[CR]E.D.Bullard Co. & Bailen cycle helmet NOW Trott helmet

(Example: Component Manufacturers:Campagnolo)

From: "Angel Garcia" <veronaman@comcast.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <200412280739.XAA03866@cascade.cs.ubc.ca>
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2004 12:42:47 -0500
Subject: [CR]E.D.Bullard Co. & Bailen cycle helmet NOW Trott helmet

I have a very early 1970s hard shell helmet designed by Wilfried Trott of Germany; it was called the Trott-Helm. Made in Radevormwald. He had many palmares, including being Germany's national road champion in 1975 and Olympian in 1972 and 1976. My German buddy thinks this was the earliest hard shell that was marketed (???). I'm fairly certain mine was purchased in 1972 or earlier; I will have to check. It's a hard shell, has a suspension system on the inside top to keep your head off the hard shell. I have two photo cards of him in races; in these he is using a "drillium" Trott-Helm with lots of ventilation holes; the model I have is solid. Angel Garcia Long Valley, NJ


> I believe that the "Bailen Bucket" helmet was the first or second
> plastic helmet released for bicycles in the USA. Along with my very
> first raleigh grand prix, my parents bought me a bell biker helmet in
> either mid 1973 or maybe january of 1974. i think that the bailen
> bucket was the only other non-hairnet helmt available at that time -
> they might have preceded Bell by a few months or maybe a year.
>
> Sadly, the Bailen Bucket was not a great helmet. It very much looked
> like an enlarged "thumb protector" in that it was a hard circular
> headband with 4 wide tangs at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9
> o'clock that went up towards the cranial peak, but did not meet nor
> connect. Because they did not connect the headband did not have much
> stiffness to resist ovalizing (your head) during an impact. I think
> that helmet was lined with open-cell foam, so that with even a light
> impact your head would hit the shell at nearly full speed.
>
> I believe that this is exactly the helmet used by competitors in the
> movie "Breaking Away" during the "Little Indy 500" race in the movie.
>
> - Don Gillies
> San Diego, CA