BILT Techno helmet

Looking at getting a BILT Techno helmet from Cyclegear. Anyone have opinions on this if they have one, and will a L or XL fit in the Frunk? Right now I have a modular helmet (which is nice because I wear glasses and I don't have to remove them to put on my helmet) but I would like BT. There is a Cyclegear in St. Louis so I can go by and try it on, but I won't be able to see if it will fit in the Frunk as I won't ride my bike in St. Louis (yet...still a novice). For $159, it looks like a nice helmet, but I want something that I can hear without a lot of wind noise. My current helmet (XL) is great, but I have to wear ear buds w/ MP3. If I didn't have ear plugs/buds, the wind noise is WAY too much.

Thanks,
Rob

Hmm, a helmet quiet enough to not need ear plugs? That'll be a first. Good luck though, let us know how it goes.

Ramseysteve said:

Hmm, a helmet quiet enough to not need ear plugs? That'll be a first. Good luck though, let us know how it goes.

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Sorry for my ignorance, but how does riders use Chatterbox or othert BT devices with ear plugs? Would that not block the BT speakers?

I have one of these that I plug my ear buds to. Sena SMH-A0303 Helmet Clamp Kit for Earbuds : Amazon.com : Automotive

Good question, but no, ear plugs don't prevent your from hearing the speakers' output, but they do reduce the amount of sound reaching your ear drums, so perhaps one has to have the volume on your speakers turned up a little higher.

I'm no expert, but the wind noise inside a helmet and the output from speakers are probably at somewhat different frequencies. Personally I can hear the speakers' output just fine when wearing ear plugs.

I can hear the music on my Sena SMH5 speakers fine with earplugs in and the background wind roar is much reduced making the ride more relaxing.

It is a bit difficult to hear people speaking without them being on the speakers - like when paying for a tank of fuel, I have to do a bit of lip reading then.

Chris, what kind of earplugs are you using? This may be the way to go for me

My experience is that inexpensive helmets tend to be noisier, heavier and less aerodynamic than more expensive helmets. In addition, the foam tends to break down sooner in inexpensive helmets.

You can drown out some of the wind noise with helmet speakers or inexpensive ear buds and loud volume. This works OK with intermittent communication, but your ears will be ringing if listening to streaming audio (e.g. Music) for extended periods of time. I use expensive ear buds (>$100) that filter outside noise like ear plugs, which allows me to reduce the volume of my mp3 player.

Web Bike World has a lot of reviews of ear plugs, disposable and non-disposable.

I am thinking about getting this for my current helmet:
Sena Technologies SMH-10 Bluetooth Headset and Intercom - Street Motorcycle - Motorcycle Superstore

I like my current helmet: it fits perfect, is modular, and fits in my frunk. And that SMH10 is the same price as the Bilt Techno helmet. My guess is that if I got the BT adapter, and ear plugs, I can listen to music fine without the wind noise (or is my assumption wrong??).

Thanks for all the help and opinions.

robnpat said:

I am thinking about getting this for my current helmet:
Sena Technologies SMH-10 Bluetooth Headset and Intercom - Street Motorcycle - Motorcycle Superstore

I like my current helmet: it fits perfect, is modular, and fits in my frunk. And that SMH10 is the same price as the Bilt Techno helmet. My guess is that if I got the BT adapter, and ear plugs, I can listen to music fine without the wind noise (or is my assumption wrong??).

Thanks for all the help and opinions.

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If you like your current helmet then you definitely should keep it. I use the Sena SMH-10 in both my full face helmet (Shoei Qwest) and open face helmet (HJC IS-33) and can hear the speakers' output acceptably in both helmets while wearing earplugs. I use the Sena more for GPS prompts and the (very) occasional phone call than for music.

