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Critique My Helmet Choice
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Playing around with the lids that I have on hand and interesting how the POC seems to be the goldilocks from all angles, the selector the leader from the side, and the AeroHead the leader from 3/4's and front. Also, the POC has an amazing field of view while the Selector is horrible. The AeroHead is not great in that respect, but it's useable for sure for my position.

Now, the Selector tested fast for me in the tunnel many moons ago, but I don't think holding that position is realistic for me. Therefore, I went looking for a better lid and settled on the POC. It was great in that it's light, the FOV is amazing (as noted above), and it looks good. However, the POC has run it's course and I had been wanting to try an AeroHead. Got a good deal on Amazon and pulled the trigger. Really happy with it on the trainer, how damn small it it is, and I don't find the weight an issue, yet.

I have had thoughts of finally linking up with DesertDude at A2 and testing these 3 as well as whatever else looks good that they have on hand. Also, have some other bits I want to test out and a couple of hand positions. Everything else I am pretty happy with.

Anyhow, I was bored and felt like playing in PhotoShop and now you can lay into me for my lack of PS skills, holding the same shrug in all photos, crappy position, archaic bike, etc.






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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [LAI] [ In reply to ]
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I'll get this party started since it's precisely 9:45 and I'm pouring my first beer. I think the selector looks the best for your position but the arrowhead is the coolest helmet.

I will say I don't know s*** about aerodynamics though.
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [LAI] [ In reply to ]
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I can't believe you cut out the chairs.

Aerohead.

Formerly TriBrad02
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [LAI] [ In reply to ]
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Since you won't need more than about an hour max, I've got a few other people interested in roughly the same amount of testing time. If we can coordinate all of you should be pretty easy.

Plus I want to get in & test a few things on myself and do a bike only run as well.

Brian Stover USAT LII
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [LAI] [ In reply to ]
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That is really nice PhotoShop work if you ask me. You can really see why we are getting to peak aero for helmets.

It looks like the "nose" on the Aerohead would help lift air over the top and smoothly along your back. The other two helmets look like they would channel more air under your body and along the chest and hips. Moving air over the top and the airfoil shape of the visor seem to be what make this helmet work so well.

I do like the Selector, but from the front it looks a bit taller and therefore increases frontal area a tad. On that helmet I found it fit way better if I removed the tensioner thing in the back and used the low fairing for the tail. This simple trick really lowered the helmet on my head and cleaned up the integration with my back.

The POC is a bit of a mystery. The leading edge is a round ball and the shortness doesn't help much with smoothing airflow onto your back. It kinda looks like it might move air around your shoulder better. Helmets like the MET and old POC bat-wing helmet are intentionally wide to shield your shoulders. I would guess the POC would be the least affected when you start to loose your form or in high cross winds, but I don't see any visual magic.

The one thing you certainly could improve on is the wrinkles in that skinsuit. I am not a small person and I mash myself into the small Body Paint. Size down or see if you can get a seamstress to take the shoulders in a bit. The other trick would be to try different skinsuits, The BP tends to be good but not great.
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [CyclingBrad02] [ In reply to ]
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CyclingBrad02 wrote:
I can't believe you cut out the chairs.

Aerohead.

Hahaha.....yeah, I'm getting the feeling you want a more expansive look at the cave. I'm going to put some work in on the ceiling tomorrow and hopefully get paint up this month. Won't be close to done, but I'll post up to the show me your pain cave thread.

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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [desert dude] [ In reply to ]
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desert dude wrote:
Since you won't need more than about an hour max, I've got a few other people interested in roughly the same amount of testing time. If we can coordinate all of you should be pretty easy.

Plus I want to get in & test a few things on myself and do a bike only run as well.

Yeah, that would work. What time frame are you thinking? My schedule is as flexible as it gets, but my budget not so much. I plan on replacing my suit for next season and while I can do one or the other (tunnel and suit) in the next 60 or so days I'm not sure I can fit in both. My thoughts were early 2019.

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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [grumpier.mike] [ In reply to ]
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grumpier.mike wrote:
That is really nice PhotoShop work if you ask me. You can really see why we are getting to peak aero for helmets.


