Trek's 30 Year disruption (WaveCel Helmets)

For a direct importance to the rider, the Wavecel is likely more relevant. But I got and ANGi (the separate device) and plan to use it with any and all helmets when I ride. The ability for my wife and/or others to keep tabs and potentially find me is worthwhile on it’s own.

I think it’s not a case of ‘either/or’, but ‘both’ as the “best” solution.

While not as exciting as a new bike, it is a piece of cycling tech my wife will support me buying.

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Genuinely interested in your views when you get it. I was a day or two away from buying an aero helmet.

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I literally bought their Ballista MIPS yesterday. Might return it for this.

It’s not as sexy as I thought it’d be, but if it really lives up to those claims, this is huge. I need my brain, and the cost of that over another helmet is, what, a pair of bib shorts?

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Will you check if you can put your sunglasses into the helmet? It doesn’t look like it.

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I will be sure to share my thoughts after some initial fits and if it holds glasses. Let me know if you have other questions. I will post real fit pics too, if people are interested.

  • Initial comments I have seen say the XXX fit is a bit tighter than a same-size Velocis. I am hoping my medium size still fits well with a thin skull cap. I am usually not at the limit of a med, so I hope the BOA adjustment will still work enough for my needs.

  • I agree, I don’t love the XXX looks, but I plan on it being my main road and likely gravel race lid.

  • I actually like the looks of the Specter more, and might just get as a more “daily driver” helmet that I can fit a mirror to as well (gasp). I wish it included a visor option, as I think it would make a perfect XC race lid too.

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Sounds similar to the Kali LDL concept (That Kali CEO knows his stuff re:noggin protection, btw) which sounds similar to mips. A material to reduce low energy head collisions. Good for riders…anything driving improvement/innovation in the helmet industry is OK with me.

Would love to hear about ventilation when you get the chance to take it on a ride.

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same, and I like the price too. I’ve got the Ballista and ho hum about looks of it. However the Ballista is a great aero helmet, very good airflow for our hot/dry summers, and a price/performance leader in the aero segment. Also interested in your thoughts on XXX and Specter airflow, along with other impressions.

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All about that marketing, baby!

Def going to get one of these. $150 bucks to potentially save your life is a no brainer to me, even if its marginal gains…

Why didn’t they make the Ballista with WaveCel? Is the XXX supposed to be more aero than the Ballista?

  • Dealer info says the XXX is “nearly identical to the Ballista in aerodynamics and head cooling”.

  • The Ballista was released around 2 years ago, and predates the current WaveCel tech.

  • So I see the XXX as the direct heir to the Ballista in the line.

  • I expect to see the Ballista take to a lower price point, and maintain the MIPS, or possibly be dropped entirely in the next year.

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Some of the Ballista’s are on sale at $130, and my knee jerk reaction was they were discontinuing. However upon closer inspection of size large it is only the purple helmet that is on sale. The other colors in large are still at list price of $200.

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I think it will remain for a while, as a stepping stone since I think plenty of people are unwilling to pay $300 for a helmet. That $200 is still a good price on a MIPS helmet that offers much of the same advantage of new helmet tech, but at a more palatable price.

I do think the WaveCel models may decrease in price after a season or two (especially the Blaze and XXX). I get the impression that those are halo products right now considering how much helmet you get with the Specter in particular, for half the price. I won’t be surprised to see the top end helmets around $250 in a year or so.

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Specter vs XXX - any idea on the aero difference?

The claim is that the XXX is about the same as the Ballista.

Based on looks alone, I see the Specter being similar or a bit less aero than the Velocis (which is on par with the Giro Synthe).

So, I think there is a slight penalty on the Specter, but I think it will be a more versatile option, especially in higher heat use.

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I find anything that has the potential to make riding safer interesting. The initial testing results from Virginia Tech are encouraging.

It will be really interesting to see if WaveCel gets adopted into helmets used in other sports. Skiing would be an obvious one, but football and hockey would really interesting. With the increased scrutiny related to concussions in football and hockey, it might help to spur to better independent studies of the materials effectiveness.

With Trek having an exclusive deal for WaveCel for cycling helmets for a number of years, it will be interesting to see how the competition counters. Do they attempt to discredit the effectiveness of WaveCel, or try and launch something to compete without violating patents.

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For the people saying it’s the same as Smith’s, from the article:

Bontrager says this is what differentiates its technology from other
similar honeycomb-like layers, which are often designed to deal only with linear impacts. Sometimes helmets include a separate ‘slip-plane’ layer, such as MIPS, to counteract rotational forces, but Bontrager’s lid is claimed to be able to tackle both.

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Coming from someone that has had a concussion, it is great to see advancements in safety. And I was planning on buying a new helmet soon so I will look into this one.

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Does anyone else think the green WaveCell color in all the different helmets looks terrible? Why not make it black, white, or other colors to make it match better with the different helmet colors?

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