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There are no crumple zones on a motorcycle except for your helmet.
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Welcome to the Throttle and Roast podcast. I'm your host, Niels Meersschaert. In this episode, we'll be covering the most critical piece of safety gear on a motorcycle: the helmet.
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We'll break down the major categories of helmets, including some variations commonly found.
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We'll also cover head shapes and why finding the shape that matches your head is important.
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We'll cover the various safety ratings and some popular brands of helmets. Finally, we'll talk about features you might want on your next helmet and some recommendations. So break out your D ring and let's get started.
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So let's start with the major categories of helmets. And I'm going to start from sort of the lowest cost version. The one that really is is the. If you're just looking to get a technically legal lid, this would be the one that you would start with. And that's the half helmet. Now, typically these helmets only cover the area of your head above your ears. Now, the straps might partially cover your ears and they may have some softer material to avoid discomfort as they're interfering with your ears. They typically don't have a visor, so you'll need glasses or goggles for eye protection. And because they're relatively small, it's very easy to put these on.
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They're almost more like a baseball cap. Now, while these get a lot of airflow, which can be nice for hot weather, they're very loud with no noise dampening at all. And the next category takes what we have in the half helmet and just extend it a little bit more. And these are called three quarter helmets.
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And sometimes they're called open face helmets. And the reason is that it's covering the back of your head and your ears and the top of your head, but the face is pretty much wide open. These helmets, as a consequence, they're covering your ears. So that does provide a little bit more protection.
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And some sound and noise dampening as compared to a half helmet. And some models do support a visor, either one that buttons up to the top, which was sort of the old style of how helmets were done. And some of them that can also rotate up out of place. They're slightly harder to put on than a half helmet as you may need to stretch the sides to fit around your ears when you're putting them on. The next category is probably the most common helmet that you've seen around. And unlike the previous categories, these helmets have a chin bar that wraps around your face. And they're called full face as a consequence. All have visors that seal around the chin bar, providing a good amount of sound, dampening for wind noise. And these are the most protective of all helmets and are required for motorsport racing or even track days. And because the helmet is one solid piece, they can be a little bit harder to put on and squeeze around the ears Practice does make it easier though, as you slightly pull the side to part with the straps just to open up a little bit of that padding to be able to slip your head in. And after some practice, they're just as quick to put on as helmets with less coverage.
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Now, the last category I want to discuss is modular helmets.
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Sometimes these are called flip lids and they look like a full face helmet in the down position.
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But the chin bar can be flipped up to resemble a three quarter helmet. And because of this design, you put them on with the ease of a three quarter helmet.
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However, because you don't need as big of an opening to get your whole head through. When you close the chin bar, the helmet will close tighter around your neck, which provides even more wind isolation. As a result, these type of helmets tend to be the quietest helmets you can find. The other advantage is that you don't need to take the helmet off fully when you're at a stop. You can simply flip the chin bar up at a stoplight for some extra air or even when you're refueling. This is great for talking with fellow riders without having to fully remove your helmet. And these are very popular with commuters and those who run errands on their bike because they can quickly open the lid at a stoplight for some more airflow. Or keep the helmet on when running into a store.
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Simply lifting the chin bar to talk with anyone. Now, there are a few variations, One of which, of course, is a dirt bike helmet.
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Now, a dirt bike helmet will tend to have what's called a peak that sits on the top. And it's sort of like a sun visor built in. This can also provide some protection against roost for bikes that are in front of you there where they're kicking up dirt and it's going to run in and hit you right into the face so you can tilt your head down a little bit. It'll hit the the peak and therefore protect you a little bit. The chin bar is also pretty far away from your face.
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And this is to allow maximum amount of airflow. And the viewport is very large, large enough, in fact, for you to be able to put goggles in and then have the straps going on the outside of the helmet. In general, dirt bike helmets have no clear visor. You are expected to be using goggles. And with the relatively slow speeds on dirt and more physical exertion that you're doing, riding off road, that airflow is really paramount. So the wind noise on these helmets can be quite loud when you're running at a higher speed. But that's the tradeoff because you're oftentimes not going as quick on an off road situation as you would in a street situation. Now, most often these don't have specific safety ratings as they aren't required because they're not typically street legal helmets.
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But many of them have been starting to use a sort of a pattern called MIPS. And this is a sort of a movable inner liner that allows a bit of rotation of the helmet to reduce shocks in the event of a crash. And there's a few similar technologies from lead and from 6D. But MIPS is the one that's offered by most brands. The other variation I want to talk about is an adventure helmet.
