How much should I budget for a helmet?

[Hades]

Decision made. I totally blew my budget and bought a Shoei Neotec 2. It's a lovely thing. I went to a local shop to try a Schuberth C3 Pro but the Shoei was a much better fit for my head. They were also able to swap out the cheek pads and headlining for different sizes to get a perfect fit. If I'm honest it feels a little tight to me but they assured me it would give a little after a few hours of wear and I can return back to swap the lining again if it doesn't. They also price beat the cheapest online price I could find by 10%. So overall it was a good price and not outrageously above my original top end. I had to go with "boring" gloss white rather than fancy graphics. But it resulted in a much better and more comfortable helmet than a cheaper one with fancy graphics.

My man maths worked out that getting a well fitted helmet with good ventilation and nice features such as a built in shade and flip up chin were worth the extra money. Also got some good gloves. I can see this might be an expensive hobby.

 

[dale1uk]

I'm surprised no one mentioned to check out the SHARP ratings of any potential helmet you were looking at. Fit is obviously hugely important, however so is how well it will take an impact.

https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/

The Shoei Neotec 2 gets a decent 4/5 star rating but side impacts don't rate that high.

 

[tom_e]

I can see this might be an expensive hobby.

The kit I wear is worth more than the bike I ride there's always something shiny to buy

 

[Scythe]

Nice choice with the Shoei, for me Shoei have been the best having tried HJC, high end AGV and Arai.

it is an expensive hobby but starting off is the most expensive part due to the kit, tests, bike, etc. It soon adds up but stick with it.

 

[Hades]

Nice choice with the Shoei, for me Shoei have been the best having tried HJC, high end AGV and Arai.

it is an expensive hobby but starting off is the most expensive part due to the kit, tests, bike, etc. It soon adds up but stick with it.

Thanks. Yes I need everything. I have some excellent gloves now too. So that's the helmet and gloves done, ready for the CBT. I can get by with a normal jacket, trousers and regular boots for the CBT. But for the rest of my training I do want a proper jacket, trousers and maybe some proper boots too. I'd certainly regret it if I came off. I'll probably be doing my Mod 1 and Mod 2 through December, January or February so that's not ideal, especially without proper kit.

I also looked at the Schuberth C3 Pro but my head fits the Shoei better. It's a great helmet too but I also found that the Shoei just had better placement of levers for the chin, sun visor and air vents. They were much easier to operate.

 

[Scythe]

Thanks. Yes I need everything. I have some excellent gloves now too. So that's the helmet and gloves done, ready for the CBT. I can get by with a normal jacket, trousers and regular boots for the CBT. But for the rest of my training I do want a proper jacket, trousers and maybe some proper boots too. I'd certainly regret it if I came off. I'll probably be doing my Mod 1 and Mod 2 through December, January or February so that's not ideal, especially without proper kit.

I also looked at the Schuberth C3 Pro but my head fits the Shoei better. It's a great helmet too but I also found that the Shoei just had better placement of levers for the chin, sun visor and air vents. They were much easier to operate.

Doing tests through winter will be difficult if we have any bad weather, they will cancel tests in snow etc and to be honest it’s not really safe to ride. If you hadn’t already, I’d strongly suggest buying some thick winter gloves - your fingers will go numb in minutes during winter, even at less than 30mph.

Go for good waterproof textile two piece kits with removable thermal layers from the likes of RST, alpinestars, etc and you’ll be fine. You don’t have to spend a fortune, my alpinestars textile jacket and trousers cost about £200 for both and have lasted me a few years.

 

[Hades]

Doing tests through winter will be difficult if we have any bad weather, they will cancel tests in snow etc and to be honest it’s not really safe to ride. If you hadn’t already, I’d strongly suggest buying some thick winter gloves - your fingers will go numb in minutes during winter, even at less than 30mph.

Go for good waterproof textile two piece kits with removable thermal layers from the likes of RST, alpinestars, etc and you’ll be fine. You don’t have to spend a fortune, my alpinestars textile jacket and trousers cost about £200 for both and have lasted me a few years.

