Giro Phase. Giro Athlon. Which to get? Also is black hotter?

[Popeye]

Hi all. I'm in the market for a mtb helmet so thought this post would be best in the mtb section (It's not a 'part', and not hoping for discussion on helmet and safety). Figur it's best to ask the mountain bikers. Hope that's OK.

I want a light helmet with a visor which doesn't get too hot (from all I've read that rules out the Giro Xen - heavy and hot?).

The Athlon has the advantage over the phase of having an adjustable visor (is this a great benefit?). Seems to be about the same weight as the Phase, but should be cooler? Not sure.
I've read that the Athlon is just a Saros (road helmet) with a visor, so potentially the Phase will have more coverage for the back of the head?
There is obviously a big difference in price but it's more a question of which will suit my needs.

Is the Phase going to be too hot? Or will the Athlon not have enough coverage? Hopefully there are some people out there who have tried either of these.

My head measures 57cm and fits OK in my current Tec R3. I'll mostly be riding single track, occasionally dabbling in some hairy stuff or some longer point to point rides.

Any other thoughts?
Cheers!

(Ps. I guess logically the black would be hotter, but does colour really have much of an impact?)

[MountGower]

G'day

I really don't think other people's opinions on helmet choice is that important unless you are trying to impress the chicks.

I've been thinking about the Athlon lately in blue. Evans Cycles have both the Athlon and Saros HERE for $114 which qualifies for free shipping.

[Fred Nurk]

I can't comment on either helmet choice (I've got a Bell Sweep) but I can say that in the tropics if you're not moving above a certain speed, no amount of helmet ventilation is going to help you.

My Bell Sweep is awesome for keeping my head cool on my daily commute, its not so flash in some of the singletrack in Cairns.

For coverage around the back of the head, the Fox Flux appears to be better than some others. My Sweep is the same as the road helmet with a visor, so isn't that good.

[trailgumby]

Yes, dark colours are hotter. I noticed a major difference when we bought our current car, which is white. Much cooler.

What that means in helmets I;m not so sure.

I used to have a white Fox Flux helmet, and found I got treated a lot better on the road when wearing it for some reason. When I go visit my Dad up the coast, I often got mistaken for a bicycle cop by pedestrians when wearing it when teamed with my blue-and white Scody jersey and hydration pack, despite riding an obnoxiously loud bright green dual-suspension bike So that may be an explanation perhaps?

My son thought that was pretty cool.

I have the black camo one now after the white one got trashed in a collision wiht a car, and until I started wearing a fluoro visibility vest I'd say I wasn't treated any where near as politely. That was definitely not cool.

So, from a certain perspective, I guess white is cooler than black.

[Jean]

My last helmet, a Giro Monza road helmet, was predominantly black and I didn't think it was any hotter than any other helmet I've had over the years. It was very well vented with deep through channels though, so perhaps this counteracted any temperature build up. I have a white Limar now which I've not had much chance to really try out yet due circumstances keeping me off the bike a lot lately.

[Popeye]

Thank guys. I sort of thought the colour wouldn't matter too much since it's the pads that contact your head.
Just made an order for the Athlon in black. Am checking that its a 2010 not 2009 otherwise might get another colour.
Will let you know how it goes.
Thanks again.