to your local bike shop & get one.
You can try it on, get advice and you
might even be surprised because it's
no dearer.
You will also be helping local business.
GeorgeM
Looking to buy a helmet for use in the indy - more for escaping the wind than anything else.
BUT, is there anything to be aware of in terms of standards etc? It will get used for track days too but no competition use.
You can get £30 bike helmets on ebay that look alright, but surely there's a reason they're so cheap as against £200 etc?
acu gold helmets are approved for bike racing. my helmet was £50, with acu gold. not sure why its cheaper than others, except maybe they don't but in the time in aerodynamics etc? certainly shouldn't be any less safe ("shouldn't" be) i wouldn't buy one off ebay though.
I bought a couple off ebay and I have found them to be fine. End of line or old colours perhaps? Not being a biker, wouldn't know what to look
for, but they had a BMS gold sticker on them!
Link added:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390040397255
[Edited on 28/4/09 by slimtater]
had a look at the ones in Aldi, very thin shells and very basic design but better than nothing in a car
I've also got a £50 bike helmet which is fine for normal road driving and the few track days that I have done. It has got bike standards stickers, but be aware that MotorSport Vision (MSV) tracks are apparently demanding car motorsports stadnards for helmets which (most? all?) bike helmets will not meet. See e.g. here or here (though I couldn't find anything on the MSV site itself???)
Just as a point - please, please, please never buy a second hand helmet off anyone, especially ebay. You may need it to save your nut one day!!! the
day you need it will be the day that you regretted saving that £50 cause its second hand, dropped, kicked and unsafe, and as you bounce down the
tarmac head first you will remember these words for a few brief seconds until it fails - and then you will spend the rest of your life drinking
through a straw, dribbling and pissing in a bag.
Thank you for reading this important H&S message........
quote:
Originally posted by smalltalk
Just as a point - please, please, please never buy a second hand helmet off anyone, especially ebay. You may need it to save your nut one day!!! the day you need it will be the day that you regretted saving that £50 cause its second hand, dropped, kicked and unsafe, and as you bounce down the tarmac head first you will remember these words for a few brief seconds until it fails - and then you will spend the rest of your life drinking through a straw, dribbling and pissing in a bag.
Thank you for reading this important H&S message........
I dont disagree with your comments but second hand is an unknown quantity. Would you be prepared to take a chance for the sake of a couple of quid!! I
wouldn't. All I am saying is that if you know the history you dont have that worry whilst slamming head first in to the black stuff. For all the
corners that can be cut you should'nt when it comes to crash hats. The only people who should disagree are the second hand sellers. Personally I
have never sold or gave away any lid, once i have finished with it, after crashing, it goes where it should, the bin. - by the way i am not a retailer
of such things, or an anal H&S moron, just someone concerned that people would think that ebay crash hats are OK. At the end of the day its your
life.
I have also been known, on more than one occassion, to drop my lid, give a little kick, and roll about on the concrete. But its known damage, I have
had the inconvience of bouncing down the road head first, a few times i am sorry to say, and it was the lid that saved my life.
quote:
Originally posted by smalltalk
I dont disagree with your comments but second hand is an unknown quantity. Would you be prepared to take a chance for the sake of a couple of quid!! I wouldn't. All I am saying is that if you know the history you dont have that worry whilst slamming head first in to the black stuff. For all the corners that can be cut you should'nt when it comes to crash hats. The only people who should disagree are the second hand sellers. Personally I have never sold or gave away any lid, once i have finished with it, after crashing, it goes where it should, the bin. - by the way i am not a retailer of such things, or an anal H&S moron, just someone concerned that people would think that ebay crash hats are OK. At the end of the day its your life.
