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-   -   Which Helmet? Tips on buying a good helmet (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ride-safe/19699-helmet-tips-buying-good-helmet-100.html)

Picked up THH helmet from Megha (near lalbagh) for my wife as we bought a scooty zest recently.
This is DOT certified and costed me 2.5K. Looks a bit big but is light in weight when compared to my KBC VR Laguna helmet.

Also picked up a gliders lid for my kid (2.5 Years old). Costed me 400.

Its Indian. Its ISI and DOT certified. It looks well made. Good finish. Nice inner lining. Nice beading. Visors should not be a problem to find later on for replacement. And would not cost a bomb (both the helmet and the regular replacement visors). Ditto for inner liner, cheek pads, if needed (when they get compressed and go loose).

I am to decide between the all white one and the Red Bull one. The others are too busy graphics-wise.

I have never owned or worn an imported helmet in 20+ years of riding. As long as India continues to make decent well priced helmets, I do not see a reason to change that trend now.

My above browline head circumference is around 58 cms. I was initially planning to buy the Studds Shifter, but some complaints about the inner google ratchet mechanism going bad, and the fact that the Vega had the additional DOT certification (which you explained was not a big deal - but at least its there), shifte the decision in Vega's favor.

Fair enough. I wore a Vega for years until my biking break between 2008-2012 when I moved to Gurgaon, was pretty happy with it.

When I went out looking for a new helmet after moving back to Madras, I found the MT. Felt better than my old Vega, wasn't as expensive as HJC or AGV or Arai but felt just as good. Didn't think about replacement visor and lining availability though. :eek: I just assumed that the store I bought it from would have them since it seemed really well stocked with MT helmets.

See that's the thing. Most of these bike gear stores (as against those old type ones we had earlier and which are still around specializing in helmets mainly) keep flipping helmet brands. Like the flavor of the season. Today its this that's the hottest one on the block, tomorrow its another. Once they stop keeping the brand, the visors are at the bottom of their priority / attention list. I cannot change a helmet every time my visor goes bad. Hence I prefer my helmet to have a plentiful and assured supplied of visors, and visors that do not make up the cost of the helmet itself within the first few replacements. At least that's the way I think because I do a lot of riding at night, and headlights really bother me. The Vega visor costs 150 bucks incidentally. Or maybe 250. Either way its not as much as some of these fancy imported brands.

I suggest you stick some reflective tape on the sides and on the rear portion of the helmet.

Research shows that black and grey tend to blend into the background making it unsafe for bikers while yellow and such other bright colors keep riders visible to other motorists.

MT helmets are sold by Spartan Pro gear who are based in chennai. So getting a replacement visor and inner padding won't be an issue at all


I agree with you doc. Take the case of Spartan Pro Gear who were selling SOL and switched loyalty to MT helmets. The SOL helmet owners are now left high and dry WRT visors and liners. Who knows ,another couple of years down the line they may stop selling MT also. And they are least bothered about what will happen to the existing customers as long as their cash registers are ringing:Frustrati

A helmet is an important and personal choice, especially since you’ll spend hours trapped inside it, sweating. The more educated a purchase you make, the happier you will be in the end. Nice step-by-step guide - http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle-helmet-guide

Funny you should mention the example on the top of my mind but left unsaid. DSG is another one famous for keeping on changing brands.

For them its a matter of changing vendors. Where they get maximum margin.

But the bottom line is that the customers who bought helmets of the replaced brand are now left high and dry trying to arrange for replacement visors.

I have seen this hapening so many times with fellow riders that it is not even a debateable point.

I actually pointedly aske this 2-3 times very directly to one of the Spartan dealers in Pune (will not name who!). The discomfort on his face was a sight to be seen. :D In the end he admitted that if/as long as they (Spartan) are selling the brand, he would be responsible for arranging for the visors.

Translation: Once we change the brand, you are on your own!

To make sure I don't run into a visor issue later, do you think it wise for me to purchase a couple of spare visors and a set of spare lining right now and put it away for when I need it? I absolutely agree that I do not want to be changing helmets every time my visor needs replacement - the amount of highway time I spend on the bike, I need visors that don't impair my vision by diffusing the lights coming at me.

Could you tell me a little more about why this is important? I mean, I understand why the bike needs to be visible, and I also understand why if the rider gets thrown from the bike the riding gear you wear needs to be visible.

But if your gear and the bike are visible, what difference does the helmet's color make? If I'm riding in the night with no lights on the bike, I need a new brain before I need brighter helmet, IMHO.

rl:

I agree with you. If your bike has reflective material and your gear is also has sufficient reflective material its not really needed to even have the helmet doused with same material:D

It's just the case of being over cautious. Some do it, some dont

Sometimes it's funny to read some tips that are shared here and riding gear thread where people dwelve into smallest and the most insignificant details too

This also ends my search for helmets. Vega Axor that is. Thanks Doc.

Plagued exactly by the (in)significant problems of the hot shot brands as mentioned by you.

Picked up a modular Shark Evoline 3 ST MoovUp medium size last week. Fits great, and is very comfortable. Is DOT as well as ECE approved - hope don't ever need to test the true capabilities :)











Since my 5 year old is super-excited with a new (and first) bike at home, had to pick one for him too - though it's a pity I could find only one helmet which could really fit his head. Since I don't see him riding pillion too often, and mostly within the apartment complex, I settled for a Studds (as if I had a choice stupid: )









Reflective strips are add-ons by him..

PS: For bikers in Delhi/NCR, Rev'It has its authorised retail store on Mehrauli Gurgaon Road - highnoteperformance.com. What I liked about this store was the fact that one is able to find genuine product, at a fairly reasonable price (viz a viz USD).
Disclaimer: I am not associated with this store, nor do I have any stake in it.

PPS: Picked up a pair of riding boots too - will be posting in riding gear thread shortly.

If you're wearing gear with reflective material, then you're covered at least to some extent on the risk part. But how many actually ride with reflective jackets and pants all the time?

A trip to the grocery store may not warrant full gear but that's when and where the helmet can save you.

I don't get what is funny about this to you. I'm yet to see someone go haha hehe to the hospital.

It's these small things that prevent mishaps however insignificant it may seem to you. Research findings are backed by data ; debunking them doesn't make the data insignificant or stupid. :deadhorse

I would pick up at least one in spare. And be very careful with the one on the helmet currently. I heard these visors are a thousand bucks each or thereabouts .....

Helmet visibility is not only about riding at night. In fact far from it. Equally if not more so it is about long distance visibility in the daytime.

Try spotting a rider in your rear view mirrors with a dark colored helmet.

Now try the same with a bright / light colored one.

In fact, more often than not the rider bulk and the bike bulk merge into a single whole while on the move to the human eye. Front or back on the color of the bike hardly if ever makes a difference.

Its the helmet which remains the most visible unit. Unless you're wearing a flaming yellow jacket as well ...... :)

Its about visible wavelengths, and its scientifically proven which bands the human eye can make out over the longest distances (white, yellow, orange).

Thats why all safety/hazard gear is bright yellow or orange in color. Ditto beacons, flags, tents, etc.

That's an interesting perspective from which to view the helmet coloring issue. Nobody has really explained it before this, so thanks for taking the time to do so.

I'm still not convinced, mind you, but I'm not entirely skeptical either. I'm aware of certain colors being harder to spot from a distance than others, but I didn't think that a helmet's visibility would make as much difference as the visibility of your lights, on-bike reflectors or riding gear. Food for thought, for sure. Maybe I'll supplement my wife's and my current helmets (both matte black) with white or chromed or brightly colored ones.

Thanks again!