Van Rysel has hit the ground running this year. The Decathlon-owned brand now sponsors the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team, providing them with Van Rysel bikes and a range of the brand's kit and equipment. The team has generated a positive buzz this year for creating a successful and more budget-friendly WorldTour level bike, and the brand's clothing and helmets don't break the bank either.

I'm looking at the Van Rysel FCR helmet here, the brand's performance aero road helmet and the model ridden in WorldTour races like the Tour de France. It's comfortably one of, if not the cheapest helmet used at the top level, coming in at £89.99 / €100. There is also a MIPS equipped model available in Europe for €120, as well as a few other budget models in the range.

We also took the helmet to the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub wind tunnel this summer to really find out how the helmet performs, and we can now include our findings in our full review of the helmet, which made our best road bike helmets buyers guide as best budget aero road bike helmet.

• Wind tunnel tested: Which aero road bike helmets are the fastest?

Design and Aesthetics 

The FCR is available in white or black. The white version has a matte body with a gloss white centre section, a couple of black inserts and chrome and black logos. I love a white helmet for road use and it ticks that box nicely for me. If black is more your style, the black version is, you guessed it all black, but uses a mix of gloss and matte sections. The chrome logos don’t feature though for a stealthier look. The helmet also comes with a soft drawstring bag which is nice.

Shape-wise, when viewed from above the helmet has a rough teardrop profile and tapers at the rear. It looks similar to the Abus Gamechanger, and I like the shape and styling. I've heard the argument the helmet's round front sits slightly high on the head and doesn't look as good, but like anything, you'll have to decide for yourself whether the styling and shape is for you.

The helmet itself is made in China, and 'designed in Flanders' as the tagline on one of the helmets inside pads states. The helmet shell is 100% polycarbonate, whilst the helmet material itself is, of course, polystyrene. Weight-wise, at 292 grams on my scales, it sits pretty much in line with other performance and aero-road offerings.

The helmet meets the regular EN 1078 standard, which is the standard for commercially available helmets in Europe. The helmet doesn't have a Virginia Tech helmet safety classification currently, which is often regarded as something of a gold standard when it comes to helmet safety and testing. If this is a key issue for you you may need to look elsewhere.

There is a slightly (€20) more expensive MIPS-equipped option available in Europe - I've found a listing for the UK too, but the helmet is unavailable currently. I wonder if it would be cleaner to just charge slightly more, include MIPS tech as standard and tick that particular box for customers.

The FCR uses a Fidlock magnet buckle strap, you just slide the two halves together or away from each other to connect and undo them and the magnet does the rest. You can actually just throw the two sides of the straps at each other and if close enough the buckle will do itself up, which is quite fun. The buckle is probably marginally faster than a traditional clip to undo and do up, I like it.

Inside, three large moulded channels correspond with the main vents on the inside and do seem to funnel the air through the helmet well. There are three helmet pads, two in the centre of the helmet and one on the brow, that's it, but they cushion the head effectively and are well placed.

Does the lower price point have any drawbacks in design features or quality? There are only a couple that I’ve noticed in my testing. The chrome Van Rysel stickers do look like they could come off over time or start to look a bit tired and my test unit has a couple of letters that are peeling ever so slightly at the edge. I’d guess it would take a long time, but it’s something at least to be aware of. You could just remove them all if it came to it and the helmet would still look good.

Performance 

In use, I've gotten on really well with the FCR. I have no hair, so without any Tadej tufts I sometimes feel awkward helmet features move keenly, but my size Medium test helmet has been comfortable from the off and it hasn't caused me any issues.

As mentioned the Fidlock magnetic buckle is easy to use and has a nice snap that's very user-friendly. The two main pads in the helmet are nice and plush and it feels very comfortable for me when I put it on. I've been alternating between the FCR and Scott Cadence on the road and Specialized Prevail 3 for gravel duties this summer and the FCR does feel plusher, especially given the Prevail's inbuilt 'step', which fouled my head in the same way it did tech editor Josh Croxton's.

Venting is good for me, my most recent ride was on a muggy summer evening, where I completed back-to-back five odd-minute long hill reps and there were zero helmet drips or sweaty 'brow pushes' needed. The vents and helmet in moulding seem to do a good job of funnelling air front to back, overheating or getting overly sweaty just hasn't been an issue for me.

The retention system is perhaps slightly bulkier than some, but I don't feel it looks especially basic. The straps Y junctions (the bit under your ears) are unadjustable and look slightly lower quality than some others, but in use have been no issue for me and they have naturally sat pretty much right where I'd want them. This won't be the case for everyone though so a try before you buy at a local Decathlon may be worth it.

I do like the larger adjustment dial which I find is very easy to locate and adjust one-handed, particularly if you want to adjust the bike. I find the system tightens down evenly and securely without any tight spots or niggly areas, again very comfortable. Overall, yes, some aspects of the finishing aren't quite as plush as other premium helmets, but for me, there's nothing here that's going to cause drama for you. If you want a flasher helmet, spend the cash on one.

Thanks to our helmet wind tunnel test project earlier in the year, we now have data on a range of popular and prominent helmets on the market to include in our helmet reviews, this is also the case for the FCR and it’s always good to include some hard data for readers instead of trying to quantity any DIY aero testing we do ourselves or something just ‘feeling fast’.

The Van Rysel placed 5th overall in our wind tunnel test at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub, beating the likes of the Trek Ballista and Kask Elemento. Head to our best aero helmets guide for more of a breakdown. For the money, you know you're getting a pretty quick helmet and one that’s going to save you a few watts compared to a lot of the competition. If you don’t want to spring for a Specialized Evade and don’t like the look of the POC Procen, get yourself one of these. If you wanted to take things up a notch, the next quickest helmet - for us, was the Scott Cadence, but it’s just over double the price.

We also found placing your sunglasses in the vents at the front of the helmet can negatively affect aero performance compared to placing them at the rear of the helmet, or around your neck etc. I tried this in the wind tunnel as the test rider so can attest to the results. A top tip for all the racers out there.

Value

A strong hand for the FCR is the price point, it comes in at £89.99 / €100. In light of our testing and for the money, there isn’t a quicker helmet out there for less cash.

For the price, you're getting a helmet that will bring aero gains on the bike compared to lots of others and that for me looks pretty stylish.

If like me, and probably plenty of other riders out there you're looking for something quick, that will save you a few watts, and that crucially doesn't cost a few hundred quid, you can't really go wrong here.

Some of the finishing isn't quite as good as more premium helmets, and the stickers may fail over time but aside from that, what's not to like?

Verdict 

The FCR is a great option for the money if you ask me. It's a competitive weight and I've found it to be comfortable and easy to adjust around my head. I've not experienced any discomfort in it whatsoever.

The helmet has won more than once this year at WorldTour level. On my head at least, in a normal riding position, it tested pretty favourably in our wind tunnel test. It's nice to know you're pulling on a competitive helmet aero-wise, and when that helmet comes in at under £100, it feels all the sweeter. If you like the look of the helmet and don't want to spend too much or want a fast helmet for racing that you don't want to worry about giving a bit of a hammering, this is a solid buy.

Kask says that its new Nirvana helmet offers significantly better ventilation than many of the best aero helmets, as well as increased protection. It claims that the Nirvana is a good option for riders obsessed with aero performance, not just for road racing, but also on the track and in triathlon. 

We spotted the new helmet on the heads of the Ineos Grenadiers pros, including Filippo Ganna, in pre-season training at the start of 2024, so it's taken a while for Kask to officially launch the new helmet. At the time, we postulated that it was a new Utopia Y, but we're told the two will exist in tandem. 

Kask does claim significantly better performance for the Nirvana than the Utopia Y across several criteria though. 

In its comparative tests, Kask says that the Nirvana was more aero at 45km/h and a range of wind yaw angles from 0 to 20 degrees than its Utopia Y, with a 35% drag reduction. This equates, Kask says, to a 7.2-second gain over 20km at 50km/h, equivalent to six watts saved. 

• Best road bike helmets: Safe, comfortable, fast, and stylish for men and women alike

The Nirvana’s ear covers, which envelop the upper part of the ear lobes, are claimed to contribute to the smoothed airflow. They’re similar to those in the semi-enclosed design of the Poc Procen Air, also recently launched, which (with a visor, a feature not offered by the Nirvana) we found to be the most aero of 24 helmets in our recent wind tunnel helmet tests – another trend in helmet design incoming?

Unfortunately, the availability of the Nirvana came too late to make it into that wind tunnel test, but we'll endeavour to return and see how it fares against the Procen, the S-Works Evade III, and others. 

Kask says that the Nirvana's aero performance isn’t at the expense of ventilation, which it claims has increased by 19% over the Utopia Y, for better thermal comfort for the rider. 

3D printed lattice padding 

Kask points out that racing speeds are increasing, so aerodynamics is becoming ever-more important than weight. There's a higher need for protection too, given the increase in potential impact velocity.

The Nirvana helmet includes a technology it calls Multipod, as first seen in the Elemento helmet, launched last year. 

Multipod is a 3D-printed variant of the helmet's internal padding, with a hexagonal lattice structure. It’s built into the helmet and, in the case of an accident, can collapse but can also shear between planes to provide additional non-linear impact protection. 

Kask claims that this increases rotational energy absorption by 10% in its WG11 safety testing protocol. 

Kask points out that Multipod’s impact absorption is the same regardless of the direction of impact. The lattice structure also has the benefit of increasing the Nirvana’s ventilation. There’s additional merino wool padding at the front and sides of the helmet to ensure sweat absorption.

Other features of the Kask Nirvana helmet include a faux leather chin strap, reflective details at the rear, and an eyewear docking port in the front vents, despite that being aerodynamically detrimental. At the rear, the helmet uses Kask’s Octofit+ fitting system to ensure a secure fit.

Weights and prices 

Kask claims a weight for the Nirvana of 270g in Europe and 290g elsewhere, depending on the requirements to meet regional safety standards. As with all its helmets, the Nirvana is made in Italy.

The Nirvana is available in five different colours, including the Cherry Burst orange fade favoured by the Ineos Grenadiers pro team. It's one of three gradient colour schemes offered, which are a first for Kask, as its previous helmets have all been a uniform single colour.

There are just two sizes available, rather than the more normal three, with a M catering for head sizes from 52cm to 58cm and an L for 59cm to 62cm.

Kask’s SRP for the Nirvana helmet is £320 / $400 / €360 / AU$570, rivalling the Elemento.

The keen-eyed will have noticed a new POC helmet atop the heads of EF Education-EasyPost riders at the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia Women. 

It sat atop Richard Carapaz's head when he took the yellow jersey on Stage 3 of the Tour; though curiously not for his stage win on stage 17. 

POC has now officially launched it as the POC Cytal Carbon, its latest aero/vented helmet which sits alongside the Procen Air aero helmet in its pro-level helmet line-up. 

When we took the Procen Air to the Silverstone wind tunnel, we found that it was the most aero of over 20 helmets that we tested, and could save 12.8 watts over the least aero helmet in the test, which happened to be the POC Ventral. 

This new Cytal Carbon will no doubt replace the Ventral in the lineup, though we're claiming no responsibility for its demise. 

POC’s most ventilated helmet yet 

POC claims that the Cytal Carbon offers a new approach to safety, aerodynamics and ventilation. The new helmet has been engineered in particular to promote ventilation and cooling, as POC points out that these are critical for performance.

As with many of the best aero helmet designs, the Cytal Carbon uses the Venturi effect to increase the speed of the airflow through the helmet and over the top of the rider’s head. 

Key to this, says POC, is a carbon 'wing' incorporated into the helmet. It has a variable thickness and shape, which POC compares to an aircraft's wing. It says that this creates pressure zones which increase air speed through the helmet and hence cooling.

The structural strength of the carbon element has also allowed POC to incorporate large air intakes – already a feature of many of POC’s helmets. This, it says, makes the Cytal Carbon the best-ventilated helmet in its range.  

POC has used a mix of CFD modelling, wind tunnel testing and real-world testing by the pros to prove the design’s airflow credentials as well as its aerodynamics.

More aero too

POC says that the new helmet’s aero performance is better than its previous vented helmet designs too, particularly at higher speeds. That’s thanks to the large front openings enabled by the carbon shell, which POC says leads to air flowing through the helmet, rather than being blocked at its front.

Of course, a helmet’s main objective is to protect the rider’s head and the POC Cytal Carbon has achieved a five-star Virginia Tech safety rating. POC says that the density of the helmet’s EPS foam has been chosen to balance crash protection and low weight, although there’s no additional protection tech such as MIPS included. 

With POC’s parallel sunglasses line, it’s also incorporated an 'eyewear dock', though our own wind tunnel testing found an aerodynamic loss when docking them up front. 

The new helmet goes on sale immediately at poc.com as well as via physical and online retailers across most markets, although Asia-Pacific sales will be later this summer.

The three sizes accommodate head sizes from 50cm to 61 cm with a claimed weight of 250g for a size M.

The new POC Cytal Carbon helmet is available in black only (sorry to anyone wanting the team-only pink EF version), and is priced at $400 / £360 / €400 / AU$575. 

Look out for our review coming soon on Cyclingnews.

The Specialized S-Works Evade III is a range-topping aero road helmet, launched in 2022, used by a handful of professional teams including Soudal QuickStep and SD Worx.

It is a unisex helmet, and unlike the Prevail III helmet which focuses on ventilation, the Evade III has its focus primarily aimed at aerodynamics. Proving its aero credentials, it recently came a close second in our huge wind tunnel helmet test, behind only the POC Procen Air.

But given the time-trial aesthetics putting many riders off wearing the POC helmet, does that make the S-Works Evade the defacto winner? It's certainly one of the best aero helmets you can buy today.

It is complete with MIPS Air Node rotational impact tech inside, and although not included, it can also accommodate the 'ANGI' sensor which will automatically phone home in the case of a sudden or serious impact.

It is the third iteration of Specialized's go-fast helmet, and its launch came with a big surprise. For an aero helmet designed and launched by a brand that seemingly thrives off bold marketing claims, I was confused to hear the brand say that aerodynamically speaking, it was no faster than its predecessor.

Instead of finding an aerodynamic gain, the American brand focussed on something else: Ventilation. There's no bolder strategy than changing the narrative, and that's what the Evade III did.

In recent years, temperature has been a fast-growing area of performance enhancement. For example, the Ineos Grenadiers directeur sportif, Zak Dempster, recently told me that all of their 2024 Tour de France team have heat chambers in their homes, helping them to acclimatise ahead of the race. So it stands to reason that a helmet that can help the rider stay cooler will enable better performance.

By opening up the vents at the front, pairing it with bigger exhaust vents at the rear, and adding in what it calls a diffuser, Specialized says it was able to make the Evade III helmet better ventilated than its predecessor while maintaining the same aerodynamic performance.

With that in mind, is the Evade III not merely one of the best aero helmets, but one of the best road bike helmets full stop? Spoiler alert: I think it is.

Design and specifications

Going back to basics, the Evade III has three large vents at the front, alongside two smaller vents along the flanks which are primarily for sunglasses storage. These vents angle downwards slightly, so I find you need to flip glasses upside down when storing them here to avoid the lens sitting below the brow of the helmet and in the line of vision.

Three internal channels sit on the inside of the brow, allowing airflow past the brow pad and across the forehead. Inside the helmet, the traditional expanded polystyrene (EPS) is designed with three channels that travel from front to back, letting air pass the top of the head quickly.

On the base of the central channel is a brushed silver S-Works logo that adds a touch of premium class to the design. This is matched by two similar flashes of silver on the outside of the helmet. Unlike the Kask Elemento or the POC helmet spotted at the Tour recently, there's no carbon fibre in use.

The pads are minimal and feature the entirely unobtrusive Mips Air Node rotational impact protection technology. The rear retention cradle is operated using a small proprietary dial, with an easy-to-use vertical adjustment too.

The straps, off-white in colour, are narrower than competitors and therefore better for those who want to avoid tan lines. They aren't adjustable for height, but they sit a comfortable distance beneath my ears - a complement that cannot be handed to the POC Omne helmets or the Van Rysel FCR.

The off-white colour isn't the best for cleanliness, because as sweat dries it discolours them, causing them to look a little second-hand. At the end of the straps, a standard buckle clip keeps them together, rather than the Fidlock magnetic clip found on some competitors.

At the rear, the exhaust is made up of four triangular vents that sit together to form a rectangle. These vents look quite large from the outside, but viewed from inside the helmet they're actually quite small. Despite this, they do a good job of expelling warm air.

More than just holes to let warm air out, though, Specialized says this elongated rear serves an aerodynamic purpose as a diffuser, letting airflow remain attached for a fraction longer and improving the aerodynamic performance.

Performance

I've been using the Evade III for two years and it has long featured in our buying guides for road helmets and aero-specific helmets. In recent months, I have spent time testing every helmet featured in our wind tunnel test, and yet the Evade III is the one I pick up when I'm not specifically testing something, and that's because it performs very well in every area. The data available to us suggests it's safe and fast, and I have found it to be comfortable, well-ventilated and ultimately it's easy to forget I'm wearing it.

I'll start with safety, as this should be the first priority of a helmet purchase. As always, it's a difficult one to quantify. It features MIPS rotational impact protection and can accommodate the ANGI sensor, but the actual ability of a helmet to protect against concussion will depend on how well it fits your head shape, and of course, the severity and angle of the impact.

All helmets are designed to pass minimum industry standards on impact protection, and the Evade is no different, but the independent testing performed by Virginia Tech University backs up the safety credentials even further. It rated it at the highest possible five stars, and while its score of 10.93 puts it as only the 49th-best helmet in their testing, that's a good result against helmets of all genres.

Aerodynamically speaking, as mentioned above, it came a second in our wind tunnel test. Worn by Cyclingnews Tech Writer, Tom Wieckowski, in the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub wind tunnel, the average CdA across four yaw angles (0, 5, 10 and 15 degrees) was 0.3523.

That mightn't mean very much on its own, so let me translate. If you were to ride for 40km at 250 watts on a flat road with no wind while wearing the Evade, it would take 1 hour, 3 minutes and 2 seconds (accounting of course for the bike and clothing setup used in our testing protocol). That was the second-best result in our test, only seven seconds slower than the POC Procen Air which won.

