Nobby
Guest
I've just frittered away more of my children's inheritance on a new lid 
The Nolan N104 is an updated progression from the N103 and according to the marketing blurb is made from Adamantium, facilitates time travel, will resolve the middle-east crisis and has been proven to attract super-models. (I may be exaggerating a smidgen, but I'm cynical about marketing departments' hype).
My most recent helmet was a Ducchinni D619, a flip-front with internal sun visor and integrated bluetooth. A decent enough bonnet, but bought on a budget (?170). My main frustration was the sound - a combination of nasty wind noise even at medium speeds and weedy speakers (imagine a moth stuck in your ear).
Having saved my hard-earned pennies, I looked at the Schuberth C3 and the Nolan N103 & N104.
I quickly dismissed the N103, only because the N104 is not much more expensive, but has much improved field of vision and one or two other perks.
The Schuberth was an odd fit. I'm usually a 'L' size, but this felt too tight a squeeze on the forehead and cheeks, while the XL was too roomy. That was obviously a biggy.
The N104 in a 'L' was snug - nice round the head, and a comfortable pressure on the cheeks (often hard to find in a flippy).
I wish that price weren't a limiting factor, but Mrs Nobby gets all antsy about the luxuries in life (food, mortgage, insurance etc.). On this occasion, it became a bit academic, as a good fit trumps everything else. Even if the Schuey had been a good fit, I'd find it hard to justify the cost differential.
C3 (?469) + Schuberth Bluetooth (?309) = ?778
N104 (?250) + B4 (?250) = ?500
Anywho, having phoned a few dealers and checked out web offers, my local Hein Gericke store had stock, and I've found my local branch is great at answering questions, allowing me to have a proper try-out of stuff, and will usually broker a fair deal.
After a pleasant bit of 'aggling, I'd got the helmet down to ?210 and the B4 to the same. We finally shook on ?400 for the package, fitted.
Fit: Very snug! The cheek arms have quite a narrow opening, and while I don't quite leave me ears behind taking it off, it's tight to don and doff. Once on, it genuinely cradles my head and face with a reassuring pressure, but without any individual squeeze or pressure points. (9/10)
Practicality: This is the first flip-front that feels good with the chin piece up or down. Up, it feels like a good open facer, albeit with quite a chunky top. Down, it feels as solid as a full face.
The sun visor has a nice 'slide down, snap up' function - a slider on the left jawline lowers it smoothly, and a red button makes it adios in a blink. It does come close to my nose, but doesn't quite hit it. The tech guy at the store said he'd happily adjust this for me if it's too high or low, but it's not needed in my case. As well as good shade from low sunshine, it's also good wind protection at low speed in open face mode.
Ventilation is excellent, with e decent chin-piece switchable vent, and a 3-position hobby on top (closed, chimney only, or fully open) (8/10)
Noise: It's VERY quiet. Chin piece down, it's even quieter than my old Arai full face bonnet. Dropping my head below the wind shield makes it noiseless, but even putting my head above the parapet at 90+ (Sorry Officer? Yes, 70. I said 70) results in nothing more than a flutter. (10/10)
Bluetooth: Although the guy in the store fitted the B4 unit, it proved faulty. They immediately agree to replace it, but apologised that on a Saturday they wouldn't be able to fit it there and then as the store was choc-a-bloc. I removed the unit myself and swapped it in-store. Fitting took 15 minutes. Given that I have hands like shovels and dysfunctional thumbs, this was a pleasant surprise.
The sound quality is outstanding. Even at high speed, the bass and treble balance beautifully, and I've not had to raise volume above 6/10. Music, phone conversations, and even talk radio are clear as a bell.
The menu system is a bit of a fiddle at first - each menu setting is indicated by a specific tone, so until you learn which is which, it can be confusing. Once I'd familiarised myself, it became pretty straight forward.
The built in FM radio is nice, with 6 Preset stations. Like all the other settings, it can be programmed from the helmet controls, or a PC application from the N-Com web site. Very slick indeed!
It also has a 3.5mm jack for iPod etc, but I prefer to use A2DP from the iPhone. This works nicely, with all the controls available from the lid. Best of all, I can trigger 'Siri' on the iPhone 4S allowing full voice control of phone calls and music. Even at speed on the motorway, I can press the helmet button and say "Call Mrs Nobby" or "Play Led Zeppelin, all songs, shuffle" and the phone responds accordingly.
I've not tried the rider to pillion feature yet (Mrs Nobby's serene silence is one of the joys of biking, nest-ce pas?) or the bike to bike, but would expect these do what they say on the tin.
