Discussion
I am off on a track day soon & will need a shiny new helmet.
Any recommendations? I am thinking of going for open rather than full face since I wear specs & want to be able to see the gear stick & dials easily.
Prices seem to range from £75-300. I guess since I'm not a biker-nutter the £75 end will be ok.
Any recommendations? I am thinking of going for open rather than full face since I wear specs & want to be able to see the gear stick & dials easily.
Prices seem to range from £75-300. I guess since I'm not a biker-nutter the £75 end will be ok.
quote:
I am off on a track day soon & will need a shiny new helmet.
I was recently in the same position. I have now done a few track-days (still no expert) and have used the helmet I bought at all of them.
quote:
Any recommendations? I am thinking of going for open rather than full face since I wear specs & want to be able to see the gear stick & dials easily.
The advice I got at the time was get a full-face helmet. Your visibility isn't seriously reduced - although getting glasses on is a bugger. You have to put the helmet on first and then push the glasses in under the visor. I actually got a pair of special Adidas sports glasses which have have straight "arms" which don't foul on the lining of the helmet and just grip the side of your head instead of hooking around your ears. They go in just fine.
Why you want a full face is that if ever want to drive a single-seater or get on a bike a full-face helmet is a must. So its more flexible - you can use it for anything. Downside is that they are a little more claustrophobic - but try one and see.
quote:
Prices seem to range from £75-300. I guess since I'm not a biker-nutter the £75 end will be ok.
"Any" helmet conforming to the relevant British Standards (sorry can't remember the number) will protect your head properly - supposedly. The big difference is comfort. But I wouldn't take any chances with my one and only head myself. You won't regret buying quality. After all. You can use the helmet for 10years or one prang whichever is the sooner.
I bought a "Schoei" - which at around £280 was quite expensive. BUT!! Its *very* comfortable. LIGHT! (Which is important) and conforms to all the right standards.
Oh sh*t, I just typed masses of stuff in and my browser crashed 
Here's a summary...
Check what level standard you'll need. My guess is the gold sticker.
All helmets meet the same standard with the same sticker. Some supposedly exceed it but I have my doubts as to whether or not a profit lead company would spend money on something when they don't need to.
You pay more money for a quieter lid (although not always), better ventilation (which can cause more noise) and a better quality lining.
Noise shouldn't be an issue in a car unless the car is open in which case wearing a lid will make it sufficiently noisy that you should probably wear ear plugs. I wear ear plugs *all* the time on the bike.
Ventilation shouldn't be an issue as, unless your car is completely open, the helmet ventilation will only work as intended with a direct on-coming airflow (I imagine). Would you take off the visor when in a car? If so you'll get loads more ventilation from the gaping hole than you would from any vents.
Condensation on the visor (if you keep it) might be an issue on an helmet depending on the conditions and airflow. If you don't wear glasses I would invest in a foggy stick on thing which effectively double-glazes the visor and works very well. If you do wear glasses then a breath guard (I use a neoprene one) will do the job. Take your glasses with you and make sure you can get them on with your helmet on. I found some provide enough room and some don't. If you can run to some solid "joe-90" glasses with plastic lenses then they'll go under pretty much any helmet but the unbreakable bendy fold in half glasses will go in the front, fold around and go up your nose on some lids.
Make sure the visor sits solidly on the rubber seals, water on the outside is easily removed but water running up the inside is a pain in the *rse.
Linings compress more quickly on cheaper helmets and make them feel loose. Mine now feel loose but that's after about 15000 miles in about a year and a half but the wind buffeting my head probably makes this worse. My current helmet is a shoei rxr.
A removable and washable lining will make your 2nd track day a much more pleasant experience.
The most important consideration is fit, everything else is secondary. Get an assistant to help you choose a lid with the feature you want that fits. If you don't think the assistant is very helpful or isn't fitting your helmet correctly then go elsewhere.
Hope this helps even though it's from a biker's perpective.
(Let's see if I can post this without crashing my browser)
Mark
PS. Forgot about fastenings... helmets come with seatbelt type fastenings or double d-rings. Seatbelt types need adjusting once and then they are supposedly fixed, however, I have found that over time they loosen up and I only notice it is loose when I am doing mph on the A34 and I have to stop, take the helmet off and adjust the fastner. Double d-rings adjust to the right tightness everytime you put your lid on and you can adjust it with one hand on the move. I'll never buy a seatbelt type adjuster helmet again.
BTW, I wasn't endorsing the shoei rxr. Imo it's too heavy, the seals are cr*p, the seatbelt fastener is, by defintion sh*te, the lining has compressed a hell of a lot and isn't removable and it's unbelievably noisy considering how p*ss poor the ventilation is.