It was 24 seconds faster than the S-Works Prevail III, and 47 seconds faster than the slowest helmet on test, the POC Ventral. Of course, your exact mileage may vary, but in our testing, the Evade III is one of the fastest helmets around.

Moving onto ventilation, and having tested the Evade alongside dozens of competitors in conditions up to 30-plus Celsius heat, I am comfortable in saying the ventilation performance of the Evade III is among the best.

It's not quite to the breathability levels of the Prevail III or the Uvex Surge, both of which have huge open vents across the entire head, but it matches more 'all-rounder' helmets such as the Giro Eclipse, and easily outperforms the more expensive Kask Elemento in my experience. I've never felt uncomfortably hot in the Evade and would happily choose it for a race day in a heatwave.

Finally, it's worth talking about style. I think the Evade III looks great, but I'm conscious my opinion isn't important; style will always be an individual thing. Importantly, though, I've not met anyone who would choose to wear the POC Procen Air over the Evade. It might be faster, but there's no denying its looks are polarising. Everyone I've questioned on this matter would take the seven-second deficit in a heartbeat.

Value

At a retail price of £250.00 / $299.00, there's no denying the Evade III is an expensive helmet. If you're looking for a budget-friendly model, this probably isn't it. The Van Rysel FCR Pro helmet would be my recommendation there.

But when you consider the Evade's performance in safety, comfort, ventilation and aerodynamics, it's among the best on all counts, so I think there's an argument for the value it provides.

Given the price of the Procen Air is £360 and the Kask Elemento is £350, it's far from the most expensive option on the market, yet it performs just as well in most regards, if not better on average.

Verdict

The Evade III helmet is not entirely without its flaws. The off-white straps are quick to become dirty, and the angle of the sunglass storage vents put them at an awkward angle, but those are minor in the bigger picture.

And that bigger picture is one of a premium helmet that is among the safest and fastest on the market, is competitively lightweight, looks great, and is forget-you're-wearing-it comfortable no matter the temperature.

I would wear it on the road, in a race, and even on gravel. I think it excels everywhere, and if you're in the market for a high-end road helmet, it's hard to find a reason why you shouldn't too.

Followers of our Tour de France tech coverage will have already read how Intermarché-Wanty’s team, including its star sprinter Biniam Girmay, each have two of Uvex’s latest helmets at their disposal. One has the helmet’s vents open, the other has its plug-in cover glued in place to avoid contravening UCI regulation 1.3.013: "It is prohibited to add a detachable cover to a helmet."

Now Uvex has revealed details of the new helmet used by the team and made it available for sale. The good news for anyone not riding in a UCI-sanctioned race is that they won’t have to glue their cover in place, so they can decide whether they want the best aero helmet or a more vented road bike helmet much more easily. 

Uvex says that it has taken input from the pros, including Girmay, in designing the Surge Aero MIPS (or more correctly uvex surge aero MIPS, as Uvex has gone all lower case in its name), ensuring good ventilation with wide apertures at the helmet’s leading edge.

Plug in the cover and Uvex claims improved aerodynamics for fast finishes though, with the Surge Aero MIPS wind tunnel tested with and without the cover to optimise its performance. No hard wattage claims have been made however. The large vents come courtesy of Uvex’s integrated cage, which has allowed it to reduce the thickness of the cross-braces and improve the helmet’s stability.

The helmet incorporates MIPS Air Node, the lightest current MIPS implementation, where MIPS is incorporated into the helmet’s padding rather than forming a separate sliding plane layer within the helmet shell as with ‘standard’ MIPS.

Weights and prices

The Uvex Surge Aero MIPS is Uvex’s new top-of-the-line model with a claimed weight of 290g. It is priced at €249.95, with five colours and three sizes available to fit heads from 53cm to 61cm.

There’s a non-MIPS option with a claimed 260g weight and a retail price of €199.95. That’s a hefty €50 premium for MIPS – you can buy some of the best budget bike helmets with MIPS for not much more.

Uvex is perhaps better known for its sunglasses than for its helmets and it has a sunglass design to match the Surge Aero MIPS. The large lens Uvex Pace Stage CV glasses are also in use by Intermarché-Wanty at the Tour de France. 

They incorporate a contrast-enhancing lens and Uvex’s anti-mist coating, as well as an easy-clean moisture-repellent surface. The Uvex Pace Stage CV glasses are priced at €139.95 and fit neatly into the Surge Aero MIPS’s side vents.

Lazer too has an aero cover for its helmets and has a patent on its Aeroshell. This performs the same function as the Uvex design but clips over the entire top surface of the helmet, rather than just blocking the vents. Although marketed as making the helmet more aero, it’s also handy if you’re riding in the rain or in cold weather, to keep your noggin happier.

This year’s edition of the Tour de France has been a hotbed for new tech and nowhere is that more true than the helmets being used. 

Scanning around the heads of the peloton, three teams look to be debuting new helmets, EF Education-Easy Post, Intermaché-Wanty and Bahrain Victorious. 2024 looks to be the year of the helmet with EF Education-Easy Post already causing a stir with the POC Procen Air that blended time trial helmet design with road helmet comfort. 

Visma-Lease a Bike were also at it when the team came close to breaking the internet with its new Giro TT helmet that flipped the script on helmet design as we knew it. 

Fortunately for the cycling fashion community, there has been nothing quite as radical spotted at this year's Tour. Both POC and Rudy Project have showcased new vented helmets whilst Uvex has gone down the route of a vented helmet with an optional aero cover.

EF Education-EasyPost’s new POC helmet 

When POC revealed the Procen Air at the early season races, it garnered a lot of media attention blurring the lines between a road and TT helmet. With the dust now settled and the Procen Air now a standard sight within the pro peloton POC has been at it again. 

The new helmet doesn’t look to have any labels on it but going by its heavily vented design it is safe to assume it is either an update to the existing Ventral or a new model that would replace it. 

On first inspection, the blunt front face of the helmet is what grabs your eye with an almost 90-degree edge separating the front face to the top of the helmet. 

Although unusual this design does present the five large front vents directly into the airflow. These massive intakes will likely allow riders to keep a cooler head in hotter conditions simply by their position and size.   

Looking past the large front vents, the top of the helmet is a far smoother affair with only two small vents towards the rear of the helmet breaking up the otherwise covered top section. It is not a completely smooth top with the pink ridges sitting more pronounced than the darker sections however this portion of the helmet has certainly been designed with aerodynamics in mind. 

The rear of the helmet sports a rather blunt profile with a series of large exhaust vents all coming together to form a large hot-air outlet. We have seen blunt helmet profiles in the past allowing riders to adopt an aero position without compromising the performance of the exhaust vents. 

Intermaché-Wanty’s dual-purpose Uvex helmet  

The team of stage three winner Biniam Girmay, Intermaché-Wanty have been sporting a rather striking new helmet across the opening stage of the Tour. The razzle dazzle camouflaged helmet looks to be a dual-purpose offering with the helmet making use of an external shell covering to hide the vents and increase its aerodynamic properties. 

In its stripped-back, vented guise, the unnamed helmet makes use of five channels that look to run almost the entire length of the helmet to guide cooling air over the rider's head. There are only a few carbon fibre struts that join the channels of the helmet together that break up the vents. 

With the removable aero shell fitted the helmet takes on a noticeably more aero form. The outer two channels are completely covered with the central three reduced to smaller vents extending only a few centimetres from the brow. 

The detachable aero cover has already gotten the team into a bit of hot water resulting in the team superglueing the shells on to comply with UCI equipment regulations. This is because detachable aero coverings on helmets are banned for use in competition. 

With or without the aero cover fitted the exhaust vents at the rear remain the same. Four large central vents take care of carrying passing airflow away from the rider. 

Bahrain Victorious’ new vented Rudy Project 

Much like Giro, Rudy Project has already released a new helmet this year in the shape of the Wingdream TT helmet. Since then the brand has gone on to release the Rebel, a vented helmet that the brand claims, “sets new standards in safety, sustainability, and performance.” 

The new helmet uses carbon fibre within its construction allowing less polystyrene to be used. This has the benefit of reducing the overall footprint of the helmet as well as increasing the size of the vents. 

Aesthetically the Rebel looks more traditional in style than the other new helmets with a series of vents positioned across the front and top of the helmet. In contrast to the Uvex helmet design using five main continuous channels for cooling the Rebel uses 22 separate vents across the helmet. 

The helmet is also said to use recycled polycarbonate in its construction with the padding and straps also being made from recycled materials emphasising Rudy Project’s commitment to sustainable product design. 

The Rebel sits alongside the aero-focused Nytron with team Bahrain Victorious able to choose between the two depending on the stage profile and weather conditions. 

When you remove your sunglasses, what do you do with them? 95% of us, including pro riders Valentin Paret-Peintre and Jan Tratnik, will slot them somewhere into the vents of our helmets, but I'm here to tell you that you shouldn't. 

I'm just as guilty for it as the next person, and I get it. You've been riding for two hours, the heat of the day is becoming stifling, and despite the best cycling glasses weighing little more than a feather or two, you're feeling claustrophobic behind their gargantuan lenses. 

We've all been there, maybe you're riding up a climb and the slower speed of the onrushing air is struggling to offset the heat you're producing through your effort. Maybe you're running dark lenses and a cloud just switched off the lights like an electricity meter running out of credit. Maybe you're at Wednesday Night Worlds (aka your local evening crit / chaingang) and the setting sun is winning the race.

Whatever your scenario, there are plenty of valid reasons to remove your sunglasses while riding. Brands know this, and pretty much every helmet on the market has an element of eyewear storage worked into its design. 

Some brands target it specifically, such as the Lazer Vento Kineticore with its dedicated eyewear dock, or the Specialized Search gravel helmet's inbuilt grippers that keep them secure no matter the terrain. So secure, in fact, that you have to arm wrestle a troll and say the magic word to get them back when you want them (this might be an exaggeration). 

Others are a little more passive, and simply ensure that the front vents are positioned in a way that plays nicely with your Oakleys or your 100 Percents (other sunglasses brands are available). 

But if you care about aerodynamics, don't do it. 

Cyclingnews subscribers will know that we recently went to the Silverstone Sports Engineering hub, and wind tunnel tested 24 helmets to find out which, empirically, was the best aero helmet on the market today in terms of outright aero performance. That's not all we did though: with a bit of spare time at the end of our allotted slot, we wanted to quantify how many watts you give away by doing this:

We ran three tests, using the Van Rysel FCR Aero helmet – No favours or scientific logic here, it was just the helmet that Tom was wearing at the end of our test, because of alphabetical order – and his pair of Oakley Radar sunglasses. 

We ran the standard test with the glasses, then a test without them, and then a test with them in the front vents. 

We chose to avoid testing them slotted into the back of the helmet, because we had slight concerns that they'd be blown rearwards into the very expensive fans never to be seen again, presumably with a hefty repair bill that would take some uncomfortable explaining to the bosses. By way of a tangent, this happened to me in a race once, and somehow despite bouncing through a peloton of amateurs and a caravan of support cars, my Oakley Jawbreakers lived to tell the tale without a single scratch. 

Anyway, enough about me. Each test was standardised using the same rider (our resident mannequin Tom Wieckowski), using the same kit, bike and helmet. The wind tunnel went through a taring process prior to each run, and each helmet was tested at four yaw angles (0, 5, 10 and 15 degrees). We will provide the average Coefficient of Drag x Area (CdA) across the four, and then calculate that into watts saved and time saved. 

The results are as follows: 

According to our tests, wearing your sunglasses in the vents of your helmet can cost you 4.36 watts at 40km/h. Bump that speed up to 50km/h and you stand to lose even more at 8.52 watts. Of course, that's compared to wearing them, and if you're putting them in the vent of your helmet, it's safe to assume you want them off. Removing them from the equation altogether is still slightly slower than wearing them, but when compared to putting them in your vents, you stand to save 3.46 watts. 

It might not sound enormous, but given that it won't cost you a single cent / penny, it's the best value aero gain we can think of. 

In our full list of helmets, the Van Rysel FCR helmet came 5th, without sunglasses, its result would drop it to 8th. Once you slot the glasses into your helmet vents, it drops to a disappointing 19th, only a single position above the £20.00 Carnac Evo Road helmet.  

If you were to race a 40km time trial at 250 watts, you could save yourself 15 seconds by simply putting your sunglasses somewhere else. Given that just yesterday, Specialized launched a limited edition wheelset that claimed to save you a single second over 40km, we think we're justified in bringing this one to the public's attention. 

That's not all though. As outlined at the beginning, one of the main reasons to remove sunglasses is due to feeling hot. But when you stuff your sunglasses into your helmet vents, you're effectively blocking off the airflow into (or out of) the helmet, preventing the inrush of cool air or the exhaust of hot air. It might feel as though you're getting more airflow because you can feel it on your face, but there's every chance you're actually making things worse. 

If nothing else, you're prolonging the time to the top of the hill. 

Sign up to Cyclingnews and nerd out in the data of our full wind tunnel helmet test to see which is fastest, which is slowest, and how your helmet stacks up against the competition.

"You look like a construction worker!" Perhaps not the one-line summary that Highbar would have wanted for its new, unusual, innovative, still-unreleased helmet collaboration, but that's the quip that came from one of my friends as I rolled across the car park ahead of the Gralloch gravel race in Scotland.

I was there for fun, but an opportunity presented itself to test the new helmet that swaps traditional fabric straps for a rubberised, pivoting arm that tightens with a dial. I couldn't refuse; I had to see whether the brand's claims would stand up in the real world. 

The strap-replacing system is called Highbar, and my friend's perhaps slightly unfair commentary perfectly reflected the line of questioning that everyone I spoke to about it followed: "It looks weird, what's the point?"

As we all know, cyclists are a fickle bunch. We'll happily shave our legs, contort ourselves into a one-piece skinsuit, don our aero socks and wear an aero helmet, but anything different is immediately weird and uncool… unless you can prove it's somehow better. 

Designed in conjunction with Frank Hermansen and Carl Winefordner, who you may know as the Crank Brothers, the Highbar strap is just one part of the overall product. The rest needs to come from elsewhere. Highbar is looking to license its system to other brands in a similar way to how MIPS operates, or how Boa operates with shoe retention dials. The Highbar system needs to be moulded in as part of the helmet's design, so it needs buy-in at this level. It can't be bought as an aftermarket add-on by a consumer. 

This particular helmet is the first partnership over the line, though it's yet to be released. It has Canyon branding and has been spotted on the heads of Canyon-Collective riders, Carolin Schiff and Petr Vakoc. It was paraded around Sea Otter by the Highbar team in April, but Canyon has yet to publicly acknowledge its existence. 

Design

The Highbar strap system connects to the underside of the helmet near your temples on either side of your head. The anchor is moulded deep inside the helmet's EPS foam, but the parts you can see are V-shape pieces of rubberised plastic that protrude downward, with a pivot point at the bottom of the V. 

They connect somewhat outboard of the helmet's structure, and they curve marginally outwards before returning in to follow the shape of your face. This means they don't touch your face, which aids comfort and improves airflow, and means you must commit the cardinal sin of wearing your sunglasses on the inside of your helmet straps. 

The pivot at the bottom of each V section connects to each end of the strap, which has a retention dial at the centre (beneath the chin), to let you tighten or loosen it. 

The pivots have no fixed points, so it doesn't click into place at any specific angles. It floats freely, and in my experience, it sat comfortably beneath my chin, with enough resistance to stop it from swinging back and forth. 

The dial sits on the bottom of a housing, and this sat comfortably against my skin without any undue pinching or pressure. 

Thanks to the pivots, the whole strap can be pushed forward in front of your face, making it easy to take off, although not as easy as simply unclipping a buckle, and it can be pushed right up against the brow for storage. 

Compared to a standard strap, I have to agree that it all looks a bit dorky. It's fairly low profile from a front-on angle, but when you catch yourself from the side, it stands out as different and a bit bulky. With that said, in the post-race photos from the on-site photographer, the helmet didn't really look any different to any other helmet on any other rider around me. 

In addition, among the thousands of fellow riders, not once did anyone ask about it, nor did I catch anyone doing a double take. The conversations I had were always ones that I instigated. Had I worn the new POC Procen Air, I think it's safe to say that things would have been different. 

Performance

The Procen Air is a good segue into performance, because although that too looks polarising, there's a very strong case for wearing it, and that is its aerodynamic performance. It won our recent wind tunnel helmet test, so it's arguably the best aero helmet on the market right now. 

With the Highbar system, the case for wearing it is a little more… woolly. 

The primary argument, according to Highbar's Eric Horton, relates to safety; a notoriously hard metric to quantify. 

I recently watched a presentation from Horton, which showed close-ups of various riders, pros and amateurs alike, with their helmet straps loose or askew. 

Although the retention cradle holds the helmet steady, the chin strap is there to keep it on your head in the event of a crash. It should be comfortably tight. It's no good if it's strangling you, but it's also no good if it lets the helmet slide off your head at the key time. 

A quick scan of Getty Images from the Giro d'Italia throws up a variety of different 'techniques'. Some are tight against the face the whole way down, while others are much looser. The following two images, of Geraint Thomas and Rafał Majka respectively, show them both wearing the helmet strap quite loose. 

Proper helmet fitment is actually part of Day 1 of the Bikeability training for kids here in the UK, and it also forms part of the UK's National Standard for Cycling Training. Among adult cyclists, though, there's very little training provided. There's no unified way to wear them, beyond what feels comfortable, and that means there's plenty of margin for error.

Highbar's primary claim is avoiding this ambiguity, and thus ensuring that anyone wearing a helmet is wearing it correctly, thus increasing safety. Horton says his team have spent years studying the various industry crash tests, reverse engineering them and ultimately have a product that is safer than the competition as a result. 

Thankfully, I remained incident-free during my ride, so I can't speak to its safety. What I can say is that it felt secure and it was comfortable. When first trying it on, the housing of the retention dial beneath my chin was pressing against my Adam's apple and causing pain, but once on the bike and in a riding position this went away. During the ride, the helmet regularly faded from my consciousness; a positive thing for any piece of kit. 

