Helmet Fitting Woes

[jonindorset]

Bought a medium size Nolan N87 about 12 months ago having always worn large size Shoei in the past. I found the Nolan a better more secure fit in spite of needing to replace the cheek pads in my old XR1100 in order to try to achieve a snug fit in that. I found the XR1100 never fit as well as my older Raid II.

I'm now doing many more longer journeys - up to about 2 hours. The Nolan was a perfect comfortable fit for up to an hour but I'm finding longer than that, it's agony pressing against my temple.

I seem to be generally in-between a medium and a large, definitely more towards medium in European helmets. I guess I need to bite the bullet and find another helmet, I'm just scared of buying another helmet that only becomes incredibly uncomfortable after 1 hour plus...

Any thoughts about other brands/things to try or whether to literally keep a helmet on for a full hour in helmet city or somewhere to find out whether it's really a good fit?!

[Zarco]

No alternative but to go try on helmets really. 1hr test in the shop sounds a bit excessive! Problem is it should feel slightly too tight new as the padding will wear in a bit.

I think you know all that.

[black-k1]

If the discomfort is just around the temples then another option is to remove a small amount of the polystyrene around that area. Where the helmet shell is the same size then the difference in helmet size is achieved by adding more polystyrene.

[SAS Tom]

black-k1 said:

If the discomfort is just around the temples then another option is to remove a small amount of the polystyrene around that area. Where the helmet shell is the same size then the difference in helmet size is achieved by adding more polystyrene.

No it isn’t. It’s achieved with different thickness padding. 1 shell size has 1 eps size then different padding sizes. That’s why you can easily convert most helmets from one size to another.

OP it would be worth speaking to the shop you bought it from and seeing if you can get the skull cap for a size large. That should solve the issue provided the helmet is the correct shape.

[terry tibbs]

i did this with my shoei gt air, comes with pad thicknesses in the middle of the range

just got the thicker original pads, helmet fits superbly cost over £100 to do

manufacturers ought to let you do this when you buy it but then i suppose there would be opened packets of padding all over the place

[black-k1]

SAS Tom said:

black-k1 said:

If the discomfort is just around the temples then another option is to remove a small amount of the polystyrene around that area. Where the helmet shell is the same size then the difference in helmet size is achieved by adding more polystyrene.

No it isn’t. It’s achieved with different thickness padding. 1 shell size has 1 eps size then different padding sizes. That’s why you can easily convert most helmets from one size to another.

OP it would be worth speaking to the shop you bought it from and seeing if you can get the skull cap for a size large. That should solve the issue provided the helmet is the correct shape.

Both approaches are used, one as part of the manufacturing process, and one as part of the finishing/fit process.

Web Bike World said:

One of the differences between “cheap” helmets and a quality helmet is that a quality EPS liner is specifically engineered and designed for each different head size.

So instead of using a generic EPS liner in every helmet, Nolan engineers the specific densities, thickness and liner shape based on the helmet type and size.

(my bold)

https://www.webbikeworld.com/how-to-make-a-motorcy...

[SAS Tom]

terry tibbs said:

i did this with my shoei gt air, comes with pad thicknesses in the middle of the range

just got the thicker original pads, helmet fits superbly cost over £100 to do

manufacturers ought to let you do this when you buy it but then i suppose there would be opened packets of padding all over the place

Shoei and Arai do offer this at the point of purchase so if you’re in the shop buying the helmet and think it needs adjusting then it can be done free of charge.

[SAS Tom]

black-k1 said:

SAS Tom said:

black-k1 said:

If the discomfort is just around the temples then another option is to remove a small amount of the polystyrene around that area. Where the helmet shell is the same size then the difference in helmet size is achieved by adding more polystyrene.

No it isn’t. It’s achieved with different thickness padding. 1 shell size has 1 eps size then different padding sizes. That’s why you can easily convert most helmets from one size to another.

OP it would be worth speaking to the shop you bought it from and seeing if you can get the skull cap for a size large. That should solve the issue provided the helmet is the correct shape.

Both approaches are used, one as part of the manufacturing process, and one as part of the finishing/fit process.

Web Bike World said:

One of the differences between “cheap” helmets and a quality helmet is that a quality EPS liner is specifically engineered and designed for each different head size.

So instead of using a generic EPS liner in every helmet, Nolan engineers the specific densities, thickness and liner shape based on the helmet type and size.

(my bold)

https://www.webbikeworld.com/how-to-make-a-motorcy...

They do that for a range of sizes not for a single size. To do it for each individual size would mean that they would have to make padding for each individual size which wouldn’t make sense cost wise for them. Plus the R&D costs for up to 7 eps liners rather than 2 or 3.

An example would be the Schuberth C3. There are 2 shell sizes XS-L and XL-3XL. The shell and EPS are the same for any of the sizes within one of the ranges and there is a different thickness padding for each individual size. Where you can’t change as an example would be between L and XL. You can’t make the L any bigger nor can you make the XL smaller. It’s a similar issue between MS and ML in AGV helmets.

Depending on the helmet manufacturer and type there could be between 2 and 4 sizes using the same shell and EPS. Obviously the cheaper helmets use 1 shell and eps and just keep padding it out for smaller sizes.

There is a link between the thickness of the eps and how much energy it can manage so taking bits of it out should be avoided.