Well, I finally broke down and bought a commercial headrest for my Bacchetta Giro 20.  After some research I selected a ADEM model designed specifically for the Bacchetta recurved seat.  There didn’t seem to be many selections out there, and this brand seemed to get a lot of positive write-ups.

The headrest arrived very quickly and was packed sufficiently to prevent any damage.  I also ordered the bracket for my rear light.

There were three parts in the box: headrest, instructions, and 4 tie wraps.  The light bracket came attached to the headrest.  The first thing that I noticed was the fact that the headrest was a black anodize finish (it look much nicer).  The website indicates it is available only in bare aluminum finish.  This was, as Martha Stewart always says, ‘a good thing.’

The mounting instructions were pretty straight forward.  It took me about 30 minutes to read the directions and attach the bracket.  The plastic tab on the bracket which disengages the velcro on the headrest bar was a tad difficult to open up so the bar could be removed.  Finally, I held the bracket with one hand, opened up the tab with my second hand, and hooked the top of the headrest on counter top and pull up to remove the headrest bar.  The I followed the directions to attach the bracket with the Two tie wraps at the top, two mid-way down the seat, and viola; the bracket was installed.

Yes, I know.  It is a bit disgusting, the part about me reading and following the directions.  Especially with me being a man and all.  Oh, well.

I was a little leary about pulling the tie wraps up tight enough to prevent the headrest from moving around as I have broken the locking tabs on tie wraps in the past.  Well, not this time; I snugged them up and clipped them off.

When I went to attach my tail light to the mounting bracket’s supplied bolt/nut I discovered they were standard instead of metric.  Everything else seems to be metric so I decided to swap bolts/nuts to metric to standardize on the tools.

I ended up using a 4mm x 21mm long button head bold and locking nut; in stainless steel.  The bolt is slightly longer than the one supplied as I wanted to ensure the nut was fully engaged.  I ended up drilling the mounting bracket hole out slightly so the new bolt would easily slip through it.

The headrest was easily adjusted up/down by lifting the plastic bracket tab to disengage the velcro.  Particularly since the bracket was firmly attached to the bicycle seat.  I did have to bend the top of the bar up slightly to get a good angle against the back of my head.

I have ridden my bicycle on the trainer about 5 hours since attaching the headrest  and find it very substantial and comfortable.  I can’t wait for better weather so I can test it out while riding around.

Bottom Line: Well worth the money.  My home made headrest worked very well, but it was not as substantial and required bending in several directions to adjust it.  I am not sure it could have been perfected for the same amount of money.

Note added 9/15/2013: I just completed a 9 week cross country bicycle ride using this headrest. I worked great, is still in good condition, and made life on the bike very comfortable.