First Look: Trek’s lightest helmet, the Velocis
Treks’s all-round endurance lid gets a makeover
The eagle-eyed among you might have already seen the new Velocis helmet flashed about by Trek’s professional riders. If the early season racing is anything to go by, in warm weather, the new Velocis is very much the ‘helmet of choice’ for Trek’s Segafredo road squads and the Trek Factory XC riders.
The background story to this third-generation Velocis is Trek collaborated with their professional riders, using critical feedback to improve on the outgoing model. Most notably the improvements are around airflow and weight reductions, however, the fit and field of vision were also focus points for the redesign.
On our scale, the size medium Velocis weighed 279 grams which is a tad above the 260 grams stated on Trek’s website, for a size medium. That’s nothing worth warring about. For anyone wondering, the outgoing model is closer to 300 grams. Safety-wise, the new Velocis has a 5-star rating from the industry-accepted, Virginia Tech test lab.
Looking for more marginal gain data then you’d want to know Trek states the new lid is 38% cooler and 18 seconds faster at 45 km/h, I’m assuming this is over a 60-minute effort. The air vents are large. Inside the helmet are five distinct channels that assist airflow and no doubt contribute to cooling. Another neat feature is the uninterrupted brow padding, from ear to ear; meaning there are no gaps for sweat to drip onto your glasses. Who doesn’t hate that?
There’s often a little ‘yea-yea’ internal conversation I have when any brand mentions improvements in fit or comfort. Especially when those improvements are on a model which is already one of the market leaders. Yes, I absolutely love the previous generation Velocis and it was my helmet of choice for any road outing. Truth is, the new one is better. I think the main reason is the wrap effect of the 360° BOA fit system. When you nip it up, it seems to hug your head rather than fastening onto it.
Also new is a bevelled front edge. This improves your line of sight when in the drops or tucked. The front vents are designed with eyewear storage in mind and two of the vents have rubberized sections to grip your sunglasses. That’s good work! All in it’s a very stylish helmet, fit for XC, Gravel or Road.