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if you can't/aren't going to test, pick something that works well on a wide range of people... lots of aero helmet threads, aerohead, old LG p09, i think the new rudy helmet... etc.
Failing that, pick the helmet you think looks coolest and tell yourself it's fastest.

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

^^^
This is really the best approach if you can't test. Pick a helmet like the Arrowhead that works for the majority of the athletes that have tested - 80% of the bell curve.

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Dan Kennison

facebook: @triPremierBike
http://www.PremierBike.com
http://www.PositionOneSports.com

Get a Bontrager Ballista or a Specialised Evade. If you dig into some aero testing they are giving away next to nothing on the dedicated aero helmets especially at your ironman pace, and you wont be over heating.

+1

Aerohead or Rudy

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

A buddy of mine recently came over to do some tests.

Aero and heat were both considered. When he overheats on the bike, the is throwing up for 42 km. He would do 2km out and back tests, just over IM pace and would be drenched in sweat with one of the helmets.

We tested the Aerohead that I owned, P09 he owned, old Giro A2 he owned and a Vanquish.

The Aerohead was the fastest by almost 8watts at IM speed. The P09 was a bit slower. The A2 was closer to the Vanquish so was eliminated.

He then took all the helmets home and tested for how warm they were. He found the P09 too warm, not enough air flow.

At the end he chose the Vanquish in full consciousness he was giving up 8watts. On a cool day he would have used the Aerohead.

I wish we would have tested an Evade but I suspect we may have closed the gap to maybe 5 or 6 watts.

So if heat is not an issue, go with the advice of testing and if you can't test go with the one most often fastest. Few people are slow with an Aerohead.

If heat is an issue, be conscious of what you will most likely be giving up.

BTW, he loved the Vanquish visor since that is one of your criteria.

Some good testing there. If the aerohead is say 5watts faster then an evade you are looking at 90seconds over the 180, at 8 watts you are at about 2mins 10seconds. Thats if you hold your head in the perfect position the whole time and the yaw angle is ideal and so on. In real word lets call it a minute. Now if you over heat and cant hold those 5 watts you are in big trouble, also 1 min once onto the run, again if you are dehydrated and internally cooked you will lose that in the first km.

In 2016 I raced kona in the rudy project wing, it was a terrible decision. The noise inside that thing from the wind as well as the heat, it was 180km of additional torment not needed. I had no issue however with it at the qualifier in a very cool calm condition day.

I have used an aero road helmet since, and my bike splits have improved at the 2 ironman events I have done since and a few weeks back I had the 2nd best bike split in the 40-44 cat at IM Cairns. I care a lot about aero and have my bike very clean and aero, top aero suit, I use giro shoes with elastic laces and also aero calf sleeves, so I value aero but if at a hot race… aero road helmet for sure is best. (On a side note, I also dont run a disc, just 60mm front and rear).

Get the helmet with the built in head sock. I'm sure its sooooooo much faster.

Did he pull the plug in the front of the helmet and take the visor off it? That typically is the P09's fastest configuration.

I think on thing people don't realize it they put out x watts more to go as fast as the faster helmet the amount of internal heat generated.

It's always a tough dilemma for the heavy sweaters/high body temp people though.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Yes. As a matter of fact the P09 was the "sunglasses compatible" choice which was taken into consideration. No plug, no visor, slightly slower than the Aerohead, but he perceived less ventilation. I personally find the opposite and the P09 remains my sunglasses helmet choice.

A few years ago, I aero tested everyone's favorite triathlete : Vino. It was his first time qualifying for Kona. His rather poor helmet was 12watts faster than his poorer road helmet. For me, "mr I can measure that", it was obvious. He chose the road helmet. I kind of argued and was told in a very Vino-ish way "I know what it feels like to overheat on a bike. I know exactly what 12 watts is. I have been on a bike before." I shut up.

haha that's a great story!