I have also been known, on more than one occassion, to drop my lid, give a little kick, and roll about on the concrete. But its known damage, I have had the inconvience of bouncing down the road head first, a few times i am sorry to say, and it was the lid that saved my life.
i,m an ex semi pro bike racer & think that if a helmet has been dropped there are other factors to consider such as speed it was traveling before
impact etc, as has been said a helmet dropped lets say off a table onto the floor may not be damaged but a helmet dropped /thrown (in anger ) at a
hard surface will probably suffer in some way,
i,ll be honest & admit i have dropped a race helmet & then used it in a race & crashed whilst wearing it & my head was protected but
then that particular helmet went on the trophy shelf with chin straps cut out so could never be used again.
my thoughts on this is to know the history of the lid, if in doubt look for another helmet from a supplier you can trust.
IMO of course
andy
I'm sourcing out a few helmets for my toy as well, mainly as you say or keeping the wind off and crap out fo my face when I'm on the main
roads on long journeys.
Personally I wouldn't buy 2nd hand, mainly for the lack of history behind a used helmet. That saying, if one was given to me by a close friend,
I wouldn't turn it down.
For use when driving a 7/equivelant, it's not the impact resistance you're looking for, as when you'd be wearing it on a bike.
Obviously if the helmet was cracked or scraped after an apparent accident, I'd avoid it. So I'm looking for new units on ebay. I know some
are mega bucks, and I really don't think when I'm sat in my car, I really need all the protection they're offering!
As such, I think I'll be looking to spend somewhere between £50-100 on a helmet for me (new) on the 'bay.
quote:
Originally posted by handyandy
i,m an ex semi pro bike racer & think that if a helmet has been dropped there are other factors to consider such as speed it was traveling before impact etc, as has been said a helmet dropped lets say off a table onto the floor may not be damaged but a helmet dropped /thrown (in anger ) at a hard surface will probably suffer in some way,
i,ll be honest & admit i have dropped a race helmet & then used it in a race & crashed whilst wearing it & my head was protected but then that particular helmet went on the trophy shelf with chin straps cut out so could never be used again.
my thoughts on this is to know the history of the lid, if in doubt look for another helmet from a supplier you can trust.
IMO of course
andy
If you're going to spend £50-£100, go
to your local bike shop & get one.
You can try it on, get advice and you
might even be surprised because it's
no dearer.
You will also be helping local business.
GeorgeM
If you go to the really big bike shops you might find some 'end-of-line' bargains - last year's design, etc. I bought a Takachi helmet
at M&P in Gorseinon for £40 - that model was £140 last year, and is still around 180 Euros in Germany! They had others at prices between £25 and
£50.
Note that you do get what you pay for, mostly in 'fit and finish'. The Takachi is OK, but my Caberg is better made. Also, the Caberg
doesn't try to lift at speed, but the Takachi does. The only reason I bought a new one was because of the wind noise on the flip-front Caberg.
I've crashed plenty, one crash involved one whole side of my lid grinding away to the inner core as I slid down the road on my face.
I understand things perfectly, I just have my own informed opinion on the situation which isn't the same as the majority.
quote:
Originally posted by smalltalk
quote:
Originally posted by handyandy
i,m an ex semi pro bike racer & think that if a helmet has been dropped there are other factors to consider such as speed it was traveling before impact etc, as has been said a helmet dropped lets say off a table onto the floor may not be damaged but a helmet dropped /thrown (in anger ) at a hard surface will probably suffer in some way,
i,ll be honest & admit i have dropped a race helmet & then used it in a race & crashed whilst wearing it & my head was protected but then that particular helmet went on the trophy shelf with chin straps cut out so could never be used again.
my thoughts on this is to know the history of the lid, if in doubt look for another helmet from a supplier you can trust.
IMO of course
andy
Well said Andy
Until you have had your life saved by the lid you will never truly understand why I push this point so strongly. Not for profit or H&S, just life.
People please consider carefully when buying any safety gear. You may need it one day.
Well, what can I say, I only bought a helmet to keep the wind and leaves/debris off my face when driving.
I also wanted one for skydiving that I do, so managed to get a full face skydiving one that works really well for driving.
link here:skydiving helmet
Not sure on safety aspect though but to keep the crap off my face, it works great! Also looks pretty cool
I got mine at a local bike shop, last years Shark for ess than half price. Bargain.