One problem I foresee for the Highbar marketing team is the fact that safety isn't very sexy. People are happy to look a bit silly if they can justify it by knowing they'll be faster, lighter, cooler, etc, but whether they will for an increase in safety is yet to be seen. 

To that point, there are plenty of secondary claims about the helmet too. 

One of them, Horton says, is the ability to adjust it on the fly. I've never felt the need to loosen my helmet mid-climb or tighten it before a descent, but that's one of the advantages Highbar claims to bring with its retention dial. The claim is that looser is cooler, while tighter feels more secure. I tried loosening it off during a difficult climb in the middle point of the race and felt no real benefit. I then forgot to tighten it again before the next descent, which I assume isn't great for the safety aspect and highlights a bit of a flaw. 

Perhaps it's something that a regular user would become used to and benefit from, but I am used to helmets being 'set and forget', and old habits evidently die hard. 

Another of the secondary claims is one that's becoming more widely discussed lately, which is noise from onrushing wind. Highbar's in-house testing, which put the helmet in a wind tunnel with a decibel meter inside the mannequin's ear, found that it was between 6 and 7.5 decibels quieter. 

I can see the logic, with the larger plastic anchor points deflecting more of the wind away from the ears, but it didn't stand out to me as significantly quieter than any other helmet I've used lately. Of course, my testing was far from a back-to-back AB test, so it's anecdotal at best. 

Alongside being quieter, Horton says the fixed strap is also marginally faster than a fabric strap. Highbar found that its prototype helmet had 0.004 M² lower drag with the Highbar strap, which it equates to seven watts, at 50km/h. 

Unfortunately, despite taking 24 helmets to a wind tunnel last month, this wasn't one of them, so I can't provide any quantifiable comparisons of my own here to back up his claim. The overall helmet design would also play a significant part here, too, so unless a brand chooses to make one helmet available with both a strap system and Highbar, we'll probably struggle to recreate the test. 

The final secondary claim that Horton mentioned was temperature. Much has been said about how core temperature can affect performance, and one of the big things Kask shouted about with the launch of the Elemento last year was that a cooler head can be just as important to performance as a more aero helmet. 

During my ride, I felt as though the helmet's overall temperature regulation was pretty good, and surprisingly for Scotland, it was a scorcher of a day, so a perfect test. Only once, on a slow, hot climb during the peak of the day's heat did I notice a bead of sweat drop into my sunglasses. It's impossible to say whether that was aided in any way by the Highbar system, but as a complete package, it performed well. 

Value

Given Highbar isn't available as an aftermarket add-on, the cost will ultimately be worked into the overall retail price of whatever helmet it comes on, and as such, will be variable. Judging its value, therefore, is impossible. 

With that said, given that Highbar is a separate company with the intent to license this as a product to other manufacturers, it's safe to assume that on average, it will increase the cost versus a helmet using straps. 

If you believe that it is indeed safer, then I would struggle to put a price on increased safety, however marginal. On the other hand, though, it's free to tighten up the straps on your existing helmet, and that's possibly where I see Highbar's biggest hurdle. 

Verdict

Overall, despite the unconventional Highbar strap system, the new helmet felt, well, like a helmet. Underwhelming praise, perhaps, but it's positive in the face of a complete redesign of one of its most fundamental components. 

While it performed exactly as I'd hoped, it didn't stand out as being faster, quieter or cooler than its competition, and the newfound ability to adjust on the fly didn't really fly with me. On the other hand, it also didn't stand out as being uncomfortable, unsafe, or slow. 

Ultimately, the primary goal of removing any ambiguity about how one should wear their helmet straps has been achieved, so that's a big check in the box for Highbar. 

I don't see that causing a seismic shift in helmet design, though. If anything, it's just made me think about spending an extra five minutes ensuring my helmet straps are tightened correctly on my other helmets. 

While this helmet is a high-end road and gravel helmet, I don't think that's where Highbar will ultimately land. I can see it working well in commuter helmets, where riders are greater in number, often less experienced, and where potential benefits to safety are held in higher regard. 

The helmet isn't yet available to buy, so check out Highbar for more information about the system. Alternatively, see our guide to the best road bike helmets and best gravel bike helmets to check out the competition. 

The wild new aero helmet, spotted atop the heads of Alison Jackson, Ben Healy and their respective EF teammates, is officially the fastest aero road helmet on the market, according to an in-depth, industry-wide, independent wind tunnel test. 

The POC Procen Air, perhaps better described as a time trial helmet adapted for the road rather than the aero road helmet style we've come to know, has already taken scalps in the WorldTour, but it can now claim an altogether different victory, one that is arguably no less valuable. 

On the 20th April, Cyclingnews review expert, Tom Wieckowski, and I took 24 different road bike helmets from 18 different brands to the wind tunnel at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub. 

In a bid to create the most complete test possible, we chose the range-topping aero helmet from every brand we could think of. We included all the helmets that amateur riders and racers might consider buying, and given Cyclingnews' connection to the world of pro racing, we also wanted to include each brand represented in the WorldTour. 

The final list included everything from Abus to Uvex, including the S-Works Evade III, the Trek Ballista, the Sweet Protection Tucker 2VI, the older POC Ventral, the Met Manta worn by Tadej Pogačar, the Abus Gamechanger 2.0, the budget-friendly Van Rysel FCR, an even-more budget friendly helmet that costs just £20, and even a helmet that doesn't launch until later this year. 

After over four hours of back-to-back (to-back) testing, the Procen Air - complete with visor - was crowned fastest.

To see the full results, you can head to our aero helmets wind tunnel tested feature. You'll need to be a Cyclingnews subscriber – it was your subscription fees that helped to pay for this very test – but when you're in, you'll have full access to the raw CdA data, our test protocol, the caveats, and all of the things we learned on the day.

We've also calculated the difference in watts between each helmet at 30km/h, 40km/h and 50km/h. We then reversed those calculations to solve for speed at 250, 350 and 450 watts, and from that we worked out how many seconds that would save you over a 40km time trial. For instance, the difference between the Procen Air and the slowest on test is 12.8 watts at 40km/h. Bump that speed to 50km/h and the wattage difference grows to a huge 24.9 watts. 

We did some fun calculations too, such as how many metres Tim Merlier might gain in a 200m sprint by wearing the aero Evade III instead of the Prevail III from sponsor Specialized; and how many watts Groupama FDJ gained/lost when swapping from Giro to Julbo.

Interestingly, we also found that the Procen Air is 1.3 watts faster when wearing the visor than when you pair it with sunglasses. 

Naturally, our test was standardised to ensure accuracy, and each of the 23 helmets was tested at a wind speed of 40km/h across four different yaw angles of 0 to 15 degrees. They were all tested on the same day in a wind tunnel used by hundreds, if not thousands, of WorldTour level athletes, manufacturers and engineers.

Along with the overall winner and loser, there were plenty of surprises throughout the remaining helmets. For example, there is very little correlation between how much you spend and how fast your helmet will be. 

As expected, we found that as a group, the helmets described as 'aero' by their manufacturer tended to be faster than those that were more aimed at being ventilated, but the differences were much closer than we expected, and there were plenty of examples of so-called aero helmets scoring worse than other so-called vented helmets. 

We also found that you could easily undo your aero gains unwittingly, such as with your straps, and with sunglasses placement, but the exact details of those tests are yet to come. Watch this space. 

Until then, subscribe to Cyclingnews – just £1 for your first month – and go get all nerdy with the numbers. 

When buying a road bike helmet, your primary motivation most likely relates to safety. In the event of a crash, the added protection offered by a certified helmet can be the difference between walking away with little more than your ego bruised and, well, not walking away at all. 

But there isn't a simple answer to whether one helmet is safer than the next. There are a select few third parties that perform independent tests, but at an industry level, all we know is that they've met the relevant local authority's minimum standard, which, brands tell us, is a low bar. 

As a result, choosing which helmet to buy is often a balance of other factors. Ventilation is important for those who live in warmer climates. Weight will be a key factor for mountain goats who spend their lives riding uphill. The fashion-conscious will prioritise how it looks, but for the majority of us, the important metric will be aerodynamics. Who doesn't want to go faster for less effort?

Around a decade ago, the category of aero road helmets sprung into life, and these days some take an unambiguously aero approach to their design, with long tails and closed-off frontal profiles. Others take a more subtle approach, with a more rounded rear and a few vents up front. 

Given their go-faster intentions, it's not uncommon for an aero helmet to be launched with claims of being some watts more aerodynamic than that other helmet, or any number of seconds faster than something else over a 40km time trial. Those comparisons usually relate to a brand's outgoing model or other products in the lineup; rarely will they call out the competition. 

As a result, there isn't much information out there that compares across brands, such as the Specialized Evade against the Trek Ballista, or the Met Manta against the Giro Eclipse. 

Luckily, that's where we come in! 

We took 23* different helmets from 18 brands to the wind tunnel for a back-to-back test to find out which was fastest (and which was slowest!). We also ran some additional tests on sunglasses, gloves and more, which we'll share in the coming weeks. 

*We actually took 24 helmets, but one was an unreleased helmet that launches later this year. We tested it under the promise of keeping the results to ourselves until then. I'm afraid that's all you'll hear about it until it does. 

Before we get into the data, a quick interlude to say that this feature is not sponsored and we paid the normal commercial rate for our wind tunnel access. This content was made possible solely and entirely by our paying subscribers.

The helmets

Of all the helmets we took, the majority were described as aero helmets by their respective brand and fell somewhere on the spectrum between 'all-out aero' (such as the Trek Ballista or S-Works Evade) and 'aero all-rounder' (like the Giro Eclipse or POC Ventral). 

A small number would be classed as 'vented' helmets, because we also wanted to get a feel for the difference between the 'vented' and 'aero' categories as collectives. In alphabetical order, they are as follows:

Aero helmets

• ABUS Gamechanger
• Carnac Evo
• Giro Eclipse
• Julbo Sprint
• Kask Elemento
• Kask Utopia Y
• Lazer Vento Kineticore
• Limar Air Atlas
• MET Manta
• Oakley ARO7 (tested twice - with and without visor)
• POC Procen Air (tested twice - with and without visor)
• POC Ventral
• POC Ventral Tempus
• Rudy Project Nytron
• Scott Cadence
• Smith Ignite
• Specialized S-Works Evade III
• Sweet Protection Tucker 2VI
• Trek Ballista
• Van Rysel FCR

Vented helmets

• Specialized S-Works Prevail III
• Trek Velocis
• Uvex Rise Pro

Each helmet was size medium.

The decision process for choosing which helmets to test was based on our research of each brand's best available option(s) on the market at the time of testing; what's being used in the WorldTour; and which helmets we think people will consider when deciding to buy. 

It was limited, to a point, by what we could get our hands on. For example, we wanted to include the Ekoi Aerodinamica but our multiple attempts to contact the brand went unanswered. We also tried to get the new Kask helmet (the one that goes down over the ears), but neither Kask nor Ineos had a spare they could loan us.

The test

We took the helmets to the wind tunnel at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub, testing the aerodynamic performance of each helmet. 

Naturally, the test was standardised, meaning the same conditions were met for each data capture. These included the same bike (Pinarello Dogma X), rider, kit (Santini Viper skinsuit, Velotoze overshoes, Oakley Radar glasses), wind speed and more. 

We ensured each helmet was sitting level before each run, and the straps for each helmet were clean against our model's face without any strap 'tail' (which could flap and skew the results). The wind tunnel itself was also put through a taring process before each capture to ensure accuracy. 

The protocol was designed by myself, with guidance from aero experts Casper von Folsach in the run-up and Huw Williams on the day. 

Pedalling the bike was Cyclingnews Tech Writer and amateur racer, Tom Wieckowski. We wanted to try and get as close to a real rider as possible, so we accepted the (financial) cost of running longer captures with a real person to get a more realistic result, rather than using a static mannequin.

Tom's position on the bike was captured in an initial baseline test, and then an outline of that position was projected onto the floor in front of him for the rest of the day. This provided an accurate cue for Tom to remain in position during subsequent runs. We also tested for positional drift, which comprised multiple tests with the same helmet to work out how much difference there could be between two identical setups, and thus how much blur we should accept in our results. 

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We tested each helmet at 40km/h (24.85mph). This is reflective of good amateur-level racing speeds, but the resulting CdA data will be valuable at all speeds. In the results below, I have extrapolated the data to provide the power required at 30, 40 and 50km/h, the speed expected at 250, 350 and 450 watts, and how those speeds relate to a 40km time trial.

Each data capture was performed in five-degree increments from 0 to +15 degrees yaw. That means four capture points of 0, +5, +10 and +15 degrees. Helmets are symmetrical, so there was no need to capture the data at negative yaw angles too. Each helmet was tested in a sweep in the same positive direction (0 to 15) for consistency and held for 30 seconds per capture. 

The wind tunnel itself was operated by professional Engineering Technician Huw Williams and is designed to account for any changes in temperature or air density in its results.

Holding the bike in place was a set of stanchions, and no corrections were made for these, since they were the same across all tests. We're primarily interested in the difference between helmets here, not the absolute values.

Some caveats

We've tested the aerodynamics here, so we have the CdA figure for each helmet at four different angles of yaw. With the average figure, we've done some calculations to solve for power (watts) at different speeds, for speed at different powers, and the time saved over a 40km course where all other factors remain equal. These calculations do not factor in additional losses such as drivetrain friction or rolling resistance, but we're only interested in the differences here, rather than absolute values.

Our rider Tom's positional drift equated to 1.19%. As a result, each result within 1.19% of another should bear this in mind, as it could simply be a result of this. We will continue to share the testing results as they were received for simplicity.

The results of our testing are representative of just that: our testing. We understand that helmet brands might see different results based on different tests or different protocols. We don't intend to claim that our results are the final word in helmet aero testing, but rather an additional stream of independent, unbiased testing and information for Cyclingnews readers. 

We understand that the aerodynamic performance of a helmet can differ from person to person depending on how it interacts with the body. We sat Tom in a reasonably relaxed 'hoods' position, reflecting an all-day riding position, so that the helmet would sit higher away from his body to minimise this connection. 

We also understand that there are other factors that come into play when buying an aero road bike helmet. For example, how well it will protect you in the event of a crash, how comfortable it is, its ventilation properties, its weight, its style, and how well it plays with glasses are just some of the other factors you should consider when deciding which to choose.

The results

For each helmet, we will list the CdA for all four yaw angles, along with the average and an accompanying line graph. We will order the helmets using the average from fastest to slowest. 

We will then use it to calculate the power required to ride at 30km/h (18.64mph), 40km/h (24.85mph), and 50km/h (31.07mph) using the following calculation: 

We will also calculate the expected speed if riding at 250 watts and 350 watts using the following calculation: 

We will then apply this speed to calculate how long it would take to cover a 40km course. The calculation for this assumes ideal conditions and so factors such as wind, elevation, cornering, drivetrain efficiency, rolling resistance, acceleration, etc are all totally equal. Again, we're highlighting the differences here, we're not interested in absolute values. 

The results in brief

Detailed results, ordered by average CdA

1. Poc Procen Air (w/ Visor)

• Buy Procen Air at POC Sports

The winner of the Cyclingnews wind tunnel aero helmets test, when you consider the average CdA across the four yaw angles, is the POC Procen Air complete with visor. 

It's the helmet that the EF Education-EasyPost men's team and EF Education-Cannondale women's team have been using in the WorldTour this season, and was designed in conjunction with riders from the team. 

It's unsurprising because the Procen Air is probably better described as a time trial helmet adapted for the road. Aesthetically, it doesn't conform to what most people would describe as an aero helmet, and to be totally honest, you might feel a little bit silly if you turned up to a local club ride wearing one. If you were to hold 250 watts for a 40km time trial, it would save you 55 seconds compared to the slowest helmet in our test, or if you were to ride at 40km/h, it would save you 12.76 watts.

On average, it is seven seconds faster over 40km than the 2nd place S-Works Evade III when riding at 250w. It is also 10 seconds faster with the visor than without it. 

However, when you look closer at the CdA data at the specific yaw angles, the winning margin becomes a little more blurred. At both 0 degrees of yaw (ie no crosswind at all) and 15 degrees of yaw (quite a lot of crosswind), the Procen Air performs excellently, but in between at 5 and 10 degrees, the S-Works Evade III edges ahead. 

2. Specialized S-Works Evade III

• Buy S-Works Evade III at Specialized

Second place goes to the Specialized S-Works Evade III, with an average CdA of 0.3523. This is a solid performance and, given the TT heritage and divisive aesthetic of the POC Procen Air, it's perhaps the helmet that many people will consider the one to buy. 

Compared to the slowest on test, the Evade III will save you 47 seconds in a 40km TT (at 250 watts). However, when compared to the Procen, you'll be eight seconds slower, and have to put out an extra 1.8 watts to hold 40km/h. With that said, the data at 5 and 10 degrees of yaw actually put the Specialized on top, so the reality is likely less clear cut. 

3. POC Procen Air w/out Visor

• Buy Procen Air at POC Sports

Interestingly, when you remove the POC Procen Air's visor, it's still among the quickest helmets in our test, but with an average CdA of 0.3529, you give away 10 seconds in that 40km TT, or you need to pedal 2.3 watts harder to achieve 40km/h. 

Of course, wearing the visor might increase the temperature, and this data doesn't account for any changes to your comfort or core temperature, so there are caveats to the result. 

4. Scott Cadence

• Buy Cadence Plus at Scott Sports

Next up, rolling into an impressive fourth place is the recently renewed Scott Cadence with an average CdA of 0.3531. This is the helmet that the Team DSM Firmenich Post NL team have been wearing this season, and was worn by Pfeiffer Georgi to her first ever Paris-Roubaix podium.

This will save you 10.29 watts at 40km/h when compared to the slowest on test, or if you were to hold 250 watts in our arbitrary 40km time trial, you'd arrive at the finish 44 seconds sooner. However, you'd finish three seconds slower than if you had worn the S-Works Evade above. 