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And if you think of it, these have become more popular just as adventure motorcycles have become more popular, they aim to split the difference between a street helmet and a dirt helmet.
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And so many of the characteristics of the dirt helmets carry over, such as the peak and more space to the chin guard. However, they're a bit of a shrunk down version where the peak is not quite as large as you may find onto a dirt helmet.
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And this allows them to work at a little bit of a higher speed than you would find in a typical dirt bike, because an ADV bike is going to probably be going at highway speeds on road.
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Additionally, they typically will have a clear visor allowing them to be used without goggles, and most of them do still support goggles to be used. And in fact, you can even use them with goggles, oftentimes with the visor still attached and just swept up. So this enables them to still be used just like dirt helmets on technical terrain, but use them in street situations as well. Now, the downside is much like what we have with dirt helmets where there is a lot more airflow and the peak, they will have a lot more noise compared to a full face or a modular helmet. And that peak can really catch wind, especially if you're doing a lane check. If you sort of turn your head off to one side to look at traffic coming from behind you, it can catch that wind and then suddenly put a lot of strain onto your neck so it can be more fatiguing for extended highway rides. So I do own one of these. I have an Arai XD-5 that I use on my BMW GS.
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However, if I'm mostly riding on pavement, I'll use another helmet instead. But the XD-5 is an amazing option to use if you're going to be doing more offroad or ADV situations where you're going to be at a slower speed and you really need that airflow just to keep from overheating when you're physically exerting yourself in in an off road situation.
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let's talk a little bit about head shape, making sure that you have the proper head shape for a helmet and that it's a good match for your head is critical. a mismatched helmet can cause hot spots where you'll feel pressure and eventually pain. If you've been riding it, riding with that helmet for quite a long time. You could also have a helmet which is too loose and moves around your head if it's not the right shape and it's not really holding on. it's important to make sure that you have the right alignment. And there's typically three major categories of head shape that you'll see. So if you look on any motorcycle helmet, you'll typically see it described as being one of these three shapes.
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So the first one is when we tend to think of our heads, we usually think of them as round in shape. But if you think of a perfect circle like Charlie Brown's head as an example from the cartoons, that's probably not what you have. So when we look at helmets that are described as round that are on the market, they're closer to a circle, but they're not a perfect circle. They're slightly more oval. And on the other end of the extreme, you'll see helmets that are described as being oval. And these are much longer front to back than side to side. And if you have a narrow, long head, this is probably the right fit for you.
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Splitting the difference is the intermediate oval. And most riders, certainly here in the United States, have this head shape. So many of the helmet models on the market will cater to it. But it's important to realize that these three shapes are all relative. There aren't clear shapes that are exactly the same across all manufacturers. So use your head shape. If you just take a picture of your head from the top and have a just, you know, does it look more round? Does it look more oval? Or is it somewhere in the middle? Use that as a starting point and find some helmets that match that particular sizing. And you may find that some brands shape fit you better than another brand. So maybe you're an intermediate oval and maybe you find one brand works really well for you, but the other one is just they're too tight or they're too wide. Whatever the difference is, they're not going to be perfect for you. the other critical thing is make sure that you get the right size. Most people, when they buy a helmet, tend to buy a helmet too big.
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And the reason is that they feel like, oh, it's too tight on my face. And it's, you know, as I'm moving the helmet around on my head, it's moving my cheeks.
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Well, it's supposed to do that that's showing that it is properly sized for your head.
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Now, if it's too small, you're going to feel really sharp pressure points. So it's not that you should have it just smushing your head completely, but it should be tight enough that it moves your face and moves your cheeks as you rotate the helmet on your head And it should have minimal movement also forward and aft so you don't really have it shifting and changing the viewport versus relative to your eyes. other thing to remember is that most helmets will break in over time, so they will get looser. So if you get it very loose to begin with in a few months or even a couple of years, that thing's going to be just flopping around on your head. So tend toward getting a helmet that is the right size, maybe slightly tight because it will loosen up over time.
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Okay. So we've got our helmets and we've determined what size or shape, rather, is the right one for us. And maybe the next thing we're going to look at is some of the safety ratings that are on the helmet.
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Now, typically, you'll see a sticker that will be on the back of the helmet and it'll have a acronym typically that's describing what safety standards that your helmet has been evaluated against. And here in the United States will typically see something that will say D. O.
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T. the stands for the Department of Transportation. And this is the United States government rating required for road use.
