Helmets: Are cheap ones cheap or dangerous?

PROBIKER KX4 - Louis - Motorrad & Freizeit


Hi,
I know there are many discussions in eternity about cheap helmets, branded stuff and Rolls-Royce equipment.

I just wanted to rehash this discussion in a friendly way.
I just bought the above helmet for 69,95 euros (for my wife/son).
It was 119euros, but now it is on sale.

It is surely made of plastic, but the salesguy (rider himself) assured me it is ok for short trips around the countryside (not for serious touring).
At that price, I was expecting rusty, poor quality. But believe you me, I was pleasantly astounded by the quality finish of this "cheapo" lid. It says "Made in Taiwan".

What are your experiences?

~Joe

PS: Pic shows 2 helmets. Mine is the "main" one.

Being your not in the US is there a government standard for helmets? Here for a helmet to be "legal" in must be DOT (department of transportation) approved. Better helmets meet the SNELL standard. There will be a sticker on our helmets stating which standard they meet. Or you can buy DOT stickers on e-bay and put them on the brain buckets.

Exactly the same in the UK their is a minium standard helmets have to reach. Whilst any helmet that reaches this standard will offer protection I would still go for the best that I can afford. Whilst a helmet costing twice as much as another will not offer twice the protection it will offer more in comfort much in the same way that a VW beetle and a Rolls Royce will both transport you across the US which would you prefer to do it in?

gpd211 said:

Being your not in the US is there a government standard for helmets? Here for a helmet to be "legal" in must be DOT (department of transportation) approved. Better helmets meet the SNELL standard. There will be a sticker on our helmets stating which standard they meet. Or you can buy DOT stickers on e-bay and put them on the brain buckets.

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Yes. This 119euro helmet was tested for DE market (which probably says it is ok for Europe). I was lucky it was on sale for 69euros.

In CH, they do not check for helmets legality etc. It is a direct democracy and many people take responsibilities for their "clever" actions or "stupid" purchases. I even see many people going around the village without helmets.

This helmet looks well made and comfortable. No arguing that there.
I was just surprised at the price. I think many things are coming down on prices.

I wish things were coming down in price here..I noticed that as a tax incentive the Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr Osborne has decreased the tax burden on older North Sea Oil Fields, a good move I think, but very much doubt that this will filter through to the consumer and the price of fuel. I would imagine that if Happy's recent purchase was tested for the German market then it would be ok...

How much is protecting your brain and face worth? That's the real question.

JDE said:

How much is protecting your brain and face worth? That's the real question.

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I have been down this argument (aka discussion) more than once. The above sentence seems to imply spending more will be protecting one's most precious assets more.In that case, everyone should buy and operate a TANK and avoid any private passenger cars. What I mean is: we need to spend wisely and not just stinge on helmets and protective gear. However, there exists lower-priced gear, which do not mean they are necessarily less protective than their more-expensive and more-marketed cousins on the same shelf. Many of them are tested like the more expensive brands, and surprisingly some of them even scored better. Another thing: scoring better on a test, does not also mean they will save your life. Life is full of tangents and unforeseen factors. What we can really do is: spend and buy things to the best of our knowledge. Cheap (nowadays) does not always mean bad or poor quality. And yes, I also am a sucker for Shoei's and Mercedes, etc.... PS: now is the time for the autumn sales, shoei's are down 30% at Louis.de (they ship world wide).

The thing with more expensive helmets is that they tend to be more comfortable than cheaper ones. On a long ride this can in fact be a safety feature because an uncomfortable helmet can cayse a lack on concentration

BTW, For those used to driving Mercedes and wearing only Shoei's, you may like to try a Fiat or a Hyundai or KIA now. They may just surprise you with their level of details and comfort. The world has since moved on, and improved. I guess globalisation and competition have their merits too. Last week, I test-drove a Polo GTi with 1400cc and 180PS. Just 1400cc. It rocks.

I don't know (or care) about cages but I do know that on my trips up to Scotland I would much rather be wearing either my AGV or Shoei rather than my caeberg. Caeberg is fine for the commute but certainly not for distance work. if you don't do long trips I guess cheaper helmets are OK

JDE said:

How much is protecting your brain and face worth? That's the real question.

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Well, in my case, $175 on clearance. That's how much the helmet cost that I was wearing when I went face first into a concrete barricade between 45-50 MPH. I've never spent more than $200 on a helmet and I feel perfectly safe in them. As long as it meets the defined standards for helmets in the US I'm fine with that.

Now, the cheap non-DOT approved buckets you see at motorcycle rallies That's a different story.

Yeah, there used to be a big direct correlation between quality of helmets and their prices. And if we go by that, then our NCX must be of poor and low quality. As I said before, many things are coming down in prices, and it is not necessarily true that lower prices means lower quality. To each his own. I always look out for cheap but good (if not excellent) quality. Just like the NCX.

We must all move to to your country then because the cost of living in the UK is riseing year by year I'm sure that this is true in most countries. I for one did not say that the price of the helmets relates to the quality of their protection. I did however say that the price relates to the comfort. We have 3 more expensive hondas in our garage all of which I would prefer to the NC for a long trip due to their superior comfort and performance. The number of posts on NC forums regarding changing the seat would bare this out. To my mind the NC is great for my commute but not for the way I lchoose to tour for instance I would find it a drag on the boring motorway haul up to Scotland although it would be ok on those Scottish roads after all I even enjoyed the RE 500 up there. This weekend I'm going away by bike for a couple of days and I shall be using my Crossrunner and my AGV rather than my NC and my Caeberg as they are more suitable for this sort of journey. As the saying goes "Horses for courses" Still happy to use a cheap helmet fair enough although I believe from your previous threads that you chose a helmet from the upper price range

happy said:

.......
I just wanted to rehash this discussion in a friendly way.
I just bought the above helmet for 69,95 euros (for my wife/son).
It was 119euros, but now it is on sale.
......