5. Van Rysel FCR

• Buy Van Rysel FCR at Decathlon

Sneaking into a very close and hugely impressive fifth place is the Van Rysel FCR, with an average CdA of 0.3531; exactly the same as the Scott Cadence. 

We had to list them in order, though, so we went down to more decimal places to split these two, but what it means in the real world is that either helmet offers almost identical aero performance. Looking at the specific yaw angles, the Cadence is marginally faster at 0, 5 and 10, but when the crosswinds start to blow, it stalls and the FCR steps up. 

However, one very big factor to bear in mind is the price. At just £89.99, this helmet undercuts most others on the test by a significant margin. The Cadence will set you back almost three times as much, while the winning helmet in this test is more than FOUR times more expensive at £360.00. 

If you're looking for aero performance at a price, this has to be on your list. 

6. Giro Eclipse

• Buy Eclipse Spherical at Giro

Next up, rolling into 6th place is another surprise performer. The Giro Eclipse, which looks more like a vented helmet than a dedicated aero helmet, but in our testing, it performed well with an average CdA of 0.3541. 

This would save you 40 seconds versus the slowest on test in a 40km time trial, but would lose you 14 seconds when compared to the winner. 

We opted to include this helmet over the visor-fitted-Vanquish as Giro itself says that it's the faster of the two, and we've not seen many stores selling the Vanquish lately, though Giro hasn't officially discontinued it. In my own experience, the ventilation of the Specialized is leagues ahead, but aerodynamically the Giro would save you a not-insignificant 3.87 watts at 40km/h. 

7. Trek Ballista

• Buy Ballista MIPS at Trek Bikes

In 7th place is the latest version of the Trek Ballista, an aero helmet that undoubtedly shouts 'aero' in the way that it looks. The performance doesn't quite match its unashamed aesthetic against a few of the others here, but with an average CdA of 0.3542, it will save you 9.38 watts compared to the slowest on test at 40km/h, and 40 seconds in a 40km TT. 

8. Trek Velocis

• Buy Velocis MIPS at Trek Bikes

Perhaps more of a surprising result in the Trek camp is the Velocis, with an average CdA of 0.3549. This means it will finish just three seconds slower than the Ballista, or you'd need to generate a little over half a watt more to sustain 40km/h. 

Given its unashamed aero shape with long tail, we'd hazard a guess that the Ballista would test faster in a more aggressive aero position, so it might still be the helmet of choice for solo breakaway artists, but for those of you riding in multiple positions in varying conditions, this is a great choice. 

9. Julbo Sprint

• Buy Sprint at Julbo

In 9th place, rolling comfortably at the front end of a mid-table finish, is the French brand Julbo with its Sprint helmet, with an average CdA of 0.3560. This helmet is being used by the Groupama FDJ men's team this season, and compared to some of the other models shown here, is a reasonably priced affair at €149.90. 

Interestingly, Groupama were wearing Giro Eclipse helmets before partnering with Julbo, and based on our testing, that move cost them around three watts (at the faster peloton speeds of 50km/h), although we understand that different riders in different positions may see different results. 

10. Kask Utopia Y

• Buy Utopia Y at Kask

In 10th place is the first of two helmets from Italian brand Kask, with the Utopia Y aero helmet. 

The Utopia Y is the minimally updated version of the original Utopia helmet, which has been around for more than five years, so given the age of the design it's maybe not a massive surprise to see it struggle to challenge the newer products. 

Compared to the winning POC Procen Air, you'd need to generate an additional 5.1 watts to sustain 40km/h. Bump that up to 50km/h and that difference grows to nearly 10 watts. Compared to the more road-style S-Works Evade III, you'd finish a 40km time trial 15 seconds off the pace. 

With all that said, Kask has a new aero helmet on the way. Rumours tell us that it's called the Nirvana, but you probably know it as 'the one that comes down over the ears'. It's been in use by Ineos Grenadiers so far this season, and despite our best attempts to get hold of a sample for this test, neither Kask or Ineos were able to help. 

11. Lazer Vento Kineticore

• Buy Vento KinetiCore at Lazer Sport

Just missing out on a top-10 performance is the Shimano offshoot, Lazer, with its Vento Kineticore helmet. The Kineticore brings some novel ideas to the helmet design table, not least the Kineticore technology itself, which moulds the internal EPS foam into blocks that can shear and break in the event of a crash, offering superior rotational impact protection when compared to a standard EPS construction, as well as additional airflow inside. 

It also replaces the dial retention tightening system with a 'Scrollsys' rolling belt that's integrated cleanly into the back of the helmet, as well as a twist-in rear light that adds versatility for those riding beyond daylight hours. 

It might not be the fastest helmet on this test, but it's far from the slowest and there are a handful of other reasons to buy it. 

12. MET Manta

• Buy Manta at MET Helmets

Given MET sponsor the UAE Team Emirates squad, the MET Manta is commonly seen atop the head of Slovenian superstar, Tadej Pogačar. It comes with a MIPS liner, albeit the less inconspicuous variant that puts a physical liner between the head and the EPS foam. 

The result here is somewhat surprising, given Met has access to its own wind tunnel, but we'll take a second here to remind everyone that the results may vary slightly from rider to rider. 

With that said, our test puts the Manta into 12th place, which is a solid mid-table result and one that beats out helmets much pricier and much more geared towards the aero design. 

13. Smith Ignite

• Buy Ignite MIPS at Smith Optics

In 13th place, the Smith Ignite stands out for one main reason: Koroyd. While some helmets employ MIPS for rotational impact protection, and others create their own designs, such as Lazer's Kineticore, Smith looks to Koroyd. 

This is a material that resembles a collection of straws bunched together, and it is said to allow shearing and compression at various angles, to increase safety. In our experience, it does come with downsides though, including a reduced airflow and an inability to scratch your head. 

Regardless, the Ignite has landed a mid-table result here, which is pretty decent given it's been on the market for around half a decade already.

14. Sweet Protection Tucker 2VI

• Buy Tucker 2Vi at Sweet Protection

We're into the bottom half of the table now, but the Sweet Protection Tucker 2VI is still faster than 11 other helmets on this test, which is no mean feat. The Tucker is a reasonably enclosed helmet with two small vents at the front. One dries out the brow, while the other reduces pressure at the centre-most point. There's also a slot at the top to take advantage of the Venturi effect. It's borne out of the Tucker time trial helmet, but with the visor removed and a slight redesign. 

It boasts MIPS's nicely inconspicuous Air Node system for added impact protection but the minuscule dial at the rear lets it down, as can be a bit tough to grasp, especially when wearing gloves. 

Compared to the fastest on test, you'll be giving away just shy of six watts at 40km/h, or tackle a 40km at 250 watts and you'll lose around 25 seconds. That's a not insignificant amount of time, but still, a greater gap separates the Tucker 2VI and the slowest on test. 

15. Kask Elemento

• Buy Elemento at Kask

The helmet of choice for many of the Ineos Grenadiers team, the Kask Elemento is the next era of helmet design, according to the brand. A carbon fibre shell replaces traditional EPS foam, which means it can offer similar levels of impact protection with significantly less bulk. Elsewhere, 3D-printed pads replace traditional foam pads, and with their lattice-like construction, the airflow inside is improved.

The Elemento is a very expensive helmet, and there are a few good reasons to buy it, but all-out aero speed isn't its forte. A Kask spokesperson told Cyclingnews that this isn't a dedicated aero helmet, as its rounded shape suggests, and that it would land somewhere between the aero Utopia Y and the airy Valegro. We didn't test the Valegro, but the mid-table performance here suggests Kask was right. 

16. Limar Air Atlas

• Buy Air Atlas at Limar

We're definitely getting more into the realm of all-rounder helmets now, rather than dedicated aero lids, but the Air Atlas is still touted as a go-faster helmet by Limar, so the brand might be a little disheartened by our results. 

This is the helmet you'll find atop the head of many of the Astana Qazaqstan riders, and as such, the man who kicked off aero helmets all those years ago, Mark Cavendish (he wore a helmet with an aero shell to cover the vents when winning the World Championships in 2011). 

With Cavendish in mind, for a bit of fun, I calculated a 200-metre sprint – at a flat average of 1500 watts – in the POC Procen Air (with visor) against the Limar Air Atlas. With everything else equal, by the time the Procen Air had completed the 200 metres, the Air Atlas would be 1.43 metres behind – a definite winning margin.

17. Abus Gamechanger 2.0

• Buy Gamechanger 2.0 at Abus

The very helmet used by Mathieu van der Poel, the Gamechanger 2.0 helmet is a definite aero-first helmet, so the results here were a bit of a surprise. 

I have personally had a great experience using, racing and generally owning the original Gamechanger helmet, and the 2.0 appears to be an improvement on that, but in this particular test, it didn't perform as well as we'd have thought, losing around 6.6 watts against the Procen Air.

18. Oakley ARO7 w/out Visor

• Buy ARO7 at Oakley

If you worry about looking silly in the Procen Air – you and me both – then the Oakley ARO7 takes the prize. Carrying more of a commuter helmet aesthetic, the ARO7 is chunky, and although that does add to the sense of protection, it unfortunately also adds to the drag coefficient.

Notably, unlike the Procen Air, this helmet is faster without the visor than with it, but in both guises, it's still firmly in the bottom third of our table, and would require exactly seven more watts to hold 40km/h.

19. Carnac Evo

• Buy Carnac Evo at Planet X

The Carnac Evo is our leftfield inclusion, because unlike all the other helmets here that cost a not-insignificant sum of money (the cheapest being the Van Rysel at £89.99), this one cost just £19.99 plus shipping. 

We included it because we wanted to see what the difference between 'cheap' and 'expensive' are, and see whether spending hundreds of pounds/dollars/etc is actually necessary. 

The answer, unfortunately for those of us on a shoestring budget, is yes on multiple counts. Aerodynamically, it's not the slowest helmet on test, but it's certainly one of them. At low yaw angles, the Carnac Evo does stand up well against the competitors, but once the wind angle grew, its CdA rocketed. 

However, there are a couple of big caveats to this learning. Firstly, anyone who's been around for a few years will see this the resemblance of the original S-Works Evade helmet here. I'm not here to speculate on how the design came to find its way into a Carnac helmet, but the reality is, Specialized knows how to make an aero helmet, so this is perhaps not the fairest representation of your generic 'cheap' helmet as a comparison to the expensive models. 

The second caveat is that the quality of the helmet's construction feels in line with the low price tag. For example, upon removing it from its box, a large piece of surplus EPS foam broke off in my hands, and upon trying it on, there were two significant pressure points between the top of my head and the helmet. Of course, your mileage may vary, but I would recommend trying before you buy. 

20. Specialized S-Works Prevail III

• Buy S-Works Prevail III at Specialized

Another leftfield inclusion here, the S-Works Prevail III is anything but an 'aero' helmet by design, with huge gaping vents up front. 

Why include it then? We wanted to get a feel for the difference between an 'aero' helmet and an 'airy' helmet, to see what gains you get when you make such a switch. The answer, in the case of the S-Works Prevail III against the S-Works Evade III, is 24 seconds over 40km when riding at 250 watts. 

Thinking of a sprinter, if the likes of Tim Merlier were to choose the Prevail instead of the Evade, they'd be giving away 1.22 metres in a 200-metre, 1500w sprint. Things get a bit more complicated when the temperatures climb, though, because the Prevail is much cooler (temperature-wise; I'm not the best judge of fashion) and a cooler core temperature could result in better power output, which offsets the aero gain multiple times over. 

21. Rudy Project Nytron

• Buy Nytron at Rudy Project

We're getting into the final few now, and interestingly, despite this pretty poor result, Rudy Project says its Nytron helmet was developed in a wind tunnel with help from aero experts Swiss Side. It's unclear exactly what input Swiss Side had, nor what tests were used in the development, but I'm not one to doubt their credentials. 

Instead, let this be a reminder that our data is simply a reflection of our tests – not the final word on performance – but aims to provide an impartial stream of data against a backdrop of wider context, that can hopefully help our readers. 

With that said, at 40km/h, 7.24 watts separate the Nytron and the Procen Air, while a still significant 5.51 watts separate it from the slowest on test. 

22. Oakley ARO7 w/ Visor

• Buy ARO7 at Oakley

We've already touched on the ARO7 above, and here we get the result of the same helmet with the visor attached, scoring an average CdA of 0.3607. The visor itself is quite a sizeable thing, it curves laterally around the head, but doesn't really curve in the vertical plane, meaning it provides quite a large surface area to catch the wind and add drag to your ride. 

23. Uvex Rise Pro

• Buy Rise Pro at Uvex

Uvex is the helmet you'll see atop the heads of the Intermarché-Wanty 2024 team. It's very evidently an all-rounder helmet rather than a dedicated aero lid, but we chose to include it because we wanted to include as many of the WorldTour sponsors' helmet options as possible. 

Naturally, the likes of Biniam Girmay and co will be disheartened to see that - in our tests - they're giving away around eight watts at the traditional racing speeds (40km/h) and more as the speeds grow, but with five wins and a handful more podiums under their belt so far this season, it doesn't seem to be harming them too much. 

24. POC Ventral Tempus

• Buy Ventral Tempus at POC Sports

Interestingly, while the winner of this test is POC with the Procen Air (visor), the Swedish brand also finds itself at the bottom too, with the Ventral Tempus and the standard Ventral, below. 

Focussing on the Tempus for a second, the performance here held a solid mid-table result at lower yaw angles, before ballooning at a 15-degree wind angle. This is perhaps due to the unconventional approach of simply taking an existing helmet and adding a cover. 

It's worth saying that the Ventral Tempus isn't first and foremost an aero helmet. It was created as a helmet for bad weather in response to the UCI banning add-on helmet covers, which pro riders tended to do in the rain. 

The theory was that adding the cover also benefitted the aero performance, and while that's proven true, it's not by much, with a saving of 2.6 watts. 

25. POC Ventral

• Buy Ventral at POC Sports

It'll be mixed feelings for the Swedish brand, POC, whose Procen Air helmet lands squarely at the top of this test, while the Ventral lands at the very opposite end. 

There has to be a loser though, and last, but by no means least, comes the brand's former flagship aero model with an average CdA of 0.3656. Although, it was never a die-hard aero helmet, and more a refined version of the POC Ventral Air all-rounder. 

Looking at the graph, like the Ventral Tempus, it held a reasonably decent performance at the lower yaw angles, before stepping up in a big way at 10 degrees. Interestingly it came back into the realm of the competitors at 15 degrees.

Interestingly, at the launch of the Procen Air, POC said it saved 18 watts at "racing speeds," which it positioned at 30 to 60km/h. We've got the CdA here, so running the maths between the two helmets, you get a difference of 5.38 watts at the relatively sedate 30km/h, and a huge difference of 43 watts at 60km/h, with the caveat that at those speeds, the yaw angle would be consistently close to zero, and the rider position would need to be significantly more aerodynamic than our relaxed, relatively upright testing position. 

The conclusions

There we have it, 23 helmets, 25 tests, and a whole heap of numbers for data nerds to feast upon, but what did we learn?

1. You don't have to be a pro to make savings

While we did the test at 40km/h, it's the power differential at slower speeds that I think stand out more. Riding at 40km/h on your own will be tough. Not unfeasible for an amateur racer, but tough. When you do ride that fast, you'll probably be riding in a bunch, where the aerodynamic importance is reduced by the reduction in wind force. While an aero helmet is still beneficial, the real-world difference will be smaller than if you were in a time trial or a solo breakaway.

However, most keen amateurs will be able to hold 30km/h for extended periods of time, and the difference on offer here at that speed is around 5.4 watts. For someone with a 270-watt FTP, that's a 2% bump in performance simply by swapping helmet. That's significant, and a saving that most amateurs will be able to get. 

With that said, a pro rider in a breakaway at 50km/h stands to save nearly 25 watts between the POC Ventral and the POC Procen Air. The one caveat here is that we're using CdA data pulled from a relaxed riding position rather than an aero-hoods breakaway position, so it's not perfectly transferable, but POC-sponsored EF riders should still take note.

2. Helmets save more than wheels

Some of you might recall that we went to a wind tunnel back in 2022 to test mid-depth road wheels. The winner of that test was the DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut, at 62mm deep. Compared to the slowest on test, they would save you 3.87 watts at 40km/h. Those wheels are in the region of £2,300, while the 2nd place Hunt Limitless 60 wheels were 1.9 watts slower and around half the price. 

Of course, if you put your money into some new wheels, there might be other benefits like weight, and improved tyre interaction which can lead to improved grip and rolling resistance. Alternatively, you could spend less than 10% of that cash on a helmet and get significantly greater aerodynamic gains. Who's saying you can't do both?!

As always, the gains on the table are totally dependent on what you're starting with, so common sense shall prevail. 

3. Aero design isn't always aero

On visual inspection, comparing the Rudy Project Nytron with the Specialized Prevail, and everyone would assume the Nytron is the faster helmet. It has a closed-off front with just a couple of vents, while the Prevail is arguably more vent than helmet, but the results speak for themselves. It's a notable trend throughout our results. The all-rounder Giro Eclipse eclipsed (pun very much intended) dedicated aero lids like the Sweet Protection Tucker, and the Trek Velocis was only a fraction slower than its aero stablemate the Ballista. 

I think on the balance of averages, the aero design does win out overall, but don't assume that just because it looks aero, it actually is. 

4. Sort out your straps

On researching for this article, I met with a helmet designer who spoke about the aerodynamic and safety penalty of loose helmet straps. You could spend hours toiling over choosing which helmet to buy, only to undo all the gains by having a strap that flaps in the wind. From a safety standpoint a properly fitted strap makes sense, even if you don't care about aero gains. 

5. Don't negate fit

The last takeaway is more of a PSA than a learning, per se, but an important one nonetheless. You are buying a helmet because wearing one is safer than not wearing one, and an ill-fitting helmet isn't safe. 

If a helmet saves you six watts, but doesn't do its primary job of protecting you in a crash, those six watts might quickly seem incredibly trivial, so when you're buying a helmet, feel free to use these numbers as a guide, but not as gospel. If a helmet doesn't fit, feels a bit wobbly, or blocks your vision, try another one that does. 

