Review of the Louis Garneau "Course" Helmet, A

[quattrings]

Evanscycles' site claims they will have it in tomorrow but I'm not very confident. It's been 3 months now and it's been delayed time and time again. Meanwhile I'm riding with a helmet that's cracked in 3 places

On another note the black knight TT is absolutely brilliant (now that it's off season I'll try and write that review), so it might have been worth the wait.

[quattrings]

Have received my LG Course helmet today, just took it for a quick spin and it looks like a winner. fits better than my Bell alchera, it's quiter, possibly a tad lighter as well.
It's gonna be interesting to see if the claimed aero benefits are noticable.

[cajer]

I have a large unused black LG course that's too big for me. If anyone has a medium and wants to trade.

Sent from my One X using Tapatalk 2

[seanblurr]

Great review, thanks

[KWalker]

I got one of these helmets. There is no need for me to go into much greater depth, however, had I not found this thread I would have never known it existed. I always thought LG was a Canadian/Fred brand and didn't know the Course was an aero helmet.

What I can say is that the shape is very similar to my Specialized S-Works Prevail, but it is a lot slimmer and form fitting. The retention strap is a lot more comfortable than the Speci strap, it fits very snug, and the vents are a ton quieter. Other than that I have not roll down tested it yet but my friend will test it tomorrow vs. an Air Attack and Selector.

[Zak]

looking forward to the test

[KWalker]

Looks the LG is the fastest aero helmet we have tested- 2% faster over a fixed distance than the Air Attack, which tested 2% better than either a Specialized Prevail or Giro Factor. Seems to mirror the reports on AeroWeenies. A bonafide TT helmet is still usually significantly faster, however, and it is not on par with one.

[BeeSeeBee]

Road Bike Action just tested a bunch of helmets (from what I gather, the testing was done by ERO Sports and this particular data was from a rider 'turtling' like in a TT, not looking ahead as you would be when normally riding)

Aero Rule of Thumb
.005 CdA=50gr drag=5 watts=.5sec/km

Code: Select all

Helmet                        CdA (lower is better)

POC Tempor (vents taped)    0.223
Giro Selector               0.223
Giro Advantage              0.223
Specialized Evade           0.225
POC Tempor                  0.227
Giro Air Attack             0.228
Bell Gage                   0.234
Giro Aeon                   0.234
LG Course                   0.234
Specialized Prevail         0.235

The guys at ERO Sports have found the Course to be between the Evade and the Air attack, so it would appear to be a bit more sensitive to head position than the other helmets (which would make sense given it's more ventilated design).

[KWalker]

In the end its completely moot unless you test yourself. Every rider/system has different airflow characteristics. I know for me which is fastest of my current options, but the Aeon tested far, far worse than in the ERO test and the Prevail better.

[BeeSeeBee]

Yeah, helmets are very much an individual thing. I had access to a pretty wide assortment of dedicated aero helmets a few years ago and tested them in various positions that I figured I probably put myself in over the course of a TT. I ended up buying the one that wasn't the best in the best case scenario, but also nowhere near the worst in that scenario either (went with the Wingspan, as it was consistently good, most of the others were longer tailed designs that penalized certain head positions with a more pronounced effect).

[KWalker]

Yah when we tested the idea was "Which is faster for me" but so far the data I have seen from all people that have tested the Course puts it consistently faster than the Air Attack and on par with the Evade. Much different from the ERO results. In the end I needed a new helmet anyways and I like the small profile of the Course plus it fits and ventilates really well. A great helmet for summer road races and for the occasional Merckx style TT where true aero helmets aren't allowed.

[dunbar42]

The guys at ERO Sports have found the Course to be between the Evade and the Air attack, so it would appear to be a bit more sensitive to head position than the other helmets (which would make sense given it's more ventilated design).

I think this photo from the original post shows that the Course is all about "fooling" the wind into thinking it's more like the Air Attack. The fact that the Course does better pointing down isn't all that surprising given the design.

[ayrej2]

Tempted by this helmet - can anyone else comment on wind noise? Went from giro atmos to aeon and the noise drives me mad. Almost impossible to talk to anyone at speed. If this is a "quiet" helmet, I might be sold.

[boysa]

I've had one for about a month and I'm quite impressed. I can't vouch for improved aerodynamics, especially since I've recently moved and am riding new routes, but I will say its small profile and shape fit my head perfectly. I was considering the usual list of aero models, but was put off by possible lack of ventilation. This is quite nice, and as Karsten mentions it should perform very well in the heat.

For reference, my last model was a Rudy Windmax, and frankly it never fit me very well. Also, side by side, the Rudy is an absolute behemoth next to the LG.

[KWalker]

This helmet is super quiet for me. I've had lots of Prevails and Giros and this one is basically silent. Love it so far.