Thanks for the advice. It is appreciated. Yes it's not the ideal season to learn. But I've wanted to do it for a while and if I don't do it now then I will probably procrastrinate and let it slip another few years. I'm already in my 50's and I don't have years to waste anymore

 

[chaparral]

I'm surprised no one mentioned to check out the SHARP ratings of any potential helmet you were looking at. Fit is obviously hugely important, however so is how well it will take an impact.

https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/

The Shoei Neotec 2 gets a decent 4/5 star rating but side impacts don't rate that high.

Am amazed at how many of the expensive helmets don't rate very well

I myself use a Shoei GT-Air 2 which they no list on that there

But the older GT-air side impact rating https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/helmets/shoei-gt-air/

 

[dale1uk]

Am amazed at how many of the expensive helmets don't rate very well

I myself use a Shoei GT-Air 2 which they no list on that there

But the older GT-air side impact rating https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/helmets/shoei-gt-air/

Yep, its quite an eye opener. There's a good amount of the big name, expensive helmets that don't rate all that highly.

 

[Diddums]

This is more related to the DOT standard but it's still an interesting watch. Just highlights how out of date and out of touch some of these standards are.

 

[tom_e]

Anything with a drop down visor struggles on the side impacts iirc due to the visor mech being there.
DOT is also well known for being a really really rubbish standard, most Americans look for ece rated lids because they know dot is pointless.

 

[Hades]

Seeing as this thread is still going I thought I'd update it with my experience of the Shoei Neotec 2. When I turned up for my CBT the instructor joked that the shop had managed to sell me an expensive, noisy and heavy helmet when I didn't need it as a beginner (the shop did actually try to sell me something cheaper but I wanted this one, so it was my decision). He's right to a degree about the weight. It certainly isn't light when you first put it on. But in all honesty once I was riding I just didn't notice the weight at all. Maybe I would if I did a back-to-back comparison with a non-mondular or on a long journey. I also didn't find it particularly noisy. Admittedly we were not going at motorway speeds but it felt fine to me. There was a small amount of wind noise but nothing excessive at all; mostly a whistling. I can't recall whether the top speed we reached was 50 or 60 but we did get on to a brief single carriageway national speed limit so potentially up to 60 and I felt no buffeting at all.

I had it fitted at a shop and they changed out the cheek pads and head liner. I wore it at home for an hour a day for about a week. Initially it felt far too tight but it's now borken in and fits like an absolute glove. It's lovely. The air flow with the visor down and vents open is really great too; a wonderful breeze up and over my face. The pinlock seems to work really well too. I haven't used it in the rain yet but without the pinlock it would mist up really fast due to the helmet being so tightly sealed, but with the pinlock it stays perfectly clear. The built in sliding sun visor was extremely useful on my course and I did use it a few times. It's great being able to slide it down really easily. The controls are very easy to reach. The flip up visor was useful several times when the instructor and other trainee removed their helmets and I was able to simply flip mine open.

In hindsight I probably should have tried some non-modular helmets in the same price bracket to see if the weight difference was significant. But overall I am very happy with the helmet. It's superbly comfortable.

 

[cahbtexhuk]

When I was looking for a helmet - I've decided that I can spend up to a grand on equipment in total, boots+jacket+pants were about 300, so I had 650 left for a helmet. I thought that my brain is the sexiest organ in my possession, so I could add some more cash for the brain bucket and I just went trying on everything without looking at the price. Funny enough, none of the deluxe helmets were comfortable, so I ended up with a Shark S900, which is considered to be a "budget model". Switched to Shark Skwal a couple of years later.
SHARP rating is a bit useless thing, as well as other ratings. Cause they show lab results of dropping helmets at a predefined speeds and predefined angles and we are not Minecraft Steves and if we fall over - it happens randomly and it is up to manufacturers mercy if they made a helmet to pass tests in predefined crash points or to actually work. It does give an idea how well helmet is made, but cheapest 5 star SHARP helmet was something like 30 quid - I wouldn't trust it my head, nope.

 

[Edinho]

I went with a cheap BOX helmet for cbt/mod1/2.

£50 then when you get further in you know what you are looking for in a helmet.

