Troy Lee Designs owns the full-face gravity scene, but its hold on the half-shell market was tenuous at best until the TLD team produced the A1. The A1 had great looks, extended coverage, and it came with dazzling graphics that captured the imaginations of the sport's burgeoning crop of all-mountain riders. While the A1 was an instant hit for TLD, it was, um, not the ultimate helmet in the technical sense. It ventilated poorly, channeled sweat onto the rider's eyewear and its EPS shell was on the concrete side of the cushion index. The new A2 should be great news for A1 fans, because it addresses all of the shortcomings of its predecessor, without eroding its iconic profile. In fact, it looks better.Details: • Use: all-mountain, enduro
• Ventilation: 25-percent deeper internal channels, larger exhaust ports.
• X-static washable anti-odor padded liner.
• MIPS anti-rotational protection liner.
• Filament-reinforced polycarbonate shell.
• Breakaway visor screws.
• Three-way adjustable headband.
• Expanded field of vision over A1
• 3-year warranty
• Weight: 350 grams (claimed, M/L size)
• Sizes: XS, SM/Med, Med/LG, XL/2X
• Certified: CPSC 1203, CE EN 1078, AS NZ 2063:2008
• MSRP: $169 to $175 USD
• Contact:
Troy Lee Designs Construction Features To begin with, the A2 has an in-molded liner with a dual-density layering system. The outer rigid EPS foam protects against high-speed impacts, while an under-layer of more compliant EPP foam is molded in place to protect against slow-speed impacts. Finally, to protect against rotational impacts, the A2 features a MIPS skull cap between the helmet's washable padding and the molded impact shell.
The A2's rugged polycarbonate outer shell is divided in half, with the upper rendered in a matte surface and the lower in a high-gloss surface that curves around the edge of the shell for a well-finished appearance. The resulting contrast looks great in the two-tone colorways that adorn most of the helmet's graphic options. There are 13 large vents in the shell, and the exhaust vents have been super-sized to encourage ventilation. Inside, the vent channels have also been enlarged, reportedly, by 25 percent, and split padding, with air channels in the brow area should reduce the old A1's bothersome sweat issues.
(Clockwise) The A2's feature story is its yellow MIPS protection liner. Anodized aluminum visor screws break free upon impact. Frontal vents keep the brow area drier than the original A1.
The A2's headband can be adjusted fore or aft at the temples, or up or down at the rear to ensure a snug fit as well as an optimum angle. The band retains the A1's ratchet dial, which is a plus for me because it functions well with gloved hands. The junction where the chin straps meet below the ears is now preset (except for Australia and New Zealand) which eliminates the chunky adjusters there and the webbing at the adjustable buckle is looped, which cleans up its appearance.
Like the A1, the rear of the A2 is profiled to retain a goggle strap, but the visor has not yet been designed to slide high enough to stash your goggles underneath in the now-popular fashion. According to the TLD information, the visor's aluminum retainer screws are designed to break away in the event of a crash to further minimize the energy of an angular impact, in conjunction with its MIPS liner.
A2 customers should be able to find one color combination from the five options available—and some will rejoice learning that it is available in three shell sizes that offer fits from extra small through double extra-large. For comparison, my head fits Bell, Giro, POC, and Kali medium lids, and the medium/large size I tested felt very similar.
Riding Impressions For me, the new A2 has a better fit than its predecessor. The A1 felt bulky and gave me the sense that it was suspended on my head primarily by the plastic band, while the A2 feels like it encircles my skull with a series of soft contact points. In the mirror, the A2 has the same volume as the A1, which means that it's going to make your head look larger than some of the more slender lids, like the Kali Maya. I found the A2's fixed chin strap webbing to be easier to fit, which probably could be achieved otherwise, but never by me. I hate maximum coverage half-shells that hit the back of my neck when I am looking upwards. The A1 did this, but the adjustment range afforded by the A2's headband eliminated that issue. Altogether, the adjustment features of the A2 are an improvement.
