Triumphrat

oldmanjob · 12-25-2007

I have the Nolan N102, I like some features and dislike others. I too wear glasses and found out the hard way that the anti-fog feature works great but your regular glasses still fog up rapidly, as mine did coming out my long gravel driveway, making a sharp turn and instant fog up of my glasses. Thought I was going streight when trying to stop but ended up doing a little unexpected Christmas Tree shopping in my hemlock hedge row.

The flip up sun visor is fine but if you have the top vent open and the visor up you get a loud wistle. Also ear plugs are needed for the wind noise passing past the side of the helmet. Other than that I think it is a great helmet.

ooobaby · 12-26-2007

I had an earlier model N100 Nolan flip front that sacrificed itself and saved my face in a nasty off when a 17 year old kid blew through a stop sign in front of me in 2003. I went out and replaced it with a newer Nolan N100E flip front which I like just as much. They are both not the quietest helmets, but none I've tried are. I think good earplugs are really the only solution there. I wear glasses so I want a flip front. I have since tried on the Nolan N102 and I liked it although I haven't test rode it for noise. I like the flip down sun visor except you can't have it down if the clear visor is up and I don't think it's polarized (should check on that) and I wear prescription polarized sunglasses anyway. I test rode a Schuberth flip front and I really liked their internal flip down sunvisor because you can have the clear visor up on a hot day and still have the sunvisor down. Again, a moot point for me because I wear prescripton sunglasses anyway. The Schuberth was a lot more expensive, significntly heavier and in my opinion exhibited more wind resistance and made my neck work harder. The Schuberth was also extreemly well vented, in fact almost too well vented. If I had any hair on top of my head it felt like it would have been sucked out the top vent on the Schuberth. It felt like someone was constatly tickling the top of my head with a feather. The other thing I've since discovered is that other helmets I've test rode really try and twist my neck around more than my Nolan N100E if I turn my head at speed to check the next lane. I don't like that! I think Nolan makes a very good hemet at a very reasonable price. If Nolan ever puts their sunvisor on their N102 inside the clear visor, so I can have the clear visor open and the sunvisor down, I'd buy one in a heartbeat, ecpecially if their sunvisor was polarized. Hope this helps!

Baltobonneville · 12-27-2007

I have an HJC CL-Max (modular, polycarbonate not fiberglass) and a Nolan N102. The HJC is fine, but I like the Nolan better, for the reasons already stated.

Pauljo · 12-27-2007

My first modular helmet was the HJC CL-Max. I bought my wife a Nolan N100 last year, and I bought myself a Nolan N102 this past Summer. I haven't worn the HJC since I bought the Nolan. I think the Nolan is worth the extra money for its build quality and features. I do think it is a tad noisier than the HJC, but not by much. My only gripe is that I wish Nolan used standard D-Rings instead of that flip latch. Overall, I think the Nolan is the nicest helmet I've owned so far (I was a die-hard Shoei customer for years).

Paul

ooobaby · 12-27-2007

I love the flip catch on the chin strap of my Nolan! Although I do wish it also had a D-ring on the strap, simply so I could use it to lock it to my bike.

oldmanjob · 01-04-2008

I like the flip latch on my N102 as my arthritic fingers have problems threading the D Rings

Pauljo · 01-04-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooobaby

I love the flip catch on the chin strap of my Nolan! Although I do wish it also had a D-ring on the strap, simply so I could use it to lock it to my bike.

Yep. That's the issue. Most of the casual riders around here leave their helmets sitting loose on top of their bike seat - or hanging from the handlebars. Of course, that helmet is about 15 years old, and all scarred up from being dropped to the pavement numerous times. I'm not about to leave a $200 helmet that way. Nor do I want to carry it with me.

I do have a thin wire cable, looped at both ends, that I can put around the chin bar and attach to a helmet lock. I also have a thin T-Bar that slides through the flip latch and has a hole at the other end for the helmet lock. But both items are something else to carry & fiddle with.

I've never found threading a D-Ring to be very tough, and yes I've got some arthritis too. I'd still take it in a heartbeat over that flip latch.

NewOldSkool · 01-05-2008

I have the CL-Max as well, and like already stated it is a good helmet for the money. One thing is that I do not like is that it is a huge helmet. It just feels large, even for a larger helmet. I always feel like I am a bobble-head figure when I put it on. But I regularly wear sunglasses under it with not issues, so for somebody that where glasses, it would work just fine.

Gohm · 01-08-2008

I have had 2 nolans and would not use anything else, I also wear glasses. Well made with metal ratcheting system. Vents work well. Anti-fog insert is a nice extra. The newer series with the sun visor is an added bonus. I like the convenience of the buckle strap system. My only minus is I wish the breath deflector was either larger or removable (so I could exchange with the older n100 which has a larger one). I can still lock my helmet on my helmet locks however I never leave my helmets on the bike so it doesn't matter. Too many punks cut the straps off.

drlapo · 01-15-2008

get the Nolan, I did and punted my HJC into the trash
the HJC sheild mechanism is garbage!