Carnac aero road helmet
Comments
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Mine came today. Not worn it yet but wow it's ugly!!0
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MikeBrew wrote:My main concern would be that with any concerted efforts there could be overheating, due to the lack of vents. In the event of which, you'd lose way more than the tiny amount of watts that were saved by any aero benefit. Then you end up a very clear triumph of form over function.
I thought similarly until I used an aero helmet for an ironman in 30+ degrees with no bother. It's really not a valid concern for me any more.0 -
Which one was that ? Presumably , not all Aero helmets are created equal ,,,,cougie wrote:MikeBrew wrote:My main concern would be that with any concerted efforts there could be overheating, due to the lack of vents. In the event of which, you'd lose way more than the tiny amount of watts that were saved by any aero benefit. Then you end up a very clear triumph of form over function.
I thought similarly until I used an aero helmet for an ironman in 30+ degrees with no bother. It's really not a valid concern for me any more.0 -
MikeBrew wrote:My main concern would be that with any concerted efforts there could be overheating, due to the lack of vents. In the event of which, you'd lose way more than the tiny amount of watts that were saved by any aero benefit. Then you end up a very clear triumph of form over function.
I'm sure that your 'concerted efforts' are far greater than those of all the track and grand tour riders that cope fine with unvented helmets, even in 30+ degree heat.
If this were the case, no one would use aero helmets, and so many mass market TT helmets have and are compromised by vents just to placate this misconception. Look at the Specialized TT3, their previous TT helmet only available to the professionals, and the TT2, the production model. If you want to be 'comfortable', don't buy racing equipment.0 -
Simon Masterson wrote:MikeBrew wrote:My main concern would be that with any concerted efforts there could be overheating, due to the lack of vents. In the event of which, you'd lose way more than the tiny amount of watts that were saved by any aero benefit. Then you end up a very clear triumph of form over function.
I'm sure that your 'concerted efforts' are far greater than those of all the track and grand tour riders that cope fine with unvented helmets, even in 30+ degree heat.
If this were the case, no one would use aero helmets, and so many mass market TT helmets have and are compromised by vents just to placate this misconception. Look at the Specialized TT3, their previous TT helmet only available to the professionals, and the TT2, the production model. If you want to be 'comfortable', don't buy racing equipment.
Well they do say that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, and your comments and the flawed reasoning behind them would appear to bear that out nicley. But I guess that if I don't reply in a similar vein you might just need an interpreter to understand. So busy were you being sarcastic in fact, that you totally overlooked the fact that my comments were specific to this particular non British standard approved (as far as can be seen), sub £30 quid example. My guess would be that quality Aero helmets might have something more of a ventilation system than simply sticking the word Venturi in the advertising blurb. That said I also suspect, that other than at the top level, many who use them are taking themselves a tiny bit too seriously to think that their ability really warrants those sort of tiny marginal gains. I've only every done 2 TT's and passed deluded little souls in skin suits and pointy hats on both occasions. And trust me, I'm not claiming to be quick by any standards.
That said - if you feel that you only have a £30 head, go ahead and buy one. In the event of you having spill it may or may not do it's job, and either way I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to feel a thing. perhaps you should even wear it on your fixie - I'm sure you're good enough to need it...I[sarcasm]
My argument would be that
Are the only people who really need them, or are fit and fast enough for them to make an appreciable time difference, they're the guys whose body's can deal with extreme exertion and dissipate heat extremely efficiently (so even the reasoning behind your sarcastic comment would appear to be back to front). Guy's like you, on the other hand, are very possibly taking yourselves and your abilities a tiny wee bit too seriously.[Not sarcasm - not even a little bit]all the track and grand tour riders that cope fine with unvented helmets, even in 30+ degree heat.
Your reasoning power is seriously poor if you can't understand why the Specialized TT3 was only available to the Pro's, whilst the TT2 retail version, of necessity, came with very large vents (Much much larger vents than the Carnacs vents btw) for the weekend warriors.