Expensive helmets look good and are a bit better fit with features. My AGV is better than the BOX. But if you are learning who cares about the pro helmet infact you probably look more stupid, all the gear no idea.

 

[davejh666]

I went with a cheap BOX helmet for cbt/mod1/2.

£50 then when you get further in you know what you are looking for in a helmet.

Expensive helmets look good and are a bit better fit with features. My AGV is better than the BOX. But if you are learning who cares about the pro helmet infact you probably look more stupid, all the gear no idea.

To be honest who cares if you look stupid or not. A lid is designed to save your life.

Even doing your cbt you get up to what, 30-40mph. You come off and hit a car going the other way at another 30 mph that's a 60mph impact. There is no way on earth I would be putting any kind of trust in a £50 helmet. I'm of the opinion spend as much as you can afford on protective equipment, leathers, gloves, boots and especially a helmet.

Quite a few years ago I got taken to the Daniese factory in Italy. My mate raced bikes and he had a tour with a plus one - me. I always thought that it wasnt worth spending the kind of money on that sort of thing. After seeing what they subject their leathers to and how well they hold up it completely changed my mind set. Buy as good as you can afford, your not a cat, you dont get 9 chances.

 

[Hades]

To be honest who cares if you look stupid or not. A lid is designed to save your life.

Even doing your cbt you get up to what, 30-40mph. You come off and hit a car going the other way at another 30 mph that's a 60mph impact. There is no way on earth I would be putting any kind of trust in a £50 helmet. I'm of the opinion spend as much as you can afford on protective equipment, leathers, gloves, boots and especially a helmet.

Quite a few years ago I got taken to the Daniese factory in Italy. My mate raced bikes and he had a tour with a plus one - me. I always thought that it wasnt worth spending the kind of money on that sort of thing. After seeing what they subject their leathers to and how well they hold up it completely changed my mind set. Buy as good as you can afford, your not a cat, you dont get 9 chances.

I completely agree. I have a little more experience now, compared to when I started this thread a while ago. I think a cheaper helmet has its place as a basic starter helmet when budget is very restricted. Anything is better than nothing as long as it passes the necessary safety tests. But if you can afford it then get a good helmet. It really may save your life. The same applies to your other kit. In a car there is a rigid metal cage around you, with crumple zones and air bags. On a bike your clothing and helmet IS your cage.

I got my first bike yesterday. Just a 125 to learn on, and frankly when you're learning you're at high risk of an accident. I couldn't find my gloves and searched for them for about 30 mins until I found them. But however excited I was, I refused to go out without them. I need my hands to work so risking damage in an accident just wasn't worth it. I'd have sat and looked at the bike rather than risk it without proper gloves. I do feel bad that I don't have proper armoured trousers or boots yet though (I do have thick leather boots I used temporarily yesterday). I'll be ordering those this week so I have something for the weekend.

 

[Diddums]

You've got one head, don't cheap out on it.

 

[IC3]

.

 

[Edinho]

To be honest who cares if you look stupid or not. A lid is designed to save your life.

Even doing your cbt you get up to what, 30-40mph. You come off and hit a car going the other way at another 30 mph that's a 60mph impact. There is no way on earth I would be putting any kind of trust in a £50 helmet. I'm of the opinion spend as much as you can afford on protective equipment, leathers, gloves, boots and especially a helmet.

Quite a few years ago I got taken to the Daniese factory in Italy. My mate raced bikes and he had a tour with a plus one - me. I always thought that it wasnt worth spending the kind of money on that sort of thing. After seeing what they subject their leathers to and how well they hold up it completely changed my mind set. Buy as good as you can afford, your not a cat, you dont get 9 chances.

and £50 rated box helmet is perfectly adequate for running around a car park on a cbt.

 

[marl]

I'm looking for a lid myself as I plan to get back into biking after a 16 year absence.

Its very confusing because there is such a wide choice on the market. My theory is don't buy either the cheapest or the most expensive. You usually get what you pay for and, as others have said, you only have one head!

The last lid I had was an Arai. Before that I bought had a much cheaper lid, I can't remember the name or price of it but I ended up changing it because it was noisy and uncomfortable. The Arai was much better on both fronts.