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news
Essential kit: Cycling, er, masks
Wow! These are… interesting. They’re “fixed gear helmet masks” from Smirk Masks of Berlin – each one a unique creation.
Smirk Masks is the brainchild of Mirco Erbe, known to the world as Smirk. He started out as a graphic artist and became art director at a big German TV station before jacking it in and starting to make masks. He began the business a year and a half ago, taking early inspiration from hockey masks.
“We do masks for every performer, or whatever else you need it for,” says Smirk. “We also do custom masks. You can use all our masks to ride your fixie if you like, although that was just an idea we had to give the people the chance to look as cool as their bikes.”
The Smirk Masks creations aren’t safety helmets. Smirk has looked into that and the cost would be prohibitively expensive – and the masks aren’t cheap to start with. The “Run Bunn’ Run” rabbit head mask, for instance, costs £633.
The masks are mostly glass-fibre, sometimes with the addition of leather and other materials, and Smirk says they’re aimed at, “Everyone who wants to hide himself. Everyone who needs to be another character. Everyone who wants to attract attention. Everyone who wants to be a hero. Everyone who wants to be a monster.”
As well as fixie riders, that might include bands, DJs and artists, for example. Each mask is one of a kind, created from scratch; Smirk guarantees that he’ll never reproduce any design for anyone else in the future.
”The reaction has been positive,” says Smirk. “Everybody likes the masks/helmets, more or less. It's funny, each individual has their own favourite mask, but not everyone can afford one because it’s all handmade and we try to achieve the best quality. That means our masks are quite expensive… but worth every penny.”
For more information go to the Smirk Masks website or visit the Facebook page.
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
Latest Comments
- slc 23 min 56 sec ago
I kind of assumed they always wore masks, even at home. Sitting on the sofa with their stolen games console, mumbling 'so unfair' when their mother...
- David9694 26 min 19 sec ago
Stuff like this seems more relevant than ever after the Trump victory. sorry not a funny
- JMcL_Ireland 48 min 41 sec ago
Pog having just found out it's chips for tea tonight maybe?
- mdavidford 48 min 57 sec ago
Someone was really worked up about e-scooters.
- JMcL_Ireland 51 min 53 sec ago
More likely the telling phrase is " In 2015, it was sold to private equity firm TZP Group" Hedge fund bell-ends with more lawyers than sense...
- Tom_77 53 min 32 sec ago
Spaghetti Junctions from around the world American ones seem the craziest.
- lesterama 1 hour 12 min ago
If I sell my Park Tool truing stand I can afford ten percent of one these front wheels. Result!
- hawkinspeter 2 hours 57 min ago
Certainly can't be as bad as those carbon monoxide alarms - I always get a headache from their loud beeping
- chrisonabike 4 hours 31 min ago
Citation needed - or could it be that it's actually because they are regularly associating with criminals (the ones you point out - perhaps at the...
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16 comments
I'm sure people trained in things like graphic art and design can make valuable contributions to consumer product design, but why on earth are they paid any attention, let alone given praise, for coming out with dangerous nonsense?
"Oh, could I please have a non-protective helmet with a sharp corner next to each eye and right under my nose? £600? Gladly, sounds like a bargain."
I'm really bored of seeing "concepts" that are "designed" to look "cool" with no regard for practicality, or sometimes even basic physics. A total waste (of time, energy, resources, anything else involved). Stuff from the world of comic books should stay on paper, in my opinion.
[[[[[[ "Worth every penny", eh? Hmmm, but strangely not worth every pound, perchance.
P.R.
This lends more weight to the equation bicycles + 'art' = dumb.
One for the helmet safety discussionistas. All the disadvantages of helmet without any protection. It's basically a plastic burka. Is it legal in France?
Only one thing missing..... Dimpled surface!
I must admit though, they do look laterally stiff whilst being vertically compliant.
In the future, car drivers will not see you scream either...
Are these "masks" being shown on the right forum site? I admit I have seen similar in a certain area of Hamburg.
Just imagine yourself proudly sporting this on it's maiden voyage and a hairy-arsed truckie shouting
"Wipe that smirk off, gimp"
Not for me
Wearing one piece motorcycle leathers and one of those masks will certainly get you noticed, but it won't be particularly comfortable or practical. I suppose that if you're a fixie rider, the money you save on having gears can be set aside to buy the mask.
It takes all sorts I suppose.
They all look very, very sweaty.
I noticed this one on the facebook
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=230812420338410&set=a.1031902397...
Press right for another couple of shots of it. I could see Pendelton pulling something like that off well at the Olympics, would need some slight adjustments for the UCI, but still
Looks like a fabulous way to make "fixie" riding even stupider and more unsafe! This looks like the next fastest way to get a hipster to ask his mother for her credit card number.
I don't need to look any more of a jerk when I go out...the neighbours are used to it...
Just a thought, but if you wanted to give him some free advertising you could try and get a road.cc team in this
http://road.cc/content/news/57148-bicester-millennium-and-silverstone-gp...
And ask to borrow some mask's
Looks good for redirecting Laminar flow
I do like that orange one, but what would be the reaction if i turned up to a TT in it?