Carbon fiber or fiberglass helmet?????

[wenfan]

Need to get a new full face helmet, my old giro mad max2 looks like crap from mutiple small head crashes, probably time to retire it anyways. Should I spend the extra money to get a carbon fiber one or just save that money and get a regular full face? I also want to know the durability of the two. Weight is not a concern to me. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[IFO]

neither is more crash worthy when it comes to being able to reuse it after a major impact...

both helmet designs share the same inner foam mold... so if u crash hard, get a new lid... wether its worth 150$ or 500$...

i have a fiberglass FF, a carbon FF and a SMC FF, all are pretty similar in terms of ability to prtoect you...

i'd say go get a FF that fits u perfectly then worry about what it costs/or is made of as a secondary concern.....

[Del]

^^ what he said, wise ifo.

[HIBuLlitT]

^^ditto

[Chuck D. Railer]

the bell "bellistic" full face is lighter than a mad max carbon, which is the same wieght as the normal mad max. i have both and have seen it for myself on a scale!
carbon fibre has nothing to do with weight. its waaayyy harder than fibreblass and i guess must be stronger.
carbon is so cool, though.
hahahahaha

[wenfan]

Thanks for all the comments.
My old mad max 2 paint would chip terribly easy, looks like crap, would the carbon fiber resin be stronger for chipping than the paint on the fiber glass helmet?

[IFO]

Thanks for all the comments.
My old mad max 2 paint would chip terribly easy, looks like crap, would the carbon fiber resin be stronger for chipping than the paint on the fiber glass helmet?

YES...

[HIBuLlitT]

what he said^^
I got the sixsixone carbon and it's banged up but still good after 1.5yrs and three broken bones. :stupid:

[pete]

Thanks for all the comments.
My old mad max 2 paint would chip terribly easy, looks like crap, would the carbon fiber resin be stronger for chipping than the paint on the fiber glass helmet?

not really... if both helmets are painted, it depends on the quality of the paint, not necessarily the surface underneath

[snoboy]

not really... if both helmets are painted, it depends on the quality of the paint, not necessarily the surface underneath

Not to mention that the resin will probably be the same in a CF or a FG helmet, it's the fibers (ie glass or carbon) that are different. It's likely either epoxy resin or polyester resin.

[HIBuLlitT]

Not to mention that the resin will probably be the same in a CF or a FG helmet, it's the fibers (ie glass or carbon) that are different. It's likely either epoxy resin or polyester resin.

They generally don't paint carbon cause it's "cool looking", so when it gets
nicked you don't see the affect as much since they usually have a thick clear
coat (not good for lightness though). If they wanted to make a carbon helmet
light, they should vacum bag during the cure process. This eliminates the
excess resin/epoxy that adds 0 to the strength. The resin/epoxy is only there
to hold the fibers (glass or carbon) in a straight line so that the fibers can do their job.

If you want the paint job to look good, then put a $hit load of clear coats.

[0_o]

Straight from the sales manager at Richmond Motorsports sometime back in 2002:

Carbon is lighter and has better impact resistance but lacks the puncture resistence of fibreglass.
Carbon helmets have the potential to shatter while fibreglass helmets have the potential to split.

[HIBuLlitT]

Carbon is lighter and has better impact resistance but lacks the puncture resistence of fibreglass.
Carbon helmets have the potential to shatter while fibreglass helmets have the potential to split.

OK, not quite.
Carbon if done right, and using directional, and tight stiched fibers is more puncture resistant, crack resistant, and generaly all around stronger. It's the nature of carbon fiber cloth when mixed with a suitable resin. The use of epoxy with carbon fiber makes more sense because it is closer in strength than a polyester or vinylester resin is. Carbon is pound for pound much stronger than E or S type fiberglass. This is true for compression, tensile and shear loads.

What people tend to over look or miscunstrue is that carbon fiber (cured w/ epoxy) had essentialy two states: good and bad. So when a peice of carbon breaks it snaps but it takes a lot to make it do that. A E or S type glass even in cured epoxy will be weaker by far, but it may crush and distort as it fails.

I hope I explained this well. My experience with the three main types of cloths: glass, carbon and kevlar is based on about ten years using it in the marine industry. 8)

[wenfan]

Thanks for all the info guys, I think Im going to try out the giro madmax 2 carbonfiber. Anybody own this make of helmet, if so let me know what you think of it. Main reason for this choice is that the madmax is a great fit for my head. Thanks again guys!

[ESHER SHORE]

personally i've moved away from MTB helmets and now just wear MX helmets...currently rocking a KBC Xenon Super-Motor helmet with 4 types of carbon/glass/whatever, light, cool, dual vented = :)

[Chuck D. Railer]

i have an 05 carbon mad max
im lovin' it
it feels way stronger than my 04 mad max fibreglass, which i broke
the shell seems much stiffer and harder

[wenfan]

personally i've moved away from MTB helmets and now just wear MX helmets...currently rocking a KBC Xenon Super-Motor helmet with 4 types of carbon/glass/whatever, light, cool, dual vented = :)

Can you tell me where you bought your KBC helmet and how much did you pay for it. Thnaks

[wenfan]

i have an 05 carbon mad max
im lovin' it
it feels way stronger than my 04 mad max fibreglass, which i broke
the shell seems much stiffer and harder

Hey there, where did you buy the mad max carbon helmet and how much did you pay for it? Thanks

[Chuck D. Railer]

got it at freedom in penticon, can't remember the price, but retail is like 299 i think