"i want cheap gear!"

[iwannadie]

ok so 2 guys at my work have gotten into riding and keep hounding me with questions, which im happy to answer. but they never like my answers lol. they are both bugging me about gear. one guy said he went to a helmet shop to get a helmet but walked right back out when he saw they were around 250$ for a 'good' one. he then went to walmart and saw(they actually do have a motorcycle section) that they had helmet for 50 bucks or less. he said thats the helmet hes getting, after explaining the helmet is your most important protection why go cheap? he said a more expensive helmet is a waste of money they both are helmets.... i just said why even bother then save the 50$ if money is so important and go no helmet.

then he went on to complain about a 400$ leather riding suit and looked at me funny when i said that was cheap. the one guy is just the kinda person thats just so cheap it doesnt make sense. he keeps begging me for gear like im just going to give away my stuff cause hes cheap?

but anyways, i just dont get peoples thinking when they want protection... but then buy the cheapest most generic stuff out there. if you cant afford the gear(or maintence etc.) your into the wrong hobby i think.

[shefkat2000]

Same with tires. Why go cheap? I was looking to buy some Shinko tires instead of Metzelers just to save a $100 bucks. I took the opinions here and some good advice from CyberPoet and Twelve-Five. Forked out the $350 and never looked back. IMO tires are the second in safety after the helmet. Cheap usually is so for a reason. Safety items, especially helmets, are nothing to cheat on. Wonder if that guy bets his life is only worth $50 bucks??

[Yellow2002Kat]

Well, at least he's looking to buy gear. Many people just go without. Why not give him some good advice like checking out NewEnough or eBay (if he knows his sizes well). I mainly wear my Arai helmet and it cost a pretty penny, but I like HJC helmets also (I have 3) and you can get a decent one for less than $200. Also, the bike shop I go to always has a some closeout items whenever I go - maybe he could try that. See if you can give him a hand by providing him with info to get better gear at a lower price. Then you can hear him talk about that crappy helmet he almost bought, but didn't thanks to you

[iwannadie]

Well, at least he's looking to buy gear. Many people just go without. Why not give him some good advice like checking out NewEnough or eBay (if he knows his sizes well). I mainly wear my Arai helmet and it cost a pretty penny, but I like HJC helmets also (I have 3) and you can get a decent one for less than $200. Also, the bike shop I go to always has a some closeout items whenever I go - maybe he could try that. See if you can give him a hand by providing him with info to get better gear at a lower price. Then you can hear him talk about that crappy helmet he almost bought, but didn't thanks to you

trust me i tried... it was a waste of time, i listed off a ton of places online and local to get good gear for what i consider cheap. to him though he acted like it cost a fortune and stuck by the walmart cheap helmet.

besides i dont like to recomend people buying gear online when they never had any on before. having a helmet be the wrong size can be way more harm than its worth, that goes for any gear really. if it doesnt fit right your better off without. how would someone whos never had a helmet on know what to look for on ebay? sure he could go to a local shop and try them all on then walk out, but thats not always a good solution either.

[Yellow2002Kat]

Why not give him some good advice like checking out NewEnough or eBay (if he knows his sizes well).

besides i dont like to recomend people buying gear online when they never had any on before. having a helmet be the wrong size can be way more harm than its worth, that goes for any gear really. if it doesnt fit right your better off without. how would someone whos never had a helmet on know what to look for on ebay?

I know the wrong size is of no use, that's why I made a point of suggesting online shopping if he knew his sizes well. I guess he doesn't. Oh well, at least you tried. If he buys the cheap stuff it'll wear out soon enough and then maybe he'll spring for something of higher quality. You do have me curious now though. I didn't know WalMart had a motorcycle department. Next time I'm there I'll have to see what they carry. I have a Super WalMart nearby so they must have a ton of good stuff

[iwannadie]

Why not give him some good advice like checking out NewEnough or eBay (if he knows his sizes well).

besides i dont like to recomend people buying gear online when they never had any on before. having a helmet be the wrong size can be way more harm than its worth, that goes for any gear really. if it doesnt fit right your better off without. how would someone whos never had a helmet on know what to look for on ebay?

I know the wrong size is of no use, that's why I made a point of suggesting online shopping if he knew his sizes well. I guess he doesn't. Oh well, at least you tried. If he buys the cheap stuff it'll wear out soon enough and then maybe he'll spring for something of higher quality. You do have me curious now though. I didn't know WalMart had a motorcycle department. Next time I'm there I'll have to see what they carry. I have a Super WalMart nearby so they must have a ton of good stuff

ya its something they are phasing into their stores i guess. they offer all ranges of helmets(motocross, sport, cruiser). all made by bell i think, they also had some basic tools and maitence stuff at my local(est) one. i think the cheapest helmet was 47$ the top of the line was like 89$.

