Helmet questions

[BrownTrousers]

I'll keep it short. Recent biking experiences (trying off road biking, doing Biker down course, etc.) have led me to wonder a couple of things about helmets, so I thought I'd gather them in one thread so the collective wisdom of BCF could enlighten me.

1) I scratched my visor and I need a new one. Can I just transfer the pinlock insert (Assuming I get a visor that has the little blobs) and is it worthwhile doing so (will it still work - How long do the inserts last)?

2) What is the purpose of a peak on off road helmets? I have very little experience of wearing one but the one time I did, it didn't seem to offer any benefit and in fact 'dug in' quite badly during an off which made my neck twist awkwardly. Is it just a case of protecting slightly from the sun? Would think the apparent safety issue and it catching the wind would outweigh this......

3) Who the hell designed and who keeps buying helmets which fasten with a 'double-D clip' as opposed to a ratchet mechanism? Fuck me they are difficult to do up or undo with gloves on and take off or put on other people!? What are the benefits!? I'm sure you get used to it to an extent, but it still seems an unnecessarily complicated system.


Thanks
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[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Vincent]

You get used to the d clips and, after a few hundred goes, can whip them off easily...even with gloves on. It's fastening them up that's hard with gloves but that's not usually a problem. Personally, I prefer them............. and I think they're supposed to be safer.
I think big peaks on MX helmets are to stop mud. Mud from bikes in front gets chucked up in an arc and can fall down onto the guy behinds face, not just chucked straight into it.
Smalle peaks on open face road helmets are to shade you from the sun.
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[-Matt-]

[Rogerborg]

Yes.

Sun, off-road crud, low flying witches.

Inertia. I'm never getting a lid with either D-rings or a seatbelt fastener again. Ratchets all the way.
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[Tracer1234]

[grr666]

Since my first go on a motorbike when I was 12, I've only ever owned doubleD fastening full face motorcycle helmets.
My open face car trackday helmet has seatbelt style clip though, I prefer the former, but that is probably down
to familiarity. Then again, I wouldn't wear a full face lid in a car anyway unless it was open cockpit.
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[Accuhaler]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM97nbRsKfc

[Llama-Farmer]

D ring means you adjust it every time you fit it, rather than having to adjust it separately.

I had a ratchet one on an old Caberg and it was a real pain to loosen or tighten, I always had it on the tightest ratchet after catching it once and it skipping a few notches, if it had been any looser to start with would have come completely undone. Figured having it on the tightest meant that it was less likely it'd come undone. The strap itself would often need tightening though, sometimes as much as once a week just from wearing the helmet twice a day.
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[Vincent]

Something I used to do...but stopped for some reason, was to double over the strap when going through the last D clip, so I could just pull the end of the strap and it would come undone. Probably not the safest way, although I don't remember it ever coming undone on its own, but easier to get undone with your gloves on.

Thinking about it......how often do you take your lid off but leave your gloves on anyway?
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[Rockhopper]

Double D fasteners are much safer than other types and are mandatory for top level racing (MotoGP etc). There is also no possibility of them gradually slackening off over time and your helmet coming off in an accident.

[Rogerborg]

[Rockhopper]

Okay so its from Arai's web site:

https://www.araihelmet-europe.com/site/about-arai-2/anatomy-of-a-helmet/

If you use a seat belt type fastening you'll never know if its slackening off - my last Shoei certainly used to.

[Rogerborg]

Good job I don't have a seatbelt buckle then. I have a 'Micrometric' style ratchet buckle on both my current lids.

https://www.whitedogbikes.com/whitedogblog/nitro-micro-metric-strap/

I won't be buying a helmet with any other fastening without a compelling reason.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[BrownTrousers]

Never used a seatbelt type but accept their potential shortcomings.

I was comparing DD to ratchet. Ratchet seems to offer all the adjustability and reliability with none of the faff.

I'm not saying I can't work DD types. Just they seem more fiddly (impossible with gloves) and more complicated / less intuitive.

Personal preference / what you'r used to I guess but can't imagine newbies coming at it fresh to choose DD over ratchet.

Edit: Ratchet = micrometric /= seatbelt.
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[Northern Monkey]

I prefer the DD option over the ratchet type. Less shit under my chin.

Although it wouldnt be a deal breaker either way on a hat for me, given the choice, I'd go DD
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[Sable]

With regards to peaks outside of MX use, I ride more or less directly West to East, and East - West.

Without a shadow of a doubt the peak on a dual sport helmet was the best piece of equipment I ever had. Sun visors and sun glasses do feck all when you are directly facing a low sun. With a peak I was able to just dip my head a little bit and I could see more than a few cars in front of me. Awesome stuff.

Flip side of that is though, at anything above 40mph, dual sports helmets were the noisiest bastardising helmets I ever owned, and after owning 4 of them I found even open face helmets were quieter and easier for motorway riding on the ears.

[chickenstrip]

[delsol]

[chickenstrip]

[delsol]

[chickenstrip]

[Vracktal]

I specifically buy helmets with the Double-D system only, because for me simpler is better. It's anecdotal, but my old Spada helmet with the ratchet system sometimes would jiggle loose on rough surfaces while offroading, after about three years of use.
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[Rogerborg]

[andyscooter]

im with Vincent on this who takes off helmets with gloves or puts on their helmet after the gloves


I have a all tree on my helmets

a wratchet on the open faced

dd on my nicer lid and a seatbelt on the cheapy one
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