Eric Granado is Brazilian, born in São Paulo in 1996, a 2017 FIM CEV Moto2 European champion who went on to race in the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup, the electric class run alongside MotoGP. This decor carries his colours: green, neon yellow and blue worked into the shell's graphic in a matte finish — Brazilian flag colours, not a literal flag print — a personal livery on a production helmet, not a generic race-inspired pattern. MotoE is the FIM's all-electric support class, run on the same weekends as MotoGP on many rounds of the calendar — a growing part of the championship rather than a side event, and the series where Granado has built the racing profile this decor references.

Why a road helmet needs a spoiler at all

It's a fair question: road riders aren't lapping a circuit, so why borrow a spoiler shape from track helmets? The answer is that the physics doesn't care what the speed limit is — air separating off the back of a plain shell turns turbulent from motorway speeds upward, and that turbulence is what makes a helmet feel restless on a naked bike or in a crosswind. Shark's answer was to run the Skwal Cup's rear end through computational fluid-dynamics simulation and a wind tunnel, the same process used on its competition helmets, and fit the spoiler that came out of that work.

Granado's colours, and why matte suits them

Flag colours like these work best kept clean and saturated, and the matte surface does two things at once: it takes the shine off so the green, neon yellow and blue read as flat colour blocks rather than reflective panels, and it forgives the day-to-day scuffs — a dropped glove, a careless set-down — more readily than a gloss shell would. The trade-off is slightly more effort to wipe fully clean after a wet ride, a fair exchange for a livery meant to be read at a glance.

Tested as worn, not as sold

One detail in ECE 22.06 rarely makes it onto a spec sheet: the standard, mandatory across the EU since January 2024, tests the helmet with its visor, Pinlock insert and a communications unit fitted — not as a bare shell on a stand. That sits alongside the bigger structural changes from the older 22.05 regulation: eighteen impact points struck instead of five, several impact speeds instead of one, an oblique-impact test against an abrasive anvil for glancing loads, and a rotational Brain Injury Criterion measured for the first time. The Skwal Cup's certification reads 2206, with no FIM suffix — a road approval, not a competition one.

Where 1,580 g sits in context

On its own, a weight figure doesn't say much. Set against context it says more: most of the road-legal full-face helmets we carry weigh somewhere between roughly 1,250 g and 1,800 g, and the Skwal Cup's quoted 1,580 g (+/-50 g) — for the first, smallest shell size — sits toward the middle of that range rather than at either extreme. Riders in L through XXL, on the larger of the Skwal Cup's two shells, should expect a slightly higher real figure for the same construction, since manufacturers quote the lighter shell's weight by convention.

What the visor does and doesn't do

Optical class 1, with a Pinlock 70 insert included and a tool-free release for quick cleaning or replacement. What it doesn't do is shift tint with the light: this shell sits outside Shark's IRID photochromic visor compatibility list.

Intake and exhaust

One intake, two exhausts — the Skwal Cup's ventilation is deliberately uncomplicated, leaving the shell's rear surface clean for the aerodynamic work happening there.

What's against your skin

A suede-finish, antibacterial Alveotech liner sits against the head, removable and machine washable, meant for the kind of repeated wear a daily commute puts a helmet through.

Fit, by the numbers

Six sizes, XS-XXL, two shell moulds — proportioned so the smallest and largest sizes in the range both get a shell built for them rather than one stretched to cover everyone.

Noise, described rather than rated

No decibel number is attached to this helmet, and we're not adding one that isn't sourced. The visor aperture carries a perimeter seal, and a chin curtain sits at the base of the shell — construction aimed at closing air leaks, which is what actually drives noise at speed.

The ladder, from the bottom up

Ridill 2 first. D-Skwal 3 next. Then this Skwal Cup decor. Then the Skwal i3, whose price varies by decor, and the Skwal i Cup — the last two carrying an LED brake-light system this helmet skips.

Not a closed system

Some helmet ranges quietly drop spare-part support after a season or two. The Skwal Cup's visors remain listed in Shark's spare-parts collection alongside the Ridill 2, D-Skwal 3 and Skwal i3, so that isn't a concern here.

Absent by design, not oversight

None of the following is a manufacturing gap — they're simply not part of this model. No LED brake light (find that on the Skwal i3 or Skwal i Cup instead). No SHARP star rating exists for the Skwal Cup, only for the older Skwal, Skwal 2 and D-Skwal. No FIM suffix on the ECE 22.06 homologation. No MIPS liner. No electronic quick-release system. No tear-off posts on the visor.

In the box

Helmet, Pinlock 70 insert, and the documentation needed to register the five-year manufacturer warranty.

Brazilian flag colours read clearly regardless of where the helmet ends up being worn — they don't need local context to make sense the way a regional racing livery sometimes does, which is part of why national-colour replicas like this one tend to age better than season-specific graphics.

It's a design that will still make sense in five years, in a way a single-season team livery sometimes doesn't. That's a reasonable thing to weigh against a shorter-lived design when a replica decor is a multi-year purchase rather than a one-season accessory.

Specification

• Model — Skwal Cup Replica Granado
• Weight — 1,580 g (lightest shell size; +/-50 g)
• Homologation — ECE 22.06, 2206
• Interior — Alveotech lining, washable, removable
• Shell — Polycarbonate, built in two shell sizes
• Closure — Double-D closure
• Sizes — 6 sizes spanning XS-XXL
• Sun visor — Integrated drop-down visor, crown slider
• Ventilation — Single front intake, twin rear exhausts
• Visor — Optical class 1 visor, Pinlock insert fitted
• Warranty — Manufacturer warranty, 5 years
• Country of origin — Portugal origin

Size guide — all measurements