“The Schuberth E2 is an exceptional adventure flip front helmet. It’s functional, packed with features, all-day comfortable, looks the part, has brilliant ventilation and is highly practical for riders who spend a lot of time in the saddle.”
Snapshot
- Price: £491
- Time tested: 1 year
- Miles tested: 30,000
- Testing conditions: North, Central and South America
- Functionality: 5/5
- Durability: 5/5
- Value for money: 5/5
- Overall score: 5/5
- Where to buy UK: sportsbikeshop.com
- Where to buy US: revzilla.com
- Where to buy EU: fc-moto.de
Schuberth E2 Helmet Review
By Andy Davidson
Mad or Nomad - RTW motorcycle travellers
Why use the Schuberth E2 helmet?
I love flip front helmets. Being able to lift the front of your helmet up just makes sense. Like to ask for directions, to take a swig of water, snap a photograph, talk to a friend, speak to a fellow rider at a traffic light, cool down or just being able to show your face and smile as you approach a yurt in the middle of Mongolia to ask for spare petrol.
They’re brilliant and make motorcycle life easy and that’s why I’ve been riding in flip fronts for years. And I’ve tried a lot of them – a lot. And my favourite was the Schuberth E1…
Schuberth E1 vs E2 helmet review
It’s not only a flip-front (or ‘modular’ in American English) helmet, but also an adventure bike styled flip-front helmet (quite a mouthful). Meaning, it also comes with extra airflow, wider field of view and a peak.
The E1 is a brilliant helmet and was my lid of choice throughout my career at Motor Cycle News (MCN) in the UK. So, when it came time to leave to go on our round the world trip – I took it with me.
But now, after well over 150,000 miles and eight years of service, it’s time to hang up the helmet and move onto the second generation – the Schuberth E2.
READ MORE: Schuberth E1 Review
Schuberth E2 features
The Schuberth E2 is the successor to the excellent E1 adventure helmet.
It’s not just the same helmet with flash new colours and a new name. While the E1 was essentially modelled on the popular C3 road-going lid, the E2 takes after the excellent and new C5 – a superior helmet.
However, it does get a host of new improvements.
First up is safety – The E2 it meets the new ECE 22.06 standard and has now got the P/J double homologation stamp – that means that you can ride with the helmet in either the closed or open position. There’s a little red tab that locks the chin bar up in the open position.
The all-important peak is adjustable between three positions and can be removed easily. A nifty feature is that the peak keeps the same position when opening and closing the chin bar. The E2 also comes with a drop down sun-visor using a tab on the side of the helmet, which is a must. But the peak itself also goes a long way to help block out the sun.
The liners are plush, easier to remove and clean and extra comfortable on long days in the saddle. There’s plenty of options to adjust the padding thickness and get the right fit for your head shape.
Ventilation is hugely important when it comes to any helmet – but especially adventure helmets. Riding in hot conditions requires ample air flow and the E2 has much improved over the E1. The chin bar vent has been improved now featuring a double intake. The top half of the new intake prevents the visor from fogging and the bottom is for additional airflow. There’s also a new top ventilation system. The E2 has a two-position adjustable vent up top and an increased spoiler as well.
Upgraded Bluetooth – There is also a completely new and redesigned intercom system. This new setup is impressive. The previous Bluetooth system for the E1 required you to remove the neck collar and replace it with a heavier collar. You’d have to thumb underneath your helmet to change buttons, which could be a faff at times. You’d also have to run the wires through the helmet for the headphones etc and pulling the charging port out of the back of the collar each time eventually damages the wire and was a fiddle.
The new system is seamless and already built in. You simply pop off the plastic inserts at the side for the remote control and the rear for the comms system and push fit the new pieces in. Plug the microphone in and you’re good to go.
More on the new Schuberth Bluetooth system in an upcoming review.
READ MORE: Motorcycle Bluetooth Headsets
What’s good about the Schuberth E2 helmet?
The Schuberth E2 is a premium adventure bike flip front helmet. It’s a high-quality, well-made lid that has an excellent safety rating, looks cool and is exceptionally functional. It’s the perfect travel helmet and works brilliantly for touring, road riding and off-roading. If you don’t need the peak as you’re mainly on tarmac, just whip it off and it’s still better than most touring based flip fronts thanks to its increased airflow, built-in Bluetooth system, plush interior and sleek design.
