Triumphrat

TorqueyT

New Schuberth C2 in "badger color" black and silver decor arrived two days ago, bought from Hideout Leather for a decent £270 (price elsewhere £300-£360). Spent 5(!) hours putting the autocom kit in - admittedly this involved a full rewiring of the in-ear speaker stereo jack leads, but still took some time (OK, so I'm a bit of an obsessive perfectionist...).

First ride today, and so far thumbs up:
- Quiet, although maybe not as quiet as a lot of people have been raving about. I will always still wear earplugs, so no problems there. Speaking to people with flip front and visor down does mean shouting....
- Build quality is second to none - one of the reasons why the autocom wiring took so long. It's really well put together, nice tight fits everywhere.
- Flip down "fighter pilot" sun visor is excellent, in fact I'm not even considering putting in the Fogcity light reactive insert I've put in previous helmets. I always thought the light reactive insert was a little too dark for night time riding anyway, so the ability to flip the sun visor up and down is brilliant. Anti-fog coating is good, although it needs some venting when in town / slow riding to stop droplets forming. No sign of misting at all though.
- Vents are excellent. For town riding the ability to pull the whole visor forward a notch thereby opening it up top and bottom is excellent. The top vent will be brilliant for warm days (today was actually bl***y freezing) - it actually gives a bit of a wind-in-your-hair feeling when wide open. All padding at the neck is built with fully perforated exhaust air venting, so you get a decent airflow through the helmet.
- Padding around the neck is good, in fact if you put the helmet on and close it whilst stationary you'll feel pretty quickly there's a lack of oxygen getting in. I've opened up the under-chin velcro padding a bit to let a little bit more air in.
- Cons: yes, it's heavier than most helmets. Wander around a bit with the flip front up, like when taking your bike cover off / unlocking the bike, and you'll notice the weight. The front part of the helmet is also bigger than on my old AGV, meaning you do hit your shoulder a bit when doing lifesaver checks. However, as the visor itself gives such a wide field of vision you can easily compensate for this.

Anyway, all in all I'm so far quite happy. Wearing glasses means the flippy is much easier to put on and take off, and being able to go into petrol stations etc without taking your helmet off (or at least not feel bad about not taking your helment off) is a definate bonus. I do wish Schuberth had been a bit more adventurous with color schemes on the C2, look at the IMHO lovely S1 Nordic Dragon design and you'll see what I mean. I'm no fashion slave though, functionality of the C2 far weighs up for looks....

[ This message was edited by: TorqueyT on 2006-05-13 16:48 ]

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TorqueyT

Sofalofa

Bit of feedback... I bought my first ever Arai helmet last week (Arai Condor) after having Shoei's for the last 6 years... Hein Gericke are doing 10 months interest-free credit so spent £800 on renewing all my gear...

Excellent. Very comfortable. Noise is just as bad (but fine with earplugs)...

Have realised (after a post by someone else) that noise has very little to do with the helmet. Example... last week it was a lovely calm day in the UK (rare)... at 90mph, stood up on the bike... very, very quiet... same thing with my Shoei, but then again, when I test-rode a Sprint ST 1050 last year that was very quiet too.

... Noise on the Tiger isn't down to the helmet, it's down to the turbulance from the screen. I can cope fine with it, but I must get round to trying something else for a quieter ride. Am sure that would have more of an effect on noise than the helmet...

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Russ

All year rounder...
www.russkirk.co.uk

Orange_Phil

I have a Shoei Synchrotech II (flip-front) - great lid, but am intrigued by the reputation of the Schuberth. Will definitely consider one when mine's due for replacement. Wouldn't really consider a non-flip helmet in the future for all the reasons already stated above.

On the subject of noise, I've found some brilliant earplugs at www.ultimateear.com They are the ~£50 'squidgy' ones recommended in MCN a few months ago. You need to have foam injected into your lugs - which can be done locally around the UK. Couple of weeks later the plugs arrive - utter bliss. Top tip is to lick them before they go in (don't go all squeamish now) to ensure the seal. For ~£150 they do the same plugs but with tiny speakers inside which will plug into your MP3 player. They'll definitely be my next investment!

The company is based in Sidcup, Kent and is run by enthusiastic bikers. They do the intercom systems to allow music / intercom / phone or whatever you need. No connection, just very impressed with the product & service!

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All the Best,
Phil.

TorqueyT

I did consider the Synchrotech, it would certainly have been easier to find locally than the Schuberth, and since they're standard bike cop issue I reckoned it would be a good lid. Did some checking and found out a lot of bike cops don't actually like them. Considering the Schuberths (and also the BMW System 5's made by Schuberth) came out well in tests decided on the C2 in the end.

