Review Troy lee A3 mtb helmet

[Dave.r]

Product Image:

Product name: Troy lee A3 mtb helmet
Price paid: 180.00
Score (out of 10): 7

Review: Hi
I have a Troy lee A3 mtb helmet.
The helmet is light and comfortable to wear and gives good all round vision.
however-in a recent otb incident as I landed and rolled out the peak dislodged from its retaining sockets and hinged down straight to my nose cutting and bruising it badly.
This is not an isolated incident, a fellow rider impacted a low branch and again the peak swung down and damaged his nose.

has anyone else experienced this?

I have contacted Troy lee. Their Europe contact promptly forwarded my mail to the US but they have not been so prompt in responding,

on both occasions the helmet preformed its primary role , head protection, but resulted in unexpected injury.
I’m back to riding with my “urge” helmet,
The peak is a flimsy plastic and could not do the damage the Troy lee can

 

[Bigfathairybiker]

Any news from manufacturer?
I would think that they should be very concerned as safety equipment should never cause injury to the user.

 

[DS.]

Nice comfortable helmet that’s why i bought it but the peak is crap the middle slider doesn’t grab no more so the peak just keeps falling down so I’ve had the glue the peak in place

 

[Bigfathairybiker]

I am undecided yet on what helmet to buy.
The troy a3 caught my eye but having seen this review it put me off a bit.

 

[Bigfathairybiker]

UPDATE: I have sent an message to Troy Lee Designs regarding the visor and am awaiting a reply.

 

[Stu]

Had the A3 and first ride all the MIPS came away from the shell when I took it off. That went straight back for a full refund. Dread to think how it would have performed should the inevitable happen.
Replaced with the Fix Speedframe pro and very happy.

 

[Bigfathairybiker]

Still no reply from Troy, so it appears from their silence that they don't care about seriously dangerous defects in their product.
So, I won't be buying a A3 helmet.

 

[RustyIron]

I ride with a couple of their A2's and a Stage. I would have an A3, except they hooked me up with the second A2, and there are only so many helmets I can wear at one time.

Regarding the A3, aren't the visor screws intended to break free during an impact, to prevent the helmet from digging in and twisting your head off like the cap on a bottle of cheap wine? If I understand correctly, the original poster face planted, and the visor that weighs about 28 grams bruised his nose. Would his nose have fared better if it had contacted the ground directly?

 

[Bigfathairybiker]

That basically covers the question I asked Troy.
I gathered from the OP that his face didn't contact the ground, and the visor wasn't pushed into his face by the ground. But that the visor was rolled on and flipped downwards cutting his nose.
I would expect that a visor should either deform to take the impact and return. Or it would be designed to detach completely or upwards.

If the visor is not just there as a sun shade, then what is it there for?

Maybe the fixings are just slightly too weak and a bit more testing could be done to gauge the breaking strain needed.

Maybe removing the visor altogether would make for a better helmet?
It would also totally negate the head twisting problem. Maybe?

I really like the styling and look of the A3 helmet but have been put off a bit.
Maybe put off from any helmet with a pivoting peak.