Aero Minded: Helmets that do More than Save your Head

Helmets are a standard on any ride. Many cyclists refuse to ride with anyone not sporting the 'mushroom head' look. For years helmets have been a necessary inconvenience to better your odds of walking away from a crash.
However, This year, at the Tour de France, helmets were on everybody's mind (literally). Every brand seems to come to the realization that in a sport that revolves around effective power and aero positioning, the helmet has been overlooked.
Brands like, Giro, Specialized and even smaller helmet manufacturers like Kask are producing drag-conscious helmets no longer reserved for the TT stages.

Air Attack Shield by Giro

Giro really went back to the basics when designing the Air Attack. Creating prototype after prototype, and only changing to improve function, they came up with the shape we see now on such teams as Rapha-Focus, Garmin-Sharp and the 2013 British Olympic Track Team. With the built-in "shield" that continues the aero profile over the riders eyes, the air attack has become a complete package. Here's a great video on the time and effort put into creating it:




Bambino by Kask
Kask hit the market with a bang during the 2012 Tour de France. Team Sky's TT machine sporting funky looking, bob-tailed, aero helmets. Sky being known for using only equipment scientifically proven to improve the rider's performance, the helmets were not taken lightly. Kask states that the Bambino is more aero than a true, full-tailed aero position helmet because it is still aero if the rider breaks position. While it may look like a sun-powered oven for your head, the two-layer construction keeps air flowing through the infrastructure of the helmet, cooling the head it protects.
Here's why Sky decided to go with Kask:



Coming soon...
Evade by Specialized

While some may think Specialized is late to the party, they have actually been looking at air flow of their helmets for some time now. The S-Works Prevail boasted a drastic improvement on rider's over all speed while still maintaining a level up in ventilation.
The Evade is simply the next impressive step in the S-Works evolution. I could ramble off some numbers and stats, but we would all rather watch the very handsome, Mr. Chris Riekert talk about their newest head piece. Also, here's a picture of Chris when he thought he should have a moustache!



I'm sure there will always be a place for the helmets that sacrifice wind-flow for comfort and ventilation. However, with the type of effective improvements all companies producing aero helmets are boasting, it is not hard to see that this could be a strategy that sticks around for some time.