Post by Jaz66 on Oct 25, 2009 14:05:51 GMT 1
browsing on line and came across this...
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=604007&i=0
while not too anal about the pros and cons of individual helmets, it does give a nice overview of some general points made about helmet safety and what to look for when buying a new lid.
This was an intersting point well made I thought
"It's easy for those who ride bikes for fun, as a luxury item effectively, where money isn't really a fundamental consideration, to glibly repeat that '£50 helmet for a £50 head' and spend £300 on a lid. However it's always concerned me that there is such a wide range in helmet pricing - the so-called 'good' helmets from Arai and Shoei are up to 6 times more expensive than the 'cheaper' helmets. Now if this was motorcycles, we'd be looking at brand new bikes for around £5k being compared with £30k bikes? Are the £30k bikes qualitatively *better*? Yes, but not 6 times.
With most products, a factor of six price difference would normally indicate that the cheaper product is either utter garbage, or the higher priced product contains a LARGE label / branding premium, as per fashion clothing. Very rarely do functional products that perform in the same sort of way have this wide a range of pricing (can anyone think of one that doesn't involve fashion, branding and snob-value?)
Personally, my entire livelihood centres on my brain being bloody sharp (groan) so my first bike (which wasn't particularly expensive, it was a fast scooter) was purchased with the 'best' helmet I could buy. I asked the shop, they said 'Arai or Shoei' as did all my biker colleagues, and so it turned out I had an Arai head, so an Arai it was.
Not the fancy race-rep painted jobbies (looks a bit silly on a scooter) and I've kept to light, plain colours ever since for visibility (usually silver) so I don't end up paying £450 for the paint-job, but I've never tried cheaper helmets. Seeing Nakano's stack certainly reassures me about the quality of Arai helmets, and at the end of the day I have no problem with paying the premium for proven protection - but it has always interested me how helmets to similar standards are being sold for 6-8 times less than the Arai... looks like there's definitely a premium for the big brands, presumably to pay for their race sponsorship.
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=604007&i=0
while not too anal about the pros and cons of individual helmets, it does give a nice overview of some general points made about helmet safety and what to look for when buying a new lid.
This was an intersting point well made I thought
"It's easy for those who ride bikes for fun, as a luxury item effectively, where money isn't really a fundamental consideration, to glibly repeat that '£50 helmet for a £50 head' and spend £300 on a lid. However it's always concerned me that there is such a wide range in helmet pricing - the so-called 'good' helmets from Arai and Shoei are up to 6 times more expensive than the 'cheaper' helmets. Now if this was motorcycles, we'd be looking at brand new bikes for around £5k being compared with £30k bikes? Are the £30k bikes qualitatively *better*? Yes, but not 6 times.
With most products, a factor of six price difference would normally indicate that the cheaper product is either utter garbage, or the higher priced product contains a LARGE label / branding premium, as per fashion clothing. Very rarely do functional products that perform in the same sort of way have this wide a range of pricing (can anyone think of one that doesn't involve fashion, branding and snob-value?)
Personally, my entire livelihood centres on my brain being bloody sharp (groan) so my first bike (which wasn't particularly expensive, it was a fast scooter) was purchased with the 'best' helmet I could buy. I asked the shop, they said 'Arai or Shoei' as did all my biker colleagues, and so it turned out I had an Arai head, so an Arai it was.
Not the fancy race-rep painted jobbies (looks a bit silly on a scooter) and I've kept to light, plain colours ever since for visibility (usually silver) so I don't end up paying £450 for the paint-job, but I've never tried cheaper helmets. Seeing Nakano's stack certainly reassures me about the quality of Arai helmets, and at the end of the day I have no problem with paying the premium for proven protection - but it has always interested me how helmets to similar standards are being sold for 6-8 times less than the Arai... looks like there's definitely a premium for the big brands, presumably to pay for their race sponsorship.
