Bought me a "cheap" helmet....
 

I stopped by the local Cyclegear shop yesterday to poke around and see what they had. Mainly wanted to look at the Pirelli tires they will have on special this Saturday.
As I mentioned a few weeks back, I got my new Scorpion matte black helmet signed by a bunch of riders at the AMA races at Barber. So, I am making it a sit-on-the-shelf item and won't be wearing it much.
That left me needing another helmet.

I ran across a decent looking skid lid at Cyclegear. They had it marked down for closeout, plus they had a special - an additional 20% off all KBC helmets.
I tried it on and it actually fit pretty nice and felt good.
The face shield is quite sturdy with strong positive latches. Graphics looked cool. Decent venting system, blah, blah, blah. So, I bought one in red/black graphics scheme:
http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?item=TUC_CG-8360_G

Total price was only $48.00.

Heck I have owned Arai, Bell, Shoei, HJC, Scorpion, and now a KBC.

One thing that makes me feel comfortable with most any major name helemt:
I have seen loads of crashes on the roads and at tracks. I have never seen a helmet fail and only heard of a very few cases where head injuries resulted when rider had on a helmet. And, it seems in all those cases, it was not that the helmet failed, it was a matter of hitting something so hard, so fast, that head injury was inevitable.

Any comments? Anybody else have a KBC?
Thanks for any comments or input.

I have that helmet as a back up piece...like you I saw it and said "wow, thats cheap and its snell and dot"...fits my GF nice but since she is getting into riding more she is going to look into getting a more top shelf helmet...but yeah the KBC hasn't served me wrong...I don't know about its fit seeing as it is a size I have is a small

I'm on my second KBC. I have the VR2 and love the helmet. My previous one was the VR1 which I field tested and walked away without any injury. The helmet is light and quiet and I've been very happy with the KBC's. I figure if it's good enough for Mat Mladin then it's definately good enough for me.

Been wearing KBC for 6 years. I've had a their VR1 for a couple years now.

Shield works nicely.

Crashed it @ the track last year. It took some cosmetic damage, but that was it. Pretty cool & comfy. Not all that quiet, but I use earplugs when I'm not toolin' around town anyway.

What did you think of the Scorpion?

My main lid is a scorpion, and I really like it. My backup is a HJC.

I've been riding KBC forever, love 'em.

I a have the HJC CL-14 Kast, have had it for almost 2 yrs now,...thinking about a new lid, I like the KBC, have only tried them on in the stores, for that price, I would pick one up as a back up lid...I really want the Shoei Joker, not only does it look cool, but it looks cool too...LOL:lol:

I've got a KBC airborne, and its the best lid I've ever had. its light, has that nose cover thign to keep it from fogging up. and this little snap that hooks onto the extra strap that hangs down when you draw it tight. nice touch. anyway, I love it, and the graphics on the airborne always get looks.

How much??

[QUOTE=Brian A;52964]I stopped by the local Cyclegear shop yesterday QUOTE]

How about the weight? compared to others??

My KBC is pretty light, I think it's pretty close to the others. Way better then the ICON i tried for about a week

Too bad they don't make an Air Assault graphic!! That would be Way cool!!:cool:

:loser: :bitchslap:

Regarding weight: I can't tell a nickle's worth of difference between the KBC and the HJC. The Scorpion might be a wee bit lighter.

Regarding the Scorpion: I have the EXO 4000. It is a fine helmet for the price. Really (IMHO) top-end for what you pay. I liked it but got the feeling it would not be a good fit for every head. I really like their quick change shield set-up. Nice when you get it figured out.

The KBC VR2 is very light. I'm very impressed with the quality and improved products that KBC continually puts out.

I ordered it online for $130. I saw the same helmet at the chicago cycle show for $200 but they always overcharge there.

I took the KBC out last night and gave it a good going over. You know, for the $48 I paid, it appears to be a heckuva deal.

The liner is pretty spiffy and the graphics are flawless.

As Sgt. Rock said: I am impressed with the quality.

Well after all the years I have been riding I have seen 2 broken helmets a Bell and a HJC the only problem both were on MY head...the good thing both times I received no head injuries.. now what was I talking about.. I remember helmets... but I did add a few more pins and screws to the body both times... also these were both off-road helmets during a Hare Scramble race.... As for the street I have been wearing Arai for years.

Update
 

Wore the el cheapo KBC all weekend at the rally.

Without a doubt, the most comfortable, best fitting helmet I have ever had.

I never really thought about it until this weekend, but after riding a lot, I realized I was forgetting I had a helmet on. And, I realized THAT was a sign of a nice fitting helmet.
No pressure points or anything to be an aggravation.

Best $48 I ever spent.
Kinda' wish I'd bought two!

what model was it??...I noticed on another site that they have a KBC for about the same price...

One word about the Snell standard, I read a great article on the helmets standards, I just can't find the link, I think I had it from another forum, The snell standard was in fact a really bad protection in common crashes and is about to be banned from europe. The helmet is designed to provide protection in very high G's crashes, 300 G's...twice, if I recall right, but it's right on the edge of brain injury. A hard hit that meets the helmets limit may not even leave your head attached to your body. They went trough all europe stats to find that there were no deaths from head injuries alone at high speeds (really lol) people were really thrashed. The hard lining could leave the foam uncompressed after a crash and provide a 300 G impact to the head even at low speeds where a softer lining could have compressed and reduced the G's. Riders rarely have head injuries alone, and the combined trauma from head, chest, arms, legs overwhelms the body and usually kills the rider.
Rule don't buy an helmet that is designed to hit a concrete wall at 150 MPH because it won't save you.

I use my helmet to keep bugs out of my teeth!! LOL

+1 on that opinion. I did alot of research on helmets before I bought the one I have. Z1R.. Low end helmet that OUT PREFORMED the high end in all the test that the Mag threw at it.. EVEN though it only has the DOT rating and the others had DOT & SNELL...