Italian helmet maker the Nolan Group has been bought by French motorcycle company 2Ride Holding, makers of Shark helmets, Bering and Segura motorcycle clothing and Bagster bike luggage.
Nolan Group make Nolan, X lite and Grex helmets and N-Com Bluetooth intercoms.
An official statement about the merger does not give any assurances on whether production will be moved from Italy.
However, it does say 100% of Nolan Group’s products are “conceived, designed and created in Europe, and a good majority of them are even manufactured in the European territory”.
We believe many products in the 2Ride Holding range are made in South East Asia.
2 Ride Holding president Patrick François says they have already begun to work together and intend to “optimise all this Italian, French and European expertise in order to offer our global consumers more protective and easier-to-use products”.
The official press statement says the “strategic alliance” between these two European companies “attests to their intent on making significant inroads into the global marketplace and will enable them to pursue their geographic expansion plans”.
“With €150 million in sales revenue and a workforce of around 1000, the Nolan Group distributes its products in over 80 countries worldwide and enjoys a global leadership status in the market of protective equipment for motorcycle and outdoor sports,” it says.
The versatile new AGV AX9 helmet can be worn as an adventure helmet, MX lid with goggles or even a touring helmet with its quickly removable peak and visor.
Once removed, there is no unsightly attachment hardware to affect the shell’s aerodynamics or aesthetics.
It is available in black or white for $699, multi-colours for $799 or matt carbon for $899 and comes in sizes XXS (51-52cm) to XXXL (65-66cm).
AGV AX9 colour line-up
This is not the first such versatile helmet as Shark has had the Explore-R for several years at $599 and it includes the attached goggles, whereas the AGV AX9 doesn’t.
Shark Explore-R motorcycle helmet
Both have lightweight carbon variants weighing about 1.3kg. The AGV fibre-composite models weigh 1.4kg.
AX9 tested
AGV claims their helmet “reaches new standards in aerodynamics and ventilation” in wind tunnel and laboratory tests.
There are five adjustable vents including an adjustable chin guard vent so the rider can direct air flow exactly where the want it.
It also has moisture-wicking cheek pads and top liner and a water-resistant neckroll to prevent water from channelling inside the helmet.
Removable and washable cheek pads are made from Ritmo fabric, the crown pad is made of durable Shalimar and the base is made of moisture-resistant Shalimar and Nubuck to keep the helmet dry when you take it off.
The wide anti-scratch visor comes with a Max Vision Pinlock anti-fog insert and has six hold positions to allow extra air.
Their adjustable peak has been wind-tunnel tested to prevent lift which can cause neck pain after riding for some time at highway speeds.
AGV claims they also lab-tested the noise level at 97dB at 110km/h.
AGV claims the helmet far exceeds ECE 22.05 safety standards.
Safety features include a shell, neck roll and chin shape that reduces impact pressure and the subsequent risk of collarbone injury.
Between the outer shell and the interior fabrics, AGV has fitted a multi-density EPS with four different foam densities, so it has maximum protection in any size.
It comes with a standard double-D chin strap for secure fastening.
ARK communication
The AX9 is also set up to accommodate their soon-to-be-released integrated ARK aerodynamic communication system at $399.
It was developed by Sena not only for the AX9, but also Sportmodular, K-5 S and K6.
They claim it will seamlessly communicate with up to four riders simultaneously at the click of a button.
Range is said to be up to 1.6km and it features Sena’s Advanced Noise Control ambient noise control for quiet phone and intercom conversations.
It integrates a built-in FM radio tuner with station scan and save function.
The ARK can be applied to the helmet with an AGV Intercom Adapter without affecting the aerodynamic shape.
Here’s your chance to be a test pilot for the Forcite smart helmet that integrates a camera system, navigation and intercom in the shell and was developed right here in Australia.
The ultralight and ultra-hi-tech smart helmet will hit the market in December, but you can test it in July and August.
