Here’s our round-up on aero helmets. We figured this was timely since there is a lot of buzz about them lately and Ironman season is in full swing:
https://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/aero_helmet.shtml
Not all sunglasses fit well with the Advantage 2
that is because all mframes are designed to go OVER the front strap…
You’re right. We tried them over the strap also. Still a no go. There simply isn’t enough room for them to be worn comfortably.
https://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/aero_helmet.shtml
Useless without drag data.
which one are you about tom?
or, is the drag data useless? And, by the way, what drag data? We looked for a source for this and came up with no independent test of aero helmets in the wind tunnel.
Best review of aero helmets I’ve seen.
Thanks.
nice!
excellent review. great that you included all the critical spec.s, and price, and photos of the undersides of each.
thanks.
Tom,Great review ,but these helmets look like they would be hot,I sweat like crazy with a regular vented helmet,I’m I wrong?
That’s very helpful. The pictures are expecially good as they allow excellent comparison of the various models – can’t get that elsewhere. Great idea.
I was a little puzzled by this: “A corroboration of studies from Texas A&M University to M.I.T. has accurately quantified the benefit of tear drop shaped aerodynamic time trial helmets. While each of these studies produce varied results about what the time savings actually are . . . .”
Also, does the Spiuk have a fully faired tail? 
Sorry about the nitpicking (I just have to do it so you don’t feel out of place here), very good article.
.
Hi,
It’s a nice summary of everything you’d want to know about the competing helmets - except what you’d want to know most - the drag data.
I figure’d you would test them yourself. This might be beyond your reach.
A secondary issue you could test would be heat dissipation/ventilation. I’m not sure the best way to test this off the top of my head how to do this though.
Given that drag data will be highly dependent upon how the helmet interacts with the rider’s physique, it’s likely to be pretty much useless. Of course, that won’t stop people here from clamoring for it, or from claiming that X helmet is better because it’s drag number was 1.3785% better.
I initially thought an aero helmet would be hot also. I have worn the Limar Crono, the Giro Advantage 2, the Spiuk, The Louis Garneau Chrono (not the Rocket) and the Rudy Project and none of these have been exceissely warm- or even preceivably any wormer than a road helmet even in 80+ degree temps.
It’s worth noting the Giro Advantage 2 Sarah has been wearing is black and she said it was plenty cool enough even on a hot day (82 degrees, Women’s only Triathlon). She also did an 88 mile ride with the thing on a beastly hot day with a lot of wind and said it was fine.
I guess that’s fancy vernacular for:
“We didn’t do a wind tunnel test, can’t afford to do a wind tunnel test, but have read a shitload of stuff on the web and in magazines that all says the helmets save some amount of time- it’s just nobody seems to agree on how much time…”
.
I just don’t see how black can’t be hotter. Maybe it has to do with sun intensity, but I can tell you, living in AZ, the difference between white and YELLOW is appreciable, I can’t imagine that the difference between white and black isn’t significant. There is a reason my “dark” clothes for workouts are yellow, and everything else is white.
Then again, I’ll run at lunch, so maybe it’s just that I’m crazy.
-Jot
It really is well beyond our reach to perform a truly authoritative test of the helmet’s drag coefficients. I know Craig at Nytro has spent a lot of time in the wind tunnel and so has Gear West recently. These fellows may be able to shed some more light on the drag data.
One suspicion I have about this type of data is that it may cause more confusion that it would erase. In other words, you might fins one helmet fastest between 15 and 21 m.p.h. and then another faster from 21 to 27 and another still above 27…
Also, the rider’s posture and position on the bike might influence this producing different results for different riders.
Truth be told, I don’t know anywhere enough about aerodynamics to say, and we do actually say that in our article.
One thing I do know: In most circumstances *any *aero helmet is faster than a standard, traditional round shaped helmet with numerous vents.
I guess since the sun is so intense where you guys are there could be a difference. I own three black helmets right now- a Giro Atmos in the rare flat black color, a Bell Sweep in flat black and silver and a new Ionos in black. I’ve never felt they were any warmer than red, white or silver helmets I’ve owned.
In any case, of the aero helmets we looked at (5 helmets) only two are availabe i a black color and those two bboth feature white and silver as an alternate color.
Sarah purposely chose black in some attempt to dispell the myth that black is always hotter (and because it matches her coolest looking bathing suit…)
I frankly haven’t decided yet…
I used the little Louis Garneau Chrono at Whirlpool Steelhead and that helmet is nice. Very comfy. It’s light too, which may be nice going up those beastly hills in Wisconsin.
Here I am wearing the LG Chrono heading out of transition at Steelhead:
Yeah, and compound that heat with how effing hot she is to start with… yum!