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And it focuses on three major areas impact attenuation, penetration and retention.
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Essentially what this does is it how much does it reduce the impact energy in the event of a crash? So is all of the energy in that being transferred all the way into your skull or some of it being spread out over a wider area, thus to attenuate some of that energy? This is what actually helps a helmet make it safer for you in the event of a crash. The other one is can a pointed object pierce the helmet. Now, obviously, if someone's coming at you with a javelin, very different thing, but it's more for, hey, if you're going to hit into like a pipe or something like that, is that likely to penetrate the helmet? So that's what it's trying to avoid. The last one is, does the helmet stay on? You have a strap that's supposed to be holding the helmet to your head. How easy is the helmet to roll off of your head? And as we talked about with sizing, if you have it too loose, it actually can be quite easy for the helmet to roll off. But the way that the geometry of the straps is designed into the helmet will actually minimize the likelihood of that. If it's properly sized for you. So those are sort of the main criteria that the D.O.T. is really looking at. of the things to consider is that this is self-certified. the manufacturer is just saying, yeah, we're DOT matching and there's even some novelty helmets on there which don't even begin to even attempt to do it. But they just slap a sticker on so that people can look like, Oh, I bought a helmet, It's legitimate. But more often than not, problem you're going to run into is even if it does have a dot sticker, it might not actually meet the requirements and therefore the level of and impact energy that's allowed can be greater than the standards that are required. So take it with a grain of salt. You really want to make sure if you're going to be relying only on a dot standard, make sure it's from a reputable manufacturer because they're more likely to actually evaluate those helmets.
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Otherwise, you may as well wear a baseball cap. They're oftentimes not going to really do much more for you. So just be very, very conscious of that.
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the next one that I want to talk about is ECE, and this is the European standard. the interesting thing is that the European standard tends to cover a broader gamut of the elements that you want to consider for safety of a helmet. So they cover areas like noise regulation. So is it too quiet so you can't hear emergency services or is it too loud such that you're going to just get tired and fatigued from all that wind noise? Does the helmet liner have a resistance to sweat and skin irritation? The chinstrap and the fastener strength, are they able to support a crash or are they just going to snap and fly off? They also evaluate the visibility through the shields and a more detailed impact reducing test.
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So their impact reducing, especially in 2206, which is the newer standard and includes rotational energy. So oftentimes in an accident you don't just land and just you hit one time and then you're done, you'll oftentimes be rotating. And so they're checking for that rotational energy. How much of that is transferred into the helmet? We talked about MIPS a little bit with the dirt bike helmets. This is really evaluating how much of that is dissipated as you wear it. The other thing that they'll do in an ECE rating is that they're going to check for higher impact speeds and for more impact points. If you have an accident, usually don't just have a single hit and then you're done. You may have a hit, you bounce, you roll hit again, you hit again, you hit again. So they're testing for multiple impact points and they'll even test it with accessories like comm unit.
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Is it going to cause more rotational energy? They're really kind of testing all of those things. And while ECE is not required for sale in the U.S., if you have a helmet that meets both ECE and DOT standards, you're probably going to be getting one of the safest options out there. the last one that I want to discuss is Snell.
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Now, Snell is an independent authority rather than a government standard. Both ECE and DOT are government standards.
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It's based in the United States.
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And it really began as a reaction to the far more lax DOT standard, and thus it is more rigorous. In fact, it's much more similar to the ECE standard.
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So if you're in the U.S. and you see that it has Snell and DOT certification, but not ECE, it will be closer to that ECE rating. And a lot of manufacturers, especially ones that sell both in Europe as well as in the United States, they may make slightly different helmets with slightly different materials for the U.S. market and for the European market in order to meet the standards for each of those. So if you get something that's Snell, you're going to be much closer to that ECE, even if the helmet that you prefer doesn't import their ECE helmet to the U.S.. One thing I'll say is if you are based in the United States, consider DOT the bare minimum standard and remember it is self-certified.
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So you could actually end up with a helmet that doesn't even meet the relatively lax DOT standards. So if possible, look for that helmet with an ECE or a Snell rating to ensure that you have the safest helmet And this has been independently evaluated in meeting those standards.
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Remember, there is no crash protection on a motorcycle. So all of your crumple zone is in that helmet. So you want to make sure that you've got something that is going to give you the best chance of any sort of injury situation. And obviously, we'd like to not have people die on the bike if we can avoid it.
