POSTED ON November 20, 2022

What goes into making a performance helmet?
What should you look for?
What are the materials?
We explain everything you need to know about performance helmets in 2022

Heavier is Stronger, Lighter is Flimsier

The stronger the helmet, the heavier it is. More material creates a bigger barrier and protection. Remember the Great Wall of China? To keep hordes of Huns out, the Great Wall is 21ft wide at the base. Making it unbreachable. Similarly, regular plastic helmets (polycarbonates / ABS) need a lot more material to make them stronger. Unfortunately, it also makes them heavier. A lot more heavier.
Carrying a load on the head creates serious cervical stress and carrying that weight on your head, particularly while riding creates fatigue. Fatigued or tired riders are not at their best in staying alert, which in turn is not the ideal way to ride. So while a lighter helmet is more desirable, there cannot be any compromise whatsoever, in its ability to withstand impact.

Tiivra has created a Composite Fiber Helmet that is the lightest In India and is among the lightest in the world, while still not just acing, but exceeding impact tests – by far. These helmets protect without causing fatigue.

When we ride, especially going longer distances – such as a Himalayan Odyssey or a ride to Ladakh, heavier helmets tend to strain the neck and shoulders. Tiivra Composite Fiber Helmet – at 1250 gms (for S and M sizes) is among a handful of lightest helmets, not just in India, but in the world.

Composite Fibers – What are they?

Composite Fiber fabrics are made with multi-axial fibers made of Glass, Carbon, Kevlar and a host of other such non-conventional materials. As these fibers are woven along different axis, they impart a great deal of strength to fabrics and have a very high ability to dissipate impact. They beat other materials such as ABS or polycarbonates hollow in terms of impact protection.

Such high-performance fiber composite are achieved and made possible by cross-linking glass or other fiber molecules with resins in a molecular re-engineering process, yielding a product of exceptional structural properties.
Composites are used to make the bodies of missiles, hulls of submarines, UAVs, Aero-Space Engineering and even some high end construction.

Composite Fibers and Motorcycle Helmets

Less than 1% of motorcycle helmets – all over the world – are made from Composite Fibers. At higher speeds, plastics fail on impact. Even so, 99% of world’s helmets are made from plastics.

Even though 100% of track riders wear only composite fiber helmets, – as it is only these that give impact protection at higher speeds. But manufacturers of helmets prefer to use an injection moulding process using plastics for achieving scale and profits. But higher profits does not equal higher safety. They prefer the cookie cutter injection moulded plastic helmets. They are easier to make. And riders have got used to the idea that all helmets would be about 1550gms or so and that weight is unavoidable if you want a better helmet

The Tiivra Promise

At Tiivra, we have vowed to only use composite fibers due to our Rider First approach. For plastic helmets to offer the same level of protection as composites, they have to use a lot more material. Making them heavier. Our helmets are among the lightest in the world – made light, not just by the use of Composite Fiber material, but also by our process that requires the use of vacuum that removes all but the most minimal of resin required to bond the multiple layers of Composite Fiber Ultra-light fabric.

So next time you are choosing a helmet, ensure it is a helmet that not just meets the certification levels that many plastic helmets clear. Instead, find out what it is made of and look for lightweight composite fiber helmet that would be lighter and stronger. So don’t carry the weight you on your head.