LIDS FOR THE WORLD’S FASTEST RACERS
We look back at 25 years of Troy Lee Designs full-face helmets
A design classic is something that stands the test of time – a product that you look back at years down the line and recognise as iconic and ahead of its time. We think it’s a fair description of the Troy Lee Designs Daytona. Whether you’re a fan of the Californian brand’s brazen racecar-inspired styling or not, it’s hard to deny that they broke the mould when it came to helmets.
Back in the early ’90s, downhill mountain biking was just finding its identity, breaking free from its Lycra-clad past and getting faster and gnarlier. The existing crop of MTB lids didn’t really reflect that, which gave motocross helmet painter Troy Lee an idea. He started fitting his own aftermarket peaks to Japanese Shoei RC3 open-faces, along with eye-catching graphics, and custom paint jobs for the pros. In 1991, Dave Cullinan and Greg Herbold both raced to success in RC3s and the desirability factor of TLD lids was cemented.
Soon after, it was realised that downhill racing warranted full-face protection, and this prompted Troy to design a bolt on chin-bar for the RC3. Manufactured in the US under the TLD name, the helmet was called the Edge TL Comp and, when released in 1993, was the first bicycle-specific full-face. This was superseded two years later by the Daytona or D1, a one- piece carbon lid worn by Shaun Palmer, Nico Vouilloz and Steve Peat, which became the helmet every ’90s downhiller lusted after.
In 2000, the D2 came out, retaining the style of the D1 but with added protection. The fact this helmet is still on sale today is testament to the timelessness of the design. That was followed, in 2009, by the D3, which remains one of the most sought-after helmets on the DH scene. TLD have just unveiled a new, cheaper version, the D3 Fiberlite.
Even though helmet technology has moved on in leaps and bounds, the design influence of the early days is still plain to see. The modern TLD A1 open-face looks amazingly similar to the original RC3 and it’s funny to think that, 25 years down the line, we’re going back to helmets with removable chin-bars!