Bicycle helmets and why they cost so much

Despite the wide price ranges for the various kinds of bicycle helmets out there, a take home message I have for you is that the prices generally have little to do with their level of safety. Most if not all cycling helmets sold by reputable bike stores have to comply with a minimum set of international safety standards, regardless if its an RM100 helmet or an RM1000 helmet, which makes one helmet just about as safe as any other helmet out there.

Before we get started, lets go over what a basic entry level helmet will get you. From there, I'll talk about the factors that make up higher-end helmets which play significant parts in determining their price. As a reference helmet, I'll be using my 13 year old Bell helmet. This faithful shell has seen it's fair share of thrills and spills. The countless number of falls and tumbles I've had with this helmet, both on and off the road, make it an object of significant sentimental value to me. I've used it for both mountain biking and road cycling. With it's set of specifications, I feel that it is very representative of a general entry level bike helmet.

This specific model is the Ukon 2 and cost about RM 90-RM120 all those years ago (can't quite remember). After a quick look on Amazon, I managed to find a few for about $27 - $40, which is about RM120 to RM160 according to current exchange rates, definitely still within the price range of a beginner's helmet. It weighs 314 grams and is a size 54-61cm. It also comes with a removeable visor that easily snaps into place to protect your eyes from the sun, rain and anything else that might be flying through the air. A total of 17 vents all around the helmet have done their best at keeping my head cool over the years.

At the rear of the helmet, you'll find the head-fit adjustment mechanism which, at that point in time, made this helmet an extremely appealing piece of gear as most entry level helmets of around 15 years ago never had such a system. All you could do was pray which ever helmet you bought fit your head just right or risk it tilting and yawing here and there as you rode,

This helmet has certainly seen better days. Most manufacturers would recommend that you replace your helmet once every 5 years regardless of whether you've had a fall in it or not, some even recommend as frequently as every 3 years. However, one consensus that comes up frequently from both manufacturers and on online bike-related forums is that you are strongly encouraged to replace your helmet after a fall, regardless of the absence or presence of any visible cracks in the shell or foam. This means that my helmet is long overdue for a replacement! (stay tuned!)

Never noticed the faded-paint marks before.

Cracked retention system

The foam pads are all but gone

More than a decade worth of bumps and scratches

Now that we've established what an entry level helmet is, what exactly are you getting for that extra bit more that you're paying? Well for starters, most helmet manufacturers, in their pursuit to churn out higher quality helmets year after year, have to do significant amounts of research involving wind-tunnels, impact-testing and testing their products out on the professional World Tour teams that they sponsor, all in hopes of producing the best iteration of a helmet possible until the next one comes out. Here's a brief list of factors that contribute to certain helmets being a tad bit pricier than others.

Lighter weight

A basic entry level helmet for an adult will usually come in at around 300 grams. As you move up the price range towards the thousand Ringgit mark, with the exception of certain aero and time-trial specific helmets, most conventional road helmets will be much closer to 200 grams rather than 300. That's a weight saving of about 100 grams for an additional RM700 - RM 800. This may not seem like a significant amount but it'll certainly make the helmet a little less cumbersome when you have it on. Is it a worthy investment? Well, that's entirely up to you to decide.

The Specialized S-Works Prevail, only 195 grams. The latest Prevail 2 is 185 grams.

More aerodynamic

Aerodynamic-gains aren't just solely had with your bike. Technically speaking, it is widely agreed upon that upgrading from an entry level helmet to a more aero one is a much bigger aero upgrade than compared to anything you could do with your bike. Not only that, a brand new aero helmet will be significantly cheaper than a brand new set of aero wheels too. This is probably why you see most amateur riders invest in an aero helmet first before moving on to aero wheels and so on.

Aero-looking Specialized Evades

A row of Met Mantas

Better ventilated

Apart from an aero edge, something that is very relevant here in our hot and temperate climate is ventilation. Higher end helmets have a greater number of vents on them while still maintaining a high level of structural integrity that fulfills industry standards. Even the more aero-oriented helmets have vents that function a little more efficiently than lower end helmets so as to compensate for having fewer than normal vents and not cook you up on those sunny weekend rides.

The Bontrager Ballista

Despite being an aero helmet, it's vents provide substantial cooling

The Met Rivale - a more ventilated version of the Manta

The Kask Protone, a very well-ventilated aero helmet

The Catlike Mixino, a very ventilated helmet

Aesthetics
Despite what many people say, I personally feel looks play and important part when it comes to making decisions regarding the gear and equipment we choose to buy. From the bikes we ride to the shoes on our feet, nothing gets used without first passing our rigorous set of beauty standards. The same goes for helmets.

