Schuberth Out. Why, and what's next?
/I loved my Schuberth C3. The quality and materials used were top of the line. It felt so good to touch and look at. Plush. Light weight. Quiet. So what was the issue? It just didn't fit me right.
When I first got it, I had two pain points on my chin. I worked around it by unsnapping two snaps in the liner. After about a year the helmet needed some warranty work. Likely because I used the hell out of it and maybe didn't treat it perfectly. When it came back, they replaced almost all internals of the helmet with the newer parts from the C3 Pro. It was essentially a new helmet.
At this point I realized that new pain points emerged at my forehead, and I started realizing the helmet didn't fit me well. There was space between the top of my head and the EPS. I didn't realize this before and I'm not sure why. Either way I felt it was time to sell it. I put it on ebay and got close to $400 for it. Not bad.
I started looking at other helmets. It seemed the Shoei helmets fit my head much better. Not perfectly, but still much better. I narrowed it down to 3 helmets. The RF1200, a light weight, snell rated helmet with out a built in sun visor. The GT-Air, a sleek looking helmet with a built in sun visor at a medium weight and with great ventilation. And finally, the Neotec, shoei's take on the modular with a built in sun visor, and that was also the heaviest of the bunch. My brother in law harry just inherited a Harley Davidson Sportster, and so he's also in the market for new gear. We were in Philli together so we stopped by revzilla. We both tried on the gt-air and were sold. He found one used on ebay in ok condition, in the color he wanted and his size. It was $200, perfect for his first helmet. At this point it's mid winter, and I'm without a helmet. I decided since he wasn't ready to ride in this weather yet I would trial his helmet a bit before deciding on it for myself. After riding with it a few times I didn't love how the GT-Air felt.
I spent some time in my favorite local shop, Union Garage. I must seriously annoy the salesman everywhere I go. I'm indecisive and research the hell out of everything. Luckily Chris and Conrad are both awesome and very helpful. The RF1200 seems to be a great fit. It doesn't have a built in sun visor, but I realized in the cold winter, the internal sun visor fogs up making it somewhat unusable. It's only 2-3 months of the year that this would be an issue, but it's still something to think about. So on that note, a new option for the light weight RF is an upcoming photochromatic shield they will be releasing soon. It auto tints the visor as needed. It wouldn't be perfect as its a slow transition, but on the other hand it wouldn't fog in the winter like an internal visor would. Overall I loved how the RF felt on my head. You barely feel it's on. On the negative side it's got a smaller neck roll making it less quiet, and not as warm in the cold months.
I was about ready to make the purchase, and then I get an alert that a Shoei modular Neotec is for sale on the adv rider flea market. I check out the posting, it's my size, in my favorite color, in perfect condition, and at a really great price. New, this helmet is $670, and here it was near perfect for $325 shipped. I figured I had to snatch it up. Worst case if it doesn't work out I can sell it for close to $400 and then pick up the RF1200.
And so the Neotec arrived yesterday. I'm a bit torn as I love modular helmets but the RF has me interested in having a really light weight lid. This is my trial period where I get to test out 2 of the 3 helmets I'm interested in. At first glance and testing at home I love the Neotec. The color, the modular convenience, the fit and finish are all great. It comes down to on road comfort and weight as I get to know it. I put my Sena intercom and camera mount on, and I'm excited to get it out for a ride.
One last note - I wish my Schuberth fit me. I really loved it. Great helmet. Great company. Hopefully in the future they will make a helmet that fits me better. Maybe the C4.