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Helmets with built in visors aren’t new tech, though since the Giro Air Attack in 2017, no brand has really tried to fill this particular niche, confining the visor to the track and in time trials. 

Recently though it seems the road helmet visor is having something of a renaissance. Oakley recently released its ARO7 road helmet, complete with Prizm Road magnetic visor, and POC is hot on its heels with its new Procen Air, released today.

It’s no great secret, as we’ve seen it in use as early in the season as the Tour Down Under, but we can now give you all the juicy details on what is already a helmet that has split opinion, both in the office and in the comments section.

Time trial tech

You don’t need to be a well-heeled cycling tech journo to work out that this helmet is derived from POC’s well-established experience in time trial and pursuit helmets. The truncated teardrop shape means the leading edges have all the aerodynamic efficiency of a TT lid, without falling foul of the UCI’s pesky rules on maximum helmet lengths. 

The smooth form, especially with the integrated visor attached, clearly have wind-cheating in mind, but curiously the three vents at the front are said to make the whole package faster. Positioned as they are absolutely at the leading edge of the cyclist's frontal area, especially in a full aero tuck, they sit right at the high-pressure zone. POC says adding the vents both drains the high pressure zone making the whole helmet faster, and has the added benefit of aiding cooling. The truncated rear end helps create a low-pressure zone to further enhance the airflow and improve the efficiency.

Naturally, the clear visual focus on speed may mean consumers don’t see it as a viable option for general use, but if the wattage claims are to be believed, there are big gains to be had. POC claims that at race speeds of between 30 and 60km/h, the Procen Air is 18 watts more aerodynamic than its Ventral all-rounder model. 

Luckily for you, we have both of these helmets and access to a wind tunnel, so will be reporting back with our own data shortly.

Magnets and hearing aids

Producing a time trial helmet is one thing, but for the road where riders are in the bunch, compromises to both sound and vision are far less tolerable than when a solo rider is against the clock. 

The ear flaps, similar to those we saw on an unreleased new Kask helmet in the early season too, are not just there to help keep fresh air away from turbulent ears. Partially occluding the ear with a flap apparently also drastically reduces the wind noise and therefore enhances the ability of the rider to hear while riding at max pace. 

In much the same way as on the Oakley ARO7, the visor on the Procen Air is removable, held in place with magnets, and can be stowed away on a second set of magnets. In this case, the magnetic visor garage is at the rear of the helmet, tucked out of the wind. A clear lens is included too, and the main lens is the same Clarity lens used in the brand's sunglasses. 

Curiously it seems to buck the trend of POC’s recent helmet releases by not coming with a MIPS system.

Pricing and availability

Three sizes are available covering head sizes from 50cm to 61cm. There are only white and black colour options, unless you are an EF rider, and if you want to purchase one it’ll set you back €400 / £360 / $400. The weight for a medium helmet is 350g.

Remco Evenepoel has described the UCI’s decision to ban the Specialized ‘Head Sock’ time trial helmet as “laughable” and warned that moving the goalposts on equipment rules would turn riders against the governing body.

On Tuesday afternoon, the UCI issued a statement announcing a ban on the head sock used in Specialized TT5 helmet, which was first worn at the 2022 Tour de France and which Evenepoel wore en route to the world time trial title last year. Evenepoel and his Soudal-QuickStep teammates also used the head sock helmets in Tuesday’s team time trial at Paris-Nice. Their use will be forbidden in UCI events from April 2 onwards.

In the same communiqué, the UCI also announced that it would carry out an “in-depth analysis” of its rules on helmets in response to the striking Giro Aerohead II time trial helmet used by Visma-Lease A Bike at Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice this week.

"It's laughable," Evenepoel told Sporza ahead of stage 4 of Paris-Nice. "There are rules around brake levers, but I still see riders riding around with their brake levers tilting inwards.

"Two years ago, they authorised our helmet, and now they’re taking it out. I kind of feel like they want to play with our balls. It's not very friendly what they're doing. There are other teams that are almost riding with a time trial helmet in the peloton. I’m thinking of EF Education-EasyPost. They’re dragging cycling into the ridiculous and they’re making all the riders turn against the UCI.”

In a statement on Tuesday evening, Specialized had outlined its dismay at the UCI ruling, saying: “Specialized is disappointed in this decision as it greatly impacts our riders and teams that have spent a significant amount of time preparing with the equipment that was UCI approved.”

Speaking to reporters before stage 4 of Paris-Nice, Evenepoel also revisited his comments regarding his former teammate Tim Declercq in the aftermath of the previous afternoon’s team time trial.

Evenepoel had expressed irritation that Declercq, now of Lidl-Trek, had impeded Soudal-QuickStep when he was caught and passed during the stage, though he apologised to his former companion in a post on Strava later on Tuesday. Speaking to ITV ahead of stage 4, Evenepoel placed his comments in context.

“You never should take away the character of a person. It’s how I am and I often say what I feel in my stomach or my heart,” he said. “It’s the way I react after a race often, but I also know it’s not 100% what I mean. I don’t regret what I said, it’s just the way I said it.

And Tim also knows he was riding in the way and he apologised for that as well. We shared some messages, we spoke together and we will speak in the bunch. Everything will be forgotten.”

Although Kask, launched in 2004, is a relatively new brand compared to some of its competitors, the name is very well known. Like other brands of the time, it's fair to say that Kask enjoyed a surge in popularity due to an association with Team Sky. The nameplate has graced the heads of the British WorldTour squad for the entirety of its existence and continues through to today under the Ineos Grenadiers team name. As the Tour de France wins stacked up, the iconic black and blue became almost synonymous with the Italian brand but success has been further reaching. 

As Kask enjoyed the boost in visibility, it was a commitment to innovation and safety that secured the name in the minds of the public. Our list of the best road bike helmets also reflects that product-first focus with Kask securing a position for multiple models over the years. In early 2023 when Kask pushed out a helmet unlike any other called the Kask Elemento, it once again made the list. 

I've had the Elemento since last summer and after wearing it for long hours covering multiple countries, I'm ready to talk about it. The Elemento is both an evolution and a revolution. Details are not only unusual in the Kask lineup but completely unique in the market and bordering on experimental. It's an all-around helmet that works for a wide variety of riding but is it right for you? If you are looking for a new road helmet this summer keep reading for more information about this innovative option. 

Design and aesthetics

In many ways, the Elemento is an evolution of the Kask Protone Icon which itself was an evolution of the original Protone. Unlike the Icon though, the Elemento is not a replacement. Both the Protone Icon and the Elemento will continue to exist alongside each other in the Kask product lineup. You can think of the Elemento as both an upgrade and a flagship vehicle for highlighting pinnacle technologies. 

Hold the Icon and the Elemento next to each other it's clear to see the similarities. The two do have some aesthetic differences but you'll need a sharp eye to spot them. To really understand the difference you have to look deeper into the design. 

From the outside that starts with a series of carbon composite plates called Fluid Carbon 12. There are six colour options for the Elemento but, whatever you choose, the Fluid Carbon 12 plates retain a satin naked carbon look. They sit in contrast to the surrounding high-gloss colour and they are there as a structural replacement that saves volume compared to traditional EPS (expanded polystyrene) foam.

The Fluid Carbon 12 design works by creating a shell that moves to absorb impact. Unlike EPS, which is typically 25-30mm and designed to compress to absorb impact, Fluid Carbon 12 is only 1mm thick. In the event of a crash, the plates shift and move to absorb impact through a series of joints that connect each of the pieces into a system. It's a system that seems to work given the five-star Virginia Tech rating but Kask isn't using it only to be novel.

EPS foam is already a proven option, and it's presumably cheaper, so why invent something new? The answer is all about temperature control and aerodynamics. Or, perhaps more accurately, it's all about saving space in the helmet. By switching to a material that's roughly 25 times thinner, Kask buys space inside the Elemento for airflow.

Modern aero helmets often optimise internal airflow but Kask takes this to another level. The space saved by the carbon plates is now mostly empty space. This is in combination with smaller front openings and 3D-printed padding that allows air to flow right through its open structure. The 3D-printed "multipod" padding also helps manage rotational impacts similarly to MIPS technologies or Koroyd. The result is a claimed 1.5% aerodynamic advantage over the Icon as well as better thermal regulation.

Performance

The Kask Elemento is a collection of novel technologies and features. As a package they mean a higher price and great headlines about 3D-printed pads or carbon fibre plates in the exterior. In use though, that's really not the experience. For better, or worse, the experience of riding with the Kask Elemento helmet is all about the traditional technologies. 

As I carried the Elemento to Czech where I set an FKT riding from Prague to Vienna on a gold-plated bike, over and over it was the rear cradle that I noticed. What Kask does with the rear cradle on the Elemento, and to be fair the Protone Icon as well, is use a design the brand refers to as Octofit+. The main advantage of the design is how wide it is and how much adjustment there is in the vertical plane. 

To start with, the Elemento rear cradle is wider than most and it's substantial. There's no adjustability to the occipital pads but they sit well out to the left and right and wrap around almost to the base of the ear. On the inside, there's dense foam for padding and connecting through the centre is a substantial bar that houses the adjusting dial. The dial connects to floating adjustment pieces that connect near the temples and are also somewhat substantial. While it's possible to push the retention system, cradle included, into the helmet for storage, there's limited flex in the other direction. 

What you do find in the other direction is tons of adjustability. You can pull the rear cradle down roughly 50mm. As you do so there's a large hole with plenty of room for long hair but there's also a forward flex. Obviously, you still need to tighten the dial to match the size of your head but it's not the dial that's doing the majority of the work. The lack of flex and arrangement of the pieces keeps the various pieces of plastics that make up the cradle and adjustment pieces feeling wrapped around your head without pressure. 

When you add all of these design details together, you end up with a helmet that stays put in a way that is essentially unheard of. Typically every helmet, even the ones I love, move around a bit on the brow. This is especially pronounced as you climb in the heat and you find yourself pulling a hand away from the bars to give a little push at the front of the helmet. If you hate that, the Elemento completely solves the issue. That said, I'd be remiss if I didn't share that the Kask Protone Icon offers that same experience for less money. 

That leaves the rest of the Elemento design as your decision maker for which helmet you want to choose. Since the carbon fibre plates aren't something you can feel on their own, that leaves a big part of the decision resting on the 3D printed pads. Fortunately, that's not a terrible thing. Those pads are brilliant. Even on the longest days, I spent 20-hours in this helmet, they remain comfortable and, as you'd expect, sweat free.  

Although much of the marketing copy about how ventilated the Elemento is seems to have disappeared, it is still a big part of the helmet. The pads are up higher and farther back in a spot that you probably don't think about as getting drenched but moving air through the pads is a big deal. As big a deal as it is though, this is still an aero helmet or at least an aero-lite helmet. Compared to the Protone Icon, the overall ventilation isn't a huge upgrade. Instead, it's a behind-the-scenes upgrade and you get similar ventilation with upgraded aero numbers. Basically a slight ventilation upgrade with smaller openings in the helmet.

Those pads are also just really comfortable. What you end up noticing is that they are so comfortable that the standard pads stand out as a downgrade. The brow pad especially is soft and comfortable against your forehead but it becomes a bit of a sponge. Squeezing out the brow pad of a helmet on a hot day isn't new for me but as you notice how fantastic the 3D printed pads are you wonder, why not this one too?

On the upside, the deep recesses that are so good at funnelling air through the inside of the helmet are also great at securely holding your sunglasses in certain situations. The truth is I almost relayed that it was a completely secure glasses storage solution on par with Sweet Protection Falconer 2Vi Mips but it's not quite that good in every situation. I happened to have used it with the POC Propel which has curved ends to the arms. Glasses that have a curved end to the arms, like the POC, can be flipped upside down and once slid in are out of the way and secure. Straight arms glasses are a bit more hit-and-miss. Some fit into the lower outside vents, some don’t. 

Verdict

There's no getting around the price of the Kask Elemento. I'm not always opposed to a company offering an expensive product and letting the market decide. The challenge here is that the Elemento and Protone Icon are so close. What I noticed most about the Elemento when I spent time using it is how secure it is on your head. I loved that I didn't have to constantly fiddle with the brow as I was climbing on a hot day. It's solid, secure, and comfortable without ever having to think about it. Unfortunately the reasons for that aren't specific to the Elemento. 

So if you want to save a bit of money, the Kask Protone Icon is still an excellent choice. You also get a faux leather strap. Something Kask has a reputation for, and some people love, but the Elemento switched away from. This all leaves the question of why spend the extra money for the Elemento?

To answer that, you have to think about what makes sense to you. Spending the extra money buys a more aero design with better thermal management. You won't be able to feel the aero benefits and the thermal management is hardly drastic. The option is yours though. The Elemento is the best all-around helmet that Kask currently offers and it's among the best on the market. 

Just hours after Team Visma-Lease a Bike broke the internet with the unveiling of the beyond-wild Giro Aerohead II time trial helmet, the UCI has issued a statement, announcing it will carry out an "in-depth analysis" of its rules governing time trial helmet design. 

Within the statement, it announced it is banning the 'Head Sock' which features inside Specialized's TT5 helmet, first shown at the 2022 Tour de France and used regularly by sponsored riders since. 

Over recent years, time trial helmets have gotten weirder. They're bigger, wider, and more bulbous than ever as engineers and aerodynamicists attempt to push the boundaries of the rulebook to find free speed.

That culminated in Giro unveiling a helmet with a huge protruding leading edge, sitting some 20cm higher than the wearer's head, while shrouding the rider's shoulders, essentially pushing air smoothly around the rider's body. It's a technique that other brands have employed, too. For example, the Sweet Protection Redeemer 2Vi, which is used by Uno-X Pro Cycling, and the POC Tempor, used by multiple teams. Elsewhere, Ineos Grenadiers, who use the less radical Kask Bambino Pro, have been known to upsize their helmet - essentially wearing one that's a few sizes too big - to achieve a similar effect, while adding wind deflectors to the lens.

The UCI's statement, which bears the title 'The UCI to carry out an in-depth analysis of the regulations governing the design and use of time trial helmets,' begins by saying that "the constant quest for improved performance and ever-increasing attention given to detail is leading professional teams and equipment manufacturers to develop their equipment more often and with ever more radical designs."

Evidently, this process was already underway before the social media storm that surrounded the Visma-Lease a Bike team on the opening stage of Tirreno Adriatico, as the statement continues to say that the UCI has already Specialized that it had undertaken a review of its latest helmet.

 "After conducting a thorough process, which included consultation with Specialized, as well as examination of documentation linked to the helmet’s certification, safety instructions, and information from public sources, it was concluded that the Head Sock is a “non-essential” component (article 1.3.033 of the UCI Regulations).

"As a result, the Head Sock integrated into the TT5 helmet will no longer be permitted for use at events on the UCI International Calendar, effective from 2 April, 2024."

Specialized responds

Cyclingnews reached out to Specialized for comment on the matter, and the brand expressed disappointment in the decision, which comes more than a year and a half after the product's first use, and which ultimately undoes months, if not years, of research and development.

"After 18 months of racing, the UCI has informed us of their decision to ban the head sock feature that is manufactured on the current TT5. Specialized is disappointed in this decision as it greatly impacts our riders and teams that have spent a significant amount of time preparing with the equipment that was UCI approved. We’ll continue pushing the boundaries of innovation to support our athletes with the highest performing product possible.”

"The primary function of a helmet"

The statement then turns its attention to the Giro helmet at the centre of the Visma Lease a Bike furore; the Rudy Project Windgream HL 85, which went comparatively under the radar on the heads of Bahrain Victorious riders; and the similarly radical POC Tempor. One presumes it will also encompass the aforementioned Sweet Protection Redeemer helmet too, although this model isn't explicitly named in the statement.  

"The UCI acknowledges that while this may not directly contravene existing UCI Regulations, it raises a significant issue concerning the current and wider trend in time trial helmet design, which focuses more on performance than the primary function of a helmet, namely to ensure the safety of the wearer in the event of a fall.

"In view of the evolution of these situations as well as other problems encountered in recent years, in relation to the requirement for commercial availability, the ban on non-essential components and the shape and size of time trial helmets, the UCI will undertake a review of its rules on the design and use of helmets in competition.

"By doing so, it wishes to ensure that they set a clear framework that is consistent with the objectives targeted. Any modification to these rules will be communicated rapidly after its adoption by the competent UCI bodies."

On a day when some of the WorldTour’s most keenly observed Grand Tour contenders were showing their early season form at Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice, it was striking that on Monday the majority of the cycling world’s attention was instead focused on what a handful of riders were wearing.

Visma-Lease a Bike showcased a hitherto unreleased Giro time trial helmet, named Aerohead II, which was so radical that the Cyclingnews tech team spent some time debating whether it was an AI-generated prank. After the initial wave of social media attention, though, more details have emerged about the highly enigmatic helmet.

"It's it's a very, very good helmet," team leader Jonas Vingegaard said after the finish. "I think it's very, very fast."

"We worked on it a lot in the last year," he added. "It's different, of course, but yeah, I mean, it's very fast. And I think that will be the future."

The helmet comes in the wake of years of dramatic time trial helmet designs, with the Specialized TT5, Sweet Protection Redeemer 2Vi, and POC Tempor all drawing attention over the last few seasons. However, Giro’s new Aerohead II has seen a far more dramatic reception.

The aesthetics no doubt have played the biggest part in this, with the tall visor marking a stark departure from any time trial helmet we have seen in the past.

Vingegaard was quick to dismiss the aesthetic criticism of the helmet, though.

"The thing in recent years, cycling has been going more, more and more away from aesthetics," Vingegaard said to Cyclingnews. "So yeah, this was just the next step. And there will be another step in the future as well."

One advantage of the Aerohead II's radical design is visibility, he said. "The visibility is better than previous helmets," Vingegaard said, arguing that with many time trial helmets, "You can't really see. But this one is like you have the whole [field of view]."

Comfort has also been an advantage with Vingegaard praising it as "more comfortable than other time trial helmets that I tried." He added, "Other ones are pushing a lot of places on the head. And this one is very comfortable."

