Helmets

Start shopping somewhere else, he's pretty much bullshitting you. If he's
willing to **** you over for a helmet, I wouldn't want to buy anything more
expensive from there.

So long as its got the pretty sticker in the back, it will do all the good
it can. As a first helmet, get something like a shark, the more expensive
ones are usally expensive because of the paint jobs on them. Just avoid the
£50 trash which will have a seam down the centre.

Tell us where you are and im sure someone will send you to a decent dealer.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Robin

Sit down. This may come as a slight shock.

The salesman was lying in an attempt to get more money from you.

The only way a more expensive helmet will protect you better than a
cheaper one[1] is if it fits better.

You can stand up again now.

[1] Assuming the cheaper one has the appropriate standards marks.

 

Robin said...

Understandable on his part because the more expensive helmets will boost
his personal sales figures.

Even the cheapest of helmets out there are designed to primarily protect
your head in the event of a crash. However, there are varying levels of
protection available.

Modern safety tests, such as the ECE22-05 test, are carried out on
specific parts of the helmet, not all over the whole shell.
Manufacturers tend to reinforce their helmets with the carbon/kevlar mix
in just these areas and leave the rest of the lid in plain old
fibreglass, so if they claim things like 'Carbon fibre reinforced' or
'kevlar' then take it with a pinch of salt, they'll normally only be in
places where the test is performed. Some helmets, and I will name the
latest AGV Ti-Tech[1] here, are dangerously thin in places you would
expect to need reinforcing, namely the chinbar area. As the ECE22-05
test is a test performed by the manufacturer and not by an independent
outside body, it's pretty worthless in my humble opinion.

Even the cheapest 210 quid Arai RV has a shell made from an even
thickness of composite material all round the shell. To my mind, for
this alone it's worth buying an Arai. From that RV to the Arai RX7
Corsair there is a 250 quid jump, but this is mainly down to
stronger/lighter materials being used, a different material used for the
liner, removeable liners for washing, and a multitude of air vents. All
these things cost money, and it's the punter who pays. Ultimately, Arai
make quality lids, that's why they are the number one choice of the
racers out there who have to pay for their own gear.

There have been extensive tests on Helmets over the years, but as
manufacturers drop models and replace them with new ones, it's hard to
keep track on a monthly basis.

A helmets design is such that it will deform to absorb the impact. There
are three impacts when the helmet hits a solid object.

1. Helmet hitting object
2. Skull hitting inner liner of helmet
3. Your brain hitting the inner skull

A good helmet will absorb the shock of the first two, to minimise the
chances of the third happening. What you have to decide is what helmet
you feel safest and most comfortable with after you've read the makers
bullshit.

When I buy a helmet I don't have a problem with buying a more expensive
one for one main reason. It generally tends to last better. I do about
20,000 miles a year, if I were to buy a 100 quid helmet it would last me
hardly any time at all before it started to fall apart. Liners wear out
extremely fast on cheap lids and are not replaceable, vents fall off and
visor fittings aren't of the best quality on the cheaper lids.

Were you to buy something like an Arai RV at 210 quid, you get a lid
that will last for 5 years if you look after it. If you factor that
against a 100 quid lid that lasts you 18 months, the Arai suddenly
becomes good value for money, especially when you consider the added
safety aspect that it has.

Personally I wouldn't buy any helmet at 500 quid, I do think that is too
much, but there are good lids out there that will last 5 years and only
cost up to 300 notes. Arai, Shoei, Uvex and the more expensive HJCs come
to mind.

In closing, just remember one thing. If the helmet you buy doesn't fit
you properly, then you may as well not be wearing it no matter how much
it costs. I have posted a guide to helmet buying and fitting on here
before, if you can be bothered to google for it.

[1] I sent all the brand new AGV Ti-Techs back to the importer because I
refused to sell them at Hein Gericke. Three of them had paint faults,
and two of them split from the base up towards the visor aperture when
people were trying them on for size. The shells were almost toy-like in
structure, there was almost no substance at all in this area.

Bearing in mid this is AGV's flagship model, I was disgusted that their
quslity control had let paint faults through on so many lids and to let
2 helmets go out to one shop with dangerously thin shells was enough for
me to refuse to sell them.

 

When I bought a helmet the bloke in the shop wanted me to buy a
400 quid
one. He said that some cheaper helmets did not stand up to higher speed
crashes. If I hit anything solid above 40 mph I am in deep doo doos
anyway no ?

Is there any stats on how much difference a good helmet makes ?

I can undertsand platic plates in clothing for scraping on and leathers
to protect skin, but I would have thought the strength of a helmet
had limits defined by the sheer force/accelleration
a human body can cope with.

 

....was worse than mine. )

 

A company that can't control their quslities shouldn't be allowed to trade
IMHO.

 

Robin wrote

Bloke sa ****. Name names here and shop elsewhere.

 

Yeah, like a scooter

 

As long as it matches your leathers it a good one.

 

Lozzo was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

<snip lots of useful advice>

Listen to this man, he knows what he's on about.

 

Champ was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

I'm not back, I was there all the time. But by now you've got a decent
translation...

 

Ok. So now you know you cannot believe a single word the lying tw*t tells
you ever again dontchya? Which is in fact useful.

Short summary. You *should* get a new helmet every time you bang it into
anything. (Only the very rich and obsessive compulsive do this). But bang
for bang the (mostly cheap) Polycarbonate helmets are far more dangerous
than glass, Kevlar or carbon ones as the polycarbs can get network of
microscopic fractures after a bang which you can't see but may cause the
thing to fail in the next impact.

I *do* have a £400 Arai and its luvverly.

But for off-road I just (October) bought a triple laminate Shark (minus two
vents) at a show for £100


--
Nidge
ZX6R J2 Stunning in zit yellow. Bits of CB500S in Norwegian Parrot blue.
BOTAFOT#63

'Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand'.
(Homer Simpson).

 

Nidge said...

I've got one of those, but mine still has all the vents, luckily. They
aren't known for thier ability to keep the vents attached. I'm not
bothered cos I scammed mine for free, brand new.

--
Lozzo : The anti-Timo
ZZR1100D, GPZ500S, CB250RS x3
BOTAFOT#57/70a, BOTAFOF#57, two#49(suspended), MIB#22, TCP#7,
ANORAK#9, DIAABTCOD#14, UKRMT5BB, IBW#013, MIRTTH#15a/16,
BotToS#8, GP#2, SBS#10, SH#3, DFV#14, BONY#9.
Url for ukrm newbies : http://www.ukrm.net/faq/ukrmscbt.html
http://www.glfuk.com/ for MJK Leathers in the UK.