Know what you mean about the custom moulded earplugs, they're excellent. About 1 1/2 year ago we converted the normal autocom speaker setup with an earplug conversion cable from Headsetservices. At the time we just bought off the shelf "Earbuds" - these were OK, but sound dampening was so-so (we actually got the best results making the foam tips ourselves out of your normal ear plugs) and after a week on the road our ears were hurting like mad. Not to get too graphic, but putting Germolene in your ear each morning is not pleasant...... Sorted out custom made in-ear speakers earlier this year, we just went to an Edinburgh hearing aid shop who again fit the bike cops' plugs. I believe they actually came from http://www.hearingprotection.co.uk/ and they're excellent for the autocom. Came back from a weekends worth of solid riding in Ireland a month back, no aching ears whatsoever. Yes, as you mention they are expensive, but considering the trips planned this year I was more than happy paying for a pain free holiday.

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TorqueyT

tigertales

I also have an C1 and found the XL size initially feeling snug, though 'bedded in' after some months and seems too noisy after 3 years use.

Am seriously considering the S2 and wonder if anyone has used the Nolan N102.

Tried the N102 at the Cycle World show and found it a good fit like the C1 initially and generally a lighter helmet.

Maybe all this helmet 'noise' is more of a Tiger issue due to the windscreen shape etc. Any experiences with the Nolan? ... Noisy?...good/bad fit?

TiggerTwo

Bought the N-102 last week. I've started to compile a review; which will be in the "Reviews" forum.

For now a bit close to the chin and two 1.5" length areas towards the rear of the visor bottom seal (the seal itself stops short) appear to have been intentionally left out. This seems to let the wind through causing noise. Otherwise, I really like it.

Walt

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OAK

tigertales

TiggerTwo, thanks for the reply. Are you comparing the Nolan to the Schuberth helmet or to other ones?

In regards to the noise, do you feel it is Tiger-turbulence generated or wind just hitt'in the helmet?

Finally, in fit - how would you rate the Nolan, say in the crown area or cheek piece sections?

djr

I would say a LOT of it is Tiger generated.

I ride in the same gear pretty much most of the time and have ridden a few different bikes and my Arai is definately noisier on the Tiger than on a lot of others

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David
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TiggerTwo

I'll try to help here TT but, I feel, a helmet fit is like fitting a piece of clothing, to me - Kinda personal - as you know.

F.Y.I. I am 5'10", 175 lbs and have a rather oval, crown to chin, head And, have been told a squarish frontal shape. My neck is on the short side and is 17.5" diameter - kinda large - I think - for a guy my size.

I tried on both prior to the purchase; that is, the Concept and the N-102 in medium, large and x-large.

The Concept snugged my cheeks more securely than the Nolan but seemed a tad tight about the forehead/temple area. The extra-large was too loose on my head. Seems, to me, that the Concept is more of a "round-head" or "ball" shaped interior.

The Nolan, though I've always wore a large helmet, was too loose most everywhere. However, the medium N-102 fits symmetrically snug about the circumference of my head. So I guess it is more of a "squarish" interior, perhaps accommodating and oval shape as well?

Noise - From my P.O.V. and all else being equal, I consider air flow as the major noise irritant, in any helmet I have had experience with. The N-102 has a, under the chin, rubber cover piece that seals the under area very well and seals out the noise as well. All other moving joints have rubber gasket/seals and make the helmet relatively quiet.

However, the bottom, visor-seal terminates about 1.5" prior to the end of the visor's rear terminating curve toward's the pivot, on each side, and allows an air-stream into the helmet. I got up to speed and held my hands against this area and the noise was eliminated.

I've contacted Nolan - out of curiosity - to find out the reason for this.

Meanwhile, I plan to fit a couple of, like material, lengths to "fill-in" these areas and see how it goes. Other than that, the N-102 chin guard is a tad close to my, albeit, slight, "Roman-jutting" chin.

In my opinoin, if anything, I would say the Tiger does not really contribute, adversely, any mechanically generated noise with regard to the helmet.

Hope this helps! Sure wish you could find a place to try them on.

Not sure about Schuberth but Nolan has a "satisfaction guarantee" policy as well as a 5 year warranty. But fit and quality was the driving factor for me.

Walt

[ This message was edited by: TiggerTwo on 2006-05-16 14:00 ]

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OAK

Timian

I've tried quite a few helmets over the last years - they wear out quickly due to mileage. For quietness, there's really nothing to beat a full face- Best experience here was the top of the range Shoei. However, with increasing demands for removing helmet at petrol stations and other places, I have converted to flip-open. I've tried Schuberts, and they are indeed good, but I,too, found that they get roomy fairly quickly. The sunshade is a gem, however. Noisewise, they're OK, but not exceptional. The BMW System 5, made by Schubert to BMW specs, is quieter on MY head, wears better - used mine 40.000K now and its still a snug fit. The installation of Autocom is very easy, 30 minutes work and its all go. The System 5 needs to have the chin ventilator open if you ride with the visor closed, but leave the visor with a slight gap and you can close the ventilator and avoid the extra noise.
If I were to buy another flip-open today I'd go for the System 5. Not because it's BMW, but because its a very good product and gives the best results for me. These comments are highly subjective and the only way to find out which suits you best is to try one out on the bike. Any dealer worth his salt will let you try it for a ride.
Only then can you make fair judgement.