Spotted: New Troy Lee D4 Helmet?

Oct 9, 2019
by Daniel Sapp  
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The world’s best freeriders are currently in Utah warming up for Rampage and if you’re riding that kind of terrain you probably want the most up to date protection possible. That’s why we think we’ve seen a new version of Troy Lee’s D3 full-face helmet being worn by Tom Van Steenbergen on Ethan Nell's Instagram stories.

We first suspected a new Troy Lee Helmet was on the horizon when Troy Lee’s Global Brand Director, Craig Glaspell, posted on Instagram: “Get one of these if you cherish history, they look sick, comfy as a custom made bonnet, and protect your marbles better than most-and it might just be impossible to find a d3 carbon someday, if you know you know. #curtaincall”



The D3 was first launched in 2009 and despite some minor alterations, such as the addition of MIPS, it has remained fairly unchanged since then.

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The junior women s field must have let out a sigh of relief today as Vali moves on up to the elites next year. She has absolutely ravaged the junior field the last two years.
Vali Holl wearing a D3 at Snowshoe for comparison

It’s tough to see too many details on Tom’s helmet as it’s night time in the video and poorly lit. Tom's helmet appears to have two centered forehead vents that the current D3 doesn't have, as well as two larger vents moved further out on the forehead. The venting looks different on the chin-bar too, with the side vents lower and slightly further forward. Sorry for the potato quality—we’ve messed around with the levels to try and draw some more details out of the photo. It's a lot easier to see in motion on Ethan's stories.

We assume there’s plenty of new tech inside the helmet, but we don’t have any further information yet. We’re expecting riders to be wearing this helmet at Rampage so will try and get some better photos there.

We reached out to Troy Lee's Craig "Stikman" Glaspell and were given the following information.

bigquotesWe are always testing and innovating new ways to protect the heads of the worlds greatest athletes. The entire “D” series (Daytona, D2, D3…) of helmets has been doing that for almost 25 years, a leader in this category. We have a few developments we have been working on in the gravity full face and the open face trail categories, some great lab testing and great real-world testing, so exciting things on the horizon, but, we can’t comment to the specifics of them just yet.—Craig 'Stikman' Glaspell

The helmet has also been spotted on several athletes in recent edits, including Brandon Semenuk's latest Raw 100 and Cam Zink's 150 ft backflip.

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Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Helmets Troy Lee Designs Tom Van Steenbergen


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100 Comments
  • 253 0
 Full review coming tomorrow
  • 45 0
 Long term review and comparison with new - yet to be seen in a spyshot - Fox
  • 27 1
 then someone from PB saying it wasn't setup and it's just part of good investigation from an editor.
  • 62 12
 One tin foil hat review on the way...
  • 24 0
 @mikekazimer: ok but next April fool's, can we get a tin foil hat review? Everyone in the pink bike's office's hats? but delete my comment so noone knows
  • 6 0
 only scrolled for this comment
  • 3 0
 Came here to say that
  • 4 0
 @mikekazimer: I don’t think TLD would approve of you saying that; for starters, they haven’t confirmed it’s made out of tinfoil yet.
  • 1 0
 @ninjatarian: what’s wrong with tin foil? Saving grams!!!
  • 1 0
 @dubod22: not to mention all the safety you get in case of alien abduction attempt. Chemtrails and HAARP included
  • 1 0
 Still waiting for that review... Is it tomorrow yet?
  • 52 0
 Youtube Cam Zink 150 ft backflip..... It's been there the whole time
  • 15 0
 youtu.be/MGkMWMpnYUg?t=13
  • 11 0
 @andrewdoud: you’r a G, better investigation than pinkbike!
  • 23 3
 God damn it how did we miss that? Brandon's recent RAW100 too... Updates incoming. Smile
  • 10 0
 Looks like a Mercedes
  • 11 3
 @endlessblockades: can’t be unseen. If they release a white one with beige lining it will be a genuine douche canoe.
  • 5 1
 @brianpark: because we were too busy picking our jaws up off the floor
  • 5 0
 @vader4runner: I'm going with that explanation yeah. But still, we probably earned some demerits on our bike nerd licenses.
  • 3 0
 this comment section made my day !!!!!!!! ty boys hahahahah
  • 13 0
 Some bikeshop in the UK leaked it months back, managed to save the photos from their Facebook - here's the new D4.

