Innovation in Helmet Technology

[rdwalker]

Originally Posted by SgtDuster

Ok, you got me. Did not read the whole referenced post...
(Thankfully, as it makes even less sense to me now )

[DirtyOldMan]

I've had three dirt bike concussions in the last half dozen years, I'm kinda interested.
The first one was pretty bad, didn't know if I was Joe Louis or St. Louis for a good hour and a half.
Each incident has progressively lessened in severity, maybe getting low on brain cells.

[Fajita Dave]

Originally Posted by DirtyOldMan

I've had three dirt bike concussions in the last half dozen years, I'm kinda interested.
The first one was pretty bad, didn't know if I was Joe Louis or St. Louis for a good hour and a half.
Each incident has progressively lessened in severity, maybe getting low on brain cells.

Usually concussions go the other way around. The more you have the easier it is to get another concussion. After getting a few (3) on the motocross track in my early teens they got worse with each one. I was a lot more calculated with my racing after the 3rd but I wouldn't say more careful . None of them were high speed impacts either so I really like the idea of this helmet. That price is far out of my budget right now but hopefully it works and the price comes down in a few years.

[markk53]

Originally Posted by foxtrapper

Interesting.

I've long thought too much attention is paid to the notion of a high speed impact with a helmet, and not enough to abrasion. Not trying to discount head banging into trees, but a whole lot of the time, the impact is from simply falling to the ground. Then bouncing along on the ground, with grinding action.

I'll be curious where this goes. Hopefully it won't be a massively oversized unit, which would create its own problems.

Not by the people in the know. That was part of the point in the old Motorcyclist article - Snell standards were for high impact at the price of the average kind of impact. The fact that the "plastic" helmets performed so well was that the shell itself absorbed some of the impact when it would flex a bit.

By the way, the "simply falling to the ground" is the vital impact since it is the major issue - Gravity. The impact when the head hits the ground in a fall is greatest in the downward direction. It is all about the distance of the drop. Without any stopping action like outstretched arms, the worst would be from a horse, then a bicycle, then a dual sport bike, then a sport/standard bike, then a cruiser. Each has one's head closer to the ground. A simple fall from a bicycle impacting the ground without a helmet is enough to cause brain damage.

The forward motion will most often be the scraping action. If any object is encountered, that will change the story and will likely be the highest impact. But a majority of impacts are the drop and scrape type when one falls off in a crash.

Regardless, more could be done with helmets, but as evidenced by the $750 price, most will play the odds with the $100-300 helmet and trying to ride with some safety cushion (as I do), not drinking/drug impaired while riding, and good motorcycle familarity with their motorcycle when riding. The latter two were major factors in the old Hurt study, 50% riding under the influence and about the same number with less than 6 months riding the motorcycle they crashed (actual years riding irrelevant).

I look forward to when the lower average priced helmets can become better both in safety AND IN VENTING. Being cool and comfortable when riding makes one less distraction. But I guess that part is more personal opinion than fact.

[markk53]

Originally Posted by Stegerman

http://hellforleathermagazine.com/20...et-technology/

Their example for the impact was 4.5 (4-1/2)mph...

If you do the math, with a 30" saddle height and adding 36" for the distance from your butt to your head (about average) you may find it to be a significant difference.

the formula is
v² – u² = 2gh
Where,
h = Height from ground level at 66"
g = acceleration due to gravity 32 ft/sec/sec
u = initial velocity 0 ft/sec
v = speed in feet/second, multiply by 60 for seconds per minutes, then 60 for minutes per hour and divide by 5280 for feet to miles. The answer we seek.


You will get 10.75 (10-3/4) miles per hour or about twice their figures.
That is the simple math to know the speed in freefall


Not that the concept is bad. The elastomers can quite easily be tuned to desired impact absorbance level. I like the idea. Any additional impact absorbance is a good thing. Inside the helmet would be a good thing. The increase in helmet size might be a bit much, but then there may also be some trade off available in less eps.

Fact is possibly a similar type situation could be done using a gel bag in the inside lining, but it might allow too much movement or squish in a strapped on helmet. I don't know. They probably tested that too.

It does look like a concept that could eventually trickle down to lower cost helmets. I'm all for it when done internally. It is kind of like the new football helmets with air cell or liquid cell padding.

[DaveCraige]

so has anybody purchased the new 6D helmets? What are your thoughts?

[dwoodward]

Originally Posted by markk53

Without any stopping action like outstretched arms, the worst would be from a horse, then a bicycle, then a dual sport bike, then a sport/standard bike, then a cruiser.

So, it's a good thing wobblers ride cruisers...

One comment- and this is becoming a theme with me: FMVSS 218, which defines the DOT helmet standard, calls for the antiquated hard shell / Styrofoam liner. You can't build a DOT approved helmet without including those two elements, because that's the definition of 'DOT approved helmet'.

See also LED turn signals, which can be smaller and yet brighter and more visible than incandescent... but not legal, because FMVSS 108 specifies a minimum amount of "equivalent lens area" of 3.5 square inches, written into law to accomodate crap-tastic motocycle electrical systems.

The rules are clearly not keeping up with technology; I pray for the day they stop legislating to the current technology and instead legislate the desired effect. Not holding my breath, though.

[Fajita Dave]

After watching Zach Bell land from 20ft in the air and slamming his head into packed clay in supercross I'm sold on these helmets. He passed all of the concussion tests they ran on him afterward. Of course that was high impact but its shown it can handle both.