CEO and co-founder Alfred Boyadgis says their 6500 early supporters or “test pilots” can register to test the MK-01 helmet on their Launch Tour around Australia.
The tour kickstarts with a track-day in Sydney and demo events in all states and territories.
“Throughout the tour, we will be gathering and utilising all the valuable feedback our Test-Pilots give us to further improve and refine the MK-01 helmet to make it the best we possibly can before delivering it to them in December,” their invitation says.
Test pilots will also be able to buy a limited-edition founder carbon composite helmet with gold logos for under $1000.
Forcite sales director Dylan Ross says the planned retail price for the helmet when it comes to market in December 2019 will be $A1299.
Flaws fixed
In this video he admits that their earlier Mach 1 model had a few flaws such as the camera position on the top.
He says that the top-mounted camera worked for sports bike riders, but those sitting upright mainly videoed the sky. And if the rider raised their visor, it obscured the camera.
The 160-degree camera has now been repositioned in the chin area.
Chin bar helmet
Alfred also confirms that they have not altered the physics of the helmet which still complies with European ECE22.05 standards.
He says none of the lightweight electronics (<200g) is embedded in the foam lining to ensure the integrity of the helmet’s protection.
The Forcite helmet’s electronics are powered by two ceramic batteries that are guaranteed not to rupture or ignite in a crash.
Uni design project beginnings]
The Forcite helmet evolved from an undergraduate UNSW design project with co-founder Julian Chow.
It followed Alfred’s “near-death experience” when he crashed his motorcycle in an oil spill about five years.
He says he broke his knee and cracked his helmet in half. The attached action camera almost penetrated his skull.
Alfred with Mach 1 and founder helmets
The helmet is based on similar smart helmets Forcite has developed for other industries, and the business recently received mentoring in the UNSW 10X Accelerator.
They say their helmet and software package give riders “greater situational awareness and allows them to overcome their lack of visibility on the road by communicating essential information about their ride in a completely safe manner”.
It can also alert riders to nearby safety hazards with audio and light signals in the chin bar.
The helmet also provides video and audio recordings of the ride and it can be controlled via a smartphone app.
Mobile app monitors helmet technology
All the technology is integrated inside the helmet with no external attachments.
Alfred says helmet attachments are illegal in NSW and being investigated by standards bodies in many countries.
(Our understanding is that NSW and Victorian police still believe external fittings render a helmet illegal, but NSW have been ordered not to fine riders until the issue is officially resolved.)
He says helmet attachments add weight to a helmet and at high-speed impact, can crack helmet shells, leading to death or injury.
There is also concern that they can cause dangerous head rotation in a crash.
Bluetooth giant Sena has moved into helmets with integrated intercom systems over the past couple of years, adding full-face helmets, a half-helmet and now the open-face Savage.
But I remain a little sceptical about the quality of sound and noise-damping of the brow-mounted microphone in their Savage open-face and Calvary half-helmets.
Sena Calvary
I’m hoping to test the Savage soon.
Meanwhile, check out this promotional video which seems to indicate the sound quality defeats wind noise.
Sena Savage
The Savage is now available in Australia in matte black in medium, large and XL sizes at about $A500, depending on where you buy it.
You can also buy optional long and short peaks and we imagine the three press studs would also fit many visors suitable for other open-face helmets.
It is the first open-face helmet with Bluetooth 4.1, connecting with three other riders up to 1.6km.
Controls are simplistic, but the jog dial and single button should work as well as other Sena products we have tested.
Sena says it comes with “HD quality speakers” built into the ear cavities.
The microphone is located in the upper rim of the helmet and features their Advanced Noise Control to reduce wind noise.
Like other Sena units, it is an intercom and has integrated 10-station FM radio which can be accessed hands-free with voice controls.
Bluetooth connection to your phone also allows access to make and receive phone calls, use Siri, listen to music and hear GPS directions.
Talk time is 11 hours and the lithium polymer battery charges in three hours.