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So making sure that you have that best standard is really the best way to do that I'm not going to cover every single brand that makes motorcycle helmet, but I'm going to hit on some of the bigger brands that are out there and give a little bit of an overview to see have something to help guide your choice as you're thinking up the next helmet for you to buy or maybe even your first helmet. So I'm going to start with Shoei. Now, this is one of the two major Japanese helmet makers. Shoei produces premium helmets ranging from three quarter helmets to full face dirt, bike, ADV and modular and the materials and finish on the Shoei Helmets are top grade and you can't go wrong with any of their lids. Now, my first helmet nearly 30 years ago was a Shoei, and I've had several since. Now, the other major or Japanese helmet maker is Arai.
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And what's interesting with Arai is all of their lids are handmade and their attention to safety and details from that is unmatched. While they do have a three quarter helmet, most of their lids are full face, dirt, bike or ADV. They don't have any modular helmets because they feel that they compromise the integrity of the safety too much due to that latching mechanism that allows the chin to flex up.
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And people will often say that if you have an Arai head, they are the ones to own. Generally they have intermediate oval head shapes, though the specific ratio is one that may or may not work for you. So you have to try it out and see how it fits.
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They've been a really good fit for me and thus most of my helmets over the years have been Arai. My last full face was an Arai Defiant and my current ADV lid is an Arai XD-5. Now the Italians are known for some beautiful bikes like the Vespa, the Moto Guzzi, and of course the top tier sport bike maker of Ducati. Safety gear is also made by the Italians and some of the best is probably the most premium helmet maker out there: AGV. And they tend to focus on sport riding. So almost all of their offerings are full face.
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And if you look at some of the top Superbike riders, many of them are wearing AGV helmets.
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Now, AlpineStars is another Italian brand well-known for their riding gear like jackets and boots, but they also make some premium race helmets and if you want to invest in something that looks amazing and is definitely meant for that track, they're another good option to check out. Bell is an American brand that has made helmets for decades, and they tend to fit a little bit more of a middle of the ground from a price point perspective. They're not the cheapest, but they're also not a premium option. They're a good overall option. And if you're on a Harley or an Indian and you want to only buy an American brand, they're a very popular option as well. Now another American brand that you might consider would be one called Klim. They're known for making outstanding gear, usually more towards the dirt oriented rider.
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So ADV and dirt bikes. Klim has a lot of gear that's within that and their helmets also tend to be in that line. The Klim Krios, for example, is a premium ADV lid that emphasizes low weight.
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And if you're in that dirt spectrum of the kind of bike that you want to ride, you should also look at Fly racing.
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They're almost exclusively in the offroad space, but they're a really good option if you ride dirt bikes. And here in the United States, there's probably another couple of brands that you've probably heard of and you may not realize where they're from or who owns them or what country they're even originating from. So the first one I'm going to mention is a company called Bilt. This is actually one of the store brands for Cycle Gear, but it's also carried by RevZilla. And the focus for Bilt is really about low cost. And so there's a lot of bargains to be found as you look through the Bilt catalog. They're not going to be a premium offering by any means. But if you're just trying if you're on a super, super budget Bilt, will have a lid that is probably going to work quite well for you. Now, there's another brand that's also from Cycle Gear and RevZilla, and it's called Sedici. Now, the name may sound more like it should be a premium Italian brand, like an AGV or an Alpine Stars, but it's just another value focused brand. But the style of their lids tends to be more toward a sport style or sport bike style. So if you're looking for a low cost option for your sport riding, they might be a good choice for you.
