Crash Hat question

I'm not sure if it's just my hearing, but the last few times out on the bike the wind noise seems to be getting much louder inside my crash hat. Riding the same roads at the same speeds, not much has changed in terms of my riding behaviour. It's an AGV airtech which I've had for nearly a year now, worn on average twice per week I guess, stored indoors, mostly in it's sleeping bag.

So, do helmets lose some of their sound proofing over time? And if so, is a year at that wear rate a bit quick? Or should I just be wearing ear plugs...?!

Any comments gratefully received

Might be the lining has compressed a little and is now slightly looser which makes it seem louder. FWIW, I always ride with ear plug - can still hear traffic and engine noise, but cuts out the high frequency stuff that does the long-term damage.

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by st220_mike

...Or should I just be wearing ear plugs...?!...

Yes

I have tried earplugs, they are great on the motorways, but a bit of a fiddle and I don't really want to wear them every day iif I can avoid it (just having a look online for a big variety pack to try a lot of different ones out though).

My daily commute is only about 20 mins and I like the sound of the exhaust (an ART can) for the most part, but it's getting to the point where all I can hear above 50mph is wind roar, and I'm sure it didn't used to be like that!

[dizzyblonde]

get some Laser lite earplugs. Can find them on ebay I believe. I'm lucky, they are kindly donated to me by my employer(they just don't know it )

Cool, thanks for the recommendation. £2 from ebay with postage included I'll see how I get on.

Simesb - think you're probably right about the helmet having compressed a bit. Thanks.

[dizzyblonde]

depends on how many your getting for £2. Try and get as many as you can for cheap. They are meant for single use, obviously one pair of them are in and out of my ears a few times over a day, but I only use them a couple of times on my bike, as they seem to get a bit mucky for some reason.

[Paul the 6th]

ear plugs take a bit of getting used to but now I can put them in within 30 seconds and they really make a massive difference. When I first started riding it used to take me a few minutes to get them in properly, so it's all about the technique

bag of the bright green ones from halfords are about a tenner for 50 pairs if i remember correctly?

Originally Posted by Paul the 6th

ear plugs take a bit of getting used to but now I can put them in within 30 seconds and they really make a massive difference. When I first started riding it used to take me a few minutes to get them in properly, so it's all about the technique

bag of the bright green ones from halfords are about a tenner for 50 pairs if i remember correctly?

I 'bought' a 26 pair pack of motrax branded ones (£5.99) yesterday from bikers world, as i bought a few things i only noticed this morning on the receipt that they didnt charge me for them, he bagged all the stuff as well.
Result !

did you have a hair cut recently? i know it sounds silly...but it might be why you have the extra wind noise!