The composite fibreglass shell helmet weighs just 1100g and features removable and washable padding, with a nylon double-D-ring fastener.
Australian motorcycle helmet startup Forcite has promised its ultralight and ultra-hi-tech smart helmet will hit the market in December.
The Forcite helmetintegrates a camera system, navigation, intercom and active noise-cancelling in the shell. It also features an electronically tinted visor that changes tint within a few milliseconds.
CEO and co-founder Alfred Boyadgis says their early supporters or “test pilots” will soon be able to buy a limited-edition founder carbon composite helmet (pictured above) with gold logos for under $1000.
Forcite sales director Dylan Ross says the planned retail price for the helmet when it comes to market later this year will be $A1299.
Flaws fixed
In this video he admits that their earlier Mach 1 model had a few flaws such as the camera position on the top.
He says that the top-mounted camera worked for sports bike riders, but those sitting upright mainly videoed the sky. And if the rider raised their visor, it obscured the camera.
The 160-degree camera has now been repositioned in the chin area.
Chin bar helmet
Alfred also confirms that they have not altered the physics of the helmet which still complies with European ECE22.05 standards.
He says none of the lightweight electronics (<200g) is embedded in the foam lining to ensure the integrity of the helmet’s protection.
The Forcite helmet’s electronics are powered by two ceramic batteries that are guaranteed not to rupture or ignite in a crash.
Those test pilots will soon be able to try out the helmet on a closed track at a Sydney racetrack.
It will be followed by a “Launch Tour” with demo events in select dealerships around the country.
Dylan says they will disclose the names and locations of participating dealerships soon.
“But you can certainly announce that we’ll be travelling to Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Tasmania, Brisbane, North Queensland, Canberra and multiple locations in Sydney/Greater Sydney region,” he says.
“We’re still confirming some of the structural components of the Launch Tour, but we are going national with this and getting in front of as many riders as we can.
“This isn’t juiced-up internet hype, this is a product with real-world usability, built by riders with input from the riding community over several years.”
The good news is that riders who attend the demo days and order the helmet will get it at a discounted price under $1000. They promise delivery in December.
Uni design project
Alfred with Mach 1 and founder helmets
The Forcite helmet evolved from an undergraduate UNSW design project with co-founder Julian Chow.
It followed Alfred’s “near-death experience” when he crashed his motorcycle in an oil spill about five years.
He says he broke his knee and cracked his helmet in half. The attached action camera almost penetrated his skull.
The helmet is based on similar smart helmets Forcite has developed for other industries, and the business recently received mentoring in the UNSW 10X Accelerator.
They say their helmet and software package give riders “greater situational awareness and allows them to overcome their lack of visibility on the road by communicating essential information about their ride in a completely safe manner”.
It can also alert riders to nearby safety hazards with audio and light signals in the chin bar.
The helmet also provides video and audio recordings of the ride and it can be controlled via a smartphone app.
Mobile app monitors helmet technology
All the technology is integrated inside the helmet with no external attachments.
Alfred says helmet attachments are illegal in NSW and being investigated by standards bodies in many countries.
(Our understanding is that NSW and Victorian police still believe external fittings render a helmet illegal, but NSW have been ordered not to fine riders until the issue is officially resolved.)
He says helmet attachments add weight to a helmet and at high-speed impact, can crack helmet shells, leading to death or injury.
There is also concern that they can cause dangerous head rotation in a crash.
New York designer and rider Joe Doucet has designed a helmet wth an LED light that switches to red when decelerating to improve rider visibility and avoid rear-end crashes.
Joe has benevolently decided not to apply for a patent nor manufacture the helmet but make the technology available to others in the interests of rider safety.
“I opened up the intellectual property to any company who chooses to produce a version of the helmet. Weighing the potential of saving a life against a royalty check is an easy decision to make,” he says.
However, he’s not the first to develop such technology that includes a light linked to an accelerometer.
Helmet lights add visibility
There have been several products designed to increase the visibility of riders and attract the attention of tailgating motorists.
