[mikestew]

The Skully design is neat, but I don't see a big enough market for it.

How much of a market could there possibly be for a $1500 helmet? I shudder at the thought of a $700 Shuberth hitting the ground. I consider a helmet to be disposable as well. How disposable is a $1500 helmet? And are you a Shoei head or an Arai? IOW, will this helmet even fit my style of head, or is it going to leave hotspots after a few hours?

Cool tech, no argument. But it needs to come down to something like a $200 add-on like the Bluetooth unit for my Nolan.

As to the ultimate reason for their demise, I have no idea. From what little I've paid attention, I'm guessing a combination of way overpriced and, yeah, hardware is hard.

[cdibona]

The article says that there were 3000 units pre-ordered. That's a fair amount of cash, but spinning up a hardware line where there are real safety and fit questions at hand is not trivial. Maybe they would have been better off making something that would replace the visor on a popular model of helmet like a shoei.

[mikestew]

So, 3.5 million to develop safety equipment with electronics that have to endure wind, rain (at 90mph), shock, and general misuse (I don't treat my helmets with nearly the care I do my iPhone)...and still make a profit. My napkin scribbles say that would be a tall order.

EDIT: oh, yeah, and DOT/Snell testing. Don't know how much that is.

[ansible]

I don't treat my helmets with nearly the care I do my iPhone

Just as a note to everyone: If you drop your helmet, you should throw it away. You can't tell if the foam has been cracked, which reduces its protection.

[zbun]

This is a pretty common misconception. Info from Snell Foundation: http://www.smf.org/helmetfaq#aDroppedHelmet Most manufacturers also offer a free inspection service where you can ship them your helmet and they'll check on the internals/foam.

[ansible]

That's good to know.