Thanks! I'm still quite the novice with photo and video editing.

grumpier.mike wrote:
It looks like the "nose" on the Aerohead would help lift air over the top and smoothly along your back. The other two helmets look like they would channel more air under your body and along the chest and hips. Moving air over the top and the airfoil shape of the visor seem to be what make this helmet work so well.

It's also a quite bit lower, that is, not as tall. I have a photo of them all on the bench and the difference is quite dramatic. I think this is another reason it works so well for so many in that it just drops frontal area for those that aren't great at turtling.

grumpier.mike wrote:
I do like the Selector, but from the front it looks a bit taller and therefore increases frontal area a tad. On that helmet I found it fit way better if I removed the tensioner thing in the back and used the low fairing for the tail. This simple trick really lowered the helmet on my head and cleaned up the integration with my back.

Nice tip! The big problem with the selector is that it's impossible for me to hold a good head position and see up the road. This could play into why it looks taller than the other two even though it's a small helmet too.

grumpier.mike wrote:
The POC is a bit of a mystery. The leading edge is a round ball and the shortness doesn't help much with smoothing airflow onto your back. It kinda looks like it might move air around your shoulder better. Helmets like the MET and old POC bat-wing helmet are intentionally wide to shield your shoulders. I would guess the POC would be the least affected when you start to loose your form or in high cross winds, but I don't see any visual magic.

I'm with you. Its counterintuitive that this would be a good helmet aero-wise, but I chose it more for comfort and vision. I figured the ability to see up the road while holding a lower head might even the score against the selector if it wasn't as fast.

grumpier.mike wrote:
The one thing you certainly could improve on is the wrinkles in that skinsuit. I am not a small person and I mash myself into the small Body Paint. Size down or see if you can get a seamstress to take the shoulders in a bit. The other trick would be to try different skinsuits, The BP tends to be good but not great.

I'm in a small already. Sucks being a little guy in a world sized for 6-footers. But, yes, I will be addressing this issue this winter. I'm just stuck in no-man's land with broad shoulders, large chest, and a narrow waste. Hopefully. I can do something custom or see a tailor/seamstress as you suggest, but the BP is getting retired.


Great analysis on all those points and thank you for taking the time to respond.

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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [LAI] [ In reply to ]
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I could get back to NC this year but that would be pretty difficult as I've got some stuff penciled in in AZ that I can't move.

I know I'll be back early mid May for about 8-15d. MIght be back in April for about 4d, although that trip I might be on a tight time budget.

Brian Stover USAT LII
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [desert dude] [ In reply to ]
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Spring works for me. Keep me in the loop and count me as in, as I should have everything sorted by then and my A race isn't until late summer.

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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [LAI] [ In reply to ]
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I have to ask what racing do you do? I did an Ironman in a Selector once and I was so happy to get it off my head at the end and sold it shortly after. I haven't tried the other two helmets but both are hot helmets much like the Selector so depending on what racing you are doing I base my helmet choice more so on what I can stand wearing over the journey. Considering the Aerohead and the Vanquish test a minute difference over an Ironman I would be wearing a Vanquish unless it was a cold day. I am sure the aero difference between the three would be very minimal as they all look good in your position so what one is the most comfortable.
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [LAI] [ In reply to ]
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Remove the tail fin on the selector, worth iirc about 6 watts for me.

Maybe not for you but the selector is in effect two helmets.

Maurice
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [Shambolic] [ In reply to ]
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Shambolic wrote:
I have to ask what racing do you do? I did an Ironman in a Selector once and I was so happy to get it off my head at the end and sold it shortly after. I haven't tried the other two helmets but both are hot helmets much like the Selector so depending on what racing you are doing I base my helmet choice more so on what I can stand wearing over the journey. Considering the Aerohead and the Vanquish test a minute difference over an Ironman I would be wearing a Vanquish unless it was a cold day. I am sure the aero difference between the three would be very minimal as they all look good in your position so what one is the most comfortable.

For the time being I limit my racing to tests against the clock no longer than 40K, well, there is a hilly 30 mile Time Trial that I will likely do next year. I've raced and trained plenty in both the Selector and POC. For my distances no amount of heat has made the helmet an issue for me. I get that helmets can be an issue for some in regards to heat, but it just doesn't seem to be a factor for me. I've also raced in a bambino and that thing was an oven, but again, nothing that bothered me. Also, I've lost races by tenths of a second; therefore, a minimal difference is still a difference for me.