photos.app.goo.gl/iVAD4GaQLC6Gn64u8
  • 33 4
 The classic D3 is still the best looking helmet on the mountain.
  • 14 22
flag Balgaroth (Oct 9, 2019 at 11:54) (Below Threshold)
 You are probably trying to say D2 but it's ok I forgive you.
  • 22 5
 @Balgaroth: No, I mean the classic D3, as in the current one, not this new D3 they've "spotted". When I see the D2, I think rental.
  • 4 1
 @Balgaroth: The D2 carbon with the white hot rod flames were sick. I wore it for about 10 years! Ghastly, Filthy thing. Opposite of subtle just like race livery should be!

www.flickr.com/photos/12701285@N07/2700137313
  • 15 2
 I'mma let you finish, but the D2 was the greatest helmet ever made - Kanye
  • 12 12
 Was unitil the Aircraft came out. Haha
  • 11 7
 @n1ck: aircraft ain’t even in the same league
  • 8 3
 @satansdog: My Aircraft feels a lot better that my old D2!
  • 7 1
 @endlessblockades: a D2 was 17yrs old when that other helmet you mentioned came out.
  • 4 0
 @stikmanglaspell: Yeah I got the D2 in 2005. The year after a sandbagging Troy Lee himself won my Sport class DH race at the US Nats at Mammoth. Sport Class! Wore it off and on till 2015. Got an Aircraft about 2 years ago. I think my story will hold up in court.

Of course a 17 year old helmet won't feel quite as nice as a new one. No dis to the mighty D2!
  • 1 0
 So you support sandbaggers?@endlessblockades:
  • 3 0
 @yamaha0249: No just #foreverbitter Not Troy's fault I was slower.
  • 2 3
 I owned 3 D2s. D3 wouldn’t fit my head. I had Large D2, but for D3 I would need XL and it was huge. Like the POC Coron that I “grounded” Bummer. Now on 100%, as comfy as D2, all the protection of latest helmets.
  • 2 1
 @thom: What the F is a Kanye
  • 2 0
 @chriskneeland: that my friend only means one thing: you are way too new to the sport to speak about classics lol.
  • 3 0
 @endlessblockades: My personnal favorite D2 was the Steve Peat version with the Lion on one side. If it was re released I'd buy it rightaway just as a shelfer or for bmx race. I was too young/poor to buy it then :'(
  • 3 0
 The helmets we use today were all inspired in looks by the original Daytona shape of the late 90's, which had a worthy predecessor in the Edge. But the true champion of style, the one that made the entire planet look better and gave us something to aspire to was the mighty D2, still maybe the most comfy helmet around. Want to know how sad we would have looked if it wasn't for these timeless items of style? Just google ”Giro Mad Max” or ”MET Excalibur”, but be warned that they can't be unseen! Slowly everybody and their cat started adopting the D2 shape with the high back, wedged chin and high visor, some ”inspired items” being rather discrete, like the early 661 helmets, other ones more blatant, like the THE's. And then came the D3 and redefined safety, which was a good thing, of course, as everybody had to up their game again. The 100% helmet, by the way, has a very obvious shape inspired by the D3 and this is why it's a good looking helmet. The D4 is in the pre-order catalogs since a while now and it looks fine, as you'd expect, and has some breakthrough technology, but I ordered a brand-new D3 Fiberlite, as the colors on the 2020 line are just too good.

Wanna know why it's important for a helmet to be good looking and why we fuss so much about that (at least some of us)? Easy, if a helmet looks good, it's far more likely to wear it, as opposed to a sh*tty looking one. If your helmet looks good, you WILL wear it. Ergo more safety.

Cheers Troy Lee for making the best looking lids out there since, like, forever. Smile
  • 1 0
 @Balgaroth: 2013 for me. You're probably right.
  • 17 0
 Can't believe I got mentioned on PinkBike, maybe get a 2 bump follower increase on the gram'?
  • 2 2
 I know who you are since a couple of years Big Grin and we haven’t even met. You are a celebrity
  • 1 0
 #exposure
  • 1 0
 bring back the d2 open face, coolest helmet ever made, that thing loves to get weird
  • 2 1
 @justinhoelzl: Just take your old D2 and cut the chin piece off without cutting off the rubber lining on the edge of the face opening. Cut the remaininglining in half, glue it down to cover the places where you cut the chin pece off

