Its large air ports mean that it also doesn’t take the usual guise of an aero helmet, which tend to have a more solid appearance. The aero lid uses POC’s own SPIN (Shearing Pad INside) safety feature, which combines silicone bladders and pads to help dissipate rotation impacts. Weighing just an incredibly 220g/ 7.7oz for a size medium, the Kask Protone helmet genesis mountain bike offers, according to the brand, one of the lowest drag and fastest heat dissipation options on the market. On test we called it a game-changer of a road bike helmet due to its unrivalled all-around performance. Likewise, having tested hundreds of helmets over the years, we’d always recommend trying a few options on to see which suits your head shape and size.
The Ventral is one of the lightest helmets available, making it ideal for those who measure rides in vertical metres rather than horizontal kilometres. Excellent ventilation helps in the heat but the adjustment mechanism is a bit basic and there is no MIPS to save weight. Specialized Soil Searching is a movement to recognise, celebrate, and support the trail builders who help shape our sport and our stoke. That tender closed in mid-February, and Elevation Parks, Dirt Art’s bike park management and development arm, had won.
A major advantage these have over mechanicals is that they’re sealed off to outside debris. Set up was simple, the bike did come with a whole bunch of spacers below the stem, after less than 30 seconds on the bike I had these shuffled to get the front as low as possible and it was off to the trails. Genesis bikes became renowned for their use of steel tubing and ethos for function over form. The first Genesis bike was produced under the Ridgeback brand as the Day One model in 2001. The Genesis Tour de Fer, as the name suggests, is a fully equipped long distance all road tourer.
However, it’s really important that even the best road bike helmets are replaced even if it looks like just a minor scuff on the outer casing. This is because the integrity of the EPS, and other safety features which are designed to absorb the impact are highly likely to have been damaged by doing their job perfectly. This means that the next time you crash, there won’t be anywhere for the energy to go, making a head injury more likely.
As we touched on before, a top priority is to bring in a lower mountain, beginner shuttle experience similar to Dirt Surfer at Maydena, which offers 200m of elevation and a green flow trail. French tells Flow this would ideally be serviced by ATV uplift though further investigation is needed to see if that last part is feasible. “Ultimately, we’re trying to provide the best riding experience, and that’s not a cheap thing to do.
The Montane Icemen (Pete Sissons and Paul Cosgrove) underlined the bikes capabilities as they used a pair of Croix de Fers to circumnavigate the 1600-mile coastline of Iceland in 14 days. One of the great strengths of the Genesis range is their commuter/ all round/ cyclocross bikes – the Croix de Fer, Tour de Fer and CDA. While the EPS foam in a bike helmet won’t just deteriorate with age, it’s over that time span that it will suffer with minor knocks and bumps from being stored, dropped from handlebars or popped in a kit bag. The aggregation will add up to volume loss and require a new helmet to be purchased. It’s rare to find a time Trial / track helmet that not only offers MIPS but also an impressive field of view, thanks to the wrap-around eye shield made by ZEISS Optics.
We found it was a very comfortable lid, which provided a close fit with Met’s ‘Safe-T Orbital’ fit system with retention dial. It also had sufficient ventilation thanks to its three small vents on the front and further two ‘exhaust’ holes at the rear – included to channel air out the back. It has a clever magnetic visor system, but bear in mind the visor is quite long and therefore may take some time to get used to. genesis mountain bike These are mainly suited for slopestyle, freeride, and dirt jump bikes, such as the Cannondale Dave, as they’re stiffer, stronger, and lighter than other sizes which means that they accelerate faster on smooth surfaces. Being a noticeable amount lighter than other types of frame materials, carbon fiber frames are sought after by those looking for a professional edge, as they’re commonly used for higher-end bikes.
It should be possible to loosen the retention system on a helmet to allow for a thermal skull cap or cycling cap to be worn underneath. This is done for added warmth, and the bill of a cycling cap can be useful for deflecting rain from the eyes. Because of this, caps are a common sight in the spring classics, such as Paris-Roubaix. If when you try on a helmet the retention system is at either end of limit, it is probably the wrong size for you. All helmet manufacturers will have a size guide on their websites, and we highly recommend following each brand’s recommendations of how to measure for its helmets before investing in a purchase.
Depending on the type of riding you’re doing, the frame material can either be a large help or a huge detriment. The benefit of rigid bikes is that they can be more efficient over smooth terrain since there is no suspension movement interfering with pedal efficiency. However, today many hardtail mountain bikes, including some Trail models, have a lockout on the suspension fork meaning you can genesis bike have the benefit of suspension when you need it and the ability to lock it out when you don’t. Where we’ve been able to link to a review, it means that we’ve put the head protection through its paces. All of the members of the Cycling Weekly Tech Team have years of experience in riding bikes in all disciplines and have a huge wealth of knowledge and wear helmets almost every time we ride.