The year is 1946 in Valenza, in the Piedmontese province of Alessandria. A small workshop run by a young Gino Amisano produces leather saddles and helmets for cycling. There are many shoe factories in the area that process this material, and there is a real passion for cycling after World War II. After a year of work, Amisano decided to focus on the world of engines, a rapidly expanding sector. He began producing covers for Vespa and Lambretta saddles, then moved on to helmets. This is how AGV was born, the name of an acronym by Amisano Gino Valenza.
At a time when helmets were rare, early AGV models were handcrafted from leather and formed around head molds commonly used to shape hats. The manual production process meant they didn't even make ten units a week in their early days. But it was an important starting point for a company that was destined to innovate and set the global benchmark within a few decades.
Modern materials: fiberglass
After a brief period of vulcanized fibers, or rather fabrics impregnated with a special resin and hardened with a catalyst, 1954 saw the birth of the first Italian helmet to be made with a modern material, the AGV bowl in kerized fiberglass, from name of the process to which it was submitted.
AGV fiberglass, or “the Kappa fiber that beats everything,” as the famous slogan went, quickly established itself as safer and lighter, compared to leather or similar materials, which were quickly replaced. A few years later, the jet helmet appeared, more protective and offering better coverage than the bowl. The first European full-face helmet was presented by AGV in 1967 and immediately offered to the best professional drivers in the world championship. Giacomo Agostini was the first ambassador of the integral model.
Today's helmets
In the days of the leather bowl, simply owning a helmet was considered a luxury, as well as a sign of foresight, but today we have reached a point where we not only distinguish different helmets for different uses , but also differentiate the materials according to the type of use.
Starting with simple fiberglass in the 1960s, at least three different materials are now available for hull manufacturing, namely pure carbon fiber, composite fibers and high-strength thermoplastic. Each of these materials already tends to identify the type of helmet we are dealing with.
It should be emphasized that today the difference between helmets lies in the material from which the shell is made, responsible for dispersing the impact force over as wide an area as possible and resisting puncture. Inside the shell, all helmets contain a thick layer of expanded polystyrene, called EPS, which is a material that can absorb impact energy by compressing irreversibly.
The black gold of helmets
Carbon fiber is a material that offers unbeatable properties. Carbon shells are the result of a careful process to bond filaments composed of carbon atoms and a matrix, a resin, whose purpose is to hold the fibers in place, so that they maintain their orientation by absorbing shocks, protect the fibers and, of course, help maintain the shape of the helmet. It should be emphasized that any material or structure composed of two or more elements must be classified as composite. So, carbon fiber coupled with epoxy resin falls into this category, which is generally used to identify different fibers, such as aramid and glass.
One of the main advantages of carbon fiber is its high mechanical strength or its ability to withstand different types of stress without breaking. The properties of this material allow maximum safety to be achieved with reduced thicknesses, so the weight is extremely low. Carbon is used in the manufacture of high-end products, often dedicated to track racing but not always. Its light weight also makes it the best choice for long-range touring and off-road helmets.
AGV racing helmets, for example, are designed to deliver maximum performance on the track, providing the professional rider and the amateur with the same levels of protection and performance. An extreme environment like the track, where speeds often exceed 300 kilometers per hour and where there are constraints that are not found elsewhere, requires the use of materials with exceptional properties, and this is where that carbon fiber helmets come into their own.
Composite fibers
As explained above, each fiber shell is actually made of composite material. When it comes to composite fibers, however, there is a tendency to identify mixed fibers and not pure fibers as 100% carbon. One of the most used is aramid fiber. Due to its excellent tensile and breaking strength, it is used in the manufacture of bulletproof vests, among others. By itself, aramid fiber is very elastic, so it must be combined with other fibers, such as carbon and glass, in order to give the final product the appropriate strength.
In general, composite fibers used together result in safe, lightweight hulls, but the thicknesses required are slightly greater than pure carbon fiber hulls, and they weigh more.
The great advantage of these materials, which explains their large-scale use, is that they allow the production of high-level products at a more affordable price, compared to their pure carbon fiber counterparts. This is how the majority of helmets we find in stores are made.
And plastic?
ABS, a high-strength thermoplastic resin, is by far the most widely used material in all segments, enabling the production of safe, reliable and durable products. Compared to different fibers, it weighs a little more but has the distinct advantage of being easily processed, allowing for simpler construction.
There is a considerable difference in the processing complexity of fiber and plastic helmets. With fiber helmets, the process involves the use of molds that produce the “closed” shell. The openings (visors, air vents and holes) are made using high pressure water jets. ABS hulls are made by injecting molten resin directly into the molds, making the finished hull, ready for the next stages of assembly.
For urban use, thermoplastic resin helmets are undoubtedly a good choice, especially for those who are not looking for featherweight or racing performance. We also remind you that the helmets of the entire range benefit in the long term from the development carried out by professional pilots, both in terms of protection, with studies on the width of the field of vision for example, and performance, such as 'aerodynamic.
Carbon, aramid fiber, fiberglass and thermoplastic. Each material has its own advantages and purpose, linked to a particular type of use. Whether you want to go out on the track and exceed 300km/h, or ride your scooter from home to work every day, there is a perfect product, made with a material that best suits your needs.