According to Giro the helmet has seen considerable wind tunnel testing, and the name is an homage to the original Aerohead – worn by Greg Lemond in 1986 when he won the Tour de France by a slender margin of 8 seconds following a sensational final time trial performance. 

Given the extensive testing, Visma-Lease a Bike were familiar with the design well before yesterday's debut. "I've seen the helmet already in December and January. And yeah, so back then I had a bit of a laugh. But yeah, when you test it, when you see how fast it is, then you won't laugh anymore."

Team staff were also quick to praise the new helmet. "It's a new way of thinking about the aerodynamics of a helmet,” said Paul Martens, the Visma-Lease a Bike equipment manager in an interview with L’Équipe. "We truly think we have found a real improvement in our system for time trials.”

Frédéric Grappe, performance director at Groupama-FDJ also weighed in on the new helmet in a discussion with L'Équipe, highlighting the role of new UCI regulations on body position in time trials on the design of the helmet.

"Today, we are in extreme positions where we almost put our heads in our hands," he said. "The Visma helmet, if you look at it in profile, limits the entry of air between the head and the hands. While preserving good vision."

Grappe went on to highlight that a helmet works as a system with a rider, but that in the right circumstances, he suggested that an aerodynamically-optimised helmet like Giro's Aerohead II could render gains of one second per kilometre.

Despite the technological developments, Vingegaard found himself 22 seconds down on GC rival Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) in the opening time trial of Tirreno-Adriatico.

"He did a very good time trial beating, beating Ganna," Vingegaard said of his rival before he addressed the challenge of losing 22 seconds at the race's opening.

"Yeah, I mean, it's true 22 seconds, and I think you did a good time trial. And we'll just have to do what we can do in the next coming days to see if we can take back the time."

The helmet is due another outing today at Paris-Nice as the entire Visma-Lease A Bike squad – including Matteo Jorgenson and stage 1 winner Olav Kooij – are set to don the Aerohead II during the stage 3 team time trial.

In the world of time trial helmets, things have been getting weird for a couple of years now. But as of today, you can forget the Specialized TT5 and its accompanying 'head sock,' and you can forget the Sweet Protection Redeemer 2Vi which broke cover with Uno X last season. 

They both had a reputation for looking a little bit, well, mad, but thanks to Giro, there's now a whole other league.  

At the start of Tirreno Adriatico, the Giro-sponsored Visma-Lease a Bike team have unveiled the brand's latest model, complete with an enormous visor, massive protruding leading edge and wide wings at the rear. 

Like the other wild helmets of late, it is bulbous in its shape and size, but the defining feature is undoubtedly the extreme protruding leading edge, which extends upward from the rider by a good 20cm, perhaps even more. 

Covering the entire frontal face is a gigantic visor. We've seen images of this visor in both a tinted and clear finish, and can confirm it is removable. It wraps around the side of the helmet, no doubt increasing the peripheral vision of the rider, but perhaps more pertinently is that it continues upward right to the front of the leading 'point'. Given the ongoing discussion about riders' time trial positions reducing their ability to actually see the road ahead of them, this could well be a positive thing for safety, and it's good to see brands chasing more than just more aero. 

The top-down view shows a totally smooth leading edge, save for a small black wedge shape across the top. It's unclear what the purpose of this is, or whether it can be removed for airflow. 

It also shows a total width at the trailing edge that is about the same as the rider's shoulders - Attila Valter's, in this case.

An increased overall size is becoming common in time trial helmets as aerodynamicists look to push air off the smooth leading edge and around the rider's not-very-aerodynamic shoulders. 

The first to toy with this type of wild design was POC, whose Tempor helmet was first unveiled way back in 2012 ahead of the London Olympics. It fell out of favour very quickly, before gaining popularity among time triallists as the understanding of aerodynamics became more widespread. 

Over the past few years, that understanding has seemingly made its way back to engineers and designers, and the popularity has helped them create wilder designs to cheat the wind. 

At the 2022 Tour de France, Specialized unveiled the TT5, complete with internal 'headsock' which smoothed out the rider's faces. Notoriously unusual - some might say ugly - in its design, is garnered plenty of publicity for the brand, and for the big helmet movement. On the same day, Filippo Ganna rocked up with Kask's Bambino Pro, complete with an unusual lens deflector that helped further to push air around the rider's shoulders and body. 

Soon after, Sweet Protection, working in conjunction with the Uno-X Pro Cycling team, unveiled the Redeemer 2Vi to a similar amount of uproar and attention. We questioned if that was "the wildest one yet," and if it was, we're pretty confident this new Giro helmet has usurped it. 

Quite frankly, it has left the team here in the Cyclingnews office speechless, with one colleague likening it's tall frontal face to a "double-decker London bus," - probably not the aero accolade Giro was going for.

Regardless of our jestful opinion, Visma-Lease A Bike are notorious for testing every piece of equipment they use, and Jonas Vingegaard and company wouldn't be using it in today's opening time trial at the Italian week-long stage race if they weren't sure of its aero credentials.

While it's often the products at the very top of the tree that make the biggest headlines it’s perhaps those from the mid-range that are most relevant for the vast proportion of us. We have seen Specialized recently launch new Evade and Prevail helmets, aero- and vented-forward models respectively, today it has combined the attributes of both into an updated version of its second-tier Propero helmet. Alongside this, it’s also taken the form of the S-Works Torch shoe that we reviewed back in 2022 and released a Torch 3.0 and Torch 2.0 shoe to suit those on smaller budgets. 

All new Propero 4 helmet

It’s something of a rarity to find a product that’s not a brand's top tier that outperforms its pinnacle products, but in the case of the new Propero, we have that very situation… kind of. Specialized top-tier helmets are very distinct in their use cases; the Specialized Prevail is heavily vented, and the Evade is aerodynamic. The new Propero takes a lot of its design cues from the Evade, but adds some more venting and comes out more aerodynamic than the Previal model the brand claims.

Aerodynamics seems to have been at the forefront of the design team’s minds, as the press material leans heavily on new aero claims. Versus the current Evade the new Propero 4 is four Watts faster, or 15 seconds over 40km at 45kmh. Unsurprisingly it’s not going to challenge the brand’s aero model, but the form factor is certainly similar. From the front the Propero and the Evade look remarkably similar; it’s at the sides where the two diverge. 

The Propero is noticeably more vented than the Evade. Not as much as the Prevail, so as not to encroach on that USP either, but with two large side vents near the rear, and a rear section very much like the Prevail there is certainly some overlap. In much the same way as bikes are getting aero at the front and lightweight at the back, this helmet is getting aero at the front and very in the rear. 

Specialized has also used what it’s calling ‘micro channelling’ to enhance cooling. It’s hard to tell from the images we have seen how it is achieved, but Specialized claims that “2mm offset micro-channels” create turbulent air inside the helmet to aid cooling, akin to the action of a tumble dryer.

For a size medium, a full 30g has been shaved off the overall weight compared to the old model, clocking in at 290g. MIPS protection and a 5-star Virginia Tech rating round out the specs, alongside a price of $200 USD / $310 AUD / £165 / EUR 190.

Passing the Torch

The S-Works Torch shoes were certainly well received here at Cyclingnews. A 4.5-star review was only really marked down significantly for the value; at £385 / $450 / €440 they are a big investment. Since then we haven’t seen anything significant from the Torch range, besides a lace-up version in 2023.

Now Specialized has taken the same form factor of the S-Works Torch and applied it to two new models at lower price points, the Specialized Torch 3.0 and Torch 2.0.

The Torch 3.0 is pitched at enthusiasts, and visually it’s hard to tell apart from its S-Works cousin. Twin BOA Li2 dials take care of the fit, rather than the BOA S3 you get on the S-Works version, and an overall weight of 288g versus 220g (this is an EU42 vs EU43 so not absolutely a direct comparison, but it’s as close as we can find). 

Further down the Torch 2.0 is pitched more as an entry-level shoe, and takes the same form, last etc, but swaps the lower BOA dial for a velcro strap. The carbon sole is woven too, rather than unidirectional, and the outer is a single-layer synthetic material rather than the TPU and mesh construction found on the 3.0 and S-Works models. 

The 2.0 model will set you back $180 USD / $270 AUD / £165 / EUR 200, and the 3.0 $250 USD / $390 AUD / £210 / EUR 250.

In the world of modern cycling aerodynamics are king and the best aero helmets offer as much aero savings as a wheelset. In short, if you want to go fast, helmets matter and an aero helmet is a great way to cheat the wind. Aerodynamics is also a great way to add value to the buying proposition. For all these reasons, there are a lot of aero helmets hitting the market. 

Despite all the options out there, when the Ekoi Aerodinamica appeared last summer it still managed to make a splash and capture attention. It could be that Ekoi is a common name in WorldTour racing or maybe it was the choice to use an incredibly eye-catching black and white "camouflage" design when the Aerodinamica first appeared. It certainly doesn't hurt to have the famous Pininfarina name attached to a helmet design for the first time ever. If you aren't familiar with the brand Pininfarina is a specialist Italian car design firm who have designed vehicles for the likes of Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo. Whatever the reason though, hype doesn't mean you should buy something.  

Pininfarina designed a bike helmet for the first time, but that doesn't mean it's good. The Ekoi Aerodinamica appeared in the WorldTour but, again, that doesn't mean it's good. If you are considering a new helmet, you need something that's worth your money. Aero helmets might be a bit of a black box but a helmet is a helmet and you have to wear it. I took the Ekoi Aerodinamica out on a bike to test what it was like to actually wear. Divorced from sponsored racing and hype, should you take a leap on this new helmet? That's the question I've asked during my time with this helmet. Keep reading to see if this is the right helmet for you. 

Design and aesthetics

There's a kind of collective understanding that aero bikes all look a bit the same. My colleague Will Jones did a bit of a deep dive into the truth, or not, of that perception but so far helmets have found refuge from sameness. Aero helmets have proliferated but, with fewer UCI rules involved, the silhouette of the different brands has remained fairly different. Perhaps that is changing though as the Ekoi Aerodinamica does look remarkably similar to the Trek Ballista that came to market in early 2023. 

The similarities likely come from the fact that both Ekoi and Trek helmets appear to pull a pattern from a full-force TT helmet. Also, despite the passing similarities, the two designs differ more than you might first think. As you examine the two side by side you'll notice that the Ballista is a longer design that points the exhaust air down while the Ekoi is shorter. Although there are similarities, the two helmets look to actually pull patterns from different types of TT helmets. 

If I leave the comparison behind a bit and instead give the Ekoi Aerodinamica a chance to stand alone, the first thing you might notice is how few vents there are. Airflow for the whole helmet comes down to three vertical slots in the front paired with a large, divided, rear exhaust. The outer two vents have a curve to them as well as a small support brace in the centre. The central intake lacks both a divider and a curve but still matches the bulbous curve of the helmet as the eye travels towards the back. 

Visually the combined effect of the unusual curve and the limited venting feels a bit mid-century modern to me. That's further helped by the slight peak in the centre of the bottom front edge and the red/white colour scheme. Driving it home is the Pininfarina logo with its golden age script that appears at the rear bottom edge on either side plus the centre section. I suspect the effect would diminish slightly in black however the black and red colorway drives the point home further with the use of repeating lines and a stripe of red on top. It seems Pininfarina is making a reference to cars like the 1935 Alfa Romeo 6C Pescara or the 1971 Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer that the brand is famous for. 

Although the exterior might lack in the way of venting, the real story of airflow reveals itself when you flip the helmet over. Paired with the three large front vents there is extensive internal shaping to efficiently move the air across your head and out the short rear vent. It appears far more wind tunnel optimisation went into moving air through the helmet compared to over it. 

What you'll also notice on the interior is the use of Koroyd. Koroyd is a material that replaces EPS foam in a helmet with what looks like a series of plastic straws bundled together. Because the centre of each "straw" is open it's possible to use Koroyd as a way to add airflow but in this case, Ekoi is only using Koroyd "plugs." The material is inset into the EPS under the raised channels where the padding touches your head. That covers four sections on the top and sides of the helmet and EPS covers the outer surface of the Koroyd. 

Although this arrangement removes any airflow advantage it does, presumably, let the Koroyd act as an angular impact technology. This helmet lacks both stated details on that front and Virginia Tech testing but the ability to crush and shift during a collision is one of the primary advantages that Koroyd has. Another advantage that Koroyd enjoys is weight reduction however at 334 grams in size medium, the Aerodinamica is not a lightweight helmet. What's offsetting any Koroyd weight saving is likely the retention system. 

When helmets like the recent Lazer Z1 Kineticore lean into weight savings, it's normal for designs to adopt tricks like lightweight straps. In the case of the Aerodinamica, Ekoi seems to have shifted in the opposite direction. The straps on this helmet are thick and heavy material that resists bunching and flapping in the wind. There's also a relatively heavy Fidlock magnetic buckle and heavy strap dividers. The rear cradle is a bit less weighty using an ATOP Lacing System that pulls against wires and floats free of the rear of the helmet. It's an arrangement that is again reminiscent of the Ballista. 

Performance

When it comes to aero helmets there are a lot of things I have to take for granted. I can't test impact protection so I have to rely on Virginia Tech testing to get a sense of relative performance. I also can't test aerodynamic performance and have to take an even bigger leap of faith by accepting the word of the company selling a helmet. So when the Ekoi Aerodinamica arrived and Ekoi didn't have any claim of performance or a Virginia Tech result, I had to think through what that meant. 

Safety is fairly straightforward. Although Virginia Tech provides a good third-party ranking of helmets a lack of score doesn't necessarily mean anything at all. Every helmet you can buy has passed the required government safety tests for the location where they are available for sale. Over the years I've tested helmets I've seen a variety of legitimate reasons that a good helmet lacks a Virginia Tech score and I've also seen good helmets that don't offer any reason for not having a test result. For years Kask helmets lacked the score because of a disagreement about the methodology and none of the current POC helmets have a score either. 

Then there are aero performance claims. They almost always come from the company selling the helmets. I doubt they are untrue but there's a 100% chance that those statements highlight the good and leave out other details. Ekoi doesn't offer any for the Aerodinamica and when I pushed all I got was "a claimed 3-watt savings and 2.6% better cooling compared to leading aero helmets" but that doesn't say much. 

In both cases, it leaves a question of what the absence of those details means? Probably not much in the end but it does make my job a bit harder. I like to have clear claims to measure against and highlight. Ekoi offers none for the Aerodinamica. There are several platitudes like "Sculpted to perfection by the magic of the wind tunnel" and there are several respected names involved but concrete claims are lacking. Instead of measuring against specific claims, I had to take the Ekoi Aerodinamica out on my bike and see what came to the forefront. 

In the end, what stood out to me was a combination of fashion and comfort. On the comfort side of things, there are several strap details that I covered above as likely weight contributors. I personally like to use the lightest helmet possible but I have to concede that the magnetic buckle and thick webbing are very comfortable. The rear cradle is easy to adjust and flexible enough that it eliminates any pressure points and the combination of the straps and the cradle do a great job keeping the Ekoi Aerodinamica stable on your head. The thick padding also feels luxurious, and I love how little it moves around on a day-to-day basis. I'm less in love with the rear dial though. 

Unlike BOA, ATOP doesn't adjust in both directions. When tightening the helmet down there are indentations that click and it's very similar to BOA. In this particular case, the outer edge of the dial uses rubber that also helps it feel fast and precise. When it's time to loosen the dial though, it's not precise at all. Instead of clicking indents it takes roughly half a rotation to loosen the grip on the cable then the dial stops. To get any adjustment you pull the cable out of the dial then stop and tighten it again. It's not difficult when wearing it but it's a hassle if you want to loosen it all the way up before putting the helmet on over a cap. 

The other aspect of this helmet is the fashion. Fashion is a matter of opinion but I'm a big proponent of being truthful about how important it is. Performance doesn't have to drive every choice and if you like the style of this helmet it's worth allowing that to be a deciding factor. Asking Pininfarina to design a helmet and highlighting that fact is a fashion play so go ahead and consider it. As I said, I see a bit of a golden age influence and a reference to Pininfarina cars. 

There's another aspect to fashion though and that is the way a helmet integrates with sunglasses. Given that I test a lot of helmets whenever I have a new one, I spend a lot of time finding sunglasses that complement the style. To my mind, some helmets only work well with a few pairs. The Aerodinamica seemed to buck that trend and it worked well with almost every pair of glasses I tried. As I test in the middle of winter, I'm spending a lot of time in the Smith Flywheel and those glasses, with the slightly high centre, are some of the best. I also tried a number of my summer glasses, including my favourite POC Propel, and all of them did a great job hugging the front edge of the Aerodinamica for a seamless look. Even the Assos Donzi glasses, which have a thick white rim and are notoriously hard to match with a helmet, fit the Aerodinamica like a glove. 

Keep in mind though that I'm talking about a fashion match between glasses and helmet. I'm not one to stash my glasses but if you are this is not going to be a great helmet for you. The front vents aren't all that wide and while you can flip your glasses and stick the arms into the vents securely, they stick out. There's not enough room to get your lens back against the helmet so while I suppose it's not impossible to do, it's a comical look. 

The other big question with a helmet is always heat management. It's winter so I don't have direct experience with hot climbs in the Aerodinamica but it's not hard to tell this is not a highly breathable helmet. Like other modern aero helmets, as long as you are moving the air moves through the helmet but I wouldn't want to choose this one for a day of climbing. On the other hand, if you are looking for a winter helmet, there’s a set of plugs for the vents coming soon so this could be a good option for fast summer rides as well as rainy winter rides.

Verdict

I'm repeating myself but I like it when a company gives a clear and concise aerodynamic statement for an aero helmet. Smith lists several helmets and how much faster the Ignite helmet is in comparison and wheel company Hunt is amazing at providing white papers for its wheels. Most companies aren't doing that though. Giro claims the "Eclipse beats the closest aero road helmet competitor by 14 seconds over 100 miles at 25mph" and that's one of my favourite helmets. The reality is that until I take a bunch of helmets to a wind tunnel. I won't be one hundred per cent sure about any specific helmet aero claims. I do believe that the EKOÏ Aerodinamica is more forgiving of a turned head than the Trek Ballista thanks to its shape at the rear.