They include the French Cosmo helmet light that sticks on the back of any helmet and the inVIEW helmet light that not only indicates when brakes are applied or a rider slows down on the throttle, but also shows a rider’s intention to turn.
Cosmo helmet brake light
inVIEW
Young French couple Fanny, 19, and Jonathan, 20, also launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their Spektre idea for illuminated tape to light up your motorcycle helmet. It only received 5% of its $A42,000 goal.
Spektre
The idea of lighting up a helmet may not be novel, but it also doesn’t seem to have kick started with a lot of riders.
Safety light
A helmet light makes some sense to improve the visibility of riders as the taillights on a bike are low and drivers in heavy traffic may not see them because of the bonnet (hood) of their car, SUV or truck.
Together with an accelerometer that senses the bike slowing down — even under engine braking and no brake application as many riders do — it may help reduce rear-ender crashes.
Fluid-filled capsules inside a motorcycle helmet could prevent damage to your brain in a crash by acting like the liquid that surrounds your brain.
Fluid Inside has developed their Fluid Pods after 25 years of research into how the liquid around our brain helps protect it from impact.
Their first helmet is the Fox V3 motocross helmet (pictured at the top of the page) that includes the pods in the lining instead of the usual EPS foam.
This innovation may soon be coming to a range of other motorcycle helmets after Swedish brain safety technology companyMIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) recently acquired Fluid Inside’s patents.
Fluid Pods
Fluid Pod
Fluid Inside head of product communication Mike Chiasson says the pods are filled with a low-viscous, organic, oil-based liquid that mimics the cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) around the brain.
It apparently disperses the impact in a crash to isolate the brain from crashing into the skull.
Such impacts have been known to cause serious brain damage.
However, the pods may also protect riders from memory loss, vision impairment and even Parkinson’s Disease by protecting the brain from the small and frequent impacts riders may cop when riding over bumpy surfaces or off-road.
The pods could be integrated into a helmet at production or inserted as an aftermarket addition to the lining.
They could also be used in other helmets for other sports such as cycling.
There soon may be another state in the US that allows adults to choose for themselves whether they wear a motorcycle helmet or not.
Missouri recently voted to repeal both its helmet and abortion laws, although the former is yet to be signed off by the Governor.
If it does, there will be 19 states with motorcycle helmet laws for all riders.
They are: Alabama, California, DC, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
Only Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire have no helmet use law.
Adults only
The remaining states have varying laws requiring minors to wear a motorcycle helmet while six of those states require adults to have $10,000 in insurance and wear a helmet in their first year of riding.
Adult riders are varyingly considered 18 or 21. Missouri says riders over 18 should be all.owed to decide on helmet use.
There has been a steady move toward liberalising US helmet laws in recent years.
But here’s an interesting example.
In 1977 Texas moved from a universal helmet law to an adult helmet option like Missouri wants.
There followed a 35% increase in motorcycle fatalities. Texas reinstated its universal helmet law in 1989 and deaths dropped by 11%. The law makers changed their minds yet again in 1997 to cover only riders younger than 21 and deaths leapt 31%.
As Dudley (William H Macy) tells Woody (John Travolta) in “Wild Hogs”: “62% vof all motorcycle fatalities could be prevented with the use of an approved DOT helmet.”
Wild Hogs
According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for every 100 motorcyclists killed in crashes while not wearing a helmet, 37 could have been saved had they worn helmets.
Yet, the use of motorcycle helmets in the US continues to decline to about half from 71% in 2000.
More than 70% of respondents to a survey have supported a $40 helmet scanning service to check for hidden fractures in your helmet.
The Helmet Doctors who developed the helmet laser-scanning invention say it would give riders peace of mind that their helmet is safe to use after a drop or crash, or whether it needs to be replaced.
Brayden Robinson, who founded the venture with this father, Scott, says the Federal Government is considering some funding for the safety service but needed to know if it would be well received by riders, racers and the motorcycle industry.