Overall, I have no problem recommending this combination. A good helmet, great comms, and a fair price. (9/10)
The Nolan N104 is an updated progression from the N103 and according to the marketing blurb is made from Adamantium, facilitates time travel, will resolve the middle-east crisis and has been proven to attract super-models. (I may be exaggerating a smidgen, but I'm cynical about marketing departments' hype).
My most recent helmet was a Ducchinni D619, a flip-front with internal sun visor and integrated bluetooth. A decent enough bonnet, but bought on a budget (?170). My main frustration was the sound - a combination of nasty wind noise even at medium speeds and weedy speakers (imagine a moth stuck in your ear).
Having saved my hard-earned pennies, I looked at the Schuberth C3 and the Nolan N103 & N104.
I quickly dismissed the N103, only because the N104 is not much more expensive, but has much improved field of vision and one or two other perks.
The Schuberth was an odd fit. I'm usually a 'L' size, but this felt too tight a squeeze on the forehead and cheeks, while the XL was too roomy. That was obviously a biggy.
The N104 in a 'L' was snug - nice round the head, and a comfortable pressure on the cheeks (often hard to find in a flippy).
I wish that price weren't a limiting factor, but Mrs Nobby gets all antsy about the luxuries in life (food, mortgage, insurance etc.). On this occasion, it became a bit academic, as a good fit trumps everything else. Even if the Schuey had been a good fit, I'd find it hard to justify the cost differential.
C3 (?469) + Schuberth Bluetooth (?309) = ?778
N104 (?250) + B4 (?250) = ?500
Anywho, having phoned a few dealers and checked out web offers, my local Hein Gericke store had stock, and I've found my local branch is great at answering questions, allowing me to have a proper try-out of stuff, and will usually broker a fair deal.
After a pleasant bit of 'aggling, I'd got the helmet down to ?210 and the B4 to the same. We finally shook on ?400 for the package, fitted.
Fit: Very snug! The cheek arms have quite a narrow opening, and while I don't quite leave me ears behind taking it off, it's tight to don and doff. Once on, it genuinely cradles my head and face with a reassuring pressure, but without any individual squeeze or pressure points. (9/10)
Practicality: This is the first flip-front that feels good with the chin piece up or down. Up, it feels like a good open facer, albeit with quite a chunky top. Down, it feels as solid as a full face.
The sun visor has a nice 'slide down, snap up' function - a slider on the left jawline lowers it smoothly, and a red button makes it adios in a blink. It does come close to my nose, but doesn't quite hit it. The tech guy at the store said he'd happily adjust this for me if it's too high or low, but it's not needed in my case. As well as good shade from low sunshine, it's also good wind protection at low speed in open face mode.
Ventilation is excellent, with e decent chin-piece switchable vent, and a 3-position hobby on top (closed, chimney only, or fully open) (8/10)
Noise: It's VERY quiet. Chin piece down, it's even quieter than my old Arai full face bonnet. Dropping my head below the wind shield makes it noiseless, but even putting my head above the parapet at 90+ (Sorry Officer? Yes, 70. I said 70) results in nothing more than a flutter. (10/10)
Bluetooth: Although the guy in the store fitted the B4 unit, it proved faulty. They immediately agree to replace it, but apologised that on a Saturday they wouldn't be able to fit it there and then as the store was choc-a-bloc. I removed the unit myself and swapped it in-store. Fitting took 15 minutes. Given that I have hands like shovels and dysfunctional thumbs, this was a pleasant surprise.
The sound quality is outstanding. Even at high speed, the bass and treble balance beautifully, and I've not had to raise volume above 6/10. Music, phone conversations, and even talk radio are clear as a bell.
The menu system is a bit of a fiddle at first - each menu setting is indicated by a specific tone, so until you learn which is which, it can be confusing. Once I'd familiarised myself, it became pretty straight forward.
The built in FM radio is nice, with 6 Preset stations. Like all the other settings, it can be programmed from the helmet controls, or a PC application from the N-Com web site. Very slick indeed!
It also has a 3.5mm jack for iPod etc, but I prefer to use A2DP from the iPhone. This works nicely, with all the controls available from the lid. Best of all, I can trigger 'Siri' on the iPhone 4S allowing full voice control of phone calls and music. Even at speed on the motorway, I can press the helmet button and say "Call Mrs Nobby" or "Play Led Zeppelin, all songs, shuffle" and the phone responds accordingly.
I've not tried the rider to pillion feature yet (Mrs Nobby's serene silence is one of the joys of biking, nest-ce pas?) or the bike to bike, but would expect these do what they say on the tin.
Overall, I have no problem recommending this combination. A good helmet, great comms, and a fair price. (9/10)
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