New helmet technology

[Doppleganger]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/bikes/69590167/groundbreaking-design-shakes-up-motorcycle-helmet-industry

A step forward eh :-)

[Paul in NZ]

Seems a good idea...

[Tazz]

Interesting stuff for sure. Got to keep on looking at new options.

[george formby]

I like. But.
How well do they perform on pointy impacts? Good shock absorption but I would like to see how they hold together if the outer shell is compromised.
Not bean a nay sayer, just that at the mo it's for off road hemlets. As somebody said, moving forward.:niceone:

[Tazz]

I like. But.
How well do they perform on pointy impacts? Good shock absorption but I would like to see how they hold together if the outer shell is compromised.
Not bean a nay sayer, just that at the mo it's for off road hemlets. As somebody said, moving forward.:niceone:

Last line of the article sums that up:

"Can you tell me how you're going to crash your bike? If so, I'll tell you exactly what kind of helmet to buy."

[mossy1200]

I like. But.
How well do they perform on pointy impacts? Good shock absorption but I would like to see how they hold together if the outer shell is compromised.
Not bean a nay sayer, just that at the mo it's for off road hemlets. As somebody said, moving forward.:niceone:

I think they implied a high energy impact would force both shells together and the combination was the equivalent of a normal thickness helmet. Sharp rock penetrating may cause issues but I guess that's could be the same with a single shell helmet.

[Big Dog]

I like. But.
How well do they perform on pointy impacts? Good shock absorption but I would like to see how they hold together if the outer shell is compromised.
Not bean a nay sayer, just that at the mo it's for off road hemlets. As somebody said, moving forward.:niceone:

If by pointy impacts you mean things like car arials, curbs etc this is normally mananged by the exterior shell rather than the internal shell.
In Polycarb shells the load is spread semi evenly by a material that deforms reasonably uniformly. This great at lower speeds such as 0-150kmph.
In Fibre type shells the energy is dissipated as much as possible by the destuction of the exterior shell. This is great at higher speeds where there is only a single impact. Not so joyous at lower speeds or where you contact multiple sharp objects during your journey.

You are doing well if you can open a polycarb shell up without an abrasive tool. On the other hand a golf clup with make chips out of even an expensive helmet with minimal effort.
I used an abrasive tool to open up an HJC helmet that looked intact because I knew I had hit my head, sure enough the eps was about half the thickness where I thought I hit the traffic island.
I dropped a more expensive fibreglass helmet about 1m and unfortunatly it landed 3/4 on a hard surface. Huge crack.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/i-didnt-know-that/idkt-helmet-testing

If you know how you are going to crash you can buy for that crash but there is not yet a one size fits all.

[george formby]

If by pointy impacts you mean things like car arials, curbs etc this is normally mananged by the exterior shell rather than the internal shell.
In Polycarb shells the load is spread semi evenly by a material that deforms reasonably uniformly. This great at lower speeds such as 0-150kmph.
In Fibre type shells the energy is dissipated as much as possible by the destuction of the exterior shell. This is great at higher speeds where there is only a single impact. Not so joyous at lower speeds or where you contact multiple sharp objects during your journey.

You are doing well if you can open a polycarb shell up without an abrasive tool. On the other hand a golf clup with make chips out of even an expensive helmet with minimal effort.
I used an abrasive tool to open up an HJC helmet that looked intact because I knew I had hit my head, sure enough the eps was about half the thickness where I thought I hit the traffic island.
I dropped a more expensive fibreglass helmet about 1m and unfortunatly it landed 3/4 on a hard surface. Huge crack.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/i-didnt-know-that/idkt-helmet-testing

If you know how you are going to crash you can buy for that crash but there is not yet a one size fits all.

Pretty much covered the bases there. I was thinking that this technology could be combined with current technology to give impact absorption and penetration protection. A tough outer shell which has the ability to move around the inner shell and contain/deflect sharp impacts would be very good indeed. The movement between the shells reducing energy before it hits your neck is a biggie.
By the time I can afford it, it will be the new benchmark.

[FJRider]

Seems a good idea...

A BETTER idea is not to crash.

Motorcycle safety equipment is designed to limiit damage to the wearer. Not remove the damage prospect of the wearer .... :msn-wink:

Safety equipment will not prevent ALL injuries. Intelligent riding might limit them ... :msn-wink:


But thats not why we ride ... right .. ??? :cool:

[Night Falcon]

The inner and outer EPS layers would also have to deal with the imprint of the 27 dampers that lie between them in the event of a biff. At each of these points it follows that there will be (slightly?) less EPS compression/energy absorption protection for ya nut. In the worst case you might end up with 27 round bruises on ya noggin :eek:

[george formby]

A BETTER idea is not to crash.

Motorcycle safety equipment is designed to limiit damage to the wearer. Not remove the damage prospect of the wearer .... :msn-wink:

Safety equipment will not prevent ALL injuries. Intelligent riding might limit them ... :msn-wink:


But thats not why we ride ... right .. ??? :cool:

Yeah but....

Your right, our riding, me & the missus, is a far, far bigger consideration than our riding gear when it comes to safety awareness.
Nevertheless I've come to the conclusion that everything you can do to make your self safer has value. Even, dare I say it....... hi jiz..