Click to expand...

happy said:

Yes. This 119euro helmet was tested for DE market (which probably says it is ok for Europe). I was lucky it was on sale for 69euros.

This helmet looks well made and comfortable. No arguing that there.
I was just surprised at the price. I think many things are coming down on prices.

Click to expand...

happy said:

...... And yes, I also am a sucker for Shoei's and Mercedes, etc.... PS: now is the time for the autumn sales, shoei's are down 30% at Louis.de (they ship world wide).

Click to expand...

Rocker66 said:

We must all move to to your country then because the cost of living in the UK is riseing year by year I'm sure that this is true in most countries. I for one did not say that the price of the helmets relates to the quality of their protection. I did however say that the price relates to the comfort. We have 3 more expensive hondas in our garage all of which I would prefer to the NC for a long trip due to their superior comfort and performance. The number of posts on NC forums regarding changing the seat would bare this out. To my mind the NC is great for my commute but not for the way I lchoose to tour for instance I would find it a drag on the boring motorway haul up to Scotland although it would be ok on those Scottish roads after all I even enjoyed the RE 500 up there. This weekend I'm going away by bike for a couple of days and I shall be using my Crossrunner and my AGV rather than my NC and my Caeberg as they are more suitable for this sort of journey. As the saying goes "Horses for courses" Still happy to use a cheap helmet fair enough although I believe from your previous threads that you chose a helmet from the upper price range

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Dear sir,
I believe you must be talking to me, although you don't address me most of the time.

To clarify your implied confusion, here are some facts.
I bought a SHOEI Multitec from an internet shop for a fairly good price. I did state clearly that was the first time I did it, and it was a good experience. I knew beforehand my head fits the XL Shoei mold. I tried it on in a helmet shop, which offered me a brand new one for testing on my NCX. I declined because I knew I will not buy it there.

I bought a cheap no-branded helmet for my wife (probably fits my son too) for 69euros, because it looked very well made and even looked comfortable. If the riding gets serious like touring, I am getting her a Schuberth, Shoei, Arai, whatever. Original price was 119euros?

I like the look of this cheap helmet, I wished I have enough riding to justify buying one for MYSELF! Unused helmets, usually rot away.
I still use the cheap SHARK helmet when going to work coz I can dump it inside the false-tank.

Thank you for your interest in my posts, Mr Rocker.
I am going to correspond gingerly with you, I hope you are gentle with me too.


PS: BTW, all of my posts have nothing related directly to you or what you said, etc.
I have really stopped talking or insinuating about you. You say what you like, I say what I like.
There is really nothing I want to say about what you said.
Really I tried my very best.
I hope you are understanding about my point. I do not want to risk any unhappiness again.
Lets try to have a happy co-existence, thank you.

PPS: I did "invite" you to this country and anyone who wishes to enlist my help while you are here, you are welcome to contact me.
Offer still stands.

I have seen a lot of really cool Flip-up Helmets recently from several companies. Does anybody have an objection to Flip-ups vs. Full Face?

In myopinion a flip up can be really usefull both on the commute where it is easier to pop in the shop/garage to get your morning paper and whatever you need for work. I also like it when touring on country roads where when I stop for horse riders ramblers and I can flip the front up and talk to them whilst they can see that there is actually a person under all that gear albeit not a pretty one to look at

I'd like to offer two different resources for researching on helmets.

The first is webBikeWorld. Motorcycle Helmet Reviews - webBikeWorld They do one of the most thorough reviews you'll find. They also have probably more helmet reviews there, than anyone else on the web. And while they do offer links to buy the helmet so they will get some money back to support the website, they aren't in business to sell helmets. They have remarked on some of the reviews that they were surprised and found a couple inexpensive helmets that were surprisingly good.

The other is the SHARP helmet safety website located in the UK. The SHARP Helmets - THE HELMET SAFETY SCHEME I like the graphics. Pick your helmet and they'll give you a color symbol for how well the helmet fares in impacts. For instance, my Scorpion EXO-900 passes both DOT and ECE specs, but is rated as only Red on side impact protection. The Nolan N90 is Orange. If both helmets fit the same and are about the same price, I'd go for the Nolan next time.

Just a personal opinion, but after paying for braces for both daughters and seeing the damage to the front of full-face helmets after an accident, I wouldn't buy my daughters anything that wouldn't protect their smiles.

Chris

A few years ago one of the big U.S. motorcycle magazines did a no holds barred test of helmets, they lost a lot of advertisement over it because the cheapest helmet they tested (as I remember a $69 helmet from auto part retailer) won the test as the safest. Now this didn't mean the most comfortable or prettiest or the best materials inside, but it was the safest in an accident. I haven't seen a test like it since. I guess it was hard to take a hit as big as they did when a bunch of ads get pulled, but it was an eye opener as to what you were really being sold and what really worked.

Cutter J. Duke said:

A few years ago one of the big U.S. motorcycle magazines did a no holds barred test of helmets, they lost a lot of advertisement over it because the cheapest helmet they tested (as I remember a $69 helmet from auto part retailer) won the test as the safest. Now this didn't mean the most comfortable or prettiest or the best materials inside, but it was the safest in an accident. I haven't seen a test like it since. I guess it was hard to take a hit as big as they did when a bunch of ads get pulled, but it was an eye opener as to what you were really being sold and what really worked.

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I will have to look this up. Seems like an intriguing read.

Helmets are like underwear. You keep wearing those uncomfortable ones, until someday you chanced upon a more comfortable one and you realised there are better ones out there....

It does not have to be expensive, these comfy underwear or helmets.
They are all safe, just make sure you don't crash.