It's official the French made LAZER LZ6 Helmet is the best value helmet on earth!

SHARP - The Helmet Safety Scheme

The new stringent UK government tests give this £49 helmet TOP marks (5 stars).

Grab yourself a bargain - Lazer LZ6 LX Helmet from Bike Stop


If you're looking for a cheap but SAFE helmet then look no further...

Yeah I know, It's not all about safety etc... but if you haven't much to spend, you can't really go wrong with this one. It beats many helmets costing £400 or more including Shoie's "TOP OF THE RANGE" X-Spirit. So you can ride and be smug at the same time! :confused1:

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

This old chestnut again

Government motorcycle helmet test results revealed - Motorcycle News

Looks like the test results have stirred up some controversy. For this system to work, it has to have credibility with the people it is targeted at. It will be interesting to hear feedback from the industry.

FAQs : SHARP - The Helmet Safety Scheme

Also of note, it would appear that the testing has focused purely on impact decelleration and no other criteria such as a penetration test, has been considered. This would partly explain why a cheap polycarbonate lid is scoring as high as a composite lid. However, I'd really be surprised if any independent tester would agree that the Takachi TK30 is really the equal of an Arai's entry-level Condor in any other area.

I'm also a little disappointed that other essential safety features such as the retention system, fitting, fog resistance/ventilation, etc, etc, have not been looked at, some if not all contribute to active as well as passive safety. It's comparable to having a car with airbags, crumple zones, rollover bars, etc, but handles like a ship in a storm (the Volvo 240 springs to mind). They seem to have forgotten that there's other factors that may help you avoid that accident in the first place.

While I think the whole idea of the ratings system is good if overdue, I fear that in future, helmet manufacturers, particularly at the cheaper end of the market, may design future products around the test's limited criteria with the sole purpose of getting 5 stars, rather than making a decent product. It's a bit like doing a 1-week intensive course to pass the driving test if you see where I'm coming from.

I also noticed that no helmet has yet to score 1 star and a few have scored 5 stars on the first series of tests, so I take it they're not planning to encourage the industry to improve on these existing designs, unless they're planning to move the goalposts on a regular basis as is the case with NCAP.

I'd also like to see all helmets carry a sticker, by law on the visor at the point of sale stating the rating. This alone should take most of the substandard rubbish of the market, though the Arai Condor may as well withdraw from the European market now.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

also remember that most (?) people reading this site are interested in travelling. A plastic helmet (polycarbonate) will degrade faster in extreme weather (heat or cold). it may start out as one of the best lids to slide along a smooth surface in, but three months under the cruel sun weakens it.

it's irresponsible to bang on about cheap helmets (and not to buy +£100 helmets), in this context, to people who may well believe you as they don't understand helmet construction or the limitations of these tests. The bike school I did my instructor training at used/sold £50 helmets. The visors are positively dangerous as they have no scratch resistance, and very bad star-burst effect at night. But like the vitally important retention testing, visor testing is absent from the 'officially safest helmet' test.

Fair enough to raise the fact new tests are on the market, but the overload of viral marketing isn't good.

I totally agree.

If you read the FAQ page on the SHARP website, they don't test the chin bar area on the helmet either, which means one of the classic-styled, Davida open-face helmets could quite realistically score exactly the same as a full-face race lid. :confused1:

I believe one HU member also witnessed an incident where a rider nearly drowned on his own blood, due to the a flip front on a touring helmet becoming jammed after an accident. Again, this is a situation that hasn't even been considered.

What really concerns me is the lack of other forms of destructive testing, such as a penetration test, as there's got to be some kind of trade off between absorbing/decellerating an impact and being able to remain intact. While a cheap, polycarbonate helmet may be ductile enough to absorb the force of a 30mph spill off a scooter, it doesn't take a doctorate in physics to realise it won't replicate that result if you were to highside your R1 at anything like the speeds they're capable of. Whether you agree or disagree with using the potential of a superbike on the road is besides the point.

This scheme could have been really good for motorcycle road safety, but it just seems like some government health and safety types have jumped on one piece of research and every other factor has been blatently pushed under the carpet.

In my opinion the safest helmet is the one YOU find most comfortable to wear for long periods,irrespective of if it cost £49 or £499.If you're uncomfortable in a £499 lid then your concentration isn't being directed to where it's needed the most(that Volvo aproaching the junction ahead,etc....).And does the wonder-test cover noise levels inside the helmet at travelling speeds? Tinnitus anyone?

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Just going for a short ride on my bike....

sorry folks but this new information does seem to screw up the time old argument of mines better than yours. So many posts have been over good cheap Kit and then someone reoplies with ohh its my life, How much is your life worth etc etc.

Well here it is in black and white. You dont always get what you pay for. Just because your helmet says Arai or Shoei doesnt make it better than one that says something else.

Buy what you want and what you can afford. But dont tell the rest of us that yours is better because it cost more. My house might have cost less than yours but that might be because I am better at stricking a deal than you.

That Arai that seemed to be a bargain at a show may have been shifted around in its box for three years. Id sooner have my £30 special that meets all the same tests and be happy that I will replace it often and not be tempted to use it after its been dropped.
As far as safety is concerned I wont be tempted to see how good I look as I pass shop windows, Ill be watching the road ahead through my cheap visor that funnily enough hasnt a scratch on it after 2 years use because its owner looks after it.

I understand the comment on a cheap touring helmet but I cant see why a jamed flip front would be any different to deal with than a standard helmet.

Hi, Lazer is not French make, it's from Belgium...

Sorry if it is uninteresting...

I stand to be corrected!

I did read it was manufactured in France though.

It's always nice to read ANY reply regardless of content. Welcome to the HUBB Fabien

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).