A matte-finish paint scheme, heat-reactive paint or a limited edition helmet in pro team colors. All of these extras add no performance benefits to the helmet but make them look much more appealing to certain potential buyers who are willing to fork out a little extra for that little extra.

Specialized Evade with heat-reactive "Torch" paint

Team Astana and Tinkoff-Saxo Evades

Comfort and fit
Higher end helmets have added padding and adjustment features that allow the wearer to fine tune the helmet so that it fits snugly and comfortably on our craniums with out excessive wiggle or play when we ride. To a certain extent, this adds an extra level of safety as the helmet is less likely to shift and obscure your vision when riding as well as retain itself properly on your head in the event of a crash. Although, to be fair, most entry level helmets will be able to achieve this so as long as it's properly fitted and worn.

While we're on the subject of padding, higher end helmets come with various forms of silver-lined antibacterial padding that claim to prevent bacterial growth within them due to sweat. I'm somewhat skeptical about this but silver compounds are actively used to treat certain kinds of skin infections. 

Specialzed 'Mindset' system

The adjustment system on the Kask Protone adjusts to your occiput (that part of your skull at the back that sticks out)

Additional features

Certain helmets have additional features or add-ons that further enhances it's innate abilities. A magnetic visor on a time-trial helmet, glow-in-the-dark paint, the aero lid on a Kask Infinity, MIPS retention system, etc. These features have been shown to enhance the performance and safety features of a helmet whilst maintaining function over form.

Closed aero-lid (Image taken from bikeradar.com)

Open aero-lid (Image taken from bikeradar.com)

The Kask Bambino and it's visor

And there you have it. I hope this short post has shed some light on the bicycle helmet market and their pricing. At the end of the day, some of these features may seem meaningless or insignificant to us but, as with any market, certain things cost a certain price mainly because that's the price people are willing to pay for them.

Regardless of how much your helmet costs, always remember that it's a small investment for something that could potentially save your life. The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute in America (yes, that's a thing) claims that an average cyclist is bound to crash once in every 4500 miles which roughly equate to about 7200 km. So wear you helmet!

TL;DR :

• Lighter weight
• More aerodynamic
• Improved ventilation
• They look cooler (very subjective)
• Increased comfort and fit
• Bonus features
• WEAR YOUR HELMET!

Thanks for reading. As always, feel free to leave any and all comments in the comment section down below and I will try my best to reply. Until next time!

Shop Tour - Treknology Multisport (Trek Bicycles)

Located in Kota Damansara, the Treknology Multisport bike shop is perhaps the largest bike shop in terms of build area in the country. Occupying what is essentially a mini factory, the store boasts almost every bike in the entire Trek range from beginner kids bikes all the way up to a couple of custom Project One bikes, more on that later.

Here's link to their Facebook page, their website, and their Instagram page.

As you enter the shop, you're greeted by a plethora of bikes lining the floors as well as the bike racks beside the windows with the cashier's counter located in the middle of the space.

You may do just that if you ever stop by!

I met with a gentleman by the name of Fendi you was more than kind enough to give me a tour of the store as well as tell me a little about the business in general. The store is about 3 years old now and was previously located in Kuala Lumpur. They have another branch in Bayan Lepas, Penang and are the only 2 stores in the entire country that officially distribute Trek bicycles. The Treknology company itself originated from Singapore and has 5 branches island-wide, the biggest of which boasts an area of 10,000 square feet!

My tour started at the top floor where most of the road bikes were displayed. To get to this floor, you have to take an elevator that's beside the main counter.

Didn't notice the finger at the top left!

As I mentioned before, this floor comprises of most of their road bikes. Those of you who are familiar with the Trek brand might have heard of a couple of these models before. According to Fendi, the Trek Madone was initially produced and marketed for many years as the brand's flagship bike. However, due to advances in bike design and technology as well as an increased demand for niche-specific bikes, the brand had to adapt and evolve along with the needs of the bike industry. 

Trek Madone 7 series

Dripping in carbon-goodness

Dura-Ace groupset

Trek's OCLV carbon

Dura-Ace rear deraileur

Moderately deep carbon wheels on the Madone

The 'flight deck'

In recent years, Trek has begun specializing in the main three specific niches of bikes so as to make the best type of bike possible for a particular purpose. With time-trial and commuter bikes aside, most road bikes nowadays can be categorised into one of three categories; aero, endurance and climbing. And Trek has an answer for each of these callings. 

