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Post by river on Apr 24, 2007 21:53:41 GMT
Any one got any knowledge on these lids? Got a tax rebate ;D and might blow it on a fancy lid (the face shield project isnt going well due to my cackhanded, lazyness) cheers
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Post by TomW on May 15, 2007 8:06:08 GMT
Hi River, Charly helmets are all made for paragliding / skydiving use. A south african skater was killed competing at Hot Heels Africa while wearing a "Charly Insider" helmet. He had a relatively low speed fall, landing directly on the back of his head - the aerodynamic "tail-cone" of the helmet was pushed through the back of his head severing his spinal cord. I have also witnessed a very similar crash at the European Downhill Championships back in 2006 when a Brazilian wearing a "Skyrunner" skydiving helmet went down on the back of his head right in front of me (He got high-sided during a slide). Again, the impact was at relatively low speed - but the helmet was utterly destroyed, the outer shell was split like an egg, and the foam core was heavily deformed at the back (The polystyrene was compressed to less than half its original thickness). The rider was heavily concussed. Undoubtedly the helmet on this occasion - saved the rider's life, but it was at relatively low speed (Almost stationary, he fell over backwards from a standing position). I would hate to imagine what might happen in the event of a high speed crash, or a frontal impact wearing a skydiving helmet.Skydiving / paragliding helmets are simply not designed for impact protection, they are mainly intended as aerodynamic aids for use in the air, and to protect against the occasional bump in flight, or when exiting the aircraft. I would not recommend them for use in downhill skating, and they have always been outlawed for use in Streetluge competition.It is interesting to note that many of the riders who actually witnessed the fatality in Africa, are now wearing DOT approved motorsports helmets. However, despite the known risks, you will still see a lot of sky-sports hats being worn by downhill skaters at world-cup races. I would suggest that unless you are already ranked in the top ten downhill skateboarders in the world championships, whatever small aerodynamic advantage may be gained by wearing a skydiving helmet will make no difference whatsoever to your performance. In the meantime - buy yourself one of these: Its an Airoh Tyger (Or the S4 is just as good). Its DOT certified, and just as aerodynamic as the majority of the skydiving helmets: Available in the uk for about the £70 / £80 mark. Ride hard, stay safe. Tom W.
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Post by trikesrule on May 22, 2007 10:13:46 GMT
Thats an impressive looking lid. What are these charly helmets made from. I don't recollect having run across one here in Australia. I'm the tech officer for gravity racing in Tasmania for the www.southerntasbillycart.com and I need to be aware of things like what you have seen. A few prople have said a few things about my aero helmet that I sometimes use on my Billycarts and G-Bike. It's made from polycarbonate and I've had a slid down the road on my head and didn't hardly mark it. Nor did I suffer any injuries. We the STBG did a heap of research on helmets / impacts / g-forces / injuries sustained. I can tell u that we don't recommend the real heavy m/c helmets. We recommend the lighter poly ones because these don't add substantially to an impact but all helmets used must be full face. STDs International and STDs Aust. came up with these recommendations after about two years of research. Their research is ongoing......trikes
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