Interbike 2009 – Limar Pro 104, the World’s Lightest Helmet

INTERBIKE 2009 – We posted a sneak peek on this from the show floor, but here’s all the details and lots of photos.  Limar’s Pro 104, already probably the lightest helmet made at 180g, underwent a little lipo and came out with a claimed weight of 170g.  And just so all your friends know, it says “The World’s Lightest Helmet” right on the side of it.

But the Pro 104 is anything but a stripped down brain bucket.  It’s a fully featured helmet with Limar’s signature bug guard mesh built into the front air vents, a dial adjustment for fitting the helmet around the base of your skull and a full complement of interior padding.  Heck, they even threw in a chin strap pad just to make it extra comfy.

We weighed this CE Euro-spec, size small model several times at different angles just to be sure, and more than half the time it came up at 169g.  The other half?  170g.

Hit ‘more’ to see all the available colors, more photos and actual weights for CSPC (U.S.) approved models…they’re a bit heavier, but still freakin’ light…

If you can’t find a color you like in the Pro 104 collection’s pallette, you’re probably too picky.

The retention dial on the back even has a size gauge so you can see what size your noggin is.  It’s replaceable in the event it gets ripped off…it is pretty thin in sections, but you’d really have to yank it to rip it out.  There’s even a pivot to angle it up or down, especially useful for making extra room for ladies’ ponytails.

Pads line all of the top sections of the helmet, plus small side and front pads and even a pad on the chin strap…and this is the model we weighed at 169g!

So, about that CSPC-approved model.  Here’s a CSPC size Large model with a visor. Interestingly, most of the other helmets on display didn’t have all of the interior pads in place.

Here’s another size Large, without Visor and likely the CE version (I didn’t note every model we weighed).

And another Large.  The visors, BTW, are removable.  All of the models use a full in-mold shell to create a one-piece helmet, and the key difference between the CE and CSPC models is this: The CSPC helmets have a carbon fiber reinforced section across the front/middle third of the helmet and across the rear of the helmet.  This is to meet certain impact tests that the CE doesn’t use. Pic below shows the front carbon reinforcement.

MSRP will be about $200 US, and we should be getting one in to review in a few weeks.  When I put one on in the booth, the thing that struck me (besides the weight) was that it seemed to sit a little high above the ears, so perhaps they cut some weight by not bringing it down as far on the sides, but a real side-by-side (crappy pun intended) comparison with some other helmets will bear that out.