The thing I notice here is the ability to see up the road, or lack thereof, that makes the selector just look so much larger than the other two due to me having to hold my head higher. It's the #1 reason I switched to the POC. The AeroHead is just a shorter helmet (in height not length) that I think will also reduce my frontal area in comparison to the POC. But, without testing all I have is my camera and software. Anyhow, that's how I see things between the three.

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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [mauricemaher] [ In reply to ]
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mauricemaher wrote:
Remove the tail fin on the selector, worth iirc about 6 watts for me.

Maybe not for you but the selector is in effect two helmets.

Maurice

I believe it was the exact opposite for me. I could get the short tail close to the deep one, but it was an unsustainable position that was tough to hold for the short duration of the sweep. Even clocking the lid as much as I can the short just doesn't conform well with my back and leaves a big gap that I am assuming does bad things to the air as it leaves the helmet and interacts with my back. However, grumpier.mike's suggestion is an interesting one that could make a difference there. Might have to try that out, but the issue still remains that I can't see up the road in the selector. I don't think constantly peaking isn't the safest or fastest way to go.

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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [LAI] [ In reply to ]
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Fair call. A big difference between being in one an hour and being in it for close to 5 and have to get off and run so I had to ask.
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [LAI] [ In reply to ]
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"Nice tip! The big problem with the selector is that it's impossible for me to hold a good head position and see up the road. This could play into why it looks taller than the other two even though it's a small helmet too. "

You might be pleasantly surprised how unhelpful the tensioner thing is. That stupid thing rotaties the helmet forward, so it lifts the tail and limits vision. It feels like is certainly going to break the helmet when you bend it enough to pop it out, but once it is out the helmet works much better.
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [Shambolic] [ In reply to ]
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Shambolic wrote:
Fair call. A big difference between being in one an hour and being in it for close to 5 and have to get off and run so I had to ask.

Yeah, an Ironman is a long day for sure. My longest ride to date in the POC, and likely about the most mileage I would put in on the Time Trial bike, is just under 3 hours and 63 miles. No issues there, but again no running afterwards and definitely not an Ironman bike leg. ;)

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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [grumpier.mike] [ In reply to ]
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grumpier.mike wrote:
"Nice tip! The big problem with the selector is that it's impossible for me to hold a good head position and see up the road. This could play into why it looks taller than the other two even though it's a small helmet too. "

You might be pleasantly surprised how unhelpful the tensioner thing is. That stupid thing rotaties the helmet forward, so it lifts the tail and limits vision. It feels like is certainly going to break the helmet when you bend it enough to pop it out, but once it is out the helmet works much better.



Where were you 4 years ago!! lol. Yeah, I already pulled it out and tested it when I got home from my ride yesterday. The tail kept it from really rotating any further back, but it did seem to fit better. I need to swap tails and do some more trialing of it.

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Last edited by: LAI: Oct 21, 18 12:25
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [LAI] [ In reply to ]
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Have you tried out a PO9 ? I had an Aerohead and rode it once, it was heavy, incredibly hot and the visor fogged up on me. The PO9 is the opposite. I couldn’t imagine wearing that Aerohead at Church Creek.
Hope to see you out there next year.
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [ridenfish39] [ In reply to ]
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ridenfish39 wrote:
Have you tried out a PO9 ? I had an Aerohead and rode it once, it was heavy, incredibly hot and the visor fogged up on me. The PO9 is the opposite. I couldn’t imagine wearing that Aerohead at Church Creek.
Hope to see you out there next year.


I'm going to ship a box of deer ticks to your new appt...😊
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [Fishbum] [ In reply to ]
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Lol. I’ll be wearing a tyvex suit when I go fishing from now on :)
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [ridenfish39] [ In reply to ]
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Is that like a giant condom?
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Re: Critique My Helmet Choice [desert dude] [ In reply to ]
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Those are definitely some of the helmets I want to test as well. You had also mentioned maybe a late-Feb Aero Camp. I'm in for either that or May.




desert dude wrote:
I could get back to NC this year but that would be pretty difficult as I've got some stuff penciled in in AZ that I can't move.

I know I'll be back early mid May for about 8-15d. MIght be back in April for about 4d, although that trip I might be on a tight time budget.
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