Sunnies and Lids
Protect the important things above your shoulders with top helmets and sunglasses
Protect the important things above your shoulders with top helmets and sunglasses
For the road
The Lazer Sphere road helmet ($180, lazersport.ca) debuted early this year. The company paid a lot of attention to airflow so that you can stay cool during hot summer rides. As with most Lazer helmets, you adjust the fit of the Sphere with the Advanced Rollsys System. It features a barrel-shaped dial at the top of the lid, so you can tighten or loosen the retention system easily. The Sphere weighs 260 g in size medium. The new Oakley Encoder glasses ($295, oakley.com/en- ca) use Prizm technology to boost contrast and colours out on the road. The glasses are designed to provide you with a high degree of impact protection. Their look can have a high impact, too. A
The Giro Helios Spherical helmet ($360, ogc.ca) is built to slip. Giro’s Spherical technology, which is based on mips, is composed of an inner and outer layer. The inner part swivels within the outer so that in a crash, this movement can manage forces directed at your head better than a traditional helmet. The inner layer is also made of dual-density expanded polystyrene (eps) foam to further handle impact energies. A medium size Helios weighs 250 g. The Rapha Pro Team full-frame glasses ($225, rapha.cc/ca) use Megol at the nosepiece and temples. It’s a thermoplastic elastomer with soft and hard sections that grip well when you work up a sweat. Vents between the lens and frame work to dry up that sweat and keep lens fog at bay. The glasses weigh 30 g. B
The new MET Manta MIPS helmet ($380, met-helmets.com) came out in March. The Italian company took its design to Milan’s Newton wind tunnel to ensure the lid slipped through the air well, letting you move faster in your sprint or allowing you to save watts as you pull at the front of a group. mips, short for multi-directional impact protection system, provides improved crash protection with its inner layer. During a crash, it will slip and reduce the effects of rotational forces on your head. The Fidlock magnetic buckle allows you to secure the helmet quickly. A medium Manta is 250 g.
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The sharp-looking Smith Persist helmet ($150, smith optics.com/en_ca) is made with an in-mould construction process: the shell and foam liner are formed and fused together at the same time. To boost protection, the Persist is outfitted with mips. Twenty-one vents keep air moving well across your head to cool you on warm days. The lid is designed to work well with Smith eyewear, naturally, such as the Smith Pinpoint glasses ($160). They feature Chromapop, the company’s contrast-enhancing technology that makes objects on the road or trail a little sharper. With a vlt rating of 15 per cent, the Pinpoint will block most of the sun’s beams on a clear day. D
A truncated airfoil for your head? Well, kinda. Bollé did look to that aerodynamic shape when designing the Bollé EXO MIPS helmet ($250, bolle.com/ca) so you could ride faster. It has a sunglasses garage to carry your sunnies securely when they are not in front of your eyes. You can throw the helmet’s lining in the wash when you need to. The medium exo weighs in at 290 g. The Bollé Shifter glasses ($250) have the Volt+ lens, which is polarized and increases contrast. The lens itself is 136-mm wide and 55-mm high. The glasses are a feathery 30 g. E
Within the eps foam of the Abus Viantor helmet ($150, hlc.bike) is the Acticage, a structural reinforcement that increases protection. It also allows designers to create large vents for maximum airflow. The Vaintor has excellent ponytail compatibility. For extra protection, you can get the Viantor with mips ($200). The Bollé Lightshifter glasses ($300, bolle. com/ca) have a ghost in them – well, a lens with Phantom to be exact: a photochromic technology that also improves contrast and colour-depth. There’s also an anti-fog treatment to keep things from clouding over, even on a clear day. F
For the trail
The downhill-certified Smith Mainline helmet ($400, smithoptics.com/en_ca) provides you with excellent protection during your most ambitious rides. The company’s signature Koroyd layer, made with many tubes for a honeycomb-like structure, will crumple and absorb energy during an impact. Smith also adds mips to its Mainline for more protection. The helmet is designed with air channels so that you can stay cool, even with full-face coverage. If you do heat up and get a little sweaty, the cheek pads are washable, while the lining is antibacterial. A medium Mainline weighs 770 g. G
The 16 vents with deep internal channels on the Giro Source MIPS helmet ($170, ogc.ca) will keep you cool throughout your rides on hot, dusty trails. The adjustable visor works in conjunction with your sunglasses to manage the rays. Giro’s Roc Loc 5 adjustment system lets you dial in the fit so that the helmet sits comfortably on your head. A medium Source is 340 g. The Oakley Sutro Lite glasses ($220, oakley.com/ en-ca) have a Prizm Trail Torch lens, designed to give you a better view of singletrack in bright conditions. If you are in a dark, shaded forest, the Prizm Trail (non-torch) technology is better. But if your rides have more sun than shade, these glasses will help you navigate obstacles smoothly. H
The Bollé Trackdown MIPS helmet ($220, bolle.com/ca) is made with a progressive eps foam, which is designed to better absorb shocks. Its three-position visor will help you to find the right position for your goggles and keep them secure. The helmet’s internal channels circulate air quite well. While you’re not thinking about winter at all during your summer rides, you should know that the Trackdown can be dressed in a winter kit, with vent caps and a lining, making it an all-year lid. K
There’s one thing that makes the premier Bontrager Blaze Wavecel LTD helmet ($400, trekbikes.com) just a little more special: the gold colour. It’s a nice bit of bling. Apart from the look, this helmet shares all the features of Bontrager’s standard top-end trail lid. Wavecell is a cellular structure that collapses on impact. The company says that the protection provided by the Blaze Wavecel can be five times more effective than that of a regular foam helmet. The Blendr mount system on the Blaze lets you affix an action camera or a light easily. I
The feature-rich Lazer Jackal MIPS helmet ($250, lazer sport.ca) has you covered as you take on your favourite trails. Eighteen vents get the breeze moving past your head. The adjustable visor can shield your eyes, or get pushed back so you can set your goggles up and out of the way. Run a camera or a light on the removable mount. The Jackal, in medium, weighs 390 g. The Smith Flywheel glasses ($160, smithoptics.com/en_ca) provide medium coverage, less than the large coverage of Smith’s big Arena Elite sunnies, for example. Still, the Flywheel will block 85 per cent of the sun’s rays and protect your eyes well. The Chromapop technology in the lens sharpens the contrast of the world around you. Autolock hinges make it easier to take the glasses on and off with one hand, which is so pro. J