A recent visit to Serotta Cycles in Saratoga Springs (look for an upcoming story on our visit) reminded us that Serotta is now the importer for Catlike helmets. And it afforded us the chance to get onto the two new helmets they just began bringing to the American market: The Whisper Plus road helmet, and the TT aero helmet.

The brand is a popular one in Europe, and especially Spain, where the 12-year-old company has a solid foothold on the strength of its sponsorship of the Cervelo TestTeam and Euskatel-Euskadi, where Carlos Sastre and Sammy Sanchez are putting the Whisper Plus to work on a daily basis at the Tour de France. While Americans have long wanted to get their paws on the helmets, getting them passed through the Consumer Product Safety Commission is always the hurdle. Now that the company’s line has met the CPSC standards (without changing fit or aesthetics) they’re finally available to us.

Oh, and wondering about that name? The company founder is former Spanish pro cyclist Pepe del Ramo, who was known as “El Gato.” Hence ... Catlike.

Nickel Tour

A road helmet is the helmet we spend our training time in (at least I hope so), and the Whisper Plus is probably the helmet you’ll want to check out. It’s pretty easy to see the centerpiece feature on this $275 lid: vents. Lots of ‘em; there’s 39 of them front to back, making for a striking look, especially from the front. When someone says they can see what’s on your mind, that joke can be taken literally when wearing the Whisper Plus. (OK, that wasn’t that funny, was it?)

All those vents make for a light helmet, varying from 240 to 260 grams, depending on size.

The Chrono Aero Plus is a pretty straightforward: Used at the Tour de France now by Cervelo TestTeam, it is wind-tunnel designed and tested, features two ports on the helmet front and two at the trailing aft. It retails for $300 and comes with a pod case.

Penny Thoughts: Whisper Plus

The weight of the Whisper Plus is remarkable in hand, and being so minimalistic, it’s simply forgotten on the head. We took it out on what in coastal San Diego was a hot three-hour day in the lower 90s F.

All helmets are for one purpose: crash protection. All things made equal there, I think the measure of a helmet isn’t tallied in terms of carbon placement, or even neck retention systems. It’s whether you are reminded that it’s there. If you totally forget you’re wearing a helmet, you’ve hit the home run. On a fairly hot day in the aerobars, I didn’t think once about what was on my head.

The only stumbling block is that as a top-shelf helmet, the Whisper Plus commands a top-shelf price. But damn, it’s just that good, and just that cool, literally and figuratively.

Penny Thoughts: Chrono Aero Plus

This single-purpose lid will see race action this weekend at a local sprint race, but on a test run, we found it very good for our own position. We are of the opinion that aero helmets are a highly individualized piece of equipment, with different bike fits and flexibility limitations weighing heavily on what may be the best helmet for you in terms of cooling wants and needs, and in terms of ability to mate smoothly to the contours of your shoulders and upper back.

With a fairly aggressive position, the tail lay well on the back. The two ports front and back seemed to do well in pushing air in and through the helmet, and didn’t represent any new feature other aero helmets don’t already have.

What we did find new and unique, however, was found in the ear covers. Many helmets have a stiff ear cover that can often actually tear. Some athletes even pre-cut the front of the flap in order to get the helmet on in haste when in T1. Anyone who saw Chris McCormack fumbling with his helmet a few years ago in Kona can attest to the stress something as simple as putting on a helmet can bring.

The Chrono Aero Plus actually flexes and bends with unique ease. In a simulated race situation (with a helmet upside down on aerobars), we were at ease in quickly grabbing the ear covers, pulling them out and putting the helmet on the head with zero obstruction. It’s a quiet advance that will make this helmet stand out with triathletes.

The helmet also has a dial-fit retention system, which is a nice final touch, as many aero helmets are eschewing this helpful fit detail.

All told, we were impressed largely by Catlike’s aero offering based on a slight technical and functional detail in the earflaps that will certainly resonate with triathletes. And the Whisper Plus road helmet? There are few helmets as visually striking, and fewer still that as invisible. If I lived in Tucson again where temps are currently in the triple digits daily, this would be very high on my list—even if it’s “just a dry heat.” As it stands now, the Chrono Aero Plus will be put to work in my coming race in the Pacific Northwest at Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens, but the Whisper Plus will be the one that comes to Kona with me.

Where to get ‘em? As stated, they are now shipping and can be found at your local Serotta dealer, or online at Serotta or Competitive Cyclist.