Earplugs are really helpful. The first time I tried them was a bit weird, as I wasn't used to the feeling of something stuffed in my ears and I was so used to hearing the wind noise. Several rides later it was hard to imagine riding without them. I have been experimenting with different earplugs, specifically foam disposables (3m's, Hearos, etc), and a set of silicone re-usables (Alpine Moto's). The disposables vary a lot from make to make in thickness, density and size. Generally it seems that the tighter the fit the better they seal out sound, but at the expense of ease of insertion, wearing comfort and a possible tendency to work their way out over time. Inserting disposables is a bit of a knack. You roll them between your fingers into a thin compressed shape and insert them quickly before they expand back to their original shape. Some re-expand quicker than others.

It's completely personal, but I'm finding that I prefer earplugs that don't totally isolate me from surrounding sounds, but rather reduce the volume to manageable levels.

Can you still get your helmet in the frunk with the BT device? I noticed there is a slimmer one (SMH10R) that would seem to fit better in the frunk. Also, since I do have a modular helmet, the SMH-5 (without the boom mic, it's wired instead) is $96.75 at Motorcycle Superstore. I like using my frunk for my helmet.

robnpat said:

Can you still get your helmet in the frunk with the BT device? I noticed there is a slimmer one (SMH10R) that would seem to fit better in the frunk. Also, since I do have a modular helmet, the SMH-5 (without the boom mic, it's wired instead) is $96.75 at Motorcycle Superstore. I like using my frunk for my helmet.

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I can fit my Qwest in there provided I unclip the SMH-10 from its base. The Qwest is a BIG shell, and is a very tight fit in there anyway. But every helmet's different, and furthermore, with the wired mike there's some flexibility as to where you mount the Sena's bracket (ie nearer the front or back of the helmet). On my Qwest (medium) I have it mounted somewhat towards the back of the helmet, just behind where my ear is. The Sena bracket only sticks out about 1/4" or 3/8" without the unit.

The SMH-10R is a much slimmer shape as the battery is in a separate component that I believe resides seperately on the helmet's exterior. The attraction of the "R" unit to me is that you may well be able to leave it on the helmet all the time (but you'll prob have to buy one to find out for sure), that it's slimmer profile looks nicer, and would probably reduce wind noise vs the standard one. that said, removing the standard unit from the base takes literally no time as it simply clips on and off. If they're the same price I'd definitely get the R, but you may find a killer deal on the standard unit if they're being phased out. The SMH-5 is similar shape to the 10, but a little scaled down, including the speakers, and is a great value.

Thanks, Steve. Your help in this has me moving toward the SMH-5, especially if it is easy to clip on/off. The only thing I don't like about my current helmet is the lack of built-in sunshield, but one day I'll get one of those. I'm going to do some more reading on the SMH-5 vs SMH-10 before I buy, but for less than $100, the SMH-5 looks like what I will get. Well that, and some ear plugs

Ah, while on the subject of sunshields.. My IS-33 has one, and I find it semi useless as it allows too much light thru to be really helpful with direct sun light (I read somewhere that there's a regulation in Europe that forbids them from being any darker). I added an expensive Sunax to my Shoei and a cheaper Sunblocker to my HJC. Both work better than the built in crap, but the Sunax is optically perfect, ie you can tilt your head down and look thru it as you would sunglasses. the Sunblocker is a plastic/vinyl film, not optically good at all.

I recently wrote a review for WBW:
For the Sunax:
Pros: Looks good installed, optically decent (although it's rarely necessary to actually look through it), surprisingly effective at cutting down direct sunlight glare. I was on the fence as to whether to get the Silver or Dark, have no regrets about getting the Silver.
Cons: Price ($45 shipped, not cheap), Not that easy to install, although that may vary from helmet to helmet, it took a fair few go's with the old credit card to open up enough space to get it in far enough.
Conclusion: Worth the money and effort, effective enough that I've stopped carrying sunglasses all together.

And the Sunblocker:
Pros: Relatively cheap, very easy install, dark enough to do the job.
Cons: No better looking than the home made versions, optically poor (but not an issue except for my first ride with it when I had it positioned too low).
Conclusion: It's still on the HJC's visor, and like the Sunax, I don't carry sunglasses any more, so yes, it's a keeper.