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Hello
I'm French and I have to go to Kona in October. I read that the Met Condatronca is not approved in the USA?!?
Can you confirm or not?
I saw pro women in 2019 with.....
Thank you

FWIW an old pro cyclist told me the Specialized Evade is as good as any fancier helmet out there. We don't race in an air tunnel and, even the best pros, cannot hold that position during the entire race. If you have a helmet with a longer tail, there could be small disadvantages when you're not holding position. Plus they can be warmer than a really good road helmet.

I say go with what makes you feel the fastest/what you think tests the best. People love the Giro Vanquish, Rudy Project Wing, and the Garneau P-9. But I think a strong case can be made for a good road helmet- Specialized Evade, Kask Protone, POC Ventral Spin, Rudy Project Spectrum or Volantis.

I'm pretty sure that helmet has a CE certification and is what you'll need for a championship race like Kona.

According to this:

https://cdn4.sportngin.com/...1April2021__002_.pdf

The 2021 rules

(b) Helmets
(i) Helmets must be approved by a national accredited testing authority and such
authority must be recognized by the World Triathlon and the relevant National
Federation. (Please note: at all Events sanctioned by USA Triathlon (“USAT”),
USAT requires all USA age-group athletes to wear a helmet approved by the USA
CPSC); (DSQ)

So if the helmet is approved for your federation (or WT) then you're OK to use it.

I would like to say thank you for all. Now it’s perfectly clear for me.

Plug out and visor off? Interesting!

I have a .25 mile hill across the street from my house…that should be long enough to Chung test, right?

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

I've tested different head positions bc you're right people don't hold a steady position on the roads. The results haven't changed, at least for me. head up the aerohead was still faster by the same amount as head down vs some other helmets.

The long tail needs to be on the back statement needs to die. Immediately. It's utter bullshit. I've seen enough tests to know that the tail can be in numerous positions and still be the fastest thing out there for a rider. Often getting that tail flush on the back means raising the head and increasing frontal area.

I've seen enough weird head positions in the tunnel and tested enough helmets on them to be fairly confident in saying that an aero helmet is going to be faster than a aero road helmet 90-95+ % of the time. Sure you could play that 5% odds and win once maybe twice in your racing career. IDK if that is the smartest odds to play.

With aerodynamics if you're not testing, then you're guessing/betting. No matter what an old pro says or anyone else, including myself say.

If you're not going to test then play the odds to insure that you're making the fast(er)(est) decision for the majority of the races you do and the majority of the time you spend racing. I'm not walking into a casino that has 90 black roulette squares and 10 red then betting on red.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Yes, and please share your results

That’s super interesting regarding the lack of importance of tail position. You should start a new thread on it as it’s that counterintuitive

IMHO, this is sometimes because the helmet retention system interferes with the back of your neck, which prevents the helmet from being rotated so the tail is down. The spring loaded thingy in the back of the Giro Selector is a prime example of this. I'd think head down with the tail flush should be best.

IDK why it's counterintuitive. \_O_/

If you've got a low (low enough) position often getting the tail on the back means brining your head from a fairly neutral position where you're looking 20-30yd down the road to one where you're scrunching your neck to get the tail flush and can see a long way down the road.

That can/will often increase frontal area.

In a quick glance through some of the oldest tests I've run (back in the beginning of my aero testing days) I found 3 people that Giro Advantage 2 was The Helmet. Not one of them is flush against the back. I found a few where the tail was flush and it wasn't the fastest position

hope that helps

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

This I agree with.

I also agree that moving your head position simply to get the tail flat isn't optimum. However, once you have proper head position, I still think adjusting the helmets position on your head to get the tail flat and eliminating any gaps is best.

There's a lot of variables here - closed vs open bottom, short tail vs long tail, visor vs glasses, shoulder width, etc., so I'm sure there are instances where a high tail position is better, but in general? However, I don't have a wind tunnel in my garage either.

I like how people who have likely never been in a tunnel or were in it once for themselves are questioning Brian’s experience and, dare I say, expertise in this area. Dude has hundreds of data points backing up what he has said. His experience isn’t “Hey, it doesn’t look as aero to me.”

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Fair enough. Please explain this -