So I have a fivehead. Christina Ricci and I hang out on weekends and use the absorbed solar energy from our foreheads to power emergency generators in Japan.
Every five years or so when I buy a new helmet I have at least three months of Lion King style red marks on my noggin as the foam on the front brow area grinds into my palatial dome and eventually collapses in defeat.
So I'm back in that place with a new Airoh TR-2 and could use any tips of how you guys are breaking in helmets that are just a bit tight in the front. Other than looking like a Catholic on Ash Wednesday that has a taste for color, this is the most comfortable, lightest helmet I've ever owned.
tight in the front means you're hitting the inner shell. that's never going to give. the comfort liner will break in about a 1/6th over all when worn....but the inner shell will not. I don't recommend it... but I've had customers tell me that they have shaved down portions of the inner liner in an attempt to eliminate the pain.
In all my old helmets the foam eventually crushes a bit and forms to my skull, didn't know if there was a way to speed up that process to prevent looking like a married Indian woman. It isn't tight enough that it is uncomfortable even, just leaves the mark.
sounds like you are just stuck with the normal break in proceedure.
If it's just red mark and not a comfort issue, I'd just deal with it. I, too, have an abnormally large grape. It's like sputnik: round, and yet pointy in places.
I used to deal with the same thing every fall during the first two weeks of football practice. My forehead and the very back of my skull would be red and sore, occasionally to the point of feeling like they were burning, until the pads absorbed enough sweat to break down just enough to be comfortable. That, or my head gave way just enough to restore blood flow/sensation to those areas. Either way, it was hellish, but it ended.
Again: if it's just a matter of the red mark, I'd say deal with it. It'll go away and you'll keep a maximum crush zone at the front of the helmet, where you're most likely to need it. Your sweat and repeated wearings will break down/crush *just enough* of the inner liner (<1/16th") to fit it to your head, like hot-molding skates, without compromising the integrity of the helmet.
If it's a matter of it being painful, I'd suggest finding a helmet brand/model that fits better. At that point, you're going to have to crush enough of the liner that it could very well make a difference. Is that really something you want to risk?
i'd agree with buckethead... how many other brands have you tried? btw, i'm also a big head... XXL size on a rf1000. i tell everyone that if i were a street fighter character, my special move would def be the headbutt of doom. :( haha
when i got my first helmet, i was trying to get a hjc or a bell vortex to save money vs the shoei's and arais. went to stores and tried them all on and kept on getting the same feeling you were getting... till i tried on the shoei which all of a sudden was just perfect. wound up spending 2x more than i wanted to, but in the end got a comfortable helmet.
i'm sure you're tried a lot of diff helmets by now.. but you might want to think about trying more? or find a holdout rf1000... i can def say its a great helmet for the round heads out there. haha
Quote from: thought on March 17, 2011, 10:00:09 AM
i'm sure you're tried a lot of diff helmets by now.. but you might want to think about trying more? or find a holdout rf1000... i can def say its a great helmet for the round heads out there. haha
Round, nothing. My head is MUCH longer front-to-back than it is side-to-side. The best fitting helmet I've found thus far is the Sparx S-07. It only costs $100 and change, but it's DOT and ECE approved and it fits me like it was made for me. Couldn't really ask for much more.
Quote from: Buckethead on March 17, 2011, 10:15:14 AM
Round, nothing. My head is MUCH longer front-to-back than it is side-to-side. The best fitting helmet I've found thus far is the Sparx S-07. It only costs $100 and change, but it's DOT and ECE approved and it fits me like it was made for me. Couldn't really ask for much more.
yah, just goes to show we all have diff size heads... webbikeworld tends to have good reviews with good baselines as to sizing too art if you havent checked them out yet
Is your forehead similar to a Klingon?
(http://blog.nola.com/star-trek_impact/2009/04/medium_trek-dream-team-worf.jpg)
Seriously though, I have only worn one brand so far (Scorpion). I've been through 3 of them (don't ask how), and I had a slight pinching feeling at the top of my ears with the latest one. I forget if it's completely gone away since I haven't been riding much lately. I've always wondered about proper fit vs. break in period problems myself though.
if the helmet don't really fit you well and you have these red marks, maybe its time to try different helmets because these ain't fitting you.
i know you may "want" to wear such and such a brand but if its not made for you, well... that means you will have to suck it up and literally break the helmet in rather than it fitting out of the box.