It’s a quiet helmet, all-day comfy and after four months of riding in it everyday, it’s safe to say we’ll be using it for the foreseeable.
What’s not so good about the Schuberth E2 helmet?
This is a premium helmet with a premium price tag. There are far cheaper helmets on the market, but it completely depends on how often you ride and what level of comfort, safety, design and function you want and are willing to pay for.
In the four months and 8,000 miles we’ve been testing the helmets, we have not found any niggles. We will report back and update this article periodically.
Schuberth E2 helmet review round-up
The Schuberth E2 is an exceptional adventure flip front helmet. Its predecessor, the E1, was already an excellent helmet, but more of an adventure-styled helmet. While the E2 is a proper adventure lid in every sense of the word. It’s functional, packed with features, all-day comfortable, looks the part, has brilliant ventilation and is highly practical for riders who spend a lot of time in the saddle.
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Are you considering buying the Schuberth E2 helmet? Do you have any questions, tips or suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.
I have a C5 and the visor drops at speed. Wonder if you have the same issue with the E2/
Hi Pete, thanks for your comment. No, neither of our E2 visors drop at speed. Sorry to hear you’re experiencing that.
Is the visor new?
Cheers,
Andy
I can currently buy a new leftover E1 for ~$300 USD less than a new E2. In your opinion, is the upgraded E2 worth ~$300 more than the E1?
Hi Chip, 300USD is a lot of money, the changes are very good, but I don’t think they’re 300USD good! I’d go for the E1. I loved that helmet.
Cheers,
Andy
Hi Andy,
I’ve not been able to find much review info online in regards to this helmet’s offroad capabilities.
I plan to make a longer TET trip for starters. How good is the E2 for mainly offroad use? Have you found the ventilation is enough for a mostly offroad trip? Or could you fit goggles/safety glasses maybe?
Cheers for any insight!
Hi Tom,
Thanks for reading our review.
Good question! The Schuberth E2 is an ‘adventure helmet’ meaning it’s a dual-purpose helmet for road and off-road use. That’s why we use it on our round the world trip because we ride a mixture of both road and off-road and find flip fronts easier for travel.
But, as you’re asking about solely riding off-road then I’d say it’s not the right choice for you. It’s a hybrid helmet, and if you’re just riding off-road and on the TET etc, then I would go for a off-road focused helmet. It would be lighter, can take Goggles easier and have have more ventilation because you will have a much larger opening under the chin bar.
I hope this helps, have a great trip!
Andy
It is far more off-road focused than its predecessor the E1, it has decent washable cheek pads designed for more off-road use, a peak, wide visor opening and decent vents.
Sorry I meant to say this would be my “do everything” helmet, I only want one! I will be using it as an adventure helmet so lots of road as well. I just couldn’t find much feedback online about how it fares in an off-road environment, or if it is more of a road helmet trying to look like it can go off-road… Sounds like it could be a good compromise in between both though from your review. I’ve only owned a modular helmet before and liked it so want to stick with the flip. I think I will give the E2 a try, cheers!
Hi Tom,
Ah I see! Sorry, I thought you were just going to be using it off-road. If you want to stick with modular helmets and want a good compromise of road and off-road capabilities, then the Schuberth E2 is a great helmet to go for.
Cheers and let us know how you get on with the lid – and on the TET!
Andy
Hi Andy,
I am looking for a modular helmet and I like the review ont the Schuberth E2 but I have a Cardo Packtalk NEO Headset and would like to know if this cardo this would fit / work with the E2. Thank you
Marcel
Hi Marcel, thanks for reading.
The Schuberth E2 comes with the intercom speakers and components already installed. They’re not something I have tried to remove, so I’m not actually sure if you can simply remove the speakers and wire your own in as I don’t know how they’re fixed.
My guess is that it’s attached via velcro and you can probably just unplug the speakers, leave the wiring and install your own. But I don’t know for sure. So my advice would be to contact Schuberth or wherever you want to buy the helmet from.
Sorry I can’t be of more help on this one.
Cheers and please do report back on how you get on.
Andy