We sold a few (less than ten) Louis Garneau aero helmets last year. I used one in two races I did, both with cooler temperatures. I wanted to know what you guys thought of the venitlation onthese, if they are suitable for events on wartmer days and what your experience with them has been. Personally, I am using mine again next season but woul;d question using it in a Ironman distance race if the weather forecast included higher temps. O.K.: Thoughts? Let 'er rip!
Tom, I’ve had one since May and they are definately hot. They can be misereable for climbing in hot temps. I think that they would be good for 40K and under events (which I do) but more than that I would steer clear of it. It can bake your head in the sun. Most of my TT’s are in the cool A.M. so I can get away with it, plus they dont last for more than 1 hour.
They even look like they’d be hot, although they also look very sexy. I tried one on last time I was in Endurosports in Toronto. Thought about it - look cool or be comfortable. Needless to say I didn’t buy. Do they actually work aero wise? Has anyone tested these?
Tom,
I’ve got the same helmet and wore it at all of my races last year. The only hot race I did was the Wildflower Olympic distance. I found on the climbs if I raised the faceshield I was fine and it allowed enough ventilation. For now, unless my opinion changes I will be wearing it again at all my races this year. The first real test will be Wildflower Half Ironman. If that goes well, I will wear it at Ironman Canada and Hawaii if I qualify.
I’m not using the version with the visor.
Tom, One of the ear flaps broke on mine when I flew to Big Island to our state TT last year. I consider Kona in June a hot(and windy) course. I trimed the ear flaps on each side up to be even . That helmet has to be 10 degrees cooler with the ears in the wind. Not sure what it did to aeroness (word?) of the thing but it is way better in the heat. Aloha G
I’ve always thought it would be way too hot, but then I see Heather Fuhr (among others) riding one for the full 112. Weird. I wore mine on a VERY hot day for the NYC tri (Oly) and had no problems with overheating, so maybe there is something to it.
My bigger issues are things like being able to scratch my head, fix my glasses, and stuff like that without killing myself. If I got a bad itch on my bean and had to wait 3 hours to get to it, no amount of aeroness in the world would be worth my sanity.
The first time I used mine was for the Horse Farm Hundred in Gainesville, Fl. The day started out cool enough, but quickly heated up. I was feeling my oats and rode at the front for the first 20 miles and then blew up with heat exhaustion. Pushing the face shield up helps some, but I had to take the helmet off about mile 30. I made it to mile 56 and bagged the ride because I felt so lousy. I suspect that thermal regulation in younger guys is much better, so they will not have as bad a problem. However, overheating can present very serious problems in a race, so I wouldn’t recommend the helmet to anyone unless it is cool or you’ve used it and know you can handle the extra heat. Just my $.0000002.
-Robert
I’ve never worn one, but I noticed that Garret MacFayden wore one at ironman Canada this past summer (he is pictured wearing the one with the visor on it). Looking at the helmet I don’t think it would be my first choice for riding up Richter pass in the heat (although this year they got much coller than normal conditions there which may have been his motivation to wear it). He did have the fastest bike split though …
That red bull helmet Hellriegel, Natascha Badmann, and Jurgen wore at Kona didn’t have any vents either.
yeah what kind of helmet is that one that hellriegel and others always wear, it looks cool.
I would use mine in almost any race except for ones with either big, bad hills or if the forecast calls for temperatures reaching over 85F. To be fair, I got mine in the latter part of my season (last two races left) and in both of the races it was either raining or pretty cold. I would call it a great rain helmet, as my head stayed nice and warm.
I did feel an odd effect with the wind when I got out of the arm pads and turned my head. There could be a potential “real aero benefit”. Who knows?
I’ve worn mine in a few very hot races with no problem… but I’m a lean young guy.
Alex