- Bad Idea Racing – HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

Regarding yesterday’s post:

The irony of someone like me being in a magazine such as Decline (which focuses on free-ride, downhill, and mad skilz) is not lost on me. Look for upcoming articles featuring me in Forbes, GQ, and Jet in the next few months.

and now my real post for the day…

I’ve worn a lot of helmets in the past twenty years. My first one was a Look styrofoam bucket with a mesh shower cap shrouding it’s enormous girth. Supposedly the shower cap was to keep the helmet from flying apart into tiny pieces when your head hit the ground (or a car, a tree, an elephant, or any other large object). I ended up removing the shower cap and drawing Eddie the Corpse on the back of my lid. Unfortunately it died when I went over a jump “one more time” and knocked myself out and broke my collar bone. That’s the story of my first helmet, my first bad bike wreck, and how I learned you should never say “one more time” when performing a stunt above your pay grade.

I moved on to the world of hard shell helmets. In the early days the shell wasn’t “co-molded” to the beer cooler component of the helmet. It was just taped on with some Autozone looking pinstriping. I lived near the Nashbar outlet store in Youngstown, OH, so most of my helmets came from the returns bin. I was able to get some sweet Specialized helmets, and even a Bell helmet with Reebok pump technology. Old school folks should remember that helmet as it pre-dates back-of-the-head helmet retention systems and used shoe technology on your head.

I ended up moving 500 miles from the outlet store and found myself buying last year’s middle range helmets on close-out to keep my grape covered.

I went through many brands during the close-out days, until my boss worked out a deal with a local shop. That’s when I started my love affair with high end Giro helmets. It all started with a lime green Boreas, and it went downhill from there. I bought an E2 for mountain biking, but it made me look like a lollipop so I sold it. I even got a Giro Switchblade full face helmet during my (not quite) free-ride days. When Giro introduced the Pnuemo I had to have it. I went through three of those beautiful helmets, although they all didn’t meet their demise on my head. One was cracked after less than a month’s use when some Star Trek security doors closed on the helmet as I carried it in my hands at work. Poop. I loved everything about the Pneumo, and I coulda worn them the rest of my life, but….

Then Giro introduced the Atmos. The Pneumo retailed at something like $130, but the Atmos went to the next level. It was coming out at $170. Wow. I must have it. Certainly if it costs about 30% more it has to be 30% more protective, 30% more ventilated, and 30% better looking. I got almost two years outta my first Atmos before it had enough damage to replace it. I now have one for work and one for play (with a coupla small cracks in it). I love my Atmos helmets.

As they usually do, Giro introduced the next level of helmets to the world on the heads of pro road riders. I got a good look at the latest in helmet technology watching the Tour de France this summer. It’s new, it’s sexy, and it says “you’ll win races if I’m on your head”. I’m ready for it, so how much could it be this time?

$225.

Seriously?

Are you kidding me?

You win Giro. If your goal was to see just how much a helmet would have to cost before I could no longer justify upgrading then I say “Mission accomplished” (not like when GW said it, but for real). Wow. Wowee wow wow. That’s just a butt load of money, and it looks like I’ll be scratching my head through the vents of my Atmos trying to figure out how I can get my hands on an Ionos on the helmet black market.