To put it bluntly the vents in retail helmets are there to stop some deluded Numpty giving himself heat stroke in his vain attempts to emulate his professional idols. Said deluded Numpty -or his bereaved family- would then, no doubt, sue the manufacturer for a very large sum of money indeed.
For the average Joe, keeping cool is far more beneficial that a tiny bit less drag, in my opinion. Not forgetting that this particular Carnac product doesn't even have any proven Aero advantage.0 -
You don't seem to have much understanding of the role of aerodynamics in cycling.0
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Ignoring all the above about whether anyone needs one or not (because it's too early) the helmet does conform to safety standards (it says so on it) they wouldn't be allowed to sell it as a helmet otherwise. There is also a video on the cycling weekly website where they did some aero testing in a wind tunnel with the Carnac helmet which showed a considerable aero benefit.0
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It's curious how, not much more than about 5 years ago, all the helmet advertising was all about cooling - the number of vents, how much cooling air passed over your head, how many watts extra you'd produce because of keeping your temperature optimal.
Switch to present day, and all this seems to have gone out of the window. Now it's all aero, and cooling, hey, who cares?
I wear a Giro Air ATtack SHield in the winter as it helps keep me warm (I taped the front vents up), but come the summer it's the Kask Protone, as the Giro would be way too hot.
How many watts does it take to sweat hard? Sweating doesn't come for free. It's you body saying; I'm too hot I need to cool down.0 -
rudivoller22 wrote:Ignoring all the above about whether anyone needs one or not (because it's too early) the helmet does conform to safety standards (it says so on it) they wouldn't be allowed to sell it as a helmet otherwise. There is also a video on the cycling weekly website where they did some aero testing in a wind tunnel with the Carnac helmet which showed a considerable aero benefit.
The figures in watts that were saved were small, and gained by a pro rider pushing 400 watts on a turbo trainer into, effectively, a 47kph block headwind for just one minute. How relevant is that to your average Joe on the road ?
All the gear being "tested" was PX, so it was effectively a PX advertisement, rather than an objective scientific test.
Also, there's very little chance of overheating in just one minute with a 47 kph fan blowing in your face is there. :idea:0 -
Ignoring all the debates about cooling and watt saving, £25 is a great price for a winter helmet. I've watched enviously in the past as club mates with aero helmets keep dry heads due to the lack of holes in the top. However I've got a decent helmet for the rest of the year (Kask Vertigo) and didn't want to spend a fortune on an Infinity just for winter club runs.
But free delivery is £50 and it's a real struggle to find anything else worth buying at PX at the moment! Massive amounts of tat! May just have to bite the bullet and spend the £4...0 -
bernithebiker wrote:It's curious how, not much more than about 5 years ago, all the helmet advertising was all about cooling - the number of vents, how much cooling air passed over your head, how many watts extra you'd produce because of keeping your temperature optimal.
Switch to present day, and all this seems to have gone out of the window. Now it's all aero, and cooling, hey, who cares?
I wear a Giro Air ATtack SHield in the winter as it helps keep me warm (I taped the front vents up), but come the summer it's the Kask Protone, as the Giro would be way too hot.
How many watts does it take to sweat hard? Sweating doesn't come for free. It's you body saying; I'm too hot I need to cool down.
Pro road racing has been incredibly resistant to aerodynamic performance enhancements, though. It was 5 years ago that Cavendish won the worlds in a skinsuit.0 -
Super_Davo wrote:Ignoring all the debates about cooling and watt saving, £25 is a great price for a winter helmet.
Now that sounds more like good sound common sense. Assuming that it conforms to a decent safety standard, and you can get a decent fit from the one size, that is.0 -
Somebody earlier in this thread confirmed its BS accreditation so safety is not an issue.
I expect if anything it's safer than a vented helmet because with the smooth shell if you come off it will slide rather than catching on tarmac or anything else, plus nothing can come through the vents.
Fit may be a concern though, but that applies to any helmet.0 -
Have also just ordered one to use mainly as a winter helmet as being retired I ride all year in preference to indoor trainers.If it feels ok in summer aswell that will be a bonus.Anything under a helmet in winter stills feel bulky and restricted
And ends up damp on the head anyway.
Some are saying it's a cheap helmet and should not be bought.Before the sale though it was £80 and I'm sure some were still bought at that price.Carnac are a reputable company and I'm sure they would not sell crap helmets and get a bad reputation as that can have a knock on effect into their other gear such as their shoes.The PX racing teams use them,would they do that if they were total crap?
Mate has ordered one aswell for entirely different reasons.Even in summer he has to wear a bandana under his helmet as he needs to protect his bald scalp from sun as it blisters easily.So he ends up with a very damp bandana as he loses the ventilation effect of his helmet anyway.So for him any small air flow from the Carnac might be a bonus.I will post again once he has tried it.
super_davo do you have a mate that wants a winter helmet aswell as by me buying two at once we just got into the free postage bracket?0 -
^I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the Carnac name is just another that PX has bought the rights to.0
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I think Carnac was a French company (based in Carnac, Morbihan? No idea.) that mainly made cycle shoes.
They went bust.
I assume PX has bought up old stock.0 -
bernithebiker wrote:I think Carnac was a French company (based in Carnac, Morbihan? No idea.) that mainly made cycle shoes.
They went bust.
I assume PX has bought up old stock.
It was. I don't think this is old stuff though - certainly not of the same quality as the shoes they were known for; they were used by Boardman and other pros.0 -
As far as I can make out this is the third time the Carnac brand has been used. There was the original shoe company that made top quality kit. They went out of business and a third party bought the rights to the name and started having stuff knocked up in China with Carnac branding on it. They then stopped trading as well. PX bought up the remaining Chinese-made stock, the rights to the brand and are now having yet more stuff knocked up in China with Carnac branding on it!Simon Masterson wrote:I don't think this is old stuff though - certainly not of the same quality as the shoes they were known for; they were used by Boardman and other pros."an original thinker… the intellectual heir of Galileo and Einstein… suspicious of orthodoxy - any orthodoxy… He relishes all forms of ontological argument": jane90.0 -
I always thought it was an odd name for a French company as 'arnaque' means scam.0
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its £25 it fits all right and looks alright conforms to safety standards and so what if its made in china .0
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Well that's as maybe, but why put Carnac 1949 in the ad video, trying to imply a pedigree that simply isn't there. At the end of the day it's PlanetX under yet another nom de plume which happens to be a purchased brand name not original Carnac.... Buying up all these alternative brand names makes it look as though Planet X is embarrassed about being Planet X...It's just bollox frankly.. It's cheap and cheerful and possibly even VFM, but why do they to make out it's something it's not...As they seem to try to do with all the Brands and they've bought. It really doesn't amount to any more than meaningless name dropping...stronginthesun wrote:its £25 it fits all right and looks alright conforms to safety standards and so what if its made in china .
They'll up with more brand names than Roger has wigs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UYsbNFwasU0 -
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Cycling's Sports Direct. That's why they've bought the brands!
However, much as I hate their tricks, I have bought things from Sports Direct in the past e.g Dunlop golfing umbrellas and Karrimor compression socks and
now a Carnac helmet from Cycling Sports Direct.
If its a good deal, it's a good deal. I don't hate the tactics so much I'll pass up on it!0 -
Probably because you're so rabidly anti planet x Mike Brew they're trying to trick you with other names.
TBH it's just a name. Id forgotten about the carnac shoes. It's not like it's a big name like campag or bianchi that everyone knows. It's just a name.0 -
cougie wrote:Probably because you're so rabidly anti planet x Mike Brew they're trying to trick you with other names.
TBH it's just a name. Id forgotten about the carnac shoes. It's not like it's a big name like campag or bianchi that everyone knows. It's just a name.
To be honest, I don't know why you keep trying to make this personal. All that your above post really amounts to is trolling. If you can't put together a coherent rebuttal of fair points that have been made - points that others people of voiced agreement of, incidentally - without attacking the poster, it might be a good idea to keep your low brow sarcasm to yourself. No doubt you'd think twice about being quite so rude to anyone's face - :roll:
Also, just to put you straight - I'm anti b+llshit rather than anti PX per se . PX just happen to be exceptionally well versed in BS, in my opinion.
As for you repeating, parrot-fashion,cougie wrote:It's just a name - it's just a name
Well you're both right and wrong there : Holdsworth, for example, was for decades a brand synonymous with quality and really wasn't "just a name". Since PX have it, it really is "just a name" as far as the PX products that carry that badge go. Similarly, with Carnac who previously had a very good name (not as Cougie says "just a name") for quality products. Similarly with Viner etc etc etc...
So at the end of the day these brands really weren't "just names", until PX worked it's magic to devalue them and what they once stood for. They're decent brands of yesteryear that PX has bought up to try to imbue their random cheap tat with quality's that it simply does not possess. And if you think that no one has ever bought an item badged as Carnac, Viner, Holdsworth etc form PX in the mistaken belief that, that item was of the quality that, that once well respected name used to be known for, then think again. Yes a lot of us do know the score, but to suggest that no one ever gets taken in is extremely naive. Why on earth do you think that PX bothers to buy these names in the first place if not to trade of off their good reputations ?
My advice to you would be to keep forums for civil debate, and the pub for personal insults (let us know how that one works out for you) 0 -
That's weird. You call me a troll and say I've attacked you?
Says the bloke who pops up to moan elaborately about anything to do with you know who....
If anyone is a troll here I know who it is.0 -
So there you go again more insults, this time substituting "weird" instead of "Rabid", and yet still no intelligent valid counter to anything I've said. In fact still no actual opinion on the topic itself whatsoever.
There's difference between expressing a valid opinion and attacking another poster personally just because you don't like their opinion. As I said before, attack the opinion(if you can intelligently, though you've shown zero evidence of being capable of that so far) - keep the personal stuff for the pub. Describing someone as "Rabid" or "weird" is hardly not a personal attack. It would be a bit like me describing you as a vapid dullard - though luckily for you I keep such thoughts to myself. It's a little too easy to be "brave" behind a keyboard. No doubt in person you'd be somewhat less inclined.0 -
this is going well isn't it.
The helmet looks ugly but I have a feeling it would be fairly slippery. if you are looking for a bit of aero on a budget, why not!0 -
I think its pretty obvious to any informed poster that at the current price, that helmet is a stonking deal. @Mike, Planet X are not without their faults but I reckon this is the wrong thread to be going over that old ground - maybe stick to the thread expressly set up to discuss their pricing / marketing behaviour? Whilst it is possible to hypothesise about why this helmet might not be a good buy, you appear to be clutching at straws a bit and it does all come across as a bit of a vendetta.0
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Well I suppose that almost anything could be said to be a stonking deal if it's cheap enough. Even if you really don't need it, and are only buying it because it's such a stonking deal. There is, after all, a notional £50 "saving" to be had here ! Though really, with something like a helmet, I personally don't think that cheapness should ever be the primary guiding factor. The real test comes when God forbid, helmet meets tarmac, kerb, car or whatever. And PX branded items being what I think they are, wouldn't inspire that sort of confidence in me. Maybe I'm completely wrong, and missing out on a world of PX bargains - who knows.BigMat wrote:I think its pretty obvious to any informed poster that at the current price, that helmet is a stonking deal.
As for sounding like a vendetta, well the definition of that word involves bitterness and personal enmity : all that I am making are observations. PX have never done anything to me, I've not been ripped off, let down, short changed etc by them. What I've bought off of them has mostly been genuine branded stuff that they've bought in, though. People must interpret my, for want of a better word, "motivations" for simply saying it as I see it, how they choose. If they even choose to think about it at all - no one is obliged to, after all.0
