Lazer Tardiz TT Helmet £170

At a glance Pricey aero helmet but with some features that’ll definitely appeal to multi-sport racers.

Tested by
Nik Cook, tester for The Bike List

Value

Performance

If you’re racing time trials, triathlons or duathlons, when it comes to aero upgrade bang for your buck, one of the most prudent purchases you can make is an aero helmet. Get everything right and gains of up to 60 seconds over 40km are possible. Sticking an aero lid on though won’t instantly make you faster. If you’re not comfortable holding your tuck, tend to bob your head or suffer from overheating on long hot rides, one can easily end up slowing you down.

Unfortunately the Bike List test budget doesn’t quite stretch to wind tunnel time so we have to trust that the manufacturers have splashed their cash. You can pretty much guarantee though that, if you’re buying one of the bigger name brands and especially one that supplies a Pro team, then the aero number crunching has been done. That said, the Lazer feels fast on the bike and, racing on a blustery day at the Oulton Park Duathlon, it seemed to be cutting through the wind extremely well.

With the 2011 version of the Tardiz coming in just shy of £170, It’s definitely at the top end of the aero helmet market. The Louis Garneau Vorttice is £10 cheaper and Giro’s Advantage a substantial £30 less. What could justify the spend though are some of the genuinely well thought out features that Lazer have included.

The cradle system is well padded and getting a comfortable but secure fit is a breeze. Often with aero helmets, dialling the fit in can be a fiddly job but, thanks to a top-mounted thumb wheel, there’s no need for thin, nimble and long fingers. This is great in a multi-sport scenario as you can leave the helmet fully open in Transition, whip it on quickly and effortlessly secure it. It also means that fine tuning the fit on the fly is safe, quick and easy. Another Transition friendly feature are the flexible ear flaps. These prevent the annoying and painful bent over ears and subsequent battle to push them up inside the helmet that hasty helmet donning and rigid flaps can cause. Out of transition and riding, for an aero helmet, ventilation is good. It’s not quite up to the Vorttice’s standards but, for overheating riders, the Tardiz has another neat trick trick up its sleeve. A removable plug on the top of the helmet reveals the “Aqua Vent” which allows you to douse your head with water. It’s easy enough to access when riding and, thanks to the Perfopad padding, the cooling water is dispersed over your entire head. On a hot day riding the bike leg of a Long Course tri, it’d be an absolute god-send and, if you’re slogging over the lave fields of Kona at Ironman Hawaii, it could be a race saver.

Buy from www.chainreactioncycles.com

Lazer says:

A lightweight TT helmet featuring Aquavent and Perfopad- ventilation port on the top of the helmet to disperse water over the head thanks to the Perfopad padding. Helmet also features the Rollsys Retention System.

This helmet has wind tested aerodynamics (Dual layer and Head-Down), and comes packed with features designed to make you faster through the air on the bike. The helmet comes with 6 vents giving optimum ventilation over the head.

Compared to the standard fit systems the Lazer Rollsys is a fully integrated mechanism which surrounds the head completely. By turning a smooth thumb wheel - situated on the top of the helmet - the Rollsys permits accurate and progressive peripheral sizing adjustment.

Other features include: