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Hey. This is Anthony with Revzilla TV, where you can watch, decide, and ride. Welcome to
our detailed breakdown of the brand new AGV Corsa helmet, available at Revzilla.com.
You’ve waited for it, and it has arrived. This is the new Corsa, form AGV. This is basically
a carbon fiber, aramid and fiber version of the AGV Pista, which Valentino Rossi is wearing
in Moto GP. This is the new tri-composite top-of-the-line from AGV, replacing the GP-Tech
that you see to my left. This was the classic top-of-the-line pre-Pista, pre-Corsa. This
is the classic 5 Continents Valentino Rossi helmet that I have over to my left. Everything’s
different; completely new shell, completely new system, protection, aerodynamics, comfort
feature, field of vision. I’m going to walk you through all of it, and it’s all completely
changed going into 2014.
Remember, this is a race-inspired helmet designed to be in the tuck. Look at the aggressive
profile. The GP Tech had an aggressive profile, this is more aggressive. Notice the way that
it’s oriented. It’s meant to be chin on the tack. Notice when that field of view and
when the chin bar lines up, again, head down, on the tack, in the tuck, in the ?. Honestly,
you upright riders out there don’t even waste your time. This is top-of-the-foodchain.
You’re talking about a helmet north of $700; touching on all the technology that developed
for Rossi himself, for Moto GP.
This is my winter test graphic for part of the launch graphics. There’s graphics available;
there’s solid, there’s matte colors, there’s even this matte white they call primer white,
which is really, really gnarly. From here, let’s talk briefly about fitment, and then
I’m going to walk through all the key changes, one-by-one. I can tell everything that’s
different up front, but honestly, you’ll probably have me spend the correct amount
of time on them. Fit is what I’m going to call intermediate to neutral oval. This is
the first time we’ve seen a helmet that you can tune the fitment or the shape in the
crown. When I get to the point in the video where I pull it all apart, you’re going
to see me having these wings that I’m able to move around that change it from more neutral
to more intermediate oval head shaped. Keep that in mind.
Remember, you can give us a shout if you have questions about it. As always, we’re going
to shape it for free. I will call out too, that I believe that there’s
8 sizes across 4 shells; extra-small, through a few XL sizes. What you’re going to see
is when you get into the mediums, it goes, small, small-medium, medium, medium-large,
large. You have these 2 intermediate shapes, as well. When you check the size chart, make
sure you take a remeasurement of your head because they’re giving you the chance to
fine tune it. The reason they’re doing that is because with 4 shell sizes themselves,
they’re building different feeling EPS’s and comfort liners into. What you have the
ability to do is get the least amount of helmet that you need for your size head. Again, we
have a small-medium, or actually this is a medium-large, and it came in at 3 pounds,
7 ounces for the DOT, ECE-rated version. Again, still under 3? pounds for DOT, ECE-rated,
but remember, that’s the medium-large. The medium could potentially be lighter, and then
going down it’s going to get even lighter still. As I walk through the nuances, you’re
going to have questions. Subscribers to us at RevZilla TV. Leave us your comments, your
questions, [inaudible: 03:02] and your gut reaction feedback as I walk through it.
Let’s start with the shell. I’ve already told you it’s carbon fiber, it’s aramid,
which is Kevlar and resins pulling everything together. Notice the shell shape. What they’ve
done is they’ve increased the aerodynamic profile and made it more aggressive. Again,
it’s meant to be on the tack, but notice how they’ve integrated now this external
spoiler held on with polyurethane bolts meant to shear off to extend the back, extend the
aerodynamic profile that’s going to integrate with the speed hump if you’re racing. The
beauty of it was what that has done, is it’s eliminated 44% of the Z-coefficient drag.
You guys know when you’re on the track and you’re in the tuck, and that helmet wants
to pull up, it’s creating pressure away from the tank of your bike. By adding the
shape of this helmet, now it’s increased your ability to stay down, stay focused, stay
in the tuck by 44%. They’re taking that drag away. Nice touch. You can also that they’re
sticking with their IVR system in the shell.
Let’s talk about the venting. The venting scheme on this helmet has been increased by
nearly 150%. Dramatically larger vents, chimney vents. You have a center vent. Notice on the
Corsa, these are open and closable, whereas on the Pista, they’re going to have the
rubberized inserts. Again, they’re fully functional, tying in with this ridge system
which is the IVR system that moves and sweeps the air through these ridges in the EPS all
the way back. Notice there are 2 passive vents in the back of the helmet, again, for that
passive Venturi effect to suck that air through the back. What I like that they’ve done
as well, is underneath the helmet, you’re going to see when I flip it upside down, the
chin vents are now open and closable by finger operation. That’s going to be inside the
helmet. If I can get my finger in there, you can see how we’re working; open and close.