Since performance analysis is off the table, that leaves your sense of style and how comfortable a helmet is. The Ekoi Aerodinamica is one of the more comfortable helmets I can remember testing. I love the stability and thick pads and it's really nice that the webbing is heavy enough that it's not finicky. The rear cradle folds down and out of the way for storage but it doesn't come apart and it's easy to adjust. If you also obsess about the way your glasses interact with the brow of your helmet then you are likely going to love this helmet as long as the rest of the silhouette works for you.

The downside of the comfort though is that this is a heavy helmet. Given that some people don't mind lights and accessories on their helmets, not everyone is as sensitive to that detail. If heavy helmets bug you though, there are better choices.

It's not an epidemic just yet, but over-the-ear aero helmets are taking over the Tour Down Under. 

The Ineos Grenadiers team have already been afflicted, courtesy of what we presume is the new KASK Utopia, but now earodynamics has spread to the EF Education-EasyPost squad. 

First spotted by Escape Collective, Harry Sweeney of the men's team has been wearing what appears to be a wild new aero helmet from sponsor POC, which looks like some sort of road-going mashup of the Procen time trial helmet. 

Such is the radical design and time-trial style of this road helmet that, on first sighting, I thought there must have been a prologue or time trial stage that I had somehow missed. 

While the KASK helmet bears resemblence to a road helmet, just with extra bits over the ears. POC – a brand that has form with wild helmets, let's not forget – has very much said "hold my beer" with the design, integrating a visor up front, ear covers that extend downward from the shell in a different material, and a full exhaust vent at the rear. 

POC has evidently taken significant inspiration from its Procen time trial helmet, but has pared back the features somewhat to make it more appropriate for road use. For example the tail is shorter, and the ear covers only come down half way, both likely to save a bit of weight and retain the ventilation. 

Like the Procen time trial helmet, there are three large vents across the front of the head, and it even integrates a visor, something which has fallen out of fashion in recent years despite attempts from the Giro Vanquish to keep it alive. This visor appears to mount using three magnets on the underside of the brow, and looks as though it can be removed and refitted to the rear of the helmet, as Sweeny has done in the photo above. 

The result, it would seem, is a helmet that bridges the gap between aero helmets and time trial helmets; one that is faster than POC's current aero road line-up while remaining within the UCI's rules. 

What do the UCI rules say?

There are no rules in the UCI Technical Regulations that say a helmet can or cannot cover the rider's ears, but they probably do still play a part in the ear sections' design. 

The UCI has rules that govern the dimension of helmets in track and road races, presumably to limit aerofoil teardrop shapes that were previously prevalent in time trials. 

The rulebook says: 

"For road and track disciplines, the dimensions of the helmet (including accessories) must not exceed the below dimensions: Length (L) can be less or equal to 450 mm; Width (W) can be less or equal to 300 mm; Height (H) can be less or equal to 210 mm."

For reference, a standard road helmet measures approximately 160-180mm tall, so the 210mm height is likely limiting how far down over the ears a helmet can come. 

When can I buy it?

As this stage, we don't know. The UCI states that "commercialization will take place no later than 12 months after the first use in competition," suggesting it must be available for purchase within the year, but there are ways for brands to push that back if needed. 

Regardless, we expect to see more details in the coming months, and love it or hate it, you can bet it'll show up at a crit near you soon. 

Because of my work on the best road bike helmets buyers guide, I look at a lot of helmets. As that volume of options passes through my hands, one of the things that's obvious is how stratified modern road bike helmets are. Unlike the UCI's limit on bike weight, there's no lower weight limit for helmets and each brand is welcome to innovate in whatever way makes sense. At the top of the range, some go for aero, others go for lightweight ventilation. 

In this case, the Lazer Z1 helmet is the brand's premier climber's helmet. It sits alongside the aero focused Vento Kineticore in the lineup but so far the Vento has had something the Z1 hasn't. Even though the Vento has been out since 2022, and we've seen a number of lower spec Lazer helmets get it, only now is the Z1 getting the Kineticore treatment. Kineticore isn't the only change though and the latest Z1 is coming to market as one of the lightest, if not the lightest, road bike helmets available. 

If your preference for helmets is light and airy, the Z1 might be just what you are looking for. Keep reading to see my experience with the Z1 and decide if it's time for a new lightweight helmet for your summer, or even winter, riding. 

Design and aesthetics

As I worked on the news article covering the launch of this new helmet, I spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out what is new and what is not. The most obvious difference is on the inside of the new Lazer Z1 Kineticore. It's there where things start with a switch away from the well-known MIPS rotational impact technology to Lazer's own proprietary Kineticore system. 

While modern MIPS technologies have come a long way, the Lazer Z1 MIPS was new back in 2020. The MIPS the helmet was using came from a time when MIPS meant a layer between the hard foam and the padding that covered the entire helmet. Although the end result of creating a slip plane that allows a helmet to shift around your head in a crash hasn't changed, the older style wasn't universally loved. Some people didn't notice it much but others rightly pointed out that it made helmets hold heat and could catch on long hair. Instead of jumping to a modern version though, Lazer developed its own solution, which it launched in 2022, and it's now available in the Z1. 

Kineticore accomplishes the same thing as MIPS but there's no extra layer. Instead, the EPS (expanded polystyrene) has blocks of foam with large channels between them moulded directly into its structure. The idea is that in the event of a crash, the EPS blocks will break and deform. As that happens it will both absorb energy and allow your head to rotate inside of the helmet as needed. 

Of course, the switch from MIPS to Kineticore also means a necessary reimagining of the padding system used with the new Lazer Z1 Kineticore. The previous version consisted of only a front brow pad and a simple "Y" shaped rear pad at the top of the head. The latest version uses a more sophisticated design that's similar to what you can find in the Vento Kineticore. There are a pair of padding strips along the upper side of your head plus a central "U" shaped pad that extends front to rear. Compared to the Vento, the padding is much thinner but both helmets share a floating front pad. 

The design of the front pad is indicative of how all the various designs come together as a whole. For example, a floating front pad allows airflow to help dry it out when it's soaked with sweat but there has to be something behind it. In this case Lazer relies on the inherent airflow advantage of Kineticore. Instead of a solid section of EPS, you will find six Kineticore blocks arranged to allow airflow but also absorb energy at the brow. The other layer of material between the padding and the EPS is yet another example of the deep integration of technologies. 

Directly behind the floating front pad you'll find part of the Lazer Advanced RollSys design. Instead of a rear cradle that floats separate from the rest of the helmet and features a dial at the rear, Lazer integrates the whole retention system. The rear cradle has no direct adjuster but a Rollsys dial sits on the top of the helmet and when tightened it pulls on a pair of thick plastic 'lines.' Those lines thread through the rear cradle before expanding into a flat piece that sits behind the front pad. Tightening Rollsys pulls from the front of the helmet and only tightens the rear cradle by proxy. There's still also a vertical adjustment of the rear cradle that is separate. 

While Rollsys isn't a new concept, this version of the Z1 does get an updated version. The dial has moved rearward and the worm gear that powers the system is now enclosed and protected. It looks to be both an aero improvement and a reliability upgrade though Lazer doesn't make any claims on either front. In fact, it's worth noting that unlike the Giro Aries, the only aero claim Lazer makes is that the helmet is "keeping aerodynamics in mind."

For those who aerodynamics is of the utmost importance, there are instead accessories to consider. As before Lazer will have an Aeroshell available that works with the new Z1. There's still no specific aero claim but given that it covers most of the venting it has to help, right? Thankfully it's inexpensive enough that it certainly won't hurt if you want to pick it up only for race day. The rest of the time you can instead use it for rainy rides and there is also the Universal LED accessory that mounts at the rear and adds visibility for those same rainy rides. 

On the outside of the Z1 Kineticore there are also changes compared to the previous version but they are far more subtle. Lazer references a "new aggressive design" but spotting the differences in the White, Matte Black, Cosmic Blue, Harbor Grey, Metallic Red, or Flash Orange exterior will take an eagle eye. There are actually a number of small changes to the details but it's not clear if there's a specific reason behind anything outside of the moved Rollsys dial. The overall profile remains almost the same. 

Performance

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm all about aero performance. I might not be the fastest but I'm willing to ride farther. Sunup to sundown is just a start and if you float me a good reason to ride through the night, I'm in. When the distances stretch out like that, every little efficiency matters and given the massive effect of an aero helmet it only makes sense. The Lazer Z1 Kineticore throws a wrench into that calculation though. 

With a claimed weight of 220 grams for size small (my review sample weighed 226 grams) Lazer is offering a different kind of efficiency and it's noticeable. After 16 hours on a race bike I'll take anything you offer me that reduces the strain on my neck. With a 27 gram advantage over the next lightest helmet I've tested, the Z1 is one such advantage. You don't have to ride for that long though, as soon as you put on the Z1 Kineticore it's noticeably light. Even beyond the actual number on the scale, the choices Lazer made to get there are also advantages. 

MIPS is not a heavy technology. Eliminating MIPS is not how the Lazer Z1 Kinticore slims down and if you compare the previous weight to the current weight, the two are virtually identical. Actually, it would seem that the new version is slightly heavier and getting the Z1 Kineticore down to the quoted weight took some work. Notably that work came in the straps. 

The Lazer Z1 uses lighter straps with less material and no hard plastic strap divider. Does it massively change the weight of the helmet? Of course not, we are splitting hairs here but that's the nature of saving a few grams. There are other advantages too though. 

The new Z1 straps sit just right on the side of my face. There's no bunched material, there are no gaps, and the extra material for adjustment stays just as flat and tidy. You can't adjust the strap position under your chin but, at least for me, it's perfect and I don't need to. 

It's not just me that benefits from the new straps either. While I'm concerned with efficiency, so is Lazer as a manufacturer. Less material used is always an environmental benefit and Lazer leans into that with a percentage of recycled content. Unfortunately, the brand doesn't mention how much so I'm going to assume it's not a huge amount. Still, I think it's a positive. 

The Lazer Z1 feature I am less in love with is the Rollsys design. I suspect the design is part of the Lazer DNA (a variation exists on the Vento also) at this point and it's seen as a product differentiator. Unfortunately while differentiation is good, I see no real benefit to the end user. Lazer mentions that it makes more room for long hair in the rear except the rear cradle doesn't have a generous amount of room in the rear. Trek, for example, uses a BOA dial and has significantly more room for hair in the rear cradle. Lazer also talks about how the design of Rollsys creates a 360-degree tightening system. Except POC has a similar system, with a similar amount of room for hair, and doesn't make you rethink how you tighten a helmet. 

Despite those issues, my biggest issue with Rollsys isn't a real problem. What I mean is that it's more conceptual. What makes the Lazer Z1 Kineticore fantastic is how light it is, and that feature overshadows everything else. Lazer claims the ventilation with the Z1 is actually 3% superior to not wearing a helmet at all but it's hardly noticeable compared to other airy helmets. There is also a five-star Virginia Tech rating but other helmets match that too. What makes the helmet a pleasure to wear is that it's the lightest and I find it hard to believe that Rollsys is lighter than a rear dial system. If it's worth shaving grams by using lighter straps, shouldn't it also be worth getting rid of an overly complex dial on top of the helmet? I want to see what Lazer can do without holding on to a legacy design. 

Verdict

I'm reviewing a lightweight and highly ventilated helmet in the winter. Unfortunately that means I can't tell you exactly how the sweat will drip down on your hottest rides. Fortunately, in this situation, the US is having a warm winter so I can tell you that the feeling of air flowing over your head is excellent. I've also done enough climbing in this helmet to know I appreciate the airflow behind the front brow pad. Switching back and forth between helmets though, it's not the airflow I notice. 

The best feature, the feature I immediately notice, is the lightweight design. Right behind that is a fit I find to be just right. As I'm sitting here typing this I'm swapping helmets back and forth just to make sure. Sure enough, even while sitting in a comfortable chair, the weight is noticeable and it's a joy. On top of that, the straps sit right where I want them with no extra material to flap around and the rear cradle hugs the back of my head exactly like I want it to. 

Despite the fact that I wish Lazer hadn't used Rollsys for this helmet, I'm a fan. This is the only helmet I've tested that seriously has me considering riding without an aero helmet this summer. If you already prefer a light and airy helmet, this is one of the best. 

Nearly two years ago Lazer introduced a new kind of angular impact protection to the market. It meant a jettison of brand leader MIPS and a move to a new technology named Kineticore. The first helmet to feature it was the aero focused Lazer Vento Kineticore, but since then Lazer has been slowly integrating it across the full model line. One of the last holdouts was the Lazer Z1 but today the brand changes that. There is now a Lazer Z1 Kineticore and a new contender for the lightweight king in our list of the best road bike helmets.  

What is Kineticore?

Although MIPS tends to dominate the independent helmet impact protection tests carried out by the Virginia Tech helmet lab, it's not the only option. Instead, MIPS dominates because the brand offers an easy third party option that any helmet brand has available. In an effort to differentiate, Lazer has gone in a different direction. 

Kineticore takes a different approach and instead of a movable liner, it builds the slip plane directly into the EPS foam. In practice that means a series of blocks on the inner face. In the event of a crash the blocks deform and break to dissipate the energy and allow the helmet to rotate. This works similar to crumple zones in a car but it also brings unique advantages to a helmet. 

While MIPS options have long since left behind the challenges of heat management and catching hair, Kineticore thrives because of the inherent integration. The Lazer Z1 is a lightweight helmet designed for maximum ventilation on your hottest rides. Not only does Kineticore address crash protection needs but the channels alco claim to help move air across your scalp. 

What’s new with the Lazer Z1 Kineticore?

Although the biggest change at play with the new version of the Lazer Z1 is the addition of Kineticore, it's not the only change. Lazer highlights the lightweight nature of the helmet with a claimed weight of 220 grams in size small (weighed at 226 grams in our size small sample). Lazer also points out that that those numbers make the Z1 Kineticore "the lightest helmet including rotational impact protection on the market." Kineticore is certainly part of that lightness story but there are a number of other small changes that add up as well. 

Given how highly optimised modern EPS helmet exteriors are, it's hard to save much weight there. Instead it's common to save weight in the strap system and that is exactly what the new Z1 Kineticore does. Gone is the plastic strap divider and in its place you'll find only fabric straps using antibacterial & recycled materials. As always, saved weight means saved materials and less material is a gain for the manufacturer, the user, and the environment.

In parallel with that update, the system Lazer uses to adjust the Z1 also gets an update. Like other Lazer helmets, the Z1 Kineticore doesn't use a traditional system to tighten the rear basket. Instead of a dial at the rear, you'll find a dial up top referred to as the "Lazer Advanced RollSys" design. The system works by pulling from the front and tightening the whole helmet at the same time. It's a system that the previous Z1 had as well. What's new is a change to the location of the thumbwheel from the outside of the helmet to a protected spot deep in the EPS outer. In theory the whole system also leaves more room for long hair, which Lazer is quick to mention.

For those that value a secure place to stash glasses on long climbs, you’ll be happy to see that Lazer mentions “eyewear docking slots” as a new feature as well. Unlike the Vento Kineticore there is no additional high-friction add-on though. Likely in an effort to keep weight low, the Z1 relies on the shape of the vents to keep eyewear secure. 

What stays the same?

It's fair to say that today's update to the Lazer Z1 is quite incremental. Small differences add up to useability updates while retaining a similar profile and use. As before, the Z1 fills the Lazer product lineup as both a lightweight and highly vented option. The 31-vents, including behind the front headband, continue to provide a claimed 3% ventilation advantage (compared to no helmet in particular) and the 5-star Virginia tech rating continues as well. 

For those that would prefer rain protection, or occasional aerodynamic advantage, you'll be glad to see that the accessory lineup is similar as well. When you need to close the vents, grab the Lazer Aeroshell and if you want to add visibility there continues to be support for the Lazer Universal LED at the rear. What you won't find are the previous options for different padding densities. 

Pricing and availability 

The Lazer Z1 Kineticore is available immediately worldwide at a price of £229.99 / $279.99 / €249.99. Colour options are White, Matte Black, Cosmic Blue, Harbor Grey, Metallic Red, and Flash Orange with S, M, or L sizing availability. Visit lazersport.com for more information. 

With the new year now officially upon us, teams' contracts with their sponsors have officially transitioned into a new period. For a lot of teams that means new deals with new sponsors, and January 1st is prime time for a social media post announcing their arrival and getting a headstart on promoting the new "best [insert product] I've ever used". 

Ever the consummate professional, Filippo Ganna duly followed suit, announcing the "bike and jersey" that his Ineos Grenadiers team will be using in 2024. The bike, his Pinarello Dogma F, is unchanged from last year albeit with a new lick of paint. The jersey, and the rest of his clothing for that matter, is a reiteration of the recently announced switch from Bioracer to Gobik, complete with a minor change in design. 

However, it was Ganna's Kask helmet that caught our attention. Notably absent from the caption, Ganna and a few of his teammates are sporting what appears to be a new aero helmet from the Italian brand, complete with an EPS shell that continues down over the outside of the ears. 

We suspect this may have been the real motivation for the post, and the "bike and jersey" context was all just a ruse. There is absolutely no concerted effort to conceal the new helmet in the post. In fact, the opposite appears more true as it features in every single photo, from almost every angle conceivable.

The helmet's biggest talking point has to be the over-ear design of the helmet's shell. Pretty much every modern road helmet features a cut-out that sees the lower line of the helmet travel up and over the ear, whereas time trial helmets such as the Kask Bambino almost always come down and cover the ears. 

The new helmet has adopted a halfway approach, bringing the shell of the helmet down to cover just the tops of the ears in a design that is reminiscent of a 1986 Citroen CX. 

It's an easy leap to make to assume that the motivations for this move are aerodynamics, ears aren't exactly an aerodynamic shape, so guiding the air around them can feasibly see a benefit. There could even be benefits in reduced airflow noise for the wearer. 

Given the vent positioning on the front and their likeness to the Kask Utopia helmet, we'd speculate that this is a replacement for that. The Utopia was originally launched in 2018 – six years ago – but saw a minor update in May last year with the launch of the Utopia Y. That update simply comprised a few internal changes such as a new padding system and OctoFit+ retention. 

