Lazer had a lot of new products on show at Eurobike from sunglasses to kids helmets, and the new chopped tail time trial Victor in between. But from the outside there weren’t so many new shapes or new technologies, with pretty much everything an update to products we had seen before.
Victor aero time trial and track helmet
The Victor is the latest time trial helmet to enter Lazer’s catalog. The short tail aero helmet was actually previewed last year at the show under the name Track-Air. But after months of on the road and in the wind tunnel testing with the LottoNL-Jumbo team, it became clear that the trimmed down version of the full length aero Wasp was a versatile design that proved more aerodynamic for riders who move their head around during intense efforts out on the road, or for courses with varying wind conditions. Lazer still says it is ideal for track racing as well, especially team pursuit and sprint races.
The 330€ short tail Victor reduces turbulence behind the rider’s head, and features a full coverage adjustable visor (available in short or long versions), meant to extend down close to the cheeks. The adjustability also allows a rider to pull the visor away from the face (and helmet body) to let more air in for increased cooling. The Victor comes in two sizes (S & M-L) with weights from 410g, and in four colors – matte black, white, red & flash orange.
Custom painted Bullets aero helmets for road worlds
Lazer sent us a bunch of images previewing customized helmets that they printed up for all of their sponsored riders who were heading to Bergen to race the UCI World Road Championships over the last week or so. While that is nice if you happen to be racing Worlds, what’s it to the rest of us?
Well, at Eurobike they were also teasing some national flag customizations too. And we prodded and got a bit more information. For now these are all special editions, with very limited (read: pro-only) availability. But it is a sign of something hopefully to come.
Previewed last year before an official release this summer, Lazer sees the Bullet as being their cornerstone road racing helmet. It features the large Air Slide operable front vent that can be easily opened & closed while ride to toggle between improved aerodynamics or increased ventilation.
The side benefit of the Air Slide is that there is a large interchangeable plastic panel at the top of the helmet. That is where Lazer has custom printed flags on all of these pro helmets, and it is where they hope to offer similar customization for consumers as well in the near future. They are working now to figure out a way to make the customization commercially viable.
G1 mountain bike goggles
Lazer is adding more eyewear integration with their first pair of mountain bike goggles – the G1. Designed to mesh with their Phoenix and Revolution full face helmets, the G1 goggle gets a familiar angular look. They of course also get an interchangeable lens system that is said to easily & securely snap into place. Designed for DH racing, they integrated tear off tabs and even include tear-offs when you buy them.
The 160€ G1s feature a pivoting outer frame (the black part) that helps them fit comfortably around full & half shell helmets. The goggles weigh 145g, with overall dimensions of 135mm across x 90mm high for the one M/L size. They will come in three color variants – this white/matte black, all matte black, or matte black/flash green – and are expected to be available at the beginning of 2018.
Walter full frame cycling glasses
The full-frame wrap Walter sunglasses were released earlier this year, but Lazer had targeted them for smaller riders with a small-medium fit. After good customer response they’ve added a larger size with the same features. A 10% larger frame steps up to a 135mm wide, 55mm frame while only adding about 2g to come to 31g for the bigger shades. The wider lens increases field of view, and the bigger Walters get the same interchangeable Zeiss lenses (115€ including 3 lenses) or single photochromic option (fixed lens also for 115€). Get the new larger Walter M-L sunglasses from the start of December 2017.
Crazy Nutshells kids helmet shells
Back a bit to helmets, Lazer continues with good kids’ options, and we have a hard time not taking a closer look at their unique Crazy Nutshells. Just like the Aeroshells that snap onto their top road race helmets to make them more aerodynamic and resistant to riding in foul weather, Lazer makes snap on covers for their P’Nut and Nut’Z in-mold children’s helmets too. Except these are cooler, because you can get a construction worker’s hardhat, a firefighter’s helmet, an animorphic space shuttle, a cow, or even a strawberry. Sure they can do the less original future world champ too, but letting your kid customize their helmet with a low-cost snap-on shell is just cool.
