http://www.trisports.com/aerohelmets.html#top
I have a coupon for trisports.com and I was looking to purchase one of these aero helmets. I was wondering if anyone has any feedback or recommendations re: which ones are fastest, worth the money, etc.
Thanks-
The answer is “Adult Diapers”.
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Depends…
What specifically are you looking for in the helmet? Low drag? Then get yourself into a wond tunnel with all those available and start testing, as the one that produces lowest drag will depend on how it interacts with you in your position. If heat is an issue, take a closer look at the Rudy Syton Open or the Lamar (though I’ve never had a Lamar in my hands, just going by appearances). You’ll find a lot of good results in any of the helmets – my thoughts are that the BELIEF that the helmet helps is FAR more important than the actual drag difference it creates.
You won’t get many responses as this gets asked nearly every day. If you search there’s a ton of threads, some science in a few of them and all manner of nonsense including daily updates of the “waiting for giro” saga. Best for you does depend on position, back shape etc so you’d need tunnel time to be sure. They all work compared to a vented helmet and the differences between them aren’t that great. FWIW, I used to have a LG Prologue (now discontinued but still available) and went to the Rocket which I like better.
Are you coming back to defend your LA tri swim leg title this year?
Go with the Giro Advantage II if they are shipping it now. It has been the most anticipated helmet of the group.
The order of preference would be: Giro, Spiuk, and then the Rocket. The Rocket is a good helmet, but is has been around for a long time now.
How does the fact that it’s been around a long time make it a less viable option?
I did A LOT of shopping for an aero helmet and just ordered an LG Rocket last night. I was looking for aero, of course, but being a heavy sweaty and one who easily dehydrates, I was also looking for a good bit of ventilation. I was on the verge of ordering the Giro advantage, but the lack of vents on top of the head scared me away. Plus, I found a review from across the pond where they’ve been using these for the past year or so, that said they aren’t great for long distance or very hot events. My primary use of the helmet will be for IM Florida this year, so ventialization was key for me. I also looked at the Syton by Rudy and the LG Chrono. These don’t have the ear flaps, thus even better ventilation, but I felt that the aerodynamics of the Rocket would be better. To me the Rocket was the best of all worlds. Make sure you get the newer one with 7 vents as opposed to 4. Some stores still sell the one with 4. That one won’t give you the vents on top. Of course, this may not be a big concern for you. Good luck with the shopping.
Yes, I will be doing LA again this year.
Re: the helmets, I was just looking for some info. about the relative strengths and weaknesses. It sounds like the Giro is faster, but less user friendly, whereas the others seem to be better options for me since I overheat when the temperature goes above 60F. I’ve heard some people also talking about how the Giro was difficult to put on during T1, etc. It seems like it may be more extreme than what I’m looking for, to gain an aero advantage. Loss of time in T1 would not be good since I’m doing a lot of Olympic distances.
Thanks to all for your insight.
According to this thread http://forum.slowtwitch.com/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Is_the_Giro_Adantage_2_helmet…_P1433315/ , a bald head is the way to go! Of course that’s a quick way to get a DNF and end up dead 
In either case I would take their numbers with a grain of salt, but its still impressive with his creative setup…I want someone to do this wheels that is not affiliated with any company, alas I digress!
I agree with the majority of statements made already, in particular the order preference by PeterC. I feel with any helmet you need to balance the need of an aerodynamic advantage over your everyday helmet, functionally of the helmet (good for short, long, hot, etc.), as well as the price. Looking Trisports.com’s collection of aerohelmets here’s my opinion
Giro Advantage: a great bang for the buck, but I know only the black is going to be shipping out by the end of this month. Surprise, surprise, but the other colors are father delayed. At 150 buckos, I think it’s a steal. Especially considering Giro can effectively name their price and people will line up for this helmet. It does have 3 large vents, but without actually riding in it I can’t comment too much about how ventilated it is. However I can comment that the helmet is relatively light in lieu of other aerohelmets. Giro’s claim is that it’s the fastest of the bunch, but then again it’s Giro doing the test. If value is your number one priority than the Giro is your helmet.
Spiuk Kronos: At $230 bucks you pay for what you get. Weighing in at 350 grams, it’s the lightest aerohelmet that TriSports.com sells and without weighing all of the other ones on the market, might be the lightest out there. It has internal channels for ventilation which run through the helmet, and its long completely closed tails keeps eddies from forming under the helmet. If you ride in your aerobars all day (which you should) then come race day this is the helmet for you. Aerodynamics, average ventilation, lowest weight.
Rocket: If you like the Spiuk but can settle for little bit less, then the Rocket is a great choice. The biggest drawback with the Rocket is that it’s like having a freaking brick on your head. It weighs at nearly 500 grams. For myself when I have ridden with it, it just felt like my neck was going to fall off Okay I’m exaggerating…just mostly off. However, it’s a very “clean” helmet. No messy stickers and a smooth polished surface. It has a pretty darn long tail, so making sure you are in aero with it flat on your back is important (just as with the Spiuk). Of course, the tail is open underneath and could create eddies underneath. All in all the Rocket is like the Spiuk, just heavier and with an open tail.
LG Chrono: I think its best if I don’t say anything about this kids…errr…I mean aerohelmet.
