Do you like riding the streets with your motorbike? Well, of course, you do!
But do you wear a helmet whenever you take your bike for a spin? You definitely should, and if you do not, you are not securing your journey.
Investing in your low profile half helmets is imperative since they ensure the safety of the rider. But, make sure that these helmets agree with the latest technology standards. Motorcycle helmets that are lightweight, comfortable, and easy to wear are the types worthy of an investment.
Helmets cushion your skull protectively. They provide you with safety when you ride a motorcycle; however, you can't buy just any helmet but a well-researched one. You need to study its construction material and if that will suit your head size or not.
What is the Helmet Material?
Unlike any other motorcycle gear piece, the materials used in low profile half helmets get chosen with much care. The helmet material must take the force of the impact and absorb the kinetic energy on a larger surface area than the rider's skull. Motorcycle crashes happen at different speeds, and it could impact different areas of your head.
What are the different helmet materials?
The most common materials used for construction of low-profile Micro DOT half helmets are:
- Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)
- Fiberglass
- Carbon Fiber
The most common type of helmet material used is ABS. A typical astronaut helmet like those worn in the Apollo missions is made of highly strengthened polycarbonate ABS. Polycarbonate is a high impact-resistant plastic that you can also find in bulletproof glass and exterior automotive parts.
High-performance engineering plastics are a natural fit for motorcycle Helmets. It is lightweight compared with other industrial materials. It has half the density of aluminum or glass and 1/6th the density of steel.
Thermoplastic materials are engineered to have the durability, impact resistance, and fire resistance required for Space Helmets and, of course Micro DOT Helmets.
- ABS can handle 400°F and higher for long periods and can withstand large temperature swings
- Are tough, impact-resistant, and stand up to vibration and abrasion
- Give you design freedom, including many color and surface texture options for riders
- Have good sealing characteristics
- Perform well in bearing and wear applications
Fiberglass has been so named because it is made from glass – the same glass used to make windows and kitchen glasses-. However, it is the manufacturing method that gives it the form that you know of. The glass is melted and forced through holes that are superfine in diameter. The filaments of glass produced are extremely thin. They can be woven into sheets or made into puffy substances used in Biker Helmets.
Fiberglass is used to manufacture a number of products, ranging from automobiles and aircraft to Micro DOT Motorcycle Helmets.
Let's have a look at its properties.
Fiberglass is more flexible and less expensive than carbon fiber. It is lightweight and highly malleable, which means that it can be molded into different shapes with ease.
- Mechanical Strength
The specific resistance of fiberglass is greater than that of steel, which makes it high-performance reinforcement material.
- Dimensional Stability
One of the best properties of fiberglass is that it is not sensitive to variations in hygrometry or temperature. The coefficient of linear expansion is relatively low.
- Thermal Conductivity
The thermal conductivity of fiberglass is low, making it a very useful material in the automobile and Motorcycle Industry.
- Durability
Fiberglass is a very durable material as it does not rot. It is not affected by the elements. This ensures the structural integrity and the longevity of the Micro DOT Helmet built using fiberglass
3. Carbon Fiber:
There are a lot of elements that existed on the planet even before humans know what these elements are. One of these elements is carbon. The most common way for people to obtain carbon is through coal deposits. However, to use carbon commercially, we must process carbon into a more suitable form like the carbon fiber composite. Carbon fiber has high tensile strength, high chemical resistance, high stiffness, low thermal expansion, and low weight properties.
However, carbon fiber is most famous for being a strong yet lightweight material. One industry that benefits a lot from the use of carbon fiber is the motorcycle industry.
Back in the 1900′s, the aerospace industry used aluminum to construct airplanes and helicopters. Since carbon fiber is known for its lightweight properties yet can still offer durability, the motorcycle industry's welcomed the carbon fiber to built high-quality Helmets.
With all these benefits that the biker industry can take advantage of in using carbon fiber for constructing helmets, we are also facing a couple of challenges or obstacles in this field. One of these challenges is de-lamination. De-lamination is the state wherein the layers of the composite material slowly separate from each other. In most cases, the separation is due to impact and repeated cyclic stresses. Aside from de-lamination, the carbon fibers may also wrinkle while they are in the fabrication phase. The wrinkling causes the fibers to become less stiff and, like a domino effect, become weak.
The industry has taken a lot of steps to overcome these challenges or obstacles. We definitely spend financial resources for the research and development of carbon fiber. We try to improve these carbon fibers' quality and follow specific steps to produce better carbon fibers. There are also strict constraints that the DOT certification imposes. Not only manufacturers pay for the researching process, but the cost is translated to the end-user, the rider.
As a responsible company, every MicroDOT Helmet is constructed of the highest quality materials available. Our products meet or exceed the customers desired level of protection while upholding our goal of a product that exceeds the industry’s “Best Practice” standards.
In conclusion, MicroDOT has determined that ABS and Fiberglass are the two materials that allow us to achieve the highest cost/benefit ratio possible. Therefore, we do not utilize carbon fiber at this time due to it’s de-lamination issues and the high costs of materials.
if you have any questions, please reach us at info@skootdog.com or call is at 817-478-0497
For additional information on MicroDOT Helmets please visit us here
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