The first up is their aero bike, the newer Trek Madone. Gone are the conventional tube shapes of their older flagship Madones, replaced by aerofoil-shaped carbon ones. Everything about this multi-award winning superbike is about speed. From the aero seat post down to the one-piece aero stem-and-handle-bar combo, everything on this bike screams aerodynamics. 

Two beautiful Trek Madones

Decked out with Dura-Ace of course

Looks fast just standing still

The 9 series Madone

Even the saddle looks fast

Bontrager aero rims

Trek Isospeed system

Even the brakes on the Madone are designed to be as aerodynamic as possible. For those of you who are familiar of have had experience with certain bikes with aero brakes in the past, you'd be forgiven for thinking that these brakes are just another industry gimmick with way too much emphasis put on form with very little function *cough Venge ViAS cough* what so ever. But if you've ever had the fortune of test riding a Madone like I have *hehehe*, then you'd see these brakes mean business.

In order to maintain their aero nature and ensure that they work as well as conventional brakes, Trek had to take an unconventional approach when it came to designing these brakes. When you turn the handle bar from side to side, you'll notice 2 flaps on the lower sides of the head tube open and close so as to allow small-radius turns while maintaining aero efficiency in a straight line.

Next up is their light weight climbing bike, the Trek Emonda. The version of the Emonda they have on display here is a slightly older version of their top end model with SRAM Red mechanical groupset. Coming in at a mere 4.65 kg, the Emonda SLR 10 held the world record for being the lightest production road bike ever. Trek was very selective with what they put onto this bike so as to keep the weight as low as possible, this includes the carbon fiber saddle and omitting their Isospeed Decoupler system from the frame.

The Trek Emonda SLR 10

Even the saddle is carbon fiber!

SRAM Red mechanical

Compact groupset

EMONDA

And last but by no means least, we have their endurance model, the Trek Domane. This isn't their range topping Domane but it's not a slouch either. A full carbon frame with an Ultegra groupset and disc brakes will get most jobs done without braking a sweat. 

As Trek opted for disc brakes with this model, it's not subjected to the tyre-width limitations faced by bikes with caliper brakes. This combined with the frame which was specially designed to incorporate larger diameter wheels allows it to go the distance whilst maintaining a higher level of comfort that compared to more race-oriented bikes. This model here comes with 25mm wheels as standard but you can possibly go up to 32mm if you so choose to do so. All of this while still maintaining their Isospeed Decoupler system.

The Trek Domane

Disc brakes - The future of road cycling

Trek's Isospeed Decoupler

The humble Ultegra

Apart from those 3 styles of the bikes, the other things that caught my eye were the Trek Speed Concept which is their time-trial bike and an interesting looking commuter bike sitting on a stand in the corner.

I don't quite know too much about time trial bikes, but this Speed Concept definitely looks the business.

Beautiful deep-dish wheels

The cockpit or flight deck

Flight deck - Take 2

Profile Design Altair 80 Carbon aero wheels

Looks good in white too

Here's that interesting little commuter, so humbly sitting in a corner as if waiting for someone to come and have a look at it. Displayed with mudguards and a couple of panniers in the back, it looks tough enough to tackle even the longest holiday bike adventures. Maybe I should get my hands on a commuter bike for my trip across the country next year....hmm....

Disc breaks - a sign of reliability

That pesky finger of mine, still getting into the shots!

That's about it as far as pictures of bikes I took goes. The rest of the floor has tons of other bikes at various levels of technical pizzazz, promising something for every rider regardless of skill level.

As you move towards the back of the floor, you'll come across some kit. Now for those of you who don't know, Bontrager is a subsidiary of Trek bicycles, sort of like Oval to Fuij. They make almost everything a cyclist could ever want or need. From jerseys to bicycle lights, aero helmets to aero handle bars, chances are they've got you covered.

Some gloves on display

Probably my most sought after aero helmet at the moment is the Bontrager Ballista. Coming in at around RM600, it's by no means cheap for a helmet but it's still significantly cheaper than the likes of the Specialized Evade or Met Manta. This one here definitely caught my eye with it's matte black finish with a couple of gloss accents. Maybe they'll have a clearance sale one day and I'll hopoefully *fingers crossed* be able to get it at a cheaper price!

If Batman had a helmet, this would be it!

Large vents at the front to keep you cool

Also comes in a few other colors, black is still my favourite

Doesn't look too bad in white either

Apart from Bontrager helmets, they also carry a couple from the Italian company Kask who have sponsored the likes on Team Sky and even the guys over at the GCN channel. Some of their more popular models are their aero Protone and Inifinity models as well as their time-trial Bambino helmet.