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we've covered brands, we've covered some of the safety ratings, and we've even covered some of the shapes that you want to look at for your helmet. But what are some features that you might want to consider as you're looking at what helmet is right for you? Well, the first one we'll start with is the strap buckles. This is actually the way that you secure the lid to your head. And in general, you're going to find one of two variants. most common one is called the D Ring. And this has two small rings that are shaped like the letter D, and they have a strap pass through them and then back around and through one of them in this creates the cinching to secure the helmet on your head. It's certainly the cheapest option And they do get some getting used to to be able to quickly manipulate them. Most of them have a tab to aid in loosening the strap. And the other advantage is that you can adjust them effectively infinitely depending upon how tight you want them against your neck. On the flip side, it is often near impossible to put these on or remove them while you're wearing your gloves and many riders have realized that they forgot to tighten the straps after they've put their gloves on. And then they do this mad dash of taking the gloves off, putting them on to the top of the bike and reattaching their helmet and tightening everything up. So it's one of the downsides of the D ring. But they are the most common one that you'll find out there. Now, the other one is a ratcheting mechanism. So one end of the strap has this plastic end with several teeth on it, and the other end has a buckle which has a sort of a cam that will go and grab those teeth and hold it securely. if you think of a zip tie, it sort of works in that same idea of you're pushing it through and then it's just going to grab and hold it to that position so it won't allow it to loosen. And like a D ring, there's a small tab that you pull in order to remove that clasp from the teeth and allow the buckle essentially to be opened up. But the biggest advantage of this style It's really easy to actually do this with your gloves on and that makes it really convenient The downside, though, is that there's a finite number of teeth, so this can limit your adjustment, although in most cases the number of teeth that you have is probably plenty for most riders. But I do want to just point out that you have a little bit more flexibility with a typical D ring. The next thing that you want to look at is when you're getting a helmet, specifically, really a full face or modular helmet, you're going to be looking at the vents that are on the helmet because this is going to help you with getting more airflow into the helmet area. One of the advantages of a half helmet or a three quarter helmet is that since you don't really have a full helmet, you're getting a tremendous amount of airflow So when you have a full face, you want to make sure that you have vents that you can adjust to ensure that you have the airflow appropriate to the temperatures and the first kind of vent they'll have and this is on most full face or modular helmets will at least have this vent is a chin vent, and this vent on the chin just allows the airflow to come directly into where it's hitting this helmet and then just pass through into the helmet's interior. They tend to flow a lot of air and they will direct the flow of air up over the surface of the visor to help with almost like a defrost or so if you've had a little bit of a colder condition outside you know your visors now starting to fog up a little bit because of your breath, this can actually help to eliminate that by having some of the cold air equalize the temperature onto the visor lid. So kind of cool. another kind of vent that you're going to have would be a head vent.
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And these are typically actuated by one or maybe two controls near the front top of the helmet.
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And some offer a single large sliding vent that's really easy to adjust with your gloves on and others will have a pair of smaller switches that you can use to open or close the inlets of air, better quality helmets will actually flow this air to a couple of channels in the lining that allow the airflow to go over the full length of your head. So I'll actually go over kind of looks almost like leaving a mohawk in the middle with the two channels of air going over your head and then comes to an exit at the back side of the helmet. The really nice thing about this is that the good quality helmets will also make sure that the air doesn't become turbulent in that situation. So it's not going to induce extra noise, but it's just getting a lot of airflow and your head is where most of the heat is. So as you're getting the top of your head, especially getting the airflow coming over there, it can really make you feel more comfortable in very hot weather. now another kind of vent that you might see is a brow vent. These are really common on Arai helmets. And what they are is two little vents that are sitting at the top of your visor and they'll direct air to your brow and your temples, which are often had hot points So it's surprising how effective these can be. Now, I mentioned it in passing, but another thing that some helmets will have are exhaust vents. So these will be towards the back of the helmet and some helmets will have a passive exhaust vent where they're always open. And essentially the flow of air around the helmet creates a bit of a vacuum, which sucks the air out of the helmet from that backside. And some allow you to open or close the vents and some may have several different exhaust vents. And this is great for adjusting the temperature you feel inside the helmet, especially if you ride in some cooler temperatures where you may not want all of that airflow.
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And having the ability to close the vents is great. Where I am right now in the northeast, it's still winter. I mean, it's little warmer this week, but I was riding last week and it was 30 degrees Fahrenheit, which is close to zero Celsius. I did not want to be having a wide open all of the vents and certainly wouldn't have even considered doing it with a half helmet or a three quarter helmet. It would just be too cold in those temperatures for it. So having the ability to adjust your vents and really have that fine tuning of the temperature that you feel inside of the helmet is really a phenomenal feature to look for in a helmet. We talked about face shields. One of the things that you might also look for when you're looking at a helmet is a helmet that has a quick release face shield. And this can make it easy to remove and add in a face shield. Most face shields tend to be clear, but many brands offer them in various tints to cut down on light. They act like sunglasses.
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So in very, very hot, bright summer days, you might want to have a darker tint face shield and be able to quickly swap that out is very helpful. Of course, the conditions can change, so if it starts to get a little darker or gets a little bit overcast, you may want to switch out that dark tint for a lighter tint or even a clearer one. So having that ability to quickly change the face shield is an advantage.
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And there's actually even a bit of a pricier option. But this is a way that you can avoid the need to change your face shield.