Limar Crono: Kind of overpriced at 180, but its on sale right now for 140. Outside of the Spiuk it’s the lightest at 370 grams. At 140 bucks it’s an excellent choice for an athlete where ventilation is key. You’ll still get a good amount of aerodynamic advantage over a road helmet, but with its compact tail it won’t stand up to head to head competition with another helmet. So excellent ventilation, good aerodynamics, lightweight, and also really comfortable (from all the above it’s the most in my opinion!)
Rudy Project Syton Open: Also at 140 bucks, but you can purchase the ear pieces and visor separately or buy it with the helmet as the Supercomp. This is your average aerohelmet: average weight (~430g), aerodynamics (dirty/messy stickers which should/can be taken off), comfort, and price. For ten bucks more I would grab the Giro which has built in ear pieces, but I imagine ventilation won’t be as good in the Giro as in the Open. Another thing worth noting is that the open is going to go up in price next year to be roughly around 170 bucks, which will make it now an overpriced average helmet.
That’s all my comments
Actually I just heard that Trisports has complete stock of all the Giro Helmets with the exception of Red/White (coming later in the month)!!! And its orderable on their site!
If I am not mistaken, the Rocket is at 419g not anywhere near 500g. The Giro comes in at 310g, so you are losing 110g, but not anywhere near the 200g that you stated. Does this weigh at all on your final conclusion?
I weighed all the helmets this morning on an Alpine digital scale and a large Rocket weighed in at 484g. I weighed only the largest sizes of each helmet. Spiuk is the only one with universal sizing. Possibly the small Rocket is 419g.
|- LG Chrono: I think its best if I don’t say anything about this kids…errr…I mean aerohelmet.
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Please do say. This seems like a good choice, since it’s cheap, light and “looks” like it provides most of the aero benefits of the other helmets. Plus, for some reason, probably the shorter tail, it seems like a more reasonable helmet for an MOPer who wants some aero benefits from a helmet but doesn’t want to look like he’s trying to pose as an FOPer. What are the negatives of the Chrono?
It is a slick helmet, but very small. I’m not saying that if you have a medium size head fitting into say a medium Bell Sweep that you won’t fit this helmet. The helmet itself is just small and sits very high on a person head. I felt very “naked” in the back of my head and obviously the tail is not meant to rest flat on your back (unless you have a very small head/neck). The best analogy is if the Spiuk is to the LG Rocket then the Limar Crono is to the LG Chrono.
The upshot? The LG Chrono gives an excellent ventilation while leaving a good portion of your head exposed to wind, while offering a smooth, aerodynamic front end.
I got the silver Giro Advantage 2 today and it has 5 vents in the front. I can’t comment on the cooling effect yet as I’ve only ridden for ten minutes in it. Tomorrow I’ll be out for three hours in the heat and I’ll post if it cooks my head or not.
The best analogy is if the Spiuk is to the LG Rocket then the Limar Crono is to the LG Chrono.
Huh? Me do not gets it!
In my field tests the Chrono was about 6W better than the Giro Eclipse regular helmet, and the Rocket another 7W better than the Chrono. I’d be surprised to see any of the aero helmets much different in performance from the Rocket…except for the Syton which has tested pretty poorly in a few independent field and tunnel tests. Plus you look like a total tool in the Syton. I will say that the Rocket is pretty heavy (haven’t weighed my size S yet) and I was really considering one of the lighter ones to save my poor neck in an IM distance race.
…It sounds like the Giro is faster…
Don’t bet on it. The Spiuk and the LG Rocket are easy to get and have dominated wind tunnel testing for a while now. The Giro may be as fast, but there are those that have found it much slower. Only a few people have found it to be even as good. The anticipation and hype are the reason everyone wants one. It’s not even really that similar to the Rev6, which is what USPostal/Disco used, and would likely be the fastest helmet out of Bell/Giro’s stable. But you certainly can’t buy that. Buy a Spiuk or a Rocket. But, be warned, they are hot. If you overheat above 60F, you may have some trouble…
Is the chrono a better choice for a “hotter” race?
Yeah, what’s your opinion of the Limar Crono? Does it match mattb’s?
I overheat if it’s in the 80’s. High 70’s is pushing it. My feeling up to this point is that I should avoid all aerohelmets.
Yeah, what’s your opinion of the Limar Crono? Does it match mattb’s?
I overheat if it’s in the 80’s. High 70’s is pushing it. My feeling up to this point is that I should avoid all aerohelmets.
You’d probably be faster if you backed off some on the intensity and wore an aerohelmet. There seem to be an awful lot of people who overheat in relatively mild temperatures. So either those people are pacing poorly, or a relatively small minority of people is being very vocal, or there is a difference between overheating and being hot that is getting lost somewhere. My feeling, given the general trend in triathlon for athletes to bike above their ability and run below it, is that people are pacing the bike too fast. This would be magnified if you wore an aerohelmet, since you do rob your body of some of its ability to dump waste heat. The question is, why does this seem to pose a huge problem for some people, yet most people are ok?
The Limar Chrono is probably faster than a regular helmet, but not as fast as any of the long tail helmets. It’s basically the same, I would guess, as taping over the vents on a road helmet. If you can’t get the tail of a regular helmet close to your back, or you have neck/back problems, it’s probably a good choice since it is light and doesn’t have a long tail. You’ll save some time, but not the max.