Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a fan of the aero road helmet. Or anything aero for that matter! According to all the testing, an aero road helmet gives a very cost effective watt saving at speed. I’ll take that, but I also love that it keeps my head a little warmer on those chilly morning starts, and has fewer vents for the wasps to fly into!

I’ve been sporting my original Bontrager Ballista aero road helmet for a number of years now. It must be 6 or 7 at least. I bought it back when I worked for Sigma Sports in the UK using a “Trek University” staff discount. A couple of years ago I tried to buy another one but they were sadly discontinued and long out-of-stock. Here’s a much younger me, off on a cycling adventure, Bontrager Ballista strapped to my backpack:

And cruising around Tasmania years later, still rocking the Ballista:

For most of the Spring Classics racing season this year I’ve had my eye on an unreleased aero road helmet being sported by the Trek-Segafredo men’s and women’s teams. It looked slick and super-fast, I wanted one! I kept my ear to the ground regarding any details but let’s just say that while an incoming new helmet was no secret, actual details were scarce.

Then around a fortnight ago Trek finally announced the public release! Now rebranded as a “Trek” helmet rather than Bontrager (Trek’s in-house brand) the new helmet brought back the old Ballista name. Not one to mess around, I whipped out my credit card and ordered one straight away.

According to the spiel from Trek marketing, the new Ballista claims to save riders over a bike length in a final sprint when compared to a regular highly-vented helmet. They also claim the new Ballista is 5 watts faster than the previous-generation Ballista aero helmet (my old helmet).

I’ve been wearing the new Trek Ballista for around a week and I am impressed! The fit is perfect (for me). The helmet is lightweight, super comfortable, and looks the business. For some totally unscientific performance proof, we hit the Tasman Highway town sign sprint yesterday at around 55km/hr, and I edged in front hitting the line first by half a wheel.

Thank you new Ballista! 😂