“Just over 72% (of survey respondents) said they would be prepared to pay for the scanning service once a year or after every accident and some even said twice a year,” he says.
“We’ve had both really positive and negative feedback from people which is all very helpful.
“AusIndustry commercialisation advisors told us that if we received 100 responses it would be good, 200 would be convincing and 300 would be conclusive.
“Well, we’ve now had more than 430 respondents and the survey is still open.”
The scanning service has stalled while the Federal Government is in caretaker mode, but Brayden and Scott are confident even a change in government will not affect funding.
Crash starts study
Brayden is taken away in the ambulance
Scott and Brayden began researching a helmet scanning system after Brayden was hospitalised with a fractured skull from a motocross crash.
They developed their device with the help of a Belgian company and the Composites Research Group in the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering at The University of Queensland.
“We found this laser scanning technique can categorically guarantee that, if there is any damage to the helmet’s outer shell, our technique will identify it. It’s ground-breaking, proven science,” Scott says.
The Helmet Doctors have a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application that allows them to enter their patent application into any of 152 jurisdictions by 23 June 2020.
At present the application has been examined by the international PCT body and all but one claim has been found to be novel over identified existing technology.
Manufacturing safety standards say a composite helmet has a lifespan of five years and, if used frequently, about three years.
But what if you drop it or have a crash?
“We have all heard how if you drop your helmet once you should replace it. But very few do this,” Scott says.
“No one knows how much impact a composite helmet can tolerate before the shell is critically weakened.
“Composite materials have many layers and tiny fibres that can be damaged in a fall.
“The impact energy is dispersed among the fibres and away from the brain which it is designed to do.
“This is why a dropped helmet may still look ok.
“However, the impact could have led to a small crack or splintering which you can’t see with the naked eye.
“Our device can view, read and record the helmet 100,000 times better than the naked eye and find if there are any cracks, splintering or deformations which would make the helmet defective and unable to withstand another impact.”
Helmet scanning scheme
Helmet scan identifies a flaw
The Helmet Doctors plan to test their service first in South East Queensland.
Riders would take their helmet to a participating motorcycle dealer where they would leave it and pick it up a few days later.
The helmet would be sent to the nearest scanner depot where it would be scanned, assessed and returned.
Scott says the Federal Government is considering some funding for the safety service but needs to know if it would be well received by riders, racers and the motorcycle industry.
“As you could imagine this experimental laser camera is very expensive, but our goal is to make this service accessible and cheap enough for everyone to use it,” Scott says.
If the project is successful, they hope to extend the service to other states and overseas.
If you believe your head will crush as easily as a cabbage if you crash, then this video of some helmets being crushed will be of interest.
Crush test
The video from the “Hydraulic Press Channel” on Youtube shows a cabbage in several types of helmet including half and full-face motorcycle helmets, an army helmet and a cycle helmet.
Advance to the 4:20-minute mark and you will find the full-face motorcycle obviously holds up the best to the 150 ton (136 tonne) hydraulic press.
It doesn’t really tell us anything useful about impact resistance, but it’s good to know there is some protection if a 136-tonne truck runs over your head in a crash.
If you want to know the real-world safety rating of helmets, we suggest two sites.
It is not as comprehensive as the similar British SHARP helmet safety scheme which has tested and rated hundreds of helmets, almost all of which are now available for sale in Australia.
Icon Airframe Statistic motorcycle helmet shows impact areas by percentage
Meanwhile, the Icon Airframe helmet (above) shows the percentage chance of parts of your helmet suffering an impact in a crash.
The crash statistics come from the 1981 Hurt Report and show that the most common area of impact on motorcycle helmets is the chin at 19.4%.
The least vulnerable place is the very top of the head at 0.4%, as shown in the crushing video above for the half helmet, although it is the cabbage that crushes before the helmet!
Both the video and the statistics helmet are good arguments for wearing a full-face over an open-face motorcycle helmet.