>> Edited by mhibbins on Friday 23 August 13:41
Here's a summary...
Check what level standard you'll need. My guess is the gold sticker.
All helmets meet the same standard with the same sticker. Some supposedly exceed it but I have my doubts as to whether or not a profit lead company would spend money on something when they don't need to.
You pay more money for a quieter lid (although not always), better ventilation (which can cause more noise) and a better quality lining.
Noise shouldn't be an issue in a car unless the car is open in which case wearing a lid will make it sufficiently noisy that you should probably wear ear plugs. I wear ear plugs *all* the time on the bike.
Ventilation shouldn't be an issue as, unless your car is completely open, the helmet ventilation will only work as intended with a direct on-coming airflow (I imagine). Would you take off the visor when in a car? If so you'll get loads more ventilation from the gaping hole than you would from any vents.
Condensation on the visor (if you keep it) might be an issue on an helmet depending on the conditions and airflow. If you don't wear glasses I would invest in a foggy stick on thing which effectively double-glazes the visor and works very well. If you do wear glasses then a breath guard (I use a neoprene one) will do the job. Take your glasses with you and make sure you can get them on with your helmet on. I found some provide enough room and some don't. If you can run to some solid "joe-90" glasses with plastic lenses then they'll go under pretty much any helmet but the unbreakable bendy fold in half glasses will go in the front, fold around and go up your nose on some lids.
Make sure the visor sits solidly on the rubber seals, water on the outside is easily removed but water running up the inside is a pain in the *rse.
Linings compress more quickly on cheaper helmets and make them feel loose. Mine now feel loose but that's after about 15000 miles in about a year and a half but the wind buffeting my head probably makes this worse. My current helmet is a shoei rxr.
A removable and washable lining will make your 2nd track day a much more pleasant experience.
The most important consideration is fit, everything else is secondary. Get an assistant to help you choose a lid with the feature you want that fits. If you don't think the assistant is very helpful or isn't fitting your helmet correctly then go elsewhere.
Hope this helps even though it's from a biker's perpective.
(Let's see if I can post this without crashing my browser)
Mark
PS. Forgot about fastenings... helmets come with seatbelt type fastenings or double d-rings. Seatbelt types need adjusting once and then they are supposedly fixed, however, I have found that over time they loosen up and I only notice it is loose when I am doing
BTW, I wasn't endorsing the shoei rxr. Imo it's too heavy, the seals are cr*p, the seatbelt fastener is, by defintion sh*te, the lining has compressed a hell of a lot and isn't removable and it's unbelievably noisy considering how p*ss poor the ventilation is.
>> Edited by mhibbins on Friday 23 August 13:41
Mark,
Thanks (your post did work!) excellent advice I had not thought about half of that.
I reckon I'll go to a bike shop, try a few and see how much they seem to know.
I have my sister's 15 year old 2 stroke moped that I have just put a new piston into & have not tested (or licensed & insured). If I get a helmet I suppose I could take on the 'lads' who ride around the park behind my house on their crap little two stokes every night......
On the other hand it has been in the kitchen for nearly a year now & really pisses off my housemate (she can't move from in front of the back door) so I might just leave it there.
>> Edited by pinbot on Friday 23 August 13:33
>> Edited by pinbot on Friday 23 August 13:36
Thanks (your post did work!) excellent advice I had not thought about half of that.
I reckon I'll go to a bike shop, try a few and see how much they seem to know.
I have my sister's 15 year old 2 stroke moped that I have just put a new piston into & have not tested (or licensed & insured). If I get a helmet I suppose I could take on the 'lads' who ride around the park behind my house on their crap little two stokes every night......
On the other hand it has been in the kitchen for nearly a year now & really pisses off my housemate (she can't move from in front of the back door) so I might just leave it there.
>> Edited by pinbot on Friday 23 August 13:33
>> Edited by pinbot on Friday 23 August 13:36
quote:Cool, that sounds fun
I have my sister's 15 year old 2 stroke moped that I have just put a new piston into & have not tested (or licensed & insured). If I get a helmet I suppose I could take on the 'lads' who ride around the park behind my house on their crap little two stokes every night......
One last thing before you attempt the jump over the 5 shopping trolleys though is that any biggish impact you helmet takes will effectively knacker it as the impact absorbing stuff is (I think) polystyrene and it won't spring back even if the polycarbonate helmet skin does. Believe it or not dropping it on a hard floor from waist height is probably enough to make me nervous about using it again just in case the bit that's compressed is the bit you rely on to save your noodle.
Good luck,
Mark
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