I must admit that this thread has caused me to think about exactly why and how helmets offer us protection.
Bit of research required on my part before I gob off anymore.:shutup:

[FJRider]

Yeah but....

Your right, our riding, me & the missus, is a far, far bigger consideration than our riding gear when it comes to safety awareness.
Nevertheless I've come to the conclusion that everything you can do to make your self safer has value. Even, dare I say it....... hi jiz..

I must admit that this thread has caused me to think about exactly why and how helmets offer us protection.
Bit of research required on my part before I gob off anymore.:shutup:

I know a few riders that (seem to) believe the strapping on of the helmet makes them bullit proof and NO injury will befall them ... :killingme

The wise know that their own safety is (literally) in their hands. More specifically ... their right hand.


It is staying as safe as you want to be ... not ... staying as safe as you CAN be ...

[george formby]

Hemlets man, hemlets! What you do with your right hand is your own business,;)
Oh, crash hemlets, I mean.:pinch:

[FJRider]

Hemlets man, hemlets! What you do with your right hand is your own business,;)
Oh, crash hemlets, I mean.:pinch:

Over the 40 years I've been riding motorcycles ... the ground (or other objects) have only made contact with my helmet twice.



Why the fixation with HEAD protection .. ?? or do you just have a big one .. ?? (a bigger target etc)

[Big Dog]

Over the 40 years I've been riding motorcycles ... the ground (or other objects) have only made contact with my helmet twice.



Why the fixation with HEAD protection .. ?? or do you just have a big one .. ?? (a bigger target etc)

Because you are unlikely to die just because your hand received a 55kmph impact.

Gloves are another biggie for me. Never totalled gloves before but I make a living driving a keyboard. I am in no rush to have a first time doing that either.
I am quite find of riding, walking etc so other protection comes along.


But: I agree, what is inside the helmet has far more to do with your survival than the helmet, just I know I am not perfect and neither are the other road users here or around the world.

We are all a single mistake away from a wooden box.
That mistake may not be ours.

Stupid phone / Tapatalk, apologies in advance.

[FJRider]

We are all a single mistake away from a wooden box.
That mistake may not be ours.

Stupid phone / Tapatalk, apologies in advance.

Not always even a mistake ... your's or their's ...

Just a combination of circumstance. Small factors that (alone) mean little. Together (As a group) ... might mean your demise.




Hindsight is a wonderful thing .... I hope you all live long enough to appreciate it ....

[Big Dog]

Ps take it from someone with a lifetime of medication and complications from a significant head injury: they happen in an instant and can be without warning doing something you have done safely thousands of times before.


Stupid phone / Tapatalk, apologies in advance.

[Big Dog]

Not always even a mistake ... your's or their's ...

Just a combination of circumstance. Small factors that (alone) mean little. Together (As a group) ... might mean your demise.




Hindsight is a wonderful thing .... I hope you all live long enough to appreciate it ....

Yep that too. My appreciation for how wonderful it is to grow old started when I felt lucky to still be able to breathe for myself at 16.


Stupid phone / Tapatalk, apologies in advance.

[FJRider]

... they happen in an instant and can be without warning doing something you have done safely thousands of times before.




According to ACC ... motorcycling is dangerous.



Take care out there folks ... and wear protection. Azzholes father didn't ...

[FJRider]

... when I felt lucky to still be able to breathe for myself at 16.





It supprised us at the time too .... ;)

[Ocean1]

I like. But.
How well do they perform on pointy impacts? Good shock absorption but I would like to see how they hold together if the outer shell is compromised.
Not bean a nay sayer, just that at the mo it's for off road hemlets. As somebody said, moving forward.:niceone:

Think they're essentially a similar outer shell to most as far as penetration resistance is concerned. One of the supposed advantages of that system is the ability of the shell to rotate somewhat around the rest of the assembly without imparting as much torque to the skull. Apparently a lot of damage is done by the lateral forces resulting from "traction" wrt the road surface, that feature mitigates such damage.

I don't really understand why nobody's developed a colloidal elastomer or similar to replace the standard styrene foam. It can be designed to behave like jelly at low impact and increase viscosity with speed of impact. Objective would be to use all of the available crush space at any given impact speed.

[Tazz]

Think they're essentially a similar outer shell to most as far as penetration resistance is concerned. One of the supposed advantages of that system is the ability of the shell to rotate somewhat around the rest of the assembly without imparting as much torque to the skull. Apparently a lot of damage is done by the lateral forces resulting from "traction" wrt the road surface, that feature mitigates such damage.

I don't really understand why nobody's developed a colloidal elastomer or similar to replace the standard styrene foam. It can be designed to behave like jelly at low impact and increase viscosity with speed of impact. Objective would be to use all of the available crush space at any given impact speed.
It will filter down. They're just busy stopping bullets with it similar tech for the moment.

[Ocean1]

It will filter down. They're just busy stopping bullets with it similar tech for the moment.

There's also the effect of existing standards compliance on new technology, existing standards test procedures I'm aware of wouldn't measure the performance improvements such materials offer. And given the industry's investment in existing tech they're hardly likely to want to change how their product is evaluated if those changes favour someone else's ideas.