Troy Lee Designs are known for their bright-coloured moto and mountain biking gear. Their lightweight full-face helmet, the Stage, is no exception. It combines the striking design features of their popular D4 downhill helmet with a lighter, more breathable format. How did it fare in our test?
The Troy Lee Designs Stage is the only light full-face helmet in this test that lacks an adjustable retention system. It comes in three different sizes, and can be adapted to your anatomy using pads with different thicknesses. Retailing at € 370, the Stage is one of the pricier competitors in this test, and at 764 g in size XL/XXL, it stands right in the middle of the test field for weight. In typical TLD fashion, the Stage is available in an array of fancy colours.
As far as safety features go, Troy Lee Designs rely on two shell materials with different densities, coupled with a MIPS liner, which is designed to dissipate rotational forces in the event of a crash. The softer, elastic EPP foam on the inside is meant to protect you against slow impacts, while the harder outside foam is intended to absorb faster, bigger hits. The flexible visor can be adjusted infinitely, without the need for tools. The chin strap employs a FIDLOCK closure system, which is quick and intuitive to use – awesome!
When wearing the Troy Lee Designs Stage for the first time, you’ll have to play around with different pad configurations until you find the right fit. However, the thick pads make for a worse fit than the thin ones. While they’re really chunky, they have a very small surface area, which causes them to buckle and fold over as you put the helmet on, resulting in the helmet wobbling around. In a nutshell, while the fit is generally quite good, if you need the chunkier padding, you’ll find the helmet feels quite unstable, which might reduce your confidence while riding. However, the fit really depends on the size, and whether you’re sitting right at the top or bottom of Troy Lee’s size recommendations. With the thin pads, the Stage ensures a secure fit, and the shell shape itself suits all of our testers rather well. Once you find your optimal fit, the Stage conveys a great sense of security, and on top of that, ensures excellent ventilation. Even with the goggles on, you can easily squeeze in the odd sprint without turning purple. The chin straps are attached to the helmet only in one place, so they run right past your ears, rubbing against the skin lightly if you wear it over a long period of time.
With the Troy Lee Designs Stage, the Californian brand incorporates its legendary design language into a minimalist, lightweight full-face helmet. In typical TLD fashion, the Stage helmet is available in countless bright colours with fancy designs. While the Stage fits a wide range of head shapes, it forgoes an adjustable retaining system, while the thick adjustment pads can buckle, making it hard to achieve a stable fit.
Tops
- Good fit for many head shapes
- Good ventilation
Flops
- The fit can only be adjusted with pads
- Chin straps can rub against the ears
For more information, visit troyleedesigns.eu.
For an overview of the group test: 9 lightweight and convertible full-face mountain bike helmets in review
All fullface helmets in test: Bell Super Air R Spherical (Click for review) | Bluegrass Vanguard Core Edition (Click for review) | Fox Proframe RS (Click for review) | Giro Insurgent (Click for review) | MET Parachute MCR (Click for review) | POC Otocon Race MIPS (Click for review) | Specialized Gambit (Click for review) | Troy Lee Designs Stage | Uvex Revolt MIPS (Click for review)
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Words: Simon Kohler Photos: Peter Walker