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Is there is photo chromatic face shields. What these will do is they will automatically darken or lighten based upon the exterior light conditions. this can make it really easy to adjust they are quite expensive.
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The other downside with them is the speed at which they can change the tint may not be as fast as you would like. So for example, if you were dealing with rapidly changing lighting conditions, you're riding through an area where there's trees on either side and they're covering it and creating almost like a tunnel. So the light's not coming through as much. It may feel a little darker, or if you go into an actual tunnel, it may not lighten up quickly enough for you to be able to see adequately and you may need to flip your visor up. So just one of the downsides with the photo chromatic. But if you're generally riding outside in varying conditions, they're actually a really nice feature.
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Now, some helmets will even have what's called an internal sun shield. And this is effectively a little shield that'll drop down from the top of the helmet behind the main visor, but in front of your eyes. And what this allows you to do is just make it a little bit darker when you need. And this usually actuated by a little lever on the left hand side of the helmet.
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So you're using your clutch hand because you're not usually using that and you want to have your right hand available for the brake. So that's why it's on the left side. And what this does is it makes it super easy to be able to have that instantaneous change. You talked about the photochromatic lenses and how they can be a little slow to change. This can allow you to instantly make it dark or instantly make it light as you need to. So you kind of get the advantage of putting on those darker tint face shields, but also the ability to instantly switch back to a normal one. So they're kind of a really nice balancing act. They tend to only be on modular helmets, but they are an added benefit for them is that when you're riding with the chin bar up, oftentimes at like slow speeds, you can still have some eye protection because you can bring that secondary interior sun shield down just to provide a little bit of protection for your eyes. more premium helmets and shields will be pin lock ready or even and include a pin lock in the box.
00:32:31.737 --> 00:34:18.393
And the name derives from the way in which it is attached to the shield. There's two pins on either side of the shield and it sort of slots into those and holds that in place. And fundamentally, the way to think of a pin lock is it's a double glazed window. if you think of it, it's really it's an optical piece of plastic with a small shoulder around the exterior that allows it to sit just slightly away from the main shield and then contain a small volume of air. So if you know what a double glazed window is, you've got two pieces of glass and inside is air. And that air is in creating a thermal layer that's sitting there. The pin lock is doing the exact same thing. And as a consequence, this avoids the face shield from fogging because you're keeping that piece of air sitting behind there and you're not allowing your breath to get right against the face shield. And it's not covering the entire face shield, but it covers the major area that you're looking through. So especially if you're riding in weather, that may not be perfect, whether it's cold weather where you can have fogging, that naturally happens just from your breath or even during rain, where there's more likelihood for more moisture. And this is going to create a more of a fogging effect. Having a pin lock really makes a big difference. So people who are riding long distance people are commuting every day. PIN lock is probably a must have. I would say. Now another feature you might look for is more modern helmets have especially on the premium end will have cutouts in the EPS liner for speakers to be put right near your ears. So if you're using like a Bluetooth intercom unit, we talked about those in an earlier episode.
00:34:14.699 --> 00:35:03.856
These allow you to very simply put the speakers in place. And because they have that cutout, you don't have it pushing into your ears. Whereas if you did it with like an older design where you just kind of stuck the speaker on top of the liner that was there, the speakers now are closing the space on either side of your head and that can put a little bit of pressure onto there. It can make a little just, you know, uncomfortable as you're riding with having the speakers pushed directly against your ears. So having a cutout can actually give you the advantage of being able to still have a speaker system, but without taking up space in your helmet. And as a result, having that relief built into the helmet makes adding in aftermarket speakers much more viable. So if you're ever considering adding in a comm unit make sure that the helmet that you pick has these cutouts.
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And of course the natural progression from having speaker cutouts is to have a helmet that actually has a fully integrated comm system. one advantage of these is that you don't have this giant unit sitting on the side of your helmet where it might be, you know, catching wind and twisting your head off to the side. They can actually be mounted much more discretely into the helmet and that can reduce turbulence, can make it a much more comfortable and it can also make it be a little bit more stealth. You don't have this giant thing that's yelling, I've got an expensive piece of electronic on the side of my helmet. the other thing that they'll have is the antenna for the intercom setup is spread throughout the helmet. So it doesn't have just this one little thing sticking up on the side. And this can actually aid in range and give you more range if you're trying to do extended intercom with other riders who are a little bit further away.
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So it's kind of a nice thing.
