recommended long distance riding helmet??

[rustyshackles]

I’m a Shoei man, having worn Schuberth (which is also very  good) previously.  First gen Neotec currently and it’s fabulous.

My first modular helmet and I’ll never go back to regular full face.  Unbeatable for touring.

[chitown]

Ultimately the helmet that works for long distance for one rider may not work for another. Weight and aeros don't get enough discussion in reviews for me. 

Would not wear even the quietest of helmets I've owned without hearing protection. Some of that is shape. There's only so much that's achievable and even super quiet helmets can create wind noise issues if they can't make the padding work with their head and jaw shape. It can help to pay attention to SNR/NNR when selecting hearing protection. Whether you achieve hearing protection by means of a quieter helmet, ear plugs, etc they can all reduce situational awareness. The ability to hear emergency vehicles before most cage drivers, hear the FJ's clutch basket if riding next to K rail, gives me some reference points to judge attenuation. 

With all that said I have used my Scorpion EXO-500s for many long days of riding. It fit me better than anything and had the features I wanted. Discontinued so I've moved on to a Scorpion AT950. Loving the enlarged eyeport for safety reasons. 

[Coop]

On 5/22/2019 at 11:02 PM, Cruizin said:

I don't like wearing earplugs on a bike. I like to hear the approaching car behind or beside me, it is part of what my brain uses to calculate whats happening around me. 

My Schuberth helmets are quieter than any other helmet Iv'e owned but still give me the noise of other cars and such.  Earplugs drown out too much. 

Maybe earplugs block too much, but they only block 25 Dbs.  Protect your ears. you only get one pair and those little hearing aid batteries are a pita.

[Guest]

I've been reading a lot of stuff saying that the cheaper poly carbonate helmets are safer in real world accidents because they flex and transmit less energy to your head in a crash. The sturdier more expensive fiberglass, carbon fiber types have better puncture resistance but because they are so rigid,  they transmit more energy from an impact to your head. They are saying that according to studies, in most accidents, punctures are pretty rare while head injuries from G forces causing brain trauma are typical. It makes a lot of sense to me and the reason why is related to modified circle track stock car racing. There were a rash of fatalities that took out many of the major stars in the 80's in pavement version modifieds and when they were analyzed, it was found that the cars while not being heavily damaged,  were killing the drivers from the G forces that were transmitted to the drivers. The cars were found to be easily repaired.  Conversely, the dirt modifieds had a lot more sheet metal that absorbed energy in crashes and had almost no fatalities. They rethought the pavement version design and added crush zones and fatalities became rare.  With all of the head injury stuff in football,  I think they are still poly carbonate too.  I've had this discussion with other riders and most can't wrap their head around the fact that a $150 plastic helmet might be safer than their $700 -1000 fiberglass / kevlar blend.

This being said, I have a $750 AGV fiberglass / carbon helmet because the blue matches the blue on my FJ 09 and it's accented with high viz graphics. Being seen is a big safety issue to me having been driven into by a car that didn't see me. As far as noise, I played drums in bands for 40 years and now wear hearing aids in both ears. I wear ear plugs because hearing damage from loud noise is a real thing and I can't afford to lose any more of my hearing. I'm not totally useless....i can still serve as a bad example.

 

[fddriver2]

Ryan @ Fortnine sums it up.

 

[kmev]

On 5/22/2019 at 11:02 PM, Cruizin said:

I don't like wearing earplugs on a bike. I like to hear the approaching car behind or beside me, it is part of what my brain uses to calculate whats happening around me. 

My Schuberth helmets are quieter than any other helmet Iv'e owned but still give me the noise of other cars and such.  Earplugs drown out too much. 

Earplugs are essential for serious long-distance riding no matter what helmet you're wearing. Besides protecting hearing, it really cuts down on fatigue - listening to wind blast droning on for hours is fatiguing. 

I have about 50,000 miles on a Schubert C3 Pro. It is a quite helmet in some wind/windshield conditions, but it can also throw a lot of noise with the chin vent open and a cross wind. Do a 700 mile day without earplugs, and then one with - you will notice a big difference. 

I always ran cheap helmets before the C3 Pro, thinking cheap helmets were just as good. Boy, was I wrong. Spend a bit more on a good helmet that fits and is comfortable - especially if you plan long distance riding. 

Edited July 9, 2019 by kmev

[jeff_s]

10 minutes ago, kmev said:

I always ran cheap helmets before the C3 Pro, thinking cheap helmets were just as good. Boy, was I wrong.

Did the exact same thing.  My Schuberth (C3, but not "Pro") is amazingly quiet and comfy - but HOT in the summers.  The built-in comms option is also something I've really grown to love.  I got both the helmet and comms stuff once the new Pro model came out, so they were 'closeout' and over 50% off.  These things are pricy otherwise.

[kmev]

4 hours ago, jeff_s said:

Did the exact same thing.  My Schuberth (C3, but not "Pro") is amazingly quiet and comfy - but HOT in the summers.  The built-in comms option is also something I've really grown to love.  I got both the helmet and comms stuff once the new Pro model came out, so they were 'closeout' and over 50% off.  These things are pricy otherwise.

I got mine on closeout, too. They are nice helmets, but not worth $800. I agree they are hot, and the ventilation is not great. But, I guess that is always a trade off for quiet. The one thing that I hate about the helmet is that for what it costs, you think they would make a visor that will stay up when you want it to - that is my one complaint about Schuberth. 

[Cruizin]

On 7/9/2019 at 1:28 PM, kmev said:

I got mine on closeout, too. They are nice helmets, but not worth $800. I agree they are hot, and the ventilation is not great. But, I guess that is always a trade off for quiet. The one thing that I hate about the helmet is that for what it costs, you think they would make a visor that will stay up when you want it to - that is my one complaint about Schuberth. 

The links I posted at the beginning of this thread has much lower than those prices.