Schubert helmet = junk

[mmaarten]

After three years of rigorous testing I have come to the conclusion that the Schubert concept helmet is a very expensive piece of junk.

Why?

- the buckels rust (after a few months)
- rain leaks into the vizor creating dangerous visability (after a few months)
- the screws that retain the chinguard come loose (after half a year)
- the chinguard starts to fall down spontainiously (after one year)
- the sunglass falls down spontaniously (after 1,5 years)
- the liner-clips fall out (after 1,5 years)
- the antifog-stuff on the vizor comes off, making the vizor look like perchment (after 2 years)

Ofcouse every helmet has some isue,s... but this is a rather large list of serious and dangerous mailfunctions.

It is one of the few items I wished I had not bought.

Maarten

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- www.maartensworld.com -

[beddhist]

Hi Maarten,

Sorry you are having so much trouble with yours. Jenny and I both have one and we're happy with them. We did have some of the minor problems you had, but none of the major ones. What I dislike most about the Schuberth Concept is the noise level.

I strongly suggest you write up your problems, stick the helmet in a box, together with your letter and post it to Schuberth. You will have it back in about three weeks and you will be surprised.

We sent ours in and they came back totally reconditioned. Anything that moves had been replaced and it was almost like new on the inside. It only cost us the postage to Germany. Schuberth paid for the return courier and didn't charge us a cent.

The address is:

Schuberth Helme GmbH
Abt. Kundendienst
Rebenring 31
38106 Braunschweig

Tel. : 0531 / 38005-555
Fax : 0531 / 38005-228
mailto : service [at] schuberth [dot] de

Go for it!

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Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.

[mmaarten]

Thanks for the info Peter.
I,ll drop them a line. Can,t send the helmet yet, still need it since I am still on the road.

Maarten

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- www.maartensworld.com -

[vincent danna]

i had the same problems as you mmaarten with my schuberth concept : the fliptop, the vizor, the sunvizor getting loose then falling down, etc (rain, fog) ... on my trip.
when i came back from my trip, after more than 2 years, i had to throw it away because of the regulations here in france and because it was too much "damaged" : i went to my nearest schuberth dealer : because the guaranty was over, because it was a bit cracked with a bit of bumps (russian police "attack", falls ...) and in very bad outside condition, they told me that schuberth won t dare taking a look at it, maintain, recondition it.

[Margus]

That's sad news... I just thought Concept as next helmet. Looks like BMW System V is now more probable canditate.

Thank you for sharing your experiences we all apriciate!

Cheers, Margus

[beddhist]

Vincent: just for curiosity: what regulation are you talking about? Not that ANY regulations seem to matter where we are...

If your helmet is cracked then it should be replaced asap, no matter what else. In any case, don't talk to dealers about it, they will always try to make you buy a new one.

Just to put a little perspective on this: I bought a brand new anti-fog visor which peeled before I even fitted it. Schuberth replaced it.

My chin piece didn't stay up: replaced.

They also replaced all 4 visors on our helmets (there was nothing wrong with Jenny's), as well as all the mechanisms. Dto. for some of the padding, which was WORN.

My helmet was about 4 years old and a bit knocked-around looking when I sent it in, so I didn't expect them to recondition it, even less so for no charge.

Jenny's helmet is more recent and she hasn't had any of these problems, so I think they may have had some design problems in the early ones and they fix them as a matter of course whenever they get their hands on one of these old ones. (I'm guessing...)

In a way they have shot themselves in the foot: I probably would have bought a new Schuberth helmet before setting off on our trip. I now expect it to last for the duration (could be a few years...).

Maybe this is a different mentality at work here: not the "make a quick buck today"-mentality one finds generally today, but more the old school of "we do whatever necessary to keep our customers happy and coming back later". (still guessing)

No guessing about the standard visors: they last for years. I only bought a new one cause it had a scratch in a strategic location. But NEVER USE PAPER TOWELS TO CLEAN ANY VISOR! (Some contain abrasives)

We have had the most amazing customer service experience ever with them, so I will not cease to support them. Anybody can produce a faulty product. But, if they stand behind it and fix it they deserve our support.

Pfffew... climbing off soap box...

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Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.

[Grant Johnson]

Maarten,

Hate to say it, but I think a helmet is like a chain - they DO wear out - and it sounds like yours is. In fact after the mileage you've done, I'd say it's done pretty well!

Remember, in theory, if you drop your helmet on a hard surface from 6 feet, you should send it back to the manufacturer for x-ray testing to see if there is any damage.

My Schuberth Concept, for what it's worth, is fine after two years. My BMW System 111 helmet I wore on our rtw was, like yours, throughly worn out at the end, and starting to fall apart. Interestingly, Susan's BMW System 111 was still fine, but clearly getting worn.

A simpler, non-flip helmet without all the gadgetry will obviously last longer - there's NOTHING to fail - but I'll still take the Schuberth. Flip up and the sun visor are worth a LOT to me. (And two years out of a shield is brilliant in my opinion.)