Again, all the vents have this honeycomb weave behind in this structure. It has some ventilative
properties that’s going to suck that air in, not inhibit it, and get it flowing through
the helmet. Again, nearly 150% increase in air flow, and that was one of the big pieces
of feedback that Rossi gave them coming off of the GP Tech.
Let’s move into this shield; completely different. I believe is the Race 2 shield
from AGV. What’s different about it is Class-1 optically-correct. Notice it’s as flat as
it potentially can be, but again, it’s up to 3.3mm-thick in the front of the shield,
and that’s an impact-absorbing property. They’re giving you that thicker, more crash-protective
shield than we’ve had in previous versions. You’ll notice that it’s a center-locking
mechanism, both up and down, again, so you can use it with either hand. Then it’s going
to come with tear off posts, and these tear off posts on the inside of the shield are
actually going to have pin lock posts as well, so you can use a pin lock insert for your
anti-fog. A helmet at this level, you’re going to want to use the pin lock lens. You
can purchase it from us and install it.
As I move over to shield change mechanism, I like what they’ve done here, as well.
This is the new quick-release-style of shield-change mechanism from AGV. What you do is you open
it, and now I’m going to pull this piece down, and the shield comes right off. It’s
that simple. I’m actually going to do it on-the-fly. I’ve removed my shield; that
simple. You can see the profile of the shield. If I move it inside, you can see our pin lock
post, again, for that pin lock lens, and that’s how you get the best form of anti-fog. Now
I’ve removed it, I might as well show you the eye port. The eye port has this big new
style rubberized gasket. What they’ve done with the eye port is it’s about 9% wider,
so you’re getting left-to-right field of view. Here is the key feature: I’m putting
my shield back on because I want to show it. Shield goes on, one pop, comes around on this
side, two pops, snap it up. There’s my shield; that quick, that easy. Think about that in
the pit on a race on a change. Think about the Isle of Man, what’s that going to mean
for riders. Again, really, really quick and easy.
What they’ve done . . . I’m going to show you the profile. I’m going to go back to
my side profile. Remember, this helmet is designed to be fit and oriented in that position.
That’s square for you. What they’ve done is they’ve added 15 degrees field of vision.
Where that comes into play is from center line-up. Typically when a racer’s in the
tuck, they’re going to have the brow of the helmet getting into their line of sight
when they’re in the tuck with the chin on the tank. AGV with Rossi, has now added 15
degrees of field of view from the midpoint-up. You’re now seeing full cinema view and full
peripheral view. Dramatic improvement in face shield visibility on the AGV Corsa.
As I take the Corsa and I roll it up, you’re going to see the redesigned neck roll. Again,
aggressive profile; you see it on the chin, on this really aggressive, almost hawked-billed
peak. Look at the distance, giving you better coverage for your chin, knowing it’s going
to be on the tank. A rubberized piece, so that’s going to protect the bike but also
your sternum if you’re having a crash and put your head down. Notice the way that this
is cut out along the back. This is meant to integrate with the back of your race suit.
I’ve seen Dainese making race suits now that have more of a mesh along the back of
the collar. Now they’re taking the Corsa and they’re creating that little scoop so
it’s not going to get in the way, and you’re going to have full range of motion, up-down,
left-to-right, when you’re in the tuck. I will say that the piece is a little different;
they’re almost using a neoprene collar which is different and much more race-oriented.
This helmet’s got to be setup to be great and quiet year round. Remember, on the racetrack
they wear ear plugs all the time, they don’t care about quiet. This helmet provides a great
balance of both quiet and flexibility in the neck roll. You can see its one piece as it
goes all the way around.
I’m going to pull my doughnut up, and let’s start to disassemble my Corsa that I have
in front of me. The first thing I’m going to do is I’m going to pull my chin curtain
out; removable neoprene chin curtain. Notice the notch cutout in the middle; that notch
cutout is going to allow me to get in there and operate my chin vent. There’s my chin
vent operation, you can see it. Still double D-ring. Remember, we’re on the racetrack.
Micro-metric ratchets are not as safe as double D-rings. Double D-rings are the way to go.