Moving form helmets onto apparells, Bontrager steps back in with their race-specific jerseys and shorts as well as some casual wear too. You'll even be able to find some official Team Trek-Segafredo kit too.

Within the same area as the apparells, you'll find other accessories for all your cycling needs; some Bontrager pannier racks, Bontrager mud guards and other knick-knacks. 

They even make pannier racks??

Mud guards too???

Perhaps the only things that are not Trek or Bontrager on this floor

And then there are a couple of beginner and children-oriented bikes that take up the remaining space of the entire floor.

That's about it for the top floor. If you get back into the escalator or take the stair down by one floor, which will bring you to, perhaps, the most interesting part of the store. Here is where they keep their higher end road bikes like the Madone and Emonda models you saw before this. Not only that, here's where you'll be able to find a couple of their sample Project One bikes.

Project One is basically a design platform created by Trek for buyers and enthusiasts who want their bikes to stand out more and be a little more unique from all the other bikes out there of the same model. So, say you're interested in a Madone but you're not too happy with the handful of color options they have or you want a particular groupset paired wait a particular set of aero wheels that are just not offered as a standard set. Heck, maybe you just don't like the color of bar tape that a certain bike comes with (although it would be much cheaper just a buy new bar tape). Then maybe Project One is just what you've been looking for. Here's a link to their site.

From saddles, to what color of decals you want on your aero rims, the sky's the limit, so as long as you've got the cash. And make no mistake, these 'customs' do come at a pretty penny.

A Project One Speed Concept

A few Project One Domanes

According to Mr Fendi, since last year, about 20 plus local customers have opted for the Project One route which, at the moment, has about a 3 months-long waiting time. This may seem like a long time, but once you've considered the fact that there's only one factory in the world making these unique bikes for the entire global market and that these bikes are hand-built, it's not too hard to see why there's a decent waiting period.

My own crazy creation on the Project One site

Also on this floor is an area at which the shop carries out bike fits. So in the event you do purchase a bike from here, chances are you'll be fitted on the platform you see below along with a couple of tools used during the fitting process.

The bike fit stage

Tools used for bike fitting

Apart from the bike fit area, you'll find more race-oriented components on this floor compared to the one above. In the back are a couple of their areo wheels on display as well as handle bars, sterms, saddles etc, most of which are Bontrager of course. 

Parts galore

Bontrager saddles

Cabinet full of groupsets

A hardtail displayed on this floor

A full-sus Project One mountain bike

And finally, the ground floor. On this floor, you'll find pretty much their entire mountain bike range. Hardtails, fat bikes, downhill bikes, the works. My knowledge on mountain bikes is relatively limited if compared to road bikes, so I'll just let you enjoy the pictures.

Couple of Trek Farleys

Massive forks for downhill

As you move towards the back of the floor, you'll find accessories not found on the previous two floors. Tyres, track pumps, shoes, bike lights, bells, bike locks, cycling computer, etc. And yes, Bontrager! They've even got some bike specific cleaning agents and some bike racks for your cars too.

Wall of tyres

Some shoes and pedals

Track pumps

Bike lights

Cycling computers

The Bontrager RXXXL Road shoe, would go well with that Ballista helmet no?

Some lubricants and cleaning equipment

Bike racks for cars

Now, this is a point that I definitely thought would we worth mentioning. Unlike most bike stores out there, in the event you buy a genuine Trek bicycle (I'm not too sure about other third party distributors, please do give them a call to check), you're entitled to a life-time worth of free tune ups by the store as well as their branch up in Penang.

From truing your wheels to indexing that stubborn derailleur, the essentials of bike maintenance. This is great news to some of us who don't have the necessary tools or know-how when it comes to servicing our bikes. I believe it's worth taking that into account when you're considering making a purchase, especially first time buyers as they tend to not think past the initial price tag of the bike.

All other brands are subjected to their service fees here:

Jens Voigt himself came to officiate the store when it opened a few years ago

The work area

And that's about it for the Treknology Multisport store in Kota Damansara. Do give them a visit if you are indeed looking for a new bike or want to get yours serviced, etc. They're very nice and very accommodating. I'd just like to end this post by passing my gratitude on to Mr Fendi for giving me a tour of the store as well as helping me move a couple of bikes around to take pictures. Thank you so much! If any of you are dropping by soon, look out for Mr Fendi and tell him I recommended him!