SCHUBERTH C3 FLIP-FRONT HELMET – FLAWED GENIUS?

 

There’s no doubt that the C3 is a clever bit of kit – as well it might be, being made by Schuberth, the upper-echelon German manufacturer with a typically Teutonic attention to detail. The pedigree is indeed good; based on the successful C2, the helmet was developed in the firm’s own wind tunnel and it was also tested by a certain Herr Schumacher.

As you’d expect for a top-end product from the land of Audi, it feels like quality, comes with an impressive guarantee package, and costs rather more than a fistful of Euros.

But is it any good? And should you buy it? We put it to the test under UK winter conditions and came up with a rather surprising conclusion; a fine lid it certainly is, but not, alas, a great one. In fact the C3 is rather like the Curate’s Egg : it’s good – in parts. Luckily those good parts are enough to make it a worthy contender, but some basic design errors dent an otherwise excellent performance.

Top Spec.

Things start well with an impressive spec; Single handed flip-up design, integrated drop-down sun visor, blue-tooth intercom option, pinlock anti-mist visor supplied, quick visor release mechanism, multiple vents and washable liner. Colours range from matt black through grey to an eye-opening flouro yellow. Something looking as if it might be called ‘Neutron-Bomb Orange’ is pretty wild too.

Having parted with your readies and opened the box, you feel that lovely glow that only self-indulgent materialism can supply. Lovely. The lid looks great – slimmer and more aerodynamic than the old C2, and boy – is it light! Just 1650g, making it 177g or just over 6 ounces lighter than the out-going model. This is achieved by a composite shell material and a special high-pressure moulding process to give strength without excess mass.

Popping it on it feels very snug and the chin bar closes with a reassuringly solid click. Its then that you notice your companions have lost the power of speech – or so it seems, because putting this lid on is like immersing your head in a bucket of silence. Their lips move, but you can’t hear what they are saying, to paraphrase Pink Floyd. Wow. Its amazingly quiet in here. Hello? Hello? Not to worry you’ll soon learn to lip-read.

The Sound of Silence; Nearly

Despite this being a flip-up, Schuberth claim an impressive 84dB (A) at 100 km/h. This is around the level at which sound becomes a problem as defined by HSE, so you should still wear plugs. BUT, research suggests that many lids are up around the mid 90’s db at the same speed. Since the decibel measurement is logarithmic, the difference in sound power hitting your delicate ear drums will be about TEN TIMES greater in one of those helmets compared with the Schuberth. This, we suspect must be a medically significant difference.

So, having put the helmet on, you at once feel like your head is being treated like a Very Special Head Indeed (VSHI). The lining is soft and the rider’s noggin seems secure and cocooned in it’s own little world. Ahh. Bless. As elsewhere on the helmet initial impressions like this are underlain by clever technology; for instance the well-fitting and soft cool-max pad system that makes it so comfy is also antibacterial, removable, washable and allergen free.

Tightening the chin strap is easy thanks to a secure ratchet system which is part of a crafty anti-roll off design wherein the strap continues inside the lid behind the rider’s head. Unless you get jumped by some skull-hungry Zombies, this baby is NOT coming off unless YOU want it to.

Heading off into the traffic I’m struck by how quickly the weather has changed, until I realise than the fog is, ahem, on the inside of the visor. Now its true that the temperature is only just about 6 degrees above the point where brass monkeys start to book their tickets somewhere warmer, but all vents are open, including the top and chin bar ones and the pinlock is correct fitted. Shouldn’t all this technology be able to cope?

Somewhat unbelieving, as I know that Schuberth claim an impressive-sounding 7 litres of fresh air a second to be supplied at 100km/h, I flip the visor open to it lowest setting …and find that it is way too wide. The icy blast is OK up to about 15 mph, but above that it makes the eyes water. Above 30 mph you needn’t worry because the visor unexpectedly shuts itself. Ah.

Only when moving at a steady 30 mph or above with the visor on its almost-shut setting (down but not clicked) is vision clear. Or clearish, for the pinlock seal is visible in peripheral vision. This is a shame for the field of view without it is excellent. Stopping briefly, the Pinlock comes off as does the Velcro-retained chin piece. This stops the fogging with only a very slight increase in noise. Now I can see, and see actually rather well.

Road Test

I’m riding Kawasaki’s fabulous ZZR1400, so it zips up to a fast cruising speed quicker than an MP submitted their expenses claim. Now to test the no-buffeting design.

The Kawasaki has the still fairly low OEM touring screen on, and head on into the wind the C3 feels like any other helmet, pressed back in the airstream. Give a quick over-the-shoulder before overtaking however and there is none of the normal turbulence trying to tug your head off. That’s good. What’s not so good is that even at 50 mph there is an audible hiss from the top vent. So the the aerodynamics work then, sort of.

There’s quite a lot of winter muck about as I’m riding; fine rain and that awful brown sludge that looks like dung and brown sugar, boiled with yak’s urine by some malevolent weather-demon and then flung from every side. The rain intensifies and I’m relieved that I haven’t suffered from one of the main problems reported by early buyers – rain getting past the top seal and running down the inside of the visor. Perhaps this niggle has since been fixed, because the interior stays perfectly dry. As I turn onto the road home, the low-winter sun briefly makes an appearance, prompting the swift deployment of the integrated sun-visor. Excellent! Easy to raise or lower and with enough tint to be useful without plunging one into darkness.

As I pass swiftly, if damply, through the scenery, I reflect that this C3 isn’t fitted with the optional SRC-System™ . The set looks cool on the blurb though, and features a fully integrated intercom between rider and pillion passenger, Bike-to-Bike intercom, conference mode as well as MP3, GPS / phone connection and an integrated VHF radio with RDS. Due to the quietness of the helmet you might think that this should be easily audible even at silly speeds – but some riders say this not to be the case.

Looking after it

Maintenance is pretty easy; wipe down the outer shell and visor, the top vent needs a clean out every so often to remove bugs and flies. Visor replacement is very easy and the interior is washable. Riders report that the soft padding stays soft and supportive for years in actual use.

Verdict

So how do we rate the C3? This is not easy to do. On one hand it feels like a quality product, snug, comfortable and safe. The opening and closing mechanism works well and is operable single handed as Schuberth claim. I liked the easy to use and adjust ratchet closure. It has a useful sun visor and the standard visor has two tangs to help you open it no problem with gloves.

On the other hand, the lid has some annoying niggles, worst of which is the lack of fine adjustment of the visor opening – at least 2 more settings below the lowest ‘open’ setting are required. That way a fine draught can remove the fogging without making your eyes water. More vents in the chin bar could also be a good idea as would dragging Mr S back and getting him to finish the job in quieting down the top vent.

Although Schuberth don;t recommend you ride with the visor open, if you do, the position of the chin bar on the top of your head acts like a sail. It has been pointed out that some other designs, like the Shark Evo 3, retract the bar further back on the head, preventing this issue.

Despite the moans though, it’s no bad job overall. The fogging issue would probably disappear in summer and the actual field of view is excellent. The C3 is lightweight, comfortable and restfully quiet – all characteristics that would make it a good high-mileage touring lid. In making comparisons it’s also fair to say that no other helmet out there is perfect either.

Bottom line is that we love its overall quality and comfort. But, until the visor and venting issues are fixed, we think it’s probably not worth the rather hefty £499 asking price. But if you still fancy trying one fear not; Helmet City are doing a great deal at £350. At which level the C3 is a most tempting and sensible choice. As it happens, that’s just what Bigbikemad paid and we’re keeping ours.To Buy this product online on Amazon Click Here