As I start to pull out my cheek pads, there are a few things going on that are even tunable
with the cheek pads and the neck roll. I’m going to pop it out. One piece, Coolmax lining,
which is a wicking lining. Let me pull it out; pull it out across my straps. This is
a premium lining, which means it’s going to be very comfortable. It’s going to be
wicking; it’s going to be anti-microbial. Notice how that all comes together in one
piece.
There are few things going on. Notice the cheek pad. You see how I can get to the cheek
pad? I get my finger right up in there. There’s actually a cutaway and it comes with two ergonomic
side-mounted pieces of foam that are going to allow you to fine-tune your cheek pads.
What you can do is you can slide this in if you want a higher-density cheek pad; again,
a really nice touch from AGV as they’re thinking about the tuning of the helmet.
Moving into the back of the helmet, you can see the way that it comes together. They’ve
done a zonal EPS, which means a higher-density EPS along the cheeks, medium density in the
crown of the head, and then you’re going to have along the jaw line maybe a lower density.
Again, they’ve done that knowing where the most prone areas of impact are, so they’re
going to allow it to be tuned so to actually the facial structure of your face and your
head so that you don’t have the wrong density of EPS or foam when you’re getting into
areas or types of crash that can end up hurting you. Again, that’s a safety feature that’s
part of the tuning. As I move inside, you’re also going to notice the way the comfort liner
comes together. Again, antimicrobial, and it’s going to be wicking. One of my nitpicks
too, is there no emergency cheek pad system. I’m not sure why they did that, but again,
that was a choice they made potentially for the way that they wanted to redesign the ergonomics
of the comfort liner.
As I bring out my comfort liner, I’m going to put it there for a second. Let me show
you the interior and the vent scheme. Again, the IVS system, Integrated Ventilation System,
that integrates with the zonal EPS and those big lumps or ridges on the top of the head,
again, right up there, that are going to channel air in through the front, move it to the back,
and again, circulate it throughout your head. There’s my interior, and again, it’s going
to be that intermediate to neutral head shaped. As I put my Corsa down, here’s how I’m
going to tune it. Here’s my comfort liner; look at the amount of cutaway they have. Notice
where it connects. It connects at the front along the brow, and you’re going to have
a lot of cutouts that are going to flow air. Notice these little adjusters. These are adjusters
that completely pull out, are dual-density foam, and really, they come out to increase
the ventilation to the top of your head. Again, they’re right over that IVS channel that’s
cut away. Again, you have the ability to tune those.
If I turn over the helmet and the comfort liner, I actually have the ability now to
insert this piece of foam which is also included. If I would insert it, it adds additional support
at the back of the head. Now I can fine tune that piece of foam to give me better occipital
ridge support. Here’s where all of the great fine-tuning comes into play; 3 positions.
Really, it’s what works best for you. Wide for a more narrow head, medium for a medium
head, internal for a more round head. What you would do is you really need to do it yourself
and ride with it. Notice it’s front, back, left and right. You have the ability to tune
the comfort liner of this helmet that’s going to allow you the best shape and the
best fit while riding. Notice there’s no material where you don’t need it, so you’re
getting the maximum air flow, which you can also tune, over the top of your head. Again,
the first helmet manufacturer that we’ve seen do that and now gives you the ability
to go from that intermediate shape and get slightly more round, slightly more narrow,
and really integrate the helmet the way you want it for the ergonomics of your ride.
Looking at it on the interior, again, Coolmax wicking lining, microfiber. Again, super-premium.
This is the same liner that Valentino Rossi’s going to use. Again, that’s the technology
that you’re investing in, in the Corsa, you’re just not getting that $400 carbon
fiber exterior shell and the more race-oriented thoroughbred style neck roll. Everything else
in this helmet is really the same, and that’s the beauty of it.
The next step in your journey is to read other rider reviews, feedback on this helmet on
Revzilla.com. Click right here. Start with my information. I’m a fan, but this is the
top-of-the-food chain AGV line for the non-hardcore carbon fiber-necessary racer. This helmet’s
going to touch a lot of people, and people are going to have a phenomenal experience
with it. You can do the rest of your homework by seeing what other folks are saying. As
always, we’re going to ship for free. You want to give a gear gig a shout. It’s our
job to know the nuances of all of this gear, including the AGV Corsa. See us at Revzilla.com
or 877-792-9455. Thank you for watching our detailed breakdown of the brand new AGV Corsa
helmet sold at Redzilla.com/AGV. I’m Anthony. We’ll see you next time.