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You'll usually see these sort of integrated comm units come in one of two variants. One of them is a system that you can buy and add to your helmet and it comes with the speakers and the microphone included, and you essentially just install the speakers as you would if it was an aftermarket one. But the big advantage for here with the integrated is they definitely will have the cutouts for where the speakers would go, but they'll also usually have a almost like a bay where you can put the electronics for the com unit and therefore it's not sticking way out from the side of the helmet. So that's that's one way that you can get it. The second way is where you essentially buy the helmet and it already has some of the elements in the helmet to begin with. So Schuberth is really common with this. So the mic in the speakers, when you buy a Schuberth modular helmet today, they're already in the helmet, as is the antenna. The only thing you'd need to do is buy the comm unit and you pop it into this module. There's a couple of electrical connections there and that allows it to then connect in to the existent speakers and microphone that's in there. So if you want to add in a comm system, it is the absolutely easiest you can go from. I have no comm system to I have a comm system in a couple of minutes. Whereas if you've got to take the liner out, you got to put the speakers in. It's a much more involved scenario.
00:37:19.150 --> 00:37:40.626
from an ease of use perspective of installation, certainly the Schuberth system tends to be pretty easy. So we've talked about a number of the features that you might want to consider as you're looking at a helmet and you might be looking at the range of helmets and maybe you're seeing that why are some helmets as cheap as like $40?
00:37:40.626 --> 00:38:07.309
And then there's other ones that are over $1,000. Now, typically, the reason is that usually the really, really cheap helmets tend to be like half helmets or three quarter helmets. So the lack of materials does help to keep the cost down. But they also won't have features like face shields or comm units or vents or any of the other things that can add a little bit more complexity into the environment.
00:38:03.032 --> 00:38:20.246
But as you get into full face helmets, you can still find some helmets there that are as cheap as like maybe 100, $130. So why are those helmets so much cheaper than some other ones?
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Well, in a word, comfort, cheaper helmets have to cut costs somewhere. And they often do this by eliminating some of the features that I've just highlighted, like venting or, you know, anything to aid in your comfort. The lining will oftentimes be a cheaper, rougher material that's not as soft against your skin. So it's going to be a little bit more uncomfortable as you're riding for longer periods. But the big one and you won't notice this just from looking at the helmet from the outside is actually weight. Cheaper helmets will usually weigh more than a premium helmet with similar features in the same size. And the reason why this matters is you're supporting that weight on your head. So your neck is now having to support not just the weight of your head, but also the weight of the helmet. And in a longer ride, having all that extra weight on there can become fatiguing. This is why riders who are riding all the time will be more willing to pay a bit of a premium to have a lighter weight helmet because it's going to keep their fatigue level in check. Now, if you only ride for 30 minutes at a go, a cheap helmet might be the right choice.
00:39:29.293 --> 00:39:51.282
It's not necessarily that they are less safe. So I want to I want to avoid that sort of misconception because people say, oh, you have to spend the money to get a safe helmet. No, I mean, you could have an ECE rated helmet that's not expensive and you could have a very expensive helmet that's also ECE rated.
00:39:46.873 --> 00:40:07.181
What you're paying for is the comfort. You're paying for all those other features. You're paying for that weight. if you want to ride longer, you probably do want to invest into a more premium helmet. But if you're just riding for like 20, 30 minutes to go the cheap helmets, absolutely fine.
00:40:10.947 --> 00:40:38.967
So let's dive into some of the recommendations that I would make. First thing I'll say is skip the half helmets. Now, while these helmets are popular with riders who object to having to wear a helmet at all. Their minimal coverage limits their safety benefits. And the funny thing is, if you think of it, they're kind of like a baseball cap. And so they're really only covering the top of your head.
00:40:33.431 --> 00:40:50.144
The problem is only about 35% of impacts in a crash are in the areas that a half helmet protects. So nearly two thirds of the impacts that you would have in a motorcycle accident, you would have zero protection.
00:40:51.077 --> 00:41:08.166
while this might impact some of your fashion sense, the trade off isn't worth it. Remember, there is no crumple zone on a motorcycle. Your helmet is the only one. So skip the half helmets. Don't even bother.
