Wow - a simple question is asked about fliptop lids one day ago and it gets dozens of replies. What a hot topic.

I did a presentation at Ripley and strongly suggested a flip top lid. It IS much more friendly at police check points and just in general. I have a Shoei multitech (Silver) and think they are great.

I also suggested people think about getting a shaded visor. I find it much easier than sunglasses.

I didn't realise I'd started such a hotbed of discussion! I think I saw your talk, that's what prompted me to ask! I like the Schuberth C3 currently . . . the quest continues!

I have only had one experience with flip - ups, fortunately I was not wearing the helmet at the time but it was sufficient to put me off them for life.

Fellow rider in our group had a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle, the helmet was externally undamaged but the locking mechanism jammed as a result of him hitting the road hard. Due to the shape of the helmet chin piece the helmet could not be removed without flipping it up - this was a major problem as the rider was drowning in his own blood inside the helmet.

Fortunately the ambulance officers arrived in time and used their portabel angle grinder to cut the helmet off. The rider survived but alas, 5 years later he still suffers from brain damage.

If you do choose to purchase a flip-up, please make sure you can put it on, and take it off, without first flipping it.

Caberg Trip Shark Evoline
 

I wear glasses and cannot find a full face helmet that will allow me to wear glasses in comfort. I gave up biking for years until I discovered flip fronts. Basically the hole in a full face is not big enough for me to push a pair of glasses through and over my ears. I have two flip fronts.

I bought the Caberg trip and for the price (90 pounds) it is a reasonable helmet, a bit noisier than a full face and you cannot really ride along with the chin bar up at any rate of knots without the drag on the upturned flip trying to rip your head off.

The Shark Evoline is different. The flip goes all the way over the back of the helmet and is aerodynamically shaped to provide no drag whatsoever. It is just like using a jet helmet and very comfortable with the face bar up or down. The only thing is the initial price 270 pounds with a replacement visor being almost 50 pounds. It is more comfortable and quieter than the trip.

I have never given the safety issue any thought as for me at least it was either an open face or a flip top and I reckon the flip top is safer and better in bad weather than a jet helmet.

I hope this helps
GM

Endurodude - Do you plan to use it off-road much?

I left home on my RTW trip in 2006 wearing an Arai Tour-X. I loved that helmet and wore it for the next 4 years. Eventually the cheekpads were threadbare and I'd sewn-up the lining around the base of the helmet so many times that there wasn't much left to sew.

I could see all the benefits of a flip-front mentioned previously in this thread plus the ability to use my DSLR camera without removing my crashelmet.

In March 2010 I bought a Shoei Multitec in the USA and enjoyed all the benefits mentioned. However, what I hadn't realised was just what big a difference having a peak makes when riding off-road. Especially when riding into the sun late in the day (just put your hand in front of your face to mimic a peak and you'll see what I mean). I tried putting a few strips of tape across the top of the visor, it helped a bit but fell far short of being a fix.
I just couldn't read the surface ahead of me properly and it wasn't just a problem when off-road. The visor got scratched from constant dust/cleaning and so riding into the sun caused a kind of 'starburst' effect that also restricted my vision. With a peak I could dip my head just enough to keep the sun off the visor, prevent the 'starburst' effect and and so maintain good vision.
When I visited the UK in April for my best mates wedding I dug out my old Arai, ordered a new visor and cheekpads, sewed-up the lining again and have been very happily and safely riding with it since. (Even if my ears do get red raw from taking it on/off to take photos on beautiful roads)

My Shoei is a very good helmet that I will use again but I find the Arai more suitable for my current trip.

Had your username not suggested off-road riding I probably wouldn't have made this post but I am really glad I swapped back.

Adam

We have shark Evoline 2 and love them. Has built in sun visor (top gun style) and fits with shark tooth com system which works very well. sara

Good point made above that I'd forgotten about. It might sound unimportant but it isn't. When you're on a big trip you will, for ever, be wanting to stop and take a photo. Some of my best photos were taken by just stopping the bike (not even getting off), flipping the lid up and taking the shot with my SLR. If you need to look through an eye piece to take a photo a flip top is ideal.

Interesting !! Although, I think that's a case of sponsorship and pocketing fat wedges of cash to promote something you might not really chose to use yourself...

JediMaster - I would like to ride off road; The username is an aspirational one! I'm getting into this travelling life slowly. I have big future plans . . . .

I don't think I'll ever be as hard core as Dave Lomax appears to be (having heard him speak at the HU meet), but I will do some in the future in my own way.

I like the idea of the internal visor - I'm giving the C3 serious though. I need to try to remove the small amount of leather, though (see HU meet post!).

+100

At the end of the day, if you hit your head hard enough, with or without helmet, you are going to snap your neck. Arguing about how much impact strength it takes to break a detachable chin bar is very much a moot point. Any impact to the front of your helmet strong enough to do that will break your neck many times over, and quite possibly detach your head.

My take on it is: You can have the toughest helmet in the world, you can build a bulletproof helmet, your head could be 100% inviolable, but your neck will be snapped long before then anyway, so realistically, there is a limit to how much protection is actually logical. The weakest point simply moves from the head to the neck, or to the back or any number of other places that a human beings life depends on.

Getting back to the OP's topic ... its not a flip front, but it is the most configurable helmet on the market ... 7 helmets in one ... to my mind, thats pretty damn handy for motorcycle travel. HJC IS Multi:

http://images.esellerpro.com/2189/I/...t-Silver-1.jpg

That seems to be EXACTLY what I need :)

Thanks colebatch

That's an interesting point of view ,you've obviously given this matter a lot of thought .
:innocent:

Not at all.... As i'm sure you can tell :innocent:

I'm considering a flip front for my next helmet, but mainly for my own convenience in putting it on and off, taking photos, getting a drink, and putting on sunglasses. Here in the USA I can't say that any ordinary citizen seems intimidated in the least by my full-coverage helmet, and there aren't border crossings to worry about unless you go to Canada or Mexico. In any case, my major concern is that we have to basically take the manufacturer's assurances at face value (get it?) that the chin bar mechanism won't give way in an accident. I have read enough reports of just that happening to make me wary. It is pretty common to fall on your face in an accident, so the chin bar is extremely important. Also, some magazine tests found plastic parts holding down the chin bars on some helmets. So how do you know which ones are strong enough?

I kinda disagree on that one. I think its extremely rare to fall on your face. Your face is the number one thing you automatically protect as your most basic reflex. I ride a lot of off road, mostly with an open face helmet and sunglasses. I have come off a hell of a lot of times, and think I can only recall a single time where the helmet has even contacted the ground at all ... and that was the back of the helmet. I have grazed a lot of jacket elbows, hurt elbows, wrists, shoulders ... all as part of the automatic reflex to protect the face. But the face has never been even close to impact. If you look at moto GP guys, who routinely come off the bike with incredible regularity, I cant recall ever seeing a guy come off a bike and impact the ground with the front of his helmet - because every reflex in a rider kicks in to protect his/her face.

I am not saying it doesnt happen, and I am not saying people who want to protect the front of their head at all costs should or shouldnt do so - thats a personal call - but in terms of falling off a bike, a head impact will only occur in a very small percentage of those "offs". And as a percentage of head impacts, frontal impacts will be a very low percentage of those.