We can only guess what internals this helmet uses, as that's the only angle not shown in Ganna's photos, but you can see a WG11 logo printed on the rear quarter. WG11 stands for Working Group 11 and refers to the helmet testing procedure that Kask adheres to over and above the industry standard requirement.

We can also only speculate as to the price of the new helmet. Kask stunned us last year with the launch of one of the most expensive helmets on the market, the £325.00 Elemento which boasted Fluid Carbon 12 carbon fibre plates and 3D printed padding more commonly found on saddles. At least visually, it doesn't look as though the new aero helmet uses carbon fibre plates, but we can't rule that out entirely without seeing it up close. We also can't rule out the possibility that it uses 3D-printed padding. 

The Specialized Prevail has long been the ventilated lightweight helmet in the American brand's range and its latest iteration, the Prevail 3, launched in summer 2022 alongside its aero sibling the Evade 3.

As a range-topping helmet in the Specialized lineup, it's priced at £250.00 (US$300.00 / €290.00 / AU$475.00) and uses innovative technology to find the perfect balance of comfort, safety and performance for riders who want maximum ventilation. 

Its biggest draw, even bigger than the abundance of airflow it provides, is that it boasts one of the highest ever scores in the independent helmet testing performed by the facility at Virginia Tech University, one of the very few to test rotational impacts.

I've been using the helmet on and off since its launch. It quickly earned a place in our buyer's guide to the best road bike helmets, but now it's time to share a detailed run through my experience with it, and how it fares against competitors from the likes of Kask, Bontrager and more. 

Design and specifications

Starting with the basics, the Prevail 3 helmet is available in three sizes, in approximately 10 colours, although this differs by territory.

Visually it looks as though Specialized replaced all of the lateral pieces of EPS foam with carbon fibre rods, thus reducing their size and increasing the ventilation, but that’s only half the story. 

Moulded into the EPS foam of the helmet is a carbon fibre skeleton called 'Aircage' that joins together these rods to create a strong, lightweight shell. Specialized then moulded the EPS foam onto it to create the shape of the helmet and provide direct impact protection. 

On the inside, the brand then integrated MIPS 'Air Node' attachment points to improve rotational impact protection.

The result is a helmet that, at launch, boasted the highest score in the independent rotational impact testing performed by Virginia Tech with a score of 8.64. 

The rear cradle mimics the cradle from other helmets in the Specialized range, with a vertical sliding height adjustment for the rear cradle and a rubber dial for retention.

The straps are smaller than most helmets, at approximately 6mm wide rather than the more common 10mm. This is largely unnoticeable in use; logic would dictate that it makes things a touch less comfy, but this isn't something I've felt was a problem in the past. I expect it helped me to avoid silly tan lines on my recent holiday in Morzine, although it's impossible to say for sure. 

Regardless, all that design combines to create a really comfortable helmet that's exceptionally airy and reassuringly safe, which leads us nicely onto its performance. 

 Performance 

Road bike helmet performance is made up of a few competing factors: comfort, ventilation, aerodynamics, impact protection, any added features, and cost. Most of these are at odds with each other, so improving one aspect usually means another gets worse. 

Brands know this, of course, and the performance of any given helmet is a reflection of how a brand has chosen to — and then managed to — balance the various factors to create the desired product.

The Prevail 3’s focus is on ventilation over aerodynamics, and it absolutely excels in this department. I've been testing the helmet for more than a year, but it had its biggest test recently on my week-long riding holiday in Morzine, with the new catered chalet company Treacle Velo. The weather was absolutely scorchio. I saw 46C/114F at one point and spent many an hour slogging up mountains on the Factor O2 VAM in mid-afternoon 30-35C (around 90F) heat. There was the odd drop of sweat onto the inside of my sunglasses, but given the effort level and temperature, these were impressively infrequent. 

Comparing that to its competition, I’ve recently also used the Kask Protone and the Specialized Evade 3 and find the limit of those top out at around 20C/68F before the sweat drops become regular. 

Kask's Elemento suffers significantly here. I get the post-ride pad-squeeze on every ride and the forehead fountain starts to pour at any mild intensity over around 10C/50F. I've not tested every single helmet on the market, but having consulted with our tech writer Josh Ross, who recently completed our helmet grouptest and wrote the accompanying best road bike helmets buyer's guide, I have no doubt that the Prevail 3 is market leading in its ventilation. 

In addition to the large vents, two small additional vents on either side provide a storage spot for your sunglass arms. They work nicely with various sunglasses. I've used them extensively with Oakley, 100%, Scicon and Koo, and briefly tried them with others too. Some models are best stored upside down to keep the nosepiece from fouling the helmet brow, but all pairs stay fixed in place comfortably. 

On the comfort front, I have only one small complaint. Where the plastic cradle is moulded into the EPS on the inside, there is a step up of the helmet's EPS, and this fouls my head causing pain when pressure is applied. 

It's not noticeable when wearing it, nor is it concerning enough for me to stop wearing it, but given any slight downward pressure on the helmet causes pain, I do worry that a crash could create an unwanted pressure point, rather than dissipate the force. 

A medium is fit for sizes 55 - 59cm. (small: 51 - 56cm; large 58 - 62cm). I wear a size medium consistently, and the Prevail fits true to size and as expected. 

At 276g, it's reasonably light on the head and apart from times when I've intentionally been thinking about its performance, it's never long before I forget I'm wearing it. 

Interestingly, the Evade 3 aero helmet is only 2g heavier in the same size, despite packing much more EPS. If it's race performance you're after, the faster Evade 3 would be my recommendation between the two. It's the helmet I chose when riding Chasing Cancellara last summer. 

I’ve not objectively tested the aerodynamics of the Prevail, so cannot comment with any certainty or proof, but my experience with the helmet and my subjective feeling is that it performs fairly well here too. 

I expect aero testing would highlight a detriment when compared to a dedicated aero helmet. Specialized claims the difference is nine watts. 

The dial retention at the back is easy to work with one hand. The vertical sliding adjustment does take a bit of finesse and force to get it to move and is best done before you put it on, but it differs from the Protone and Elemento in that it stays put once selected. Those can be adjusted while wearing, but have a tendency to float up and down as you tilt your neck. Neither system is necessarily ‘right’ but I do prefer the Specialized way here.

When it comes to impact protection, this is another area that I’ve not tested, and hopefully, I never have to. 

Luckily, the independent testers at Virginia Tech University run hundreds of helmets through a consistent drop test, measuring the rotational impact protection and converting that into a score. The lower the score, the better the levels of protection. The Prevail 3 scored 8.64, and at the time of writing, has only been beaten by two other road bike helmets: the Giro Aries Spherical and the Sweet Protection Falconer 2VI, which now occupy spots 1 and 2 respectively.

Unlike the Bontrager Circuit helmet which has mounting points for lights and cameras, there aren’t a huge amount of added features to discuss on the Prevail 3, as a performance-focussed road and race helmet.

The only add-on comes in the form of a safety provision that Specialized calls ANGI, the impact-detection device that pairs with your smartphone and will call for help if it detects a fall. 

The sensor itself doesn’t come with the helmet, it’s an aftermarket purchase, but there is a small blank plate built into the rear cradle to house it, like all of Specialized’s helmets.

 Value  

Naturally, with so few compromises in performance, there has to be one in the price. At £250.00 (US$300.00 / €290.00 / AU$475.00) it's certainly at the premium end of the market, but it's in line with its competitors. 

The Giro Aries Spherical, for example, is more expensive in the UK at £289.99, but they both share a retail price of $300 in the USA. Bontrager does come in a fair bit cheaper, at £160 for its Velocis MIPS, but in contrast, the Kask Elemento stands out alone at a staggering £335. 

Verdict

The Specialized Prevail 3 is a high-performance helmet with little in the way of compromise. It's immensely comfortable while boasting class-leading ventilation and one of the best-tested impact protection scores on the market.

If it's the basic function of a helmet you're after, then less money will get you what you need. If you're a die-hard aero nerd, then you too should look elsewhere. As I mentioned, I'd opt for the Evade 3 for race-day performance unless the temperature is well above 20C/68F. 

But if you're seeking maximum ventilation and want reassurance that you're wearing one of the safest road bike helmets around, then the Prevail 3 is hard to look past. It's the one I've reached for on nearly all of my rides this past year. 

But of course, the biggest competitor will likely be the Giro Aries Spherical. Both have a unique take on MIPS that offers excellent results. Both offer excellent comfort and ventilation, and both look great. It's possible to mount a rear light to the Aries, but the ANGI sensor here is unique. The Virginia Tech score is slightly better on the Giro, but the decision will likely come down to personal preference, how each brand fits your head. It might help that the Specialized is cheaper. 

Somewhere around five years ago there started to be a split in high-end cycling products. One side was aero even if it meant sacrificing weight. The other side was weight first even if that meant a less aero profile. Since then, things have come back together a bit. Bike frames especially have come back to centre with even the lightest climbing bikes usually claiming aero credentials as well. Helmets haven't been immune to any of these trends. 

Our list of the best road bike helmets has some options focused on aero performance and others that allow a bit of an aero penalty in exchange for lightweight and cooling performance. When it comes to Giro, I've actually featured both options. While the Giro Eclipse is the aero focused choice, the latest model from Giro is actually the cooling focused Giro Aries Spherical helmet. 

The Giro Aries Spherical takes a number of strategies the brand developed in previous models and moves them forward. Like The Aether Spherical before, there are numerous vents and a lightweight design with cooling as the primary design driver. This time though Giro has taken some of the latest aero concepts and put them to work in a way that makes sense in an all-around helmet. If you prefer big vents and worry about cooling in your helmet, keep reading to see if the Giro Aries Spherical makes sense as your next road or gravel bike helmet. 

Design and aesthetics

For a lot of people, aero helmets are divisive. If you count yourself in that group, the Giro Aether Spherical is already going to be an attractive option. The kinds of smoothed shapes that are a hallmark of that style of helmet are missing in the Aires. Instead what you'll find is a fairly traditional shape with what Giro claims is 24 separate vents. In reality that count is a bit optimistic on the part of Giro but the reason the brand counts like that has to do with the innovation that makes it all work. 

In order to hold the structural integrity of the helmet, Giro uses three transparent bridges the brand refers to as the Aura II Reinforcement Arch. If you want to find 24 total vents in the design of the Aires you've got to count the space between the arches but that doesn't make a lot of sense. The arches are incredibly minimal. 

The upper section of the Aries has five large vents that leave the entire upper section open to vent heat. To make such an open design work, the Auro II reinforcement arch is a pair of thin transparent plastic bars that bridge across the vents. Each one has an edge that curves down to adder further rigidity but there is space between the paired bars. This is an update from the previous Aura design on the Aether which was only a single larger piece and it's also the reason for the discrepancy in vent count. Giro claims the updated design is roughly 5% lighter than the design seen in the Aether, my copy hit the scale at 280g in size medium, but it's also thinner and doesn't block air at all. It's so good that I would consider the five large vents at the top of the helmet as only a single vent each. That's how it looks visually too as the transparent arches are set down slightly and don't break the lines of the seven available colour combos. 

However you want to look at it, it's ultimately not that important. Those upper vents allow for a feeling of cool air against your scalp at low speed but the brand pulls from aero designs to further aid cooling. Like an aero helmet, there's a large front inlet and a series of four large exhaust outlets at the rear. The internal channelling helps move the air through the helmet as you ride and Giro has also managed to reduce the front area compared to the Aether. Combine these aero features and Giro claims both a 2.3% improvement in cooling efficiency as well as a 4% reduction in aerodynamic drag.

If those numbers seem small, that's because they are, but Giro does have a blockbuster number up its sleeve, and that is the Virginia Tech Score. On that front, the Giro Aries Spherical claims the number one spot. 

Virginia Tech is an independent helmet testing facility, based out of Virginia Tech University, that looks beyond the direct linear impact resistance mandated by industry standards and incorporates rotational impacts into its testing. It is one of only a handful of facilities in the world to independently test helmets in this way and then rate their performance. 

A big part of the Giro's performance in these tests is the Spherical name and the corresponding design of the outer shell. 

Spherical is a MIPS technology that is unique to Giro helmets. It's been a couple of years since most MIPS systems consisted of a bulky yellow internal liner. Instead, most have now moved to solutions that allow the padding to shift against the helmet without a liner. With Spherical, MIPS and Giro have gone in a completely different direction. 

Instead of focusing on a system inside the helmet, Spherical rethinks the outer part of the helmet. Giro helmets with Spherical technology use a ball and socket design. The inner and the outer section have the freedom to shift against each other by as much as a few millimetres. This solves any rotational safety needs within the shell. By extension that leaves the designers free to handle the interior of the helmet in the way that works best for cooling and comfort. 

Performance

While Virginia Tech confirms the effectiveness of Spherical, I haven't tested it and I'd prefer to keep it that way. In the meantime, it's largely invisible to the rider. The only thing you have to be aware of with Spherical is how you push up the front of the helmet. Instead of blindly pushing anywhere, you will need to feel for a spot slightly off-centre to the left or right where the inner shell comes all the way to the edge of the outer. Push there and the whole helmet will move instead of only the outside. 

Besides that, Spherical isn't what you feel when wearing the Giro Aries. Instead, the inner padding is what you feel and it's the best that Giro has ever made. Previous padding designs use a small tab at the front to attempt to help sweat drop in a specific spot. It's clever but it comes apart over time. With the Aries, Giro switched to the "Drycore" design. 

Drycore is a fancy name for an embedded silicone bead within the brow padding. The idea is to channel sweat to the side but I don't find it all that effective in that context. When I tend to drip sweat I generally have the front of the helmet pointed down and the silicone won't channel sweat up. Despite that, the system is still one of the better padding systems on the market. 

Actually the Drycore design is just one piece of an integrated internal design that starts with the Roc Loc 5+ Air fit system. This is the name for the rear cradle and tightening system and it isn't new to the Aries. What’s different about it is that the system doesn't anchor to the side of the helmet near the ears. Instead you won't find an anchor until near the temple and the structure then continues and wraps across the brow. That leaves the front of the Roc Loc as a floating support for the brow pad. There's plenty of room for cooling air behind it but there's also no need to continue the brow pad up. Instead, the brow pad is just a single strip. Sweat can’t travel  down off upper sections of the pad and the silicone inside it makes for an extra comfortable and plush feel against your forehead.

The other thing you notice with the Giro Aries is the sensation of air against your scalp. I'm a big fan of aero helmets and, in general, I don't think that the Aries is a significant improvement compared to the best aero helmets. When you are moving, aero helmets have plenty of cooling. The Aries does have a different feel though. 

As soon as you put it on, you can feel air against your head. If you find yourself riding in hot situations where you aren't moving that fast but you might be able to feel a breeze, this is fantastic. If you have less hair than me, that effect will be even more pronounced though you will also need to consider sun protection. Those with a ponytail will find plenty of room in the rear cradle to thread hair through, too.

The downside to the open vented design is that it does generate a bit of wind noise. It's not terrible but it's definitely something I've noticed in my time testing this helmet. It's impossible to know exactly where it's coming from but I suspect as the wind hits all those vents, it's not quite as channelled as a good aero helmet. If that's an issue for you, there are helmets that make less noise but this is a minor nitpick.  

Verdict

The Giro Aries Spherical is one of the few top shelf helmets still available that sticks with a traditional silhouette. That means there's tons of venting for those who prefer to feel the air against their scalp even when not moving all that fast. It also happens to be the latest flagship helmet in the Giro lineup and that means it incorporates everything Giro has learned over the years. 

When it comes to safety, you get the best helmet Virginia Tech has ever tested. There's also a big spot of highly reflective material at the rear of the helmet to help with passive safety. On top of that, there's no performance helmet on the market that has a better integrated light available and if that's important to you, the Aries might be worth consideration for that alone. 

The Spherical design also allows Giro designers to think about the padding differently, and they have. The brow pad isn't connected to any other pads and there's a big strip of silicone inside of it. It may not always keep sweat out of your eyes but it helps and it's incredibly comfortable. 

In general if you are considering the Aries, your biggest consideration will be conceptual. Do you want venting instead of aero? If so then look at the Aries and the Specialized Prevail 3. The two are incredibly close but Giro does win in the Virginia Tech testing. The ability to add an integrated light to the Giro helmet is unique but so is the ANGI system for Specialized. What is likely going to be the biggest differentiator is fit. Specialized helmets sit very high on the head and you'll have to decide if you like the feel of that more or prefer the way your head fits more into a Giro helmet. 

The Kask Sintesi helmet was launched in November 2022, and we covered it briefly at the time as part of our monthly tech roundup. I've been riding in my white test model since last winter and am now ready to deliver my full review of the helmet. 

The Sintesi is Kask's cheapest helmet and is billed as being not just a road helmet but suitable for gravel and commuting etc. It's available in 11 block colourways from white to wine red and Sahara (you guessed it, a sandy colour) and features some of the usual Kask stylings that feature on more expensive models. Such as the brand's synthetic leather chinstrap. 

Sintesi, in case you were wondering translates to synthesis in English and is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "The putting together of parts or elements so as to make up a complex whole". Kask says the Sintesi is a versatile helmet that suits road, gravel or commuting work. I'm assuming that's where our coming together of different parts comes from in the case of the Sintesi. 

As mentioned above, the helmet is Kask's budget offering and the cheapest in the lineup at £90, at the moment you can also pick it up for less than £60 in the UK and you won't find too many quality, performance-orientated helmets for less than that. It's also a competitive weight, weighing less than many of the helmets in our budget bike helmets guide, but is it any good? Keep reading to see what I made of it after several months of riding and a few thousand miles.

Design and Aesthetics 

The Sintesi features a standard EPS (expanded polystyrene) inner shell, polycarbonate outer shell and Blue Tech padding on the inside which is both antibacterial and antistatic. There are three pads in total on the inside. A larger one-piece section, and two individual smaller pads. Spare pad sets are also available from Kask. Compared to Kask's top-end options the Sintesi features none of the carbