Troy Lee Designs has had the gravity side of mountain biking covered with their D2 and D3 full-face helmets while trail riders have felt left out. Well, not anymore. Troy Lee Designs has just released their first trail rider helmet, the A1. Many believed the TL Comp was a TLD-designed helmet but it was actually a Shoei helmet that the TLD crew added a visor and graphics to. While the A1 owes some debt to the TL Comp, it is way more in spirit than in design, function or features.
Troy Lee explained the last thing he wanted to make was a "Tour de France helmet with a visor." He is a man of his word. The A1 sits lower on the rider's head and the shell offers more total surface-area coverage. The helmet's shell run a little larger than other half-shell bicycle helmets (to help it sit lower and offer that extra coverage) so a proprietary fitting system is used to assure a comfortable and stable fit. The visor is adjustable and the color (this stunning metal flake treatment) is applied from the inside of the shell, giving the A1 a look of a helmet with a two-inch clear coat.
The A1 helmet intro took place at the Troy Lee Designs store in Laguna
Beach, California. The place is worth a visit if you are visiting So.
Cal.
The A1 through the prototyping phases (left). The A1 is the first 100%-TLD-designed trail helmet. The TL Comps (right) were TLD's first experimentation with a helmet for trail riders, but it was actually a Shoei helmet.
Like all other TLD helmets, the A1 has undergone rigorous safety tests to ensure that it provides superior protection, exceeding CPSC standards and CE EN certifications, while still weighing an average of 320 grams and allowing for maximum ventilation.
Other features of the A1 helmet include an easily adjustable visor, strap dividers and adjusters, a unique adjustable TLD retention system, and anodized aluminum hardware.
A limited first-run quantity of the helmet in Limited Edition Gold Metal Flake Cyclops ($185 MSRP) and Black Cyclops ($165 MSRP) Colorways will be available for purchase at www.troyleedesigns.com and at dealers worldwide beginning on February 4, 2013. The helmet will be available in XS-2XL.
The man himself, Troy Lee, shows how his helmet designs have evolved over the years. Eye catching paint jobs are what put TLD on the map and the A1 remains true to the brand. The A1 is shipping to bicycle shops as you read this.
Two of TLD's newest riders, Eliot Jackson (left) and World Cup overall downhill champion, Aaron Gwin chat in Troy Lee's showroom.
Custom Red Bull paint jobs make nearly every helmet look cool, but the A1 doesn't need much help. Gwin's and Brandon Semenuk's were on display alongside Cam Zink's flat black Monster Energy-themed lid.
After a brief presentation, members of the media, TLD riders and Troy himself rode out from the shop into the local hills to feel the ocean breeze through the A1's 16 vents.
Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour overall champion Brandon Semenuk out of Squamish, B.C. was blasting down the technical Laguna trails like he was a local.
Cam Zink and Troy Lee enjoy a perfect day in Laguna.
TLD athlete Logan Peat keeps a cool head through the rocks.
Cam Zink leads Brandon Semenuk. It was a talent-packed day on the trails.