Quote from: sbrguy on March 17, 2011, 02:11:42 PM
if the helmet don't really fit you well and you have these red marks, maybe its time to try different helmets because these ain't fitting you.
i know you may "want" to wear such and such a brand but if its not made for you, well... that means you will have to suck it up and literally break the helmet in rather than it fitting out of the box.
Preach it. I'm not a brand snob by any means, I don't think I've ever bought the same brand twice. I like the look of the TR2 sure, but it really is SUPER comfortable. Not a ton of cushy padding but with the exception of a bit in the front it fits my head like well... a helmet. I've broken in many a helmet, and all my old ones had the hot spot on the front regardless of brand or model.
Maybe I'm secretly a unicorn.
Check http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmet-shapes.htm (http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/motorcycle-helmet-shapes.htm)
With Arai Profile, no painful forehead for me, even when new.
Bell helmets typically have a more rounded shell. Icon as well. The Seven Zero Seven Backlash is also more or less round.
I have a similar problem in the cheek area.
It is very tight.
I just go w, it.
Dolph... :)
That sounds a bit extreme - lids are usually pretty comfortable for me after a few hours. I'm really picky about buying lids that fit my head well though. Try on a bunch of helmets and get the one that fits your head the best. Bell Stars work really well for me.
I don't have a super round head, It's more that I have a massive frontal lobe. I've tried most of the different Arais and they were comfy, but they still left a slight red mark. On my Scorpion I took a pool ball and rolled it around the front of the foam whenever I would watch a movie or something, might do that on this one as well.
I should probably do a review on the TR2, it's a really unique helmet...
maybe try out the arai vector2 next time you're in the store?
http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/arai-vector-2/ (http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/arai-vector-2/)
it seems that you can customize the fit around the temples and cheeks... i know it's the forehead that's giving you the issue, but hopefully adjusting around it might work better?
It's possible, I know I tried the Profile and the RX-7 with similar results. It's kinda hilarious/frustrating, but the one helmet that doesn't leave a mark is the goofy Fulmer V2 I'm wearing in my avatar
<--
It's a 3/4 shell so I don't wear it all the time but damn if Fulmer didn't nail my head shape. Might try one of their full face models eventually.
There's a couple people on here who own a TR-2 (me included). I had mine on yesterday with the chin-bar off. It felt good to have my face in the wind. Now I'm thinking of purchasing a Davida or the like.
I've never done anything to break in a helmet other than wear it.
I suppose you could throw it in the washing machine -- on "gentle cycle" of course. ;D
My recommendation
[bang] [bang] [bang] [bang] [bang] [bang] [bang]
Quote from: bikepilot on March 18, 2011, 06:35:19 AM
That sounds a bit extreme - lids are usually pretty comfortable for me after a few hours. I'm really picky about buying lids that fit my head well though. Try on a bunch of helmets and get the one that fits your head the best. Bell Stars work really well for me.
I have to agree.
If a helmet needs 'breaking in' it doesn't fit you properly.
i have a tr2. i wouldn't reco for people whose heads are long, front to back. I have a round head, its wide and short from front to back. the tr2 is the ONLY helmet i've ever had where i couldn't fit my hand between the forehead and helmet. it really is that much shorter in depth.
that said, i'll be more than happy to buy that tr2 off of you if its a size large.
It's actually an XL, but ive thrown in the towel and bought a Shoei RF-1100 that fits better. Anyone that wants an essentially new (five rides or so) TR2, PM me.
I think a buddy of mine stumbled across a way to speed up this process.
He bought a new Bell Star, and it had a couple pressure points top side. So he thought he'd try adding additional padding to those spots, he used 1/8" padding like the kind used for shoe inserts. Took it for a few hours' ride, it was more painful than before, when he got home he removed his handiwork. However on his next ride he found the helmet fit perfect, the pressure spots were gone! The extra padding locally compressed the foam a bit (or it compressed the knots on his skull, we're pretty sure it was the foam)!
Quote from: Artful on March 17, 2011, 07:41:48 AM
In all my old helmets the foam eventually crushes a bit and forms to my skull, didn't know if there was a way to speed up that process ...