in my club had split their helmets on the ground, and are fortunate it wasn’t their skulls.
Sriracha wrote:
Indeed! I’m fortunate enough to get helmets and glasses at cost from anothr brand thru a hookup, and a $240USD helmet is only $70, and I wouldnt be surprised if they still have a thin margin there.
The article doesn’t make it
The article doesn’t make it clear if this offer applies to trading in an old Specialized helmet or any brand?
Rendel Harris wrote:
Good point, we clarified with Specialized and they told us that any brand of helmet can be traded in under the initiative, which closes on 7 March.
I’ve updated the story.
Thanks Simon. So I guess
Thanks Simon. So I guess anyone who’s in the market for a new helmet but wants to keep their current one as well would be quids in buying a £10.99 job from Halfords and swapping it for a £120 discount – not advocating that as it would be rather wasteful environmentally but…
I hope they run a similar
I hope they run a similar offer on their saddles. Their 3D printed saddles at 50% off would be tempting (although that’s not going to happen) ?
Meanwhile Dutch teenagers
Meanwhile Dutch teenagers cycle an average of 2,000 km/year.
“They also rank among the healthiest and happiest—with the lowest rates of obesity and antidepressant usage—on Earth.. “
https://twitter.com/modacitylife/status/1493517904725397505
Seemingly without needing a helmet.
Not as good a deal as it
Not as good a deal as it first appears. The £240 is the RRP and no-one is selling it for that. My local dealer selling them for £149 so would be a saving of £29 for a helmet I am not that bothered about – and handing in an old helmet. I’d rather keep my Kask a bit longer.
Hmmm. According to
Hmmm. According to specialized website. You get 40% off the echelon II. Not 30% as road.cc stated. If that is the case then I’d be more inclined to trade in my 2016/17 kask mojito