www.pinkbike.com/photo/10617053

Just be careful, everyone can take you as a daftie when you ride in it, not just MTBers. I once got attacked on the street here in Sweden by a huge Slavic piece of meat hitting me in the head screaming - you race? ready to go? ready to go?! As you see on the picture the aggression was justified.
  • 2 0
 @justinhoelzl: they are pretty cool-but, just because you can doesn't mean you should do something. I am fascinated by this tiny, teeny, niche category though.
  • 1 0
 @stikmanglaspell: this kind sells, I've now seen a dozen of folks in the latest Fox dropframe helmet. Make it a Down Country thing, sell it with a saddle bag - come on!
  • 1 0
 @WAKIdesigns: no d2 open face is freeride, not some down country bs, thats why it died
  • 19 7
 Press release about to drop quicker than the £ to € at Brexit
  • 6 1
 wiggle/crc will use Lancasters to drop parts over German warehouses like it’s 1944! Move the stocks! Got to move’em damn it!
  • 10 0
 PMZ strikes again
  • 1 0
 haha
  • 5 0
 luca shaw was already seen with this helmet last off-season, looks production ready.
  • 5 2
 Still loving my Bell Full 9, it just fits really well for my head, Nothing against TLD, like a lot of their stuff, but when it comes to helmets, for me Fit is the first priority
  • 1 0
 agree, function over fashion
  • 1 0
 @n1ck: to me full 9 is up there with D3 on the best looking helmets, said so, D3 is the best thing ever touched my head, like a glove
  • 4 0
 Heard that it offers much more protection then D3 and as a bonus lighter! Sign me up!
  • 2 1
 As if they're going to say anything else
  • 1 0
 @el-nombre: as in stating facts?
  • 1 0
 @da1994canucks: I don't know, are you? Maybe you have some insider knowledge, but average Joe on pinkbike wouldn't know any facts about an unannounced product, and the only thing you missed off from standard helmet advertising spiel is better fit, and that one's always a bit of a bold claim when everyone's head is different.
  • 1 0
 @el-nombre: just going by what I heard from a TLD rider and employee.
  • 2 0
 @da1994canucks: Well there you go then, insider knowledge. You'll have to excuse my cynicism of random people on the internet.
  • 1 0
 So they have had D2's along side the D3 until now, I would guess that they will keep the D3 also for alot longer. It would be stupid otherwise, to many will prefer look/feel of the D3 over the new D4. Just as people are commenting about D2 vs D3. The molds already exist and there is definietly a high demand of the D3
  • 2 0
 I'm surprised they didn't press release this thing when they got them out to the athletes. Would have given me time to save my pennies.
  • 10 0
 Why can't you still plan and prepare your penny saving?
  • 3 0
 @troyleedesigns: Now I'll just have to throw it on the credit card.
  • 3 1
 Whats up SLAPPERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • 1 0
 I remember to have seen one of this on an ig story of luca shaw when he was racing in nz
  • 1 0
 Looks like Mercedes has shares. the mouth airhole looks like it came right off the car.
  • 1 0
 D3 doesn't fit me at all. I guess I have a weird head. Bell Full 9 fits like a warm hug, however.
  • 2 0
 Put a camera mount under the visor please
  • 1 0
 So I can eat popcorn and make fun of my riding
  • 2 0
 Take my $500
  • 4 0
 Good starting payment....
  • 2 0
 @onemind123: just the down payment before you pay 100 dollars a month for 12 months plus interest
  • 2 2
 Some bikeshop in the UK leaked it months back, here's the new D4.

photos.app.goo.gl/iVAD4GaQLC6Gn64u8
  • 1 0
 Tld bike story on IG has kyle straight holding a d4 box
  • 2 0
 Big wow.
  • 1 0
 just upgrade the D3 to have a magnetic visor...job's a good'n!
  • 1 0
 Some of us eagle eyes saw it on the Zink video a while back.
  • 1 0
 Yeeeeeesssssss!!!!
  • 1 0
 No excitement here ????
  • 1 0
 Difference????
  • 2 1
 Lighter, much better protection. Perhaps DOT?
  • 1 1
 No bad, but were open face? Please come back new open face tld))))
  • 1 1
 Why has it got a Mercedes logo in the grill?
  • 2 1
 It is not a Benz logo, its an homage to the War of the Worlds
www.atomicbombcinema.com/english/image_gallery/stills/zoom_wotw-martian1.htmar
  • 1 0
 Wow. Excit
  • 2 5
 plot twist:
its a TLD new snap back hat with removal chin bar
Below threshold threads are hidden







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