Helmet, starting out ...

[AvB]

Hi I'm a 54 yr old guy who used to do lots of dirt bike riding and some enduro racing when younger. After a gap of over 25 years of work and family and other obsessions, I've decided to get back into dirt bikes only recently, and bought a KTM 350 EXC-F less than a month ago. (I'm AvB on the DBW forum too). I was fortunate enough to get connected with Barry Morris and his "cross training" group, and have been riding with them regularly - and have been really impressed by the benefits of trials skills for riding generally. I've been practising the "slow stuff" - and in fact I'm enjoying it a lot more than going fast, but am very klutzy - have difficulty going over step-ups or gnarly climbs. So being the task focussed type I've decided to buy a trials bike and start learning the basic skills. I have a bit of ground on a small acreage at work where I can muck around and make some obstacles, plus I'm fortunate to know a property owner in some good country who's happy for me to ride on the place.

I don't have any plans to do competition as with family and home and work commitments multiple days away are hard for me, and I don't ever expect to be much good at it, but I'd like to come along for a look at a club day, and who knows ... if I like it there would probably be no stopping me!

So I'm sure I'll be watching this forum and posting a few questions!

I'm checking out a bike tomorrow (Barry's coming to help) and if it's good, quite likely I'll buy it.

I decided that boots are a top priority and have ordered a pair in my (huge) size.

I'm not sure how much to spend on a helmet. There are options out there from $150 (Kenny) to 350+ for the Airoh TTR's which I'm attracted to because up here around Brisbane it gets incredibly hot and humid. Overheating been a big issue with my cheap full face helmet, and I'm investing in a ventilated Suomy. But I'm not sure how much of an issue the heat would be with an open face - interested in any guidance here.

[David Lahey]

I don't find a lot of difference in "head coolness" between trials helmets of different brands, but they do differ in shape inside a fair bit. Because of this range of shapes I find that test fitting is very important. I tried three brands sold by The Hell Team and found only one that fitted my head.
Be aware that the bike speeds are so slow in trials that ventilation works mainly by convection rather than ventilation caused by moving through the air
All the proper trials helmets are lots cooler to wear than any full face helmet when going slowly
Another thing with trials helmets is that depending on your body shape, the cutaway at the rear for where your neck meets your trunk is a consideration because of the different rider body positioning on trials bikes.

[jml]

I'm not sure how much to spend on a helmet. There are options out there from $150 (Kenny) to 350+ for the Airoh TTR's which I'm attracted to because up here around Brisbane it gets incredibly hot and humid. Overheating been a big issue with my cheap full face helmet, and I'm investing in a ventilated Suomy. But I'm not sure how much of an issue the heat would be with an open face - interested in any guidance here.

I'm also a new rider and my first helmet purchase was a MOTS Go-Fast helmet which I spent around $295 on (now on sale for $240 http://www.thehellteam.com/mots-go-fast-helmet.html) and It's been awesome in the hot weather. It's a light helmet and I don't even notice I'm wearing it most of the time, compared to my Bell MOTO-9 and RS1 it stays cool at low speeds and allows me to look up without it catching on the back of my neck.

Avoid at all costs buying a helmet against a budget. Measure the crown of your head and go down to a local store and try everything and anything on you can, disregard price and just buy what you feel to be the most comfortable helmet after wearing it for at least 5-10 mins. If you're going to commit to riding your helmet will play a massive part in the comfort of your ride. Don't discount how much an ill-fitting helmet can ruin your day.

I'm sure there are cheaper lids out there that do an equally good job but for a new rider I think it's sometimes good to adopt the philosophy of "do what the pros do" and just get yourself a fairly modern lid from one of the popular brands (including Kenny, Airoh, MOTS, etc)

[AvB]

Thanks for the advice. From my research it looks to me like the Montesa guys are the only place that actually stock proper trials helmets up here in Brisbane?

[Terryg]

Try Richard he keeps them in stock.... http://www.calderamoto.com/#!caldera-moto-trials/c1npt

[Dino]

I heard in QLD now that changes by transport department allow EC 22-05 approved helmets to be legal on road now. Does this mean you can get a street legal trials helmet in QLd now or is it just another rumor