brawlo

Does anyone have any experience or know of people using the Kask Bambino helmet for sprinting?

I have been sitting on the sidelines for a new helmet, waiting for the Giro Air Attack to arrive on our shores, and it's still a work in progress, and now it seems that the Specialized Evade beats it for aero anyway.

At the last meet I went to, a junior was running around in the Kask and for the same reasons I was looking at the Giro, I could now be looking at the Kask. British cycling are using them in sprinting, so they definitely aren't bad, but how do they compare to the Casco as they seem to be in that playing field? The Kask is approved here, so could be used for other events on the track and road as well

wens

Has anyone seen a comparison of the lg course, air attack, and evade under the same conditions? Wind tunnel on a manakin would be awesome, but I don't think I can track down all 3 to do field testing, so something to make reasonabe guesses from would be great.

brawlo

Most of the info regarding comparisons of these helmets is among the triathlete community. The Specialized appears to be the winner here with the LG coming in second. Generally speaking, I think the Spec and LG are close enough that it comes down to personal fit/looks preference from what I've read. Not many seem to like the Giro helmet for some reason. There is mention of doing a head to head comparison that I can't find now, but was not anticipated to be done until this year.

Dalai

Having seen for myself a CASCO perform worse for an individual than a MET Stradivarius, I would suggest the only right option is found after testing each helmet yourself...

jods

The Kask Bambino, is basically the helmet British Cycling developed for the sprinting in Beijing. Once Team Sky got up and running they bought the design from BC and made it lighter and a more finished production product with the help of Kask.

here's Jason Kenny in the "Smurf Helmet" from Beijing

Hida Yanra

I would second this.

carleton

I wonder how a $50 Skate helmet ranks among Sprint helmets in aero tests. I wish someone would put them in a wind tunnel.

I have a Casco Warp III ($300 USD) as well as a Pro-Tec Classic ($50 USD) skateboarding helmet. The profile is similar although the skate helmet didn't have an integrated visor.

One day I decided to weight the two. You won't believe what I discovered...they weighed the same. What's more is that the Casco (as with most bicycle helmets) is only rated to survive 1 crash. Skate helmets are rated to survive at least 3 crashes. The skate helmet has better ventilation

A buddy at DLV found a visor at a Triathlon shop and affixed it to his Nutcase skate helmet. It worked. Or you can simply wear your cycling glasses.

But, are they legal according to USA Cycling rules? YES. Many "skate" helmets meet or exceed CPSC Bike helmet standards and have "bike" certificates...which is all you need for USA Cycling approval. Not sure about UCI.

A skateboarding helmet is a poor man's (or smart man's) aero helmet. Plus you can get them in darn near any city in the world.

carleton

Further:

https://www.bhsi.org/helmet14.htm

zizou

Not sprint specific but a couple of new aero helmets will be getting released soon

Bontrager


POC

Kayce

Every time I read about stickers I am reminded of a guy walking around the parking lot at Northbrook asking for a sticker for his Catlike.

I raced for my first couple of months with a skateboard helmet, really really hot under there. The super thick hard foam does not breath at all, and the tiny vents didn't do a thing.

carleton

The Casco is worse. It says in the documentation, "Recommended for events 1KM or shorter."

Impreza_aL

i had a casco but sold it to fund some race wheels.

this will be my aero helmet for the year

Hida Yanra

[QUOTE=carleton;16399564]I wonder how a $50 Skate helmet ranks among Sprint helmets in aero tests. I wish someone would put them in a wind tunnel./QUOTE]

Wind tunnel won't do much for sprint helmets as the head position changes too much to get "clean" data- too many things moving around.

An ERO setup could probably do it, but roll down/Aerolab/tunnel set ups? Probably not.

that said, a round skate lid might test well-trick it to test it, I come out differently than several teammates who ride similar-ish positions, helmets seem to be the most individual bits of gear.

Hida Yanra

Also catlike

Brian Ratliff

It's really not that bad. More of a German CYA thing than any real warning. Anything without vents is going to be worse than helmets with vents. Even the new Giro air attack helmet is pretty hot compared to a standard road helmet. Just because the helmet's north of $200 doesn't mean you get to cheat physics, no matter what the marketing copy says.

Dalai

Attaching a non standard visor (any helmet mods including stickers) is not allowed by the UCI.

carleton

I wore a Casco in Atlanta in the summer...it was that bad

I would try to push it up or remove it entirely as I entered the cool down circle!

carleton

Very true.

VanceMac

Casco is just a terrible helmet. It's wicked hot (my Air Attack is practically air conditioned by comparison). It has very limited practical use, especially for a non-sprinter like me. It is overpriced. And some aspects of the build quality are quite suspect (I treat the visor attachment like it's made of tissue paper). But I love it.

Although the aerodynamic limitations of a sphere are well known, I don't think that is necessarily a disadvantage for short, chaotic efforts like match sprint and flying 200m, because:

Theo Bos during flying 200m:


In this position, I would guess* the Casco would compare favorably with just about anything. I suspect the Kask Bambino might be the best compromise... wish they weren't so expensive.

(*Of course, aerodynamics are notorious for often being counter-intuitive. And, unfortunately, the only extensive testing I've seen on helmets has been done in the stable tri/tt position. With the current trend of aero road helmets, hopefully that will change.)

Hida Yanra

well just bring in complete outliers and freaks why dontcha
Non-elites that can remain that still while generating torque during a flying 200 don't need our help.

VanceMac

Just to be clear, I was agreeing with you. His head did not stay still during that effort (that's a youtube screen shot).

JMR

What about keirin?

JMR

brawlo

Wow, it seems I fell off the grid for the last week. I went on holidays and the internet was comparable to the old dial up speeds, so no internetting for me.

I was hoping to get a look at the kask through my local as he had some on the shelf. It seems that they're old stock however as he doesn't deal with that importer any more, so I will have to travel to get a try at one.

The problem for us is the Casco has no Aust standard certification and can therefore only be used on the track in certain events. The kask however appears to be comparable but with it's certification is far more flexible for use elsewhere.

Thanks for your input.

Jaytron

Wait, I only bought my Casco cause it looks badass. Woops.



It makes me feel like I'm Maverick in Top Gun. Whenever I put it on, "Danger zone" plays in my head and it motivates me to go faster. Therefore, it is the best helmet choice. Science.