I finally took the time to make something I always have dreamed about: to make a copy of my helmet in carbon.
After having disassembled the original helmet, I made a mould of it and put some layers of carbon fibers.
Then I infused it with the help of the MTI hose, that i find really necessary in this case (well, always, I suppose).
After triming, I applied some stickers and clearcoated the whole thing.
Next winter I will make the front cover too.
That looks great!
Looks good… BUT as it has not been tested for strength… I would not wear it on a bike at speed… I just would not trust my head to something that has not been tested…
If you would know how helmets are produced in a real world, you would prefer to wear tis helmet 
The safety thing ist 90% marketing. I would defenetly trust more to a helmet I made by my self than into a bought one.
Great job, I really like the way you laid out the patterns. I’ve wanted to do mine for years. You may have just given me the motivation…Thanks
I dont trust cheaper helmets and I would not risk using one not made by a good helmet company… Too stiff and the G forces are then transferred directly into the lining which is not designed to take that much G force. If there is a weak point of you make an error you are risking more than your licence by wearing a none tested or approved helmet. The minimum you will get is an insurance not paying up on any claim if there is an accident and they can show you are not wearing an BSi, DOT, Snell or ECE approved helmet… I have ridden 200MPH+ bikes and raced so I always wear protection on the road and sorry… You may know what you are doing but make a mistake or someone else who does not know what they are doing and you could not only kill yourself but others too and leave them with no way to claim from the insurance because you are not wearing an approved helmet… Too strong and too weak are both as bad as each other and a FULL carbon helmet if you use the wrong lay up could just shatter…
I have raced and ridden bikes for a living and as nice as this is as a test or show piece it is illegal in most places of the world to use it on road or track…
I understood his post to mean it was just a copy of the real helmet and not one he was going to wear?
Beautiful choice of weave ! I love the large spread tow and 4x4 twills.I bet laying up inside that complex shape was a chore too!
I’ve always wanted to design a helmet with Kevlar added along with a ribbed core low profile enough not to add a lot of profile bulk.
It took a couple of hours to lay the first layer into the mould.
My nightmare was the fear to find at the end of the work some random pieces of carbon tows on the surface of the part.
I had some wider spread tow fabric at hand, but I haven’t been able to put it into the mould without having some tows fraying at the edges.
I’m definitely more a “prepreg & autoclave” guy. 
If you have always worked with prepreg it is pain in the a… to drape a dry fabric:)
But if you have always worked with dry fabric you will hate the tack of the prepreg. It just what you know.
But still a very impressive work.
The center weave pattern looks great. Is that just 1x1 spread tow or is it a special pattern?
The central pattern is a 12k 285gr/sqm T700 plain weave.
The outer one is a 3k 280gr/sqm HS 4x4 twill.
Looks great!
Great work, I’m really liking the contrast in the weave patterns.
I agree, the contrast looks great!
Through out the world you will find the ‘paranoid’. Helmet companies love the ‘paranoid’. They suggest things like “if you drop your helmet you NEED a new one”, or how about “what is you head worth? $5 dollar helmet for a $5 dollar head”, implying that the more you $pend the more protection you get.
Same rule applies to gloves and leathers. I love reading crash reviewed equipment, you know, “I was doing X kilometers per hour and they held up well” or “I was only going Y kph and the seams opened up…cheap pos equipment, I’d never buy again…”.
If you had a decent amount of 1st hand crashing experience you would learn that all crashes are infinitely different in nature. I’ve gone through quite a few helmets, numerous gloves and a few sets of leathers. I’ve crashed at speed and done no damage (some minor scratches here or there), I’ve crashed going slow and smashed carbon knuckles and opened seams. I’ve crashed on the track and not so much as scuffed my helmet. I’ve also ‘high-sided’ on the street and faceplanted my helmet where the only damage was the visor. Do you get a sense for the unimaginable numerous different senarios that a crash can entail?
All the tests from DOT, SNELL ect. include the same handful of genaric tests. You can count them on one hand.
Do they test the visors ability to deflect an object at a 30 degree angle? how about the shells ability to do the same thing from behind at a 60 degree angle? How about the level of abrasion the outer shell can endure? (if your helmet were caught under/with your bike while sliding).
If you really are going to need the ‘properly’ designed helmet with these certifications in order to absorb the impact that ^^ this helmet won’t provide (1 in 100,000,000, yes one in 100 million) chances are, you are going to end up dead or a vegetable anyways.
Which brings me to “when it’s your time…it’s your time”. Spending $1000 on a helmet won’t do much for you when you go head first into a cliff or an oncoming car that a $100 helmet won’t.
I know what you mean… I have had 120mph crashes and worn though leathers and had minor burns and bruising. I have also had a 20mph crash which threw me up 8 to 9 feet and snapped a ligament which will never heal and the op for it is less than 50% successful.I do not and will not wear off the shelf leathers sold to the public. But I also know a helmet needs to be designed to work in a specific way with the lining and shell working together. I would not trust that helmet at all no matter how good it looks without it being tested. As for saying “when it’s your time…it’s your time” is not the way anyone in racing would think or feel. most of the safety measures used like back, shoulder, knee, hip and chest protectors as well as the new air bags fitted to GP riders leathers show we do not look at it like that and want to have the best protection possible. To be honest I would also never wear a flip front helmet simply because I have seen them fail and some have been lucky to not have broken necks and the ACU (Racing governing body in the UK) and FIM do not have any approved flip front helmets yet DO have several open face ones show they dont feel that design is safe either. I would simply not wear a none approved helmet as I would not know how it would perform. I have ridden at almost the highest levels and know how much work goes into a good quality helmet. Even to the point where being sponsored I had my helmets made with custom fit liners which are not sold to the public. Having worked in motorsport as a rider and engineer and seen the inside of the industry I feel your comments are very off hand flip about the level of development used to protect the riders they are designed to protect as paranoia is not one of those things manufacturers work on. Arai, Shoei, AGV ect dont talk about the what if’s or the negative sides of not wearing their products.
He made his helmet because he wants to do it! And it is great work! He does not want to sell this helm.
He also changed a standard ABS shell against a CF shell he made him self. This helmet will be definetly better than the orginal one!
I do not understand what you want to discuss, he has not said that he has build a professional racing helmet.
And also the manufactoror make more “hokuspokus” about what they do than they really do, thats called marketing.
Looks great! what did you use to trim this ?
Just a good old Dremel, diamond wheel, drum sander and elbow oil.