Note that Schuberth has come out with a new Concept II, which is reputed to be VERY quiet and generally improved. And yes, I'll take one thanks!

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

[mmaarten]

Hi Grant,

You are right about wear but..... buckels should never start to rust, especially not after a few weeks. And mine are not the only ones that rust.

I think there is a diference between normal wear and bad design/materials and/or manufacturing.

And if the concept was so good... why is there now an improved version?

I have always treated my helmet well, it,s what keeps my head in one piece if I should crash and I am kind of attached to my head (in more ways then one).
In my honest opinion the helmet did not match up to the price-tag.

Ofcouse it,s nice that Schuberth would (maybe) recondition the helmet, but it should not be nesecary in the first place.

I am now thinking about a Arai tour-X... but it,s to expensive in my opinion. A 500 dollar helmet should not have a prehistoric double-D lock

Maarten

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- www.maartensworld.com -

[vincent danna]

i had exactly the same problems as marten but no rust, everything not staying up and falling down (visor, sun visor, fliptop) + rain / fog problems when it got used. mine was quite quiet but i had a windscreen on the bike (the quite big original one on the r100 gd pd) : i realised that the noise depends a lot on the windscreen (same helmet more noisy now with the quite small original one on the r80g/s pd).

when it s cold, you have good head protection. when it s warm, you open it or leave it closed, it s fine. when sun, you put sunvisor. when rain / snow it was ok also until it god used (any helmet would have). you meet people, you open it to talk.
you get badly hit by the russian police (i m sure they wanted to break it), you have good protection :-)

so, globally good helmet in those conditions, they are maybe better ones for those conditions (any ideas ?) but this one is very polyvalentund usefull.

therefore, i didn t push hard for guaranty or whatever free ... with the dealer after having used it in those conditions after two years : it s just normal i guess for the use on my trip. maybe your english accent in the south of france, beddha, made you succeed :-). here in paris, not so easy going people, you know :-)

+ with the cracks and bumps outside (russian police + a few falls etc ...), it would not have been safe and confotable to drive + police checks / regulation on the roads here.

and i bought a new one, a c1 (on sale), because the c2 was coming out.

what s the difference between c1 and c2 : i m not sure technically but 100 euros more at least for sure. real product evolution, marketing (?)

aria tour x looks great but for sure less polyvalent and maybe not so strong (who knows ?).



[This message has been edited by vincent danna (edited 01 June 2005).]

[beddhist]

Another hint for Concept users: don't lie it "face down" with the chin piece up. It will rest on the rubber seal at the top of the helmet and eventually this will wear through. This seal is what keeps the rain out.

Vincent: my accent is usually a disadvantage when talking to shops. They think I'm just another tourist and won't be back anyway, so they don't care about me as a customer. (Actually, most shops on the ripoff coast don't care about ANY customers, but I'm straying...)

I never talked to any shop about my helmet, I contacted Schuberth directly.

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Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.

[vincent danna]

thanx for the idea beddha :-)
i emailed them, they replied me, look :

Dear Mr D.,

A two year long travel around the world must be a great experience and great effort for you and all the materials you use (Including the helmet). You are reporting some problems with the helmet which you have experienced during your trip. It would be of great value for us i.e. for future product improvement if you could send the helmet to us. Our engineers would take a close look at the helmet. After that analysis our customer service department will take care of the helmet and repair it - free of charge of course, if you have bought the helmet within the last 3 years.

Best regards

[beddhist]

But, you have already thrown it away?

[mmaarten]

I also got a message from Schuberth. They asked me to send in the helmet for repairs... but the problem is: I need it. I am traveling, so now I asked them if they could send me the parts... I,ll keep you all posted.

Maarten

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- www.maartensworld.com -

[vincent danna]

i sent it back to them, their answer :

Dear Mr. D.

I have checked your CONCEPT helmet personally and it is definitely not advisable to wear that helmet any longer. The outer shell has damages that seriously affect the security performance of the helmet. All the areas on the helmet where the russian policemen did hit you are weakened. This damages does not fall under our guarantee policy and we do not grant repair or product exchange free of charge for such reasons, as it is the basic function of a helmet to protect against impacts by the way that the structure of the helmets inner and outer shell is destroyed. As the interior lining is also not in a good condition after your 2-year world tour, it makes no sense repairing it. It would cost you as much as a new helmet.

As promised I will send you a replacement visor and a helmet bag free of charge for your transportation expenses. My assistant will take care of that, and there is a question what should happen to your old helmet: Normally we would suggest to dissamble the damaged helmet and recycle all possible parts, but if you want we will also sent it back to you.

[beddhist]

Well Vincent, I think you got your money's worth out of your helmet! After what you have put it through it would have been a bit much to expect them to replace it.

Both our helmets don't have any of the problems mentioned, perhaps that helps some folks to make a choice...

I intend to replace mine wth another Schuberth when the time comes.

It will be interesting to hear how others get on, who send their helmets in before they are worn out.

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Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.