aero helmet wind tunnel data

[spectastic]

I'm looking for 3rd party aero comparisons between the aero road helmets. I know bikeradar released some data placing the bontrager ballista first, and the giro helmets near last place, but I want to see another third party comparison, just to have a real second opinion. So far I have not been able to fine one. I suspect some of the european magazines might have some data. Anyone know of a study like this?

[Vermu]

At least the most accurate tester Tour (in my eyes) hasn't done any real testing on aero data of helmets.
That bikeradars article with added Giros viewpoint just made things more interesting.

I reckon there will be more test within few months, now that aero helmets are actually available to masses.

[spectastic]

I'm just surprised how the air attack and synthe both tested at the bottom of the list, and in fact tested worse than the prevail, which they used as their benchmark for the regular helmet.

[bbqpork]

Tour International did conduct an Aero helmet test a few months a go, and the Air Attack was also rank last or near the bottom. At the time, the Specialized Evade and Kask Infinity did very well.

[Vermu]

They didnt test aero. Everything else though


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[tommasini]

Mark Cote of Specialized has posted at slow twitch that the Louis Garneau Course had very good results. Said if aero and ventilation are both important to give it strong consideration.

[spectastic]

can you guys post the links to the results?

[russianbear]

Has the POC octal popped up in any tests? I know they have an aero helmet as well, would be interesting to see how far it's behind.

[Raineman]

Bikeradar did a test recently, the aero data is at the bottom

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/arti ... ted-44719/

[gilco]

very interesting

[jrock457]

Very interesting article. I love at the end how Giro had to cover their you know what because their helmets came in last place in terms of aerodynamics. I was so disappointed because I have a Synthe and fell right into the marketing without waiting for third part reports such as the Bikeradar one to then make my purchase.

I am not a aerodynamicist by any stretch of the imagination, but does it really matter how you tape down the helmet strap? One of Giro's argument for this test being inaccurate is the fact that all of the helmets got their strap taped down differently and this could in turn affect the aero numbers.

[Franklin]

The differences are pretty big. We can sneeze at a few grams, but that's pretty much free gains then and there for a pretty modest price.

That Garneau helmet sure is tempting... especially since the (old) top end Las helmet I'm currently using is most likely a dog for aerodynamics (and the ventilation is ho-hum).

[BeeSeeBee]

Bikeradar did a test recently, the aero data is at the bottom

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/arti ... ted-44719/

That is legitimately an absolutely trash test. I'm completely for independent testing, but not when it's done in such a way that the test design is so bad it sets a bad precedent.

From Jim Manton of ERO Sports:

Complete waste of time when using a mannequin without a torso/shoulders. Way to much interaction in that area to get any kind of definitive results. Then you have all the different positioning of the tape around the straps, some of which were placed better than others; that's very poor attention to a very important detail, and likely had as much impact on the results as anything else. It's also important to test helmets at different angles, which it looks like they failed to do. I've sort of given up on Bikeradar and aero testing. We need to get media out of aero testing altogether.

I'd also love some hair included to see how the well ventilated helmets fare with the interaction all of that turbulence adds vs. a more closed helmet that's not as affected. That's something that the ERO guys have mentioned before.

[g32ecs]

Very interesting article. I love at the end how Giro had to cover their you know what because their helmets came in last place in terms of aerodynamics. I was so disappointed because I have a Synthe and fell right into the marketing without waiting for third part reports such as the Bikeradar one to then make my purchase.

I am not a aerodynamicist by any stretch of the imagination, but does it really matter how you tape down the helmet strap? One of Giro's argument for this test being inaccurate is the fact that all of the helmets got their strap taped down differently and this could in turn affect the aero numbers.

But Kristoff has been winning with a lopsided helmet all year:





I'm a Air Attack user and I just ride my bike as fast as I can Forget about the #s and just buy what you think is attractive in your eyes (apparently I got bad taste in helmets)

[rchung]

There are few items whose aero properties are more rider-specific than helmets and clothing.

Helmets that test well on one rider will test poorly on another, and vice versa. Skin suits (and jerseys in general) can fit well (and thus test well) on one rider and be baggy and a parachute on another.

The LG Course tends to perform well on many riders but you could be the exception.
The Air Attack tends to perform poorly on many riders but you could be the exception.

Third-party test results are about as useful for you as a one-sided power meter -- even if it works for many it may not work for you. You can't know until you test yourself. BTW, don't try to use a one-sided power meter for aero testing.