News | Troy Lee Designs 2015 Helmets: Fashion and Function

Troy Lee Designs’ Spring-Release 2015 mountain-bike helmet collection will see its
way into bike shops this week. The company’s A1 trail, and full-face gravity helmets,
the D2 and D3, are available in a full complement of standby colors as well as some
bold new graphic and color treatments that are sure to make you look twice.
For some, TLD’s signature look-at-me graphics push personal comfort levels a bit,
but those look-at-me graphics are the cornerstone of the Corona, California-based
company, and have helped changed attitudes toward mountain biking since the
sport’s early days.

Way back in the early 1980s, Troy Lee starting painting incredible, imaginative
designs on the helmets of his motocross racer buddies. Mountain biking’s early
heyday, with its overt desire to be more like professional motocross and Supercross
than le Tour de France, glommed onto Troy Lee’s design aesthetic and never let go.
Many of the sport’s early stars rocked custom TLD paint jobs on helmets that were
sorely lacking in the fit department. Those who weren’t quite fast, loud or awesome
enough to warrant custom paint at least plastered a TLD aftermarket visor onto
their otherwise road-focused helmets.

By the mid 1990s, it was more than obvious that mountain biking’s gravity-based
disciplines were its future — at least in terms of fan and outside-industry support.
In the early ‘90s, TLD had been developing a full-face lid in cooperation with one of
the biggest names in motorsports. In 1995, the Troy Lee Designs Daytona helmet
was unleashed on downhill mountain biking. Prior to the Daytona, the DH helmet
aesthetic had been a somewhat uncomfortable match between road, BMX and
slalom skiing. The Daytona changed everything.

Since then, many of the most interesting—even iconic—riders in mountain biking
have sported TLD helmets and paint. And two years ago, when the company
released its A1 trail helmet, half-shell riders got to live a bit of that dream, too.
Ask any rider who has received a custom TLD paint job, and they will speak lovingly
of the moment they first laid eyes on it. To bastardize a Ryan Condrashoff quote as
paraphrased by legendary freerider Cam Zink: A TLD helmet, for a mountain biker,
is like a Louis Vuitton handbag for a fashion model. And though paint jobs and
French fashion might not be your thing, the man himself ultimately approves every
TLD helmet—and its graphics. And that actually means something.

Think we’re overstating a point? Take a look at the TLD athlete roster for 2015 (in
no particular order):

Aaron Gwin, Bas VanSteenbergen, Brendan Fairclough, Jono Jones, Luca Shaw, Luke
Strobel, Sam Hill, Steve Peat, Walker Shaw, Amanda Cordell, Anne Galyean, Danielle
Beecroft, Emilie Siegenthaler, Lauren Daney, Micayla Gatto, SPS Syndicate, SRAM/TLD Racing, Brandon Semenuk, Cam Zink, Kyle Jameson, Logan Peat, Tom
VanSteenbergen, Bryan Regnier, Cody Kelley, Curtis Keene, Jerome Clementz, Neil
Donoghue, Rachel Throop, Ethan Shandro, Finn Finestone, Julien Markewitz,
McKenna Merten, Dave Cullinan, Duncan Riffle, Eric Carter, Greg Herbold, Leigh
Donovan, Lorraine Blancher, Rob Warner, Tyler Morland

You can check out the whole line on their website: www.troyleedesigns.com

Troy Lee Designs A1 Details

• Certified to the following safety standards: CPSC 1203, CE EN1078, AS NZ
  2063:2008
• Superior comfort due to a premium thickness helmet liner developed to cover
  entire interior of the A1 helmet
• Liner made of anti-microbial moisture wicking material
• Full spectrum adjustable visor with 1” 25mm range of motion
• Multi position cam lock adjustable rear stabilizer with +- 20mm range (60 mm
• horizontal | 20 mm vertical)
• Reinforced polycarbonate shell
• Anodized aluminum hardware
• 8 pressurizing intake passages
• 8 rear vacuum vortex outlets
• MSRP: Drone Versions: $139, Galaxy and Pinstripe versions: $165 USD

Troy Lee Designs D3 Details

• Technologically advanced aerospace carbon/composite shell construction
• Exceeds CPSC 1203, CE EN1078, ASTM F1952, ASTM F2032, and ASTM F2040
• Includes 2 fully adjustable, graphic matching D3 visors
• Machined titanium visor screws for reduced weight
• Dual Density Shock Pad System
• Improved rear neck padding for increased protection and comfort
• 20 high-flow intake and exhaust ports for maximum ventilation
• Improved comfort liner for 2015 Removable/washable comfort liner with
  CoolMax ™ and Dri-Lex ™
• Three EPS shell sizes for greater range of fitment, with 6 sizes of pads from XS-XXL
• Titanium D-ring chinstrap fastener
• TLD D3 custom helmet bag kit included
• (4) Carbon shell colors: Speeda Yellow, Squirt Orange, EVO grey, Pinstripe II
• (3) Composite shell colors: Speeda White, Squirt White, EVO Red
• MSRP: Carbon: $450, Composite: $375 USD

Troy Lee Designs D2 Composite Details

• Aerospace composite shell
• Meets ASTM F2032-00 and F1952-00 standards, CPSC standard, 16 CFR part 1203
  & CE EN 1078
• Large eye port allows for easy fitting of all goggle shapes and sizes • Adjustable Orbit ™ visor allows for custom height placement
• Features machined cross-top aluminum visor screws
• Hi-flow ventilation system incorporated into shell and liner
• Removable and washable comfort liner and cheek pads
• MSRP: $228 for Graphic models, $198 USD for Midnight

Words: TLD Press Release/Joe Parkin Photos: Troy Lee Designs

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