Ventilation is improved as well, but not to the point where I would call the A1 a summer helmet. It's closer fitting padding and MIPS liner seemed to offset some of the effects of the enlarged vents and inner passages. I'd rate the A2's ventilation as a 20-percent improvement - welcome indeed, but I'm not tempted to reach for it on a 98-degree (37 Celsius) day. Sweat control has also improved considerably over the A1. Like many riders, I wear corrective lenses, and the last thing I want is a small thunderstorm to break out under my visor the moment I hit the first rock garden of a descent. The A2 drips occasionally, which is not optimum, but it is a major step up from the A1.
Visibility is said to have been improved, but I didn't experience that, except for the fact that the headband allowed me to achieve a slightly higher
angle on my head. Like the A1, the A2 sits low on the brow, where it can offer better impact protection at the expense of a reduced field of vision. The brow is always visible, which adds an extra horizon that should not be an issue for full-face or goggle wearers, but it may take a little getting used to for those who have enjoyed unencumbered visibility. On the positive side, the visor is well positioned and has just the right amount of adjustment to block the sun when it is beaming into your face at low angles.
Pinkbike's Take: | Troy Lee Design A1 fans will embrace the new A2 helmet's look and most of all, its performance improvements. The dual-density protective liner alone is a major plus, and their choice to include MIPS rotational protection underscores a new level of commitment to safety at TLD. The styling begs me to pull the A2 off the shelf each time I head out for a ride, but if it was a blazing hot day, I'd probably choose a cooler lid. For riders who live in milder climates, the A2's performance features are reason enough to make the purchase. And, looking sharp? Well, that's what Troy Lee does best.—RC |
In short, only the ventilation issue is highlighted in both articles. RC goes deeper into the negatives. Too late.
To me it's more like... why not. You're spending all that dough anyways. Why not have additional safety systems in place. Not every manufacturer is willing to develop their own or can. MIPS is widely excepted and for a few extra bucks... why not.
As for small number of impacts. You're way off base. Rotational impact injuries are incredibly common.
Might as well not wear a helmet. I mean.. you only use it in a really small number of crash scenarios.
Also, if you want to cover all of the safety options then yes go for MIPS, but a more important consideration is the dual EPS.
There's plenty of information on rotational injuries. It's a relatively new topic but more and more information is coming in all the time.
As for your comment on concrete vs dirt... etc. Not the point. Rotational injuries aren't necessarily related to a direct impact. That's what the shell and foam layers are for.
My last concussion was a rotational one and it was in the snow. My head barely even made contact with the snow. The injury was due to the angle and rate of me stopping.
But I agree... dual density foams are a huge improvement that's happening right now in head safety.
I'm stoked to see companies like 6D, Kali and Bell pushing different ideas beyond MIPS. For bell see Flex tech for Moto. But MIPS is a good option for other companies and it's getting more and more affordable. So we you're seeing more of now is lower/mid range helmets getting MIPS and higher end helmets getting other tech... or things like the Bell Zephyr with integrated MIPS.
That also goes to the earlier comment about being hot. I have the ZEPHYR. It's not hot. The main problem is that most companies aren't spending any time designing WITH the MIPS system. They just slam it into their helmet. Some companies are designing around MIPS and it's creating more comfortable and cooler helmets. IT's pretty easy to tell who's doing which... just look at how much of the vent is covered by the MIPS system.
I'm a fan of all of these. Won't ever say MIPS is the end all be all though. I'm a huge fan of it in snow applications. I'd like to see more companies trying more things. I don't think Kali has quite got it yet either. But those guys are pushing safety hard. I'm a big fan of the owner of that company. He'll sit down and talk head safety tech with anyone. Dudes crazy smart.
BIG HEADS BEWARE!!!
Okay, so what's the best helmet if you ride if you ride in a schvitz like the deep south?
I just go my new oakleys evzero range, since they ride high in the brow for visual clearance, they are close to the helmet brow. Yesterday my A1 kept pissing all over my glasses the whole ride.
I was so stoked for this helmet to come out. Went and tried it and the fact that you can’t slide the clasp forward means it’s now uncomfortably right up against my neck. I get that they want to make it more minimalist - Specialized did the same thing with their Ambush - but it means I can’t buy the upgrade.
Bummed.
And go..
ep1.pinkbike.org/p5pb9128227/p5pb9128227.jpg
(upper right picture)
1) The obnoxious adolescent unicorn vomit color schemes
2) I don't ride moto, don't give two f*cks about it
3) They sponsor an eBike race.