73 percent of teams have access to aero road helmets
Image 1 of 20
Bell's new Star Pro features vents that slide open and closed(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Lego helmets, bowling balls… call them what you will, but aero road helmets are a reality in the Tour de France peloton(Image credit: BikeRadar)
In related news, Specialized recently tested beards in the wind tunnel and found they do not generate significant drag(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Rui Costa may be the world champion, but Kabuto does not have an aero helmet for him(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Lazer glues the Aeroshell on the Z1 to make it UCI-compliant, but the shell will be sold as a snap-on option later this year(Image credit: BikeRadar)
The Lazer Z1 features a magnetic attachment on the straps for special sunglasses. Note the absence of sunglass arms here(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Movistar riders have the Catlike Mixino VD2.0(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Kask's new Protone is heavily vented at the front…(Image credit: BikeRadar)
…but svelte at the rear(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Specialized sponsors three Tour teams with helmets, including Tinkoff-Saxo(Image credit: BikeRadar)
While other Giant-Shimano riders are racing in a Uvex Race 5 with the vents filled in(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Some Giant-Shimano riders are racing in the standard Uvex Race 5(Image credit: BikeRadar)
AG2R has a version of the Ekoi CKR21 with a glued-on shell(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Although the visual focus is often on the front, the rear shape of a helmet plays a big role in aerodynamics(Image credit: BikeRadar)
As with all Giro-sponsored teams, BMC can pick between the standard Aeon, the full-on aero Air Attack, or this new 'best of both worlds' Synthe(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Bretagne has a Spiuk Dharma with a glued-on shell(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Glued-on shells block the front vents, but don't change the shape of the helmet(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Mavic does not yet have an aero road helmet(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Louis Garneau's Course may not look aero, but wind-tunnel tests show otherwise. Even Giro acknowledged that the Course performs relatively well(Image credit: BikeRadar)
The Specialized Evade, shown here on Alberto Contador, is relatively narrow side to side, but long in the back and heavier than a standard road helmet(Image credit: BikeRadar)
Although ubiquitous now, aero road helmets are a relatively new development. Giro made waves when it launched the Air Attack in the summer of 2012; some loved it, many hated it, but all cycling fans certainly noticed the distinct, rounded shape. Now, at the 2014 Tour de France, the vast majority of teams have helmet sponsors with aero options of some sort.
As with road bikes, the cycling industry is rotating through the process of differentiating new categories and then blurring the lines between them. There are a few clear out-and-out aero road helmets at the Tour like the Air Attack, the POC Octal Aero and the Scott Vanish Aero, which have the smooth, rounded shape of a bowling ball. On the opposite end of the spectrum you have traditional helmets created for ventilation, comfort and good looks (plus safety, of course). And now we are seeing aero helmets with ventilation (such as the Specialized Evade), which are not to be confused with ventilated helmets with good aerodynamics, like the new Giro Synthe or new Kask Protone. Confused yet? It is splitting hairs.
We counted 17 of the 22 teams at the Tour de France with aero helmets. For the count, we defined aero helmet as a lid that is either scantily vented or something that may not ‘look aero’ but has wind-tunnel data to back up the shape, such as the Louis Garneau Course, which even Giro acknowledged to be relatively low drag in their tunnel testing.
In the absence of a full-on aero lid in their lineup, some helmet companies have gone the route of just filling in the vents on current models, as good ventilation and good aerodynamics often have an inverse relationship. This is a faster and cheaper way to get an aero helmet than designing a new structure and constructing new molds.
With the new Star Pro that has operable vents that slide open and closed with a single finger switch, Bell designers feel they have a best-of-both-worlds option. And Bell as a company certainly celebrated when Belkin’s Lars Boom rode alone to victory on stage 5, head down into the wind, with a Star Pro on for all fans, television and photographers to see.
For amateur riders, a pop-on aero shell can be a similar two-in-one solution, offering ventilation on some days and perhaps better aerodynamics — or at least rain protection — on other days. But cycling’s governing body, the UCI, still has a rule against non-structural additions in its lengthy and often controversial rulebook, so Tour de France riders can’t use clip-on shells. So, shells are either glued on, like the Aeroshell cover on Lazer’s Z1 for Lotto Belisol, or vents are permanently sealed, as on some of AG2R’s Ekoi CXR21 helmets and FDJ.fr’s Uvex Race 5 models.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"For UCI teams we glue the shell on to make it a non-removable cover compliant with UCI regs," said Lazer spokesman Chris Smith. "The Z1 Aeroshell will be out [for consumer purchase] at the end of August. They are model- and size-specific. Other helmet-model Aeroshells are available now."
Helmet companies admit that the energy efficiency savings to be had from aero helmets are small — marginal gains is the term being kicked around a lot these days for single-digit percentage improvements in cycling. But at the sport’s highest level, even a tiny advantage is still an advantage. And as for the looks, well, Boom and his teammates seemed to think he looked just fine coming across the finish line first after a brutally hard stage of the 2014 Tour de France.
Check out the list of aero road helmets by team below, and click through the gallery above for closer looks at many of the models in use at the Tour de France.
Aero helmets by team at the 2014 Tour de France AG2R-La Mondiale Ekoi CXR21 with filled-in vents Astana Specialized Evade Belkin Bell Star Pro BMC Giro Air Attack Bretagne-Séché Environnement Spiuk Dharma with cover Cannondale N/A (Rudy Project) Cofidis N/A (Mavic) FDJ.fr Uvex Race 5 with cover Garmin-Sharp POC Octal Aero IAM Cycling Giro Air Attack Lampre-Merida N/A (Kabuto) Lotto Belisol Lazer Z1 with glued-on Aeroshell Movistar Catlike Miximo VD2.0 Omega Pharma Quick Step Specialized Evade Orica GreenEdge Scott Vanish Aero Europcar Louis Garneau Course Giant-Shimano Uvex Race 5 with cover Katusha Giro Air Attack NepApp-Endura N/A (Endura Air Shell) Sky N/A (Kask Protone) Tinkoff-Saxo Bank Specialized Evade Trek Factory Racing N/A (Bontrager)
