NY Times mistakenly thinks skateboard helmets are cool.

This is not about whether or not you should wear a helmet. Even skateboarders who wear helmets are not under the illusion that they look cool. In an article titled A Bike Helmet With Skateboard Cool, the New York Times mentions that skateboard helmets exude a certain renegade cool and have panache. Aside from these attributes being at odds with each other, skateboard helmets just aren’t that cool. The article talks about Bell’s quest to design a cool helmet for mountain bikers who didn’t want to look like Lance Armstrong (which wouldn’t be that bad if you factor in Sheryl Crow). Highlights and the improbable conclusion after the jump.

The online article requires you to register. Here’s the good(?) part.

“They said, ‘We don’t want to look like Lance,’ ” Mr. Palermini said. “ ‘We don’t want a traditional road helmet; we don’t want to stand out.’ ” The mountain bikers, he realized, preferred the looks of bulbous skateboard helmets, which exude a certain renegade cool. Mr. Armstrong’s relentlessly aerodynamic helmets, by contrast, conjured up visions of Lycra jerseys branded with corporate logos – or those skin-tight bicycle shorts that are anathema to fans of baggy, low-slung jeans.

Skateboard helmets may have panache, but they are heavy and lack adequate ventilation for mountain bikers, who sweat copiously while ascending steep grades. So Bell began working on a new helmet, known as the Variant, that is sleek and lightweight yet won’t attract the jeers of fashion-conscious riders.

So you want a cool, bulbous looking bike helmet? Here’s what they came up with. Uh, yeah. Right.