Helmets??

[Blue]

Which helmets do you guys use?

My arai is giving me earpain so i'm thinking of trying a Schuberth C3 Pro as they are advertised as the most silent ones?
I have a full screen on the shelve but dont like the looks of it.
So I'm sticking with the 2 small plexy squares 

[Bruce Fielding]

MC wrote a good guide in the members area:
http://www.atomclub.com/members-technical-guides/?id=3

[Alex Brandon-Smith]

I use a Bell helmet with the lower lip spoiler as it helps to keep the chin down as opposed to lifting the helmet as speed. Trackdays especially.

[smokin]

[quote="Alex BS"]
... keep the chin down as opposed to lifting the helmet as speed
[/quote]
What's known as helmet suck (titter, titter)

[quote="Blue"]
My arai is giving me earpain ...
[/quote]
Blue, do you where a balaclava with the helmet? I get ear trouble when I don't

[Peter255]

[quote="Alex BS"]
I use a Bell helmet with the lower lip spoiler as it helps to keep the chin down as opposed to lifting the helmet as speed. Trackdays especially.
[/quote]

SNAP. Same here.

[Oli1122]

I use a HJC RPHA10 Plus. Its silent (imho!) and light 1250gr.
Has an additional chin curtain with a spoiler and a double d strap.

I would never want to drive in a heavy helmet. It stresses your trap muscles a lot and you get quickly tired and distracted from driving.
The Schuberth C3 Pro is a heavy beast with 1560gr. 

The most important thing is fitment!!
Best thing to do is to go to a specialized helmet shop. Over here they provide the possibility to test drive different models and then choose the one what feels best for you.

[Spikey_head]

The three most important things with a lid are

1) the fit
2) the fit
3) the fit.

Unless it's a good fit, anything else is irrelevant.

[Steve Gibson]

[quote="Blue"]
My arai is giving me ear pain
[/quote]

Do you mean it's noisy or it's pressing on your ears?

[Bruce Fielding]

Everyone's head is a different shape, that's why there are a variety of helmets. Try on a few and see which feels best.

The article mentioned explains this, as well as getting a helmet to fit.

Also, bear in mind that in an Atom on the road a helmet is basically a hat. You could equally wear a paintball mask.

If you intend to do trackdays or racing only, then get a racing full face SNELL / ACU approved helmet.

If you want to use it on the road, then a motorcycle helmet is better because the aperture is wider.

If you have a motorcycle too, then you need to ensure that it really fits snugly and won't come off or do more damage if you have a spill.

And if you find that your helmet lifts at speed, you should wear a scarf of some sort to stop the wind getting inside the helmet. This doesn't happen so much on Atoms with gunsights, and not at all on those with... er... screens.

To answer the OP question, I have used Schuberth C series lids for ages as they are really quiet (currently a C3Pro - I wanted an R2D2 but it wasn't talking to me and the BB8 is too 'street'). I also have an Arai GP5W because it offers a wider aperture but they're a bit expensive.

If using the car on the road only you can go for a cheaper lid.

Hope this helps.

[Osky]

I bought this one: http://www.sparco.it/shop/it/racing/caschi/integrali/wtx-5w-h-003305

A Sparco WTX-5WH, where W means Wide for the large visor (is visor the right word?).
If you need, it has the Hans Clips too ... for the track day.

Cheap, confortable, with approval ... etc.

Only one bad point, imho: the difficult to clean the air intake on the top. After a run, you find inside everythings ...

Ciao
Osky

[mike746]

just my 2p... I race bikes and me personally find the arai rx7 to fit really well. its arai top of the range motorcycle helmet and even at close to 200mph on the bike its stable with little buffering.
Buy a lid that fits you well. i find that the car helmets aren't aerodynamic enough and unless your spending big money, i  would go with a bike lid all day long.

[Peter255]

I just wanted to second the comment on fit. DO NOT buy a helmet of the internet without trying it on first in a shop somewhere. Fit is critical to safety. The helmet should be a snug fit without discomfort. You should not be able to move your head inside the helmet.

AND buy the best lid you can reasonably afford. One day you might need its protection!

There is nothing wrong with quality bike or car helmets. I went for a car racing helmet as being designed for single seat race cars its ideal for the track days in the Atom I was aiming at. The aero application is perfect as the Atom. Rock solid to very high speed. You could get away with a somewhat lower spec helmet for just road use but I hit the track regularly these days so it made sense for me.

Its worth thinking about in-built comms options for touring if that's likely. Helmets with built in mics etc will be far easier to use with phone, music, satnav etc.

[Blue]

hahah thanks for the coments guys 

But I've been riding a sports bike for the past 20 years, trackcaring for about 15 years and I do indeed know the first thing is: FIT.

I would never ever buy a helmet online!!! (If I hadn't fitted it in a shop first)

I've always loved my Arai helmets and never looked back to the Shark/... others I had before.
But that's just since the Arai model fits my head perfectly and still does!

I was tempted to go for the Arai RX-7V the successor of the GP I have since it had some major improvements.
But then I reminded myself that after my last roadtrip I would never buy an Arai again due to the noise they make.

Hence why I went to 3 shops last week and fitted the Schuberts (as I heard they are soo quiet)
They do fit my head very nicely aswell and due to the design and the fact it's a system helmet (flipping front end)
if closes of the helmet alot better as the chin parts is huge and can be cause you have to open the helmet to put it on so if you close it, there is only room for your neck. (=less noise when on the road)

with normal integral helmets there needs to be a larger opening to be able to tuck your head in when putting the helmet on.


I've now made a deal with a shop that I can test the schubert C3 Pro in the Atom and If I'm happy I can buy it, otherwise can return it :-)

(I already wear custom earplugs but not a balaclava as I don't like that feeling)
Think i'm just getting old with my quest for a more quiet can, hahaha

[Blue]

The helmet will only be used in the Atom on the road (and sometimes trackdays)
but I can use my current Arai for trackdays if needed.
just want to get rid of the excessive noise

money isn't an object as all these helmets are in the same league.
Arai +- 799 euro
Schubert +- 599 euro


Bruce, I really like the Arai GP5W aswell but how does this compare to your Schuberth?
I'm afraid, being an Arai, it's the same as my current RX-7GP.


I would indeed also get these 2 options on whatever helmet i get:
HANS plugs for my hans device
communication for talking the misses (rather getting bullocking when we go out for a spin  )

for that the Schubert is also very nice...it gets the comm in the padding on the helmet itself. (buttons)
not on the side of the helmet like all others (making it prone to noise again)


weight of the schuberth is indeed 1570 but my current Arai is also 1500 so.... no pain for me.

[GraemeW]

Blue, let me know how you get on with the Schuberth C3 pro with respect to noise etc.  It's on my shortlist of helmets to buy.  I was very impressed with the quality and the fit was perfect.  The only problem is I don't have my atom yet to test the helmet for noise.  I want to know if the reduced noise is worth the premium over lower priced helmets I am looking at.  Thanks