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three quarter helmets still miss the mark. While they might seem to be a reasonable balance between a full face and a half helmet. Roughly 35% of all the impacts in a crash are in the chin area, and neither the open face nor a three quarter helmet or a half helmet is going to provide any protection or coverage in the chin area. And major facial injuries can occur due that lack of coverage. You could have complete destruction of the lower jaw from this. And it's 35% of all impacts are in that area and you have nothing protecting you. So to me, three quarter helmets, again, they look cool if you like that style, but I don't think that they're a worthwhile compromise. And the reason why it's probably the most popular is because of that added coverage. And that's the full face helmet. And this provides the max amount of coverage in the event of an accident. It is your crumple zone. So if you plan on going to a track at all, a full face is really going to be the only option that they'll even let you get on the track with. and there's a ton of options for full face helmets. as I've said, I have a really great experience with a Arai both in their ADV and in their traditional full face lids. They are a premium option, but if the shape of an Arai helmet is right for you and you've tried them and you've owned one, it's really hard to go and look at other brands because it's just such a great, great quality helmet. It's so comfortable. It's awesome. But there are still other brands that we talked about that still can be the right fit for you And if you're really pressed on that budget, I mentioned a couple of the brands like Bilt and Sedici.
00:42:44.173 --> 00:43:40.824
These do tend to be the cheapest helmets that are out there. And therefore if you're really on that budget, they are worth doing. But I would say if you can swing just a little bit more, I'd probably go a little bit more upmarket and look at maybe like Bell. Bell helmets tend to be a really good bang for buck option. They're not going to be as heavy as the Bilt or the Sedici helmets will be. They're just going have a little bit more of a premium feel to them than you'd get in that really budget basement, sort of a helmet. You don't have to get the top tier helmets by any means, but I'd say a bell is probably a good middle of the road one. If you're going to do any sort of a full face helmet now, my personal preference is actually modular helmets for most street riding. And the reason is, is that the ability to be able to raise the lid while at a fuel stop to take a drink or to have a conversation is just incredibly powerful.
00:43:41.275 --> 00:43:55.695
Plus, if you want, when you're in slow moving traffic, you just flip up the lid and now you effectively have a three quarter lid helmet so you can get some airflow in there. When you're moving at really slow speeds.
00:43:51.565 --> 00:44:44.282
And thing is, because of the impact reasons that I discussed earlier, I really would only suggest maybe flipping this up when you're stopped or at relatively slow speeds just for that airflow. But this flexibility of the lid really makes it a very compelling option, especially if you ride a lot. However, the added complexity from the movement design can add some weight and cost. And while there are a few low cost modular helmet options for less than $200, the two most popular models, the Shoei Neotec 3 and the Schuberth C5, are at least $750 and $900 in the case of the Shoei. Now, I've owned both brands first with an earlier Schuberth C3, and then in Neotec 2. And I loved my C3.
00:44:44.282 --> 00:45:42.628
I found it was the most comfortable helmet I'd ever owned, but I wanted to give the Shoei a try. And unfortunately for me, the Neotec wasn't the right head shape for me and ended up being the least comfortable helmet that I've ever owned. It is still an intermediate oval, but as I said, there's subtleties and so you can have a helmet that is in the right range but is just not quite to match. And I found for me just a little bit too narrow, it's just slightly narrower than a couple of other helmets. It's not a bad lid by any means. And if it fits your head, it has all of the features that you would want. It's a really good quality helmet and all of the premium features that you would want in that sort of a price point. But what I ended up doing more recently is I actually switched back to a Schuberth. Now I'm using a C5 and this also has that comm unit that I reference.
00:45:40.139 --> 00:46:24.242
So you can very quickly pop that in. It literally took 2 minutes to install the comm unit and I was like, Wait, I'm done. That was easy. But for me, the Schuberth fit me perfectly. So you have to try out the helmet and see what fits for you. But the reality is, is that the average rider in the U.S. rides less than a thousand miles a year. So if you're in that group, it's really, really hard to see the value in splurging on a premium modular lid like that Neotec or that Schuberth. But if you look at most long distance or commuting riders, a lot of them are riding on modular helmets and there's a reason for it. They're really, really awesome.
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let's wrap up. We've covered some of the big categories of helmets ranging from half helmets to modular helmets. We also discussed the shape of helmets ranging from round to oval and the most popular intermediate oval in the middle. We talked about several brands of helmets like Shoei, Arai, Bell. We also discussed some features that you might find on helmets ranging from strap styles to venting to shields and of course, comfort and weight. And finally, I shared some of my recommendations and how I'm personally a big fan of the modular helmet. so my question for you is, what is your favorite helmet and why? Share your thoughts with the text to show link in the show notes or leave us a voicemail at throttle and roast dot com slash voicemail. Thanks for listening.
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I'll talk to you next week.
