Bontrager Lithos Helmet
If we pay attention, mountain biking teaches us a lot about ourselves. Quite recently it taught me that I’ve got a rather aerodynamic head; out of three testers in the office I was the only one who didn’t find the Lithos helmet a bit squeezey at the sides. The Lithos is Trek house-brand Bontrager’s ‘technical trail’ lid, designed to be well vented and lightweight whilst still offering more protection, especially at the rear, than your typical XC brain bucket.
Complete with visor our size small weighed 327g, which makes it pretty light given the extra coverage on offer. It sports a comparatively modern and head-hugging shape, being alternately compared to both a speeder-bike pilot from Return of the Jedi or a member of the riot squad; it’s not as radically different as the offerings from Euro brands such as POC and Urge, but it’s definitely not a traditional helmet. With a retail price of $159 it’s also about middle of the road for pricing, so you won’t have to be the guinea pig in a medical trial in order to afford one.
It’s eminently clear that Bontrager put a lot of thought into the design of the Lithos, especially when it comes to adjustability. For starters it’s available in three sizes, so unlike many brands they’re not trying to cover everyone from Zippy the pinhead to Andre the giant with just one or two shell sizes. The visor actually bolts-on and is adjustable through 10-degrees via four distinct detents—in four months of testing it never slipped. The rear cradle also has three detented positions for height and can be attached at two different points at the front to further customise its position. It’s all tensioned by a ratcheting dial which you can operate with one hand. I found the tension to be distributed very evenly all the way around the head, without any obvious pressure points.
Quality Fittings
The Y-buckles which sit under the ears are also quality units—they provide a slip-free hold on the straps once adjusted to suit. Helmet fit is a very personal thing, and even though I felt a slight pressure at the sides when slipping the Lithos on, that sensation vanished after less than a minute—from there it remained totally comfortable even after several hours in the saddle. Even without doing up the chin strap, the cradle fitted so well that the helmet would stay in place with my head upside down and shaking it side to side (I’m still not sure what the neighbours thought I was doing). Needless to say it’s a secure and comfortable helmet, in fact possibly the most secure I’ve yet used.
The removable padding is treated with Agion, a silver-based anti-bacterial process designed to fight helmet odour-causing nasties. As I sit here sniffing the lining of the Lithos after four months of riding (the last one only a few hours ago) and not a single wash there’s no detectable smell, so the stuff clearly works. The rather small amount of velcro securing them meant the pads themselves weren’t quite as secure as on some other helmets, with a tendency to dislodge sometimes when you remove the helmet, but they always seemed to stay in place during riding. It’s also great to see a full width brow pad so you don’t end up with sweat trickling down into your eyes when things warm up.
The venting on the Lithos works extremely well, with the large and numerous vents combining with internal air channels to ensure it’s about as breezy as the best trail helmets on the market, and better than some. It’s not quite as cool as a road or XC helmet but it’s not far off, and there’s no reason you can’t wear it in comfort even on the hottest of days.
Like most modern helmets the Lithos is made using ‘in-mold’ construction, with the foam liner and the outer polycarbonate shell manufactured in one piece for better structural rigidity and to protect the liner from being damaged in minor impacts. Surprisingly, the outer shell of our Lithos is carrying a few small cosmetic dents on the front and top, more than other helmets I’ve had for over a year. Some of them are probably from the helmet rolling around in the back of the van, and others from contact with low-hanging branches; I haven’t had any ‘proper’ crashes that would explain the marks. I suspect that one of the reasons for the low weight of the Lithos may be a slightly softer or thinner outer shell than normal. That being said, Bontrager provides a 30 day unconditional guarantee, and also offer to replace your Lithos free of charge if you wreck it in a crash within the first 12 months; you can’t ask for any more than that!
There was a time not so long ago when it was only the ‘specialist’ helmet manufacturers who made top notch lids. Those days are gone, and Bontrager’s Lithos is a case in point. It’s well made, highly adjustable, stench resistant, good looking (subjective, I know) and competitively priced for what it is. The inner padding isn’t quite as secure as some, and it seems to pick up cosmetic dings a bit more readily than ideal, but other than that it’s hard to fault. Whether or not you own a Trek bike, if you’re looking for a new helmet with a bit of extra coverage the Bontrager Lithos should be on your ‘try-on list’—just make sure you’ve got an aerodynamic head.
Trek Bicycle Corporation www.bontrager.com
