Casco had a number of their European-made helmets on display at Eurobike. The first that caught our eye was a rapid prototype of a new extremely ventilated helmet that was so open that you could see directly through it. The upcoming Full Air RCC helmet aims to out vent every other helmet Casco makes for both Road and Cross Country (RCC) riding.
In addition to going super vented, Casco also takes some DNA from their successful SpeedAiro helmets and adds it to the Roadster-TC for an aero, urban helmet. Somewhere in between the Sportive-TC Plus gets vents but a removable cover for an everyday riding versatility. There are plenty more choices available in Casco’s catalog, check out what jumped out at us after the break; plus the new special edition SpeedAiro-TC Plus, just in for review…
The Full Air employs a large vent centrally located over the forehead that supposedly has air directed into it by a small sun visor for even better cooling. The rest of the helmet gets six large open vents across the top and front that pull air in through deep channels and exit out of a few larger exhaust vents in the back. The new Full Air RCC will be available in white, black, and high-vis yellow from the end of March 2016.
The new urban Roadster-TC gets a bit of aero treatment via compatibility with the SpeedMask visors featured on the premium SpeedAiro helmets. The base helmet is just 90€, plus 50€ for the standard dark, clear, or orange visors. It offers a clean and simple look with a bit of central venting. The Roadster will be available in February 2016, in black, white, or the black and green seen below. This limited edition bronze/brown version is available only by preorder until the end of October 2015, so get in touch with a Casco retailer if interested. There is even a youth version of the same helmet for 70€ that can also add on the SpeedMask visors.
The standard Roadster-TC comes with a small sun visor that clips in place of the large visor if the big optical shield look is too much for you. Casco sees the new Sportiv-TC Plus as perfect helmet for year-round daily riding with its included set of accessories. The well ventilated 115€ helmet set comes with a clear plastic all-weather cover that snaps in place under Casco’s standard reflective bungee Casco Stripes, as well as a multi-functional (Buff-like) scarf. The Sportiv is available now in white, black, blue, or can be pre-ordered in this new bronze/brown.
Casco’s flagship SpeedAiro series remains mostly unchanged for 2016 other than a few new colors, but the RS version does get and upgrade with a photochromic lens visor from Vautron that automatically darkens in the sun. The basic SpeedAiro sells for 200€, but the self-darkening visor brings it up to 320€. Besides the 120€ Vautron visor, clear, orange, and dark tinted ones are available for 50€ each. A new TC Plus version kit is also available. Read on to see our first look at that helmet that we now have on test.
The Viper MX combo full-face helmet isn’t new but worth a quick look. The helmet is made up of two separate parts: the 100€ upper helmet, which is essentially a standard looking vented trail riding helmet with decent coverage down the back of the neck; and the 60€ snap-on chin guard. Together they form a light full-face helmet that makes the claim to be one of the safest on the market.
The fit of the helmet seems surprisingly secure, with just one plastic tab holding the two elements together on either side. The chin bar fits fairly close to the face, but with plenty of room in front of the chin. We played with it a bit, and felt it was easiest to put the helmet on first, then the chin guard. But once we did the Viper MX stayed put even while levering a bit of the jaw of the helmet. The Viper MX is EN 1078 certified for bicycle use, but doesn’t go a step further to the more stringent certifications we tend to see on true Enduro and DH helmets.
Just In – Casco SPEEDairo-TC Plus
We just got a sample of the new 270€ SpeedAiro-TC Plus Black in a week ago to review following our chats with Casco at Eurobike. Like the Sportiv, this version comes with a snap-on all-weather cover that closes off the top vents, a dark tinted visor, the tiny sun visor (for when not using the tinted visor), and a multi-function scarf.
As the weather has started to turn cool, we’ve gotten it out for a few rides (and the last road race of the season) and appreciated its extremely customizable, comfortable fit. The optics of the tinted visor are also exceptional, with no fogging issues as of yet. On first look it doesn’t seem that the SpeedAiro is ventilated well enough to be a summer helmet, but I think we’ll have quite a while until we get are riding above 20°C again. In the meantime, we’ll give the helmet a full fall and winter run-through (including some muddy cross racing) and report back our detailed thoughts.
