When I moved the Rio Grande Valley and started to ride with Team McAllen, I typically would drive to the ride start location. I would stuff all of my gear in a large black duffel, load the bike in the back of the truck, and then gear up at the ride start. Even though I now usually ride the bike to the official ride start location, my gear started living permanently in the black duffel bag.
When I was commuting from Mission to Austin in late 2008 through early 2009, the black duffel accumulated lots of miles. It was joined by my rolling luggage and notebook bag, and I would often lug them all at the same time, banging into walls and doorframes. When I get up early to ride intervals, the black duffel makes the trip downstairs with me, where I gear up quietly to keep from waking up the family. It gets shuffled around on the counter sometimes when I'm too lazy to take it back upstairs. Lastly, when I store the bag in the upstairs closet, I'm not always the neatest cyclist. The gear gets left out on the floor to dry, and I'm sure that it sometimes gets kicked around a bit.
Somewhere in all of this handling, my 2007 Giro Atmos was cracked. I noticed it yesterday after my ride. In the first photo, look at the small section directly above the arrow-shaped padding, roughly in the center of the photograph. There's a crack running left to right. Look in the middle of the 2nd photo. That's a different structural section, and the crack runs up and down. Helmets don't protect you if they're already broken, and this one needs to be replaced. My guess is that it was crushed by shifting luggage during a rapid stop on one of my trips to Austin, but regardless, it's time for a new helmet.
The good news is that my spouse gave me a gift certificate to a local bike shop for Father's Day. The shop sells Lazer and Limar, and I like the Lazer O2, especially the unique adjustment feature. On the other hand, I think the Giro Atmos and Ionos have more ventilation, and they're both about 30 grams lighter. But the Giro products are more expensive, and since I'm unemployed, I'm leaning towards the Lazer O2.
I'll keep you posted on my decision, but in the meantime, your input and opinions are welcome!
6 comments:
I think you should go for the best fit. Considering how much we ride the extra comfort and protection bought for pennies more over the life time of the helmet is probably worth it.
Lazer was the team issue helmet when I lived in Boise. I didn't get one because I didn't need a new helmet at the time. Those that did buy them, loved them, and said it was the best helmet they'd ever had.
That being said, get what fits best. If you're anything like me, if you don't get the one you liked best, you'll never really be happy with it, so it won't be the best value.
@gtinla and Ski Bike Junkie -- totally agree. I tried on the Lazer O2 yesterday, and it fits great. Unlike the "rok lok" snap Giro adjustment, the Lazer has a continuous adjusting cable system. Hard to explain, but it makes the fit very customized to your noggin. Plus, it saves big $$$ by not having carbon reinforcement, and it only costs about 1.25 oz in weight. I'm going to buy today.
I agree with gtinla. You should get the one that fits the best.
You need to get whatever fits the best, but out of experience, I have a Giro Atmos and I absolutely love it! On a hot day, the way the vent's work, it feels as if I have a fan or a wind'tunnel on my head.
@NW Bicyclist -- I liked my Atmos too. Ventilation was very good. I'll post about it later, but the Lazer O2 fits better and I can't tell a difference in ventilation. The Belgians know how to build a helmet!
Post a Comment