[BraadaJim]

I can't believe that nobody has posted this yet.

Don't knock the $50 Bell at walmart too hard. Run a search, there is more than one thread here about them referencing a test done by one of the magazine (Motorcyclist I think) where they pretty much proved that the $50 bell provided as much or more protection than the big $$ brands and what you are actually paying for with those high $$ brands is the padding comfort and features like ratcheting or quick change visors, and paint schemes. The actual protection level of the helmet is fine.

Just the same though it's hard for me to wanna trust a $50 helmet from walmart too. My HJC is Snell and DOT and pretty darn comfortable if a little hot sometimes and it cost $134 delivered. You don't need a $500 helmet to ride but you do tend to get what you pay for. When he starts bitching again, give him that food for thought.

[Sky]

Living in Quebec I had to spend lots to get gear for riding 8 months a year .... specialy the cold weather gear ... looks like to stay warm you have to spend money but it was worth it .. up til now I never got cold and was comfi . Since in summer we can get very high temperature I just bougth another jacket and set of gloves so I won't ride in a t-shirt (very very bad idea) As for the helmet they do come in a wide array of prices .. I went with a middle range price one . the I-con mainframe ... good helmet and real affordable if you get it in a simple color.

Just to say that budget does vary from one person to the next and if the DOT tag is on it .. it went through the same testing as the 800$ ones.

[WildKat]

That helmet article in Motorcyclist, which btw, is still on their website last time I looked for it. www.motorcyclistonline.com is one of the most famous and enlightening articles Ive ever read. Jim pretty much hit the nail on the head with his post. While it may be hard for us to go against what has been drilled into our heads for all the years that we've been riding, when it comes to helmets in this case, we really do need to look at it objectively as those that wrote the article did and remember, just because it doesnt say Arai, AGV, or Shoei, doesnt mean its not good quality protection to your grape intact and your wallet happy.

[onthedot]

I've had really good luck with motodepot.com. My HJC Symax helmut was about $190, and a Coretech jacket was about half off. Speedy delivery too.

I'm not sure I'd trust buying something as important as a helmut from eBay though. I normally wear a size L helmut, but they were great about exchanging it for an XL (I think because the Symax has so much extra padding).

[WildKat]

I'm not sure I'd trust buying something as important as a helmut from eBay though. I normally wear a size L helmut, but they were great about exchanging it for an XL (I think because the Symax has so much extra padding).

Its not so bad if you find a person with an ebay store or someone selling new helment they never wore, but yes you want to be leary of used lids online anytime.

[tzortn]

I can't believe that nobody has posted this yet.

Don't knock the $50 Bell at walmart too hard. Run a search, there is more than one thread here about them referencing a test done by one of the magazine (Motorcyclist I think) where they pretty much proved that the $50 bell provided as much or more protection than the big $$ brands and what you are actually paying for with those high $$ brands is the padding comfort and features like ratcheting or quick change visors, and paint schemes. The actual protection level of the helmet is fine...

Another consideration is longevity. A cheap helmet will break down a lot sooner than a better built helmet.

[Dan Dubeau]

It really doesn't matter what brand of helmet you wear. The one that is going to protect you the most in the event of a crash, is the one that fits you the best.

Paying hundreds of dollars more for a helmet doesn't nesesarily net you more protection (it might though if that particular helmet fits better). The more money is usually for more luxury items associated with that brand. I.e. wide assortment of lenses, better wind noise protection, better ventilation etc.

[DooD]

I can't believe that nobody has posted this yet.

Don't knock the $50 Bell at walmart too hard. Run a search, there is more than one thread here about them referencing a test done by one of the magazine (Motorcyclist I think) where they pretty much proved that the $50 bell provided as much or more protection than the big $$ brands and what you are actually paying for with those high $$ brands is the padding comfort and features like ratcheting or quick change visors, and paint schemes. The actual protection level of the helmet is fine.

Just the same though it's hard for me to wanna trust a $50 helmet from walmart too. My HJC is Snell and DOT and pretty darn comfortable if a little hot sometimes and it cost $134 delivered. You don't need a $500 helmet to ride but you do tend to get what you pay for. When he starts bitching again, give him that food for thought.

Yeah...

In a nutshell, their testing actually showed that a cheap $80 DOT-only helmet (thew Z1R ZR-1) had the best results for impact tests, with regards to how much force was transferred to the brain. All of the Snell-approved helmets had sufficiently higher G-forces transferred to yer squash, because their shell was made from a harder material..... Overall, I believe the test results showed that people are better off wearing a simple DOT helmet, or the ECE (european) approved helmets.....

I just think it's funny how the cheapest helmet in the tests had better results than a lot of the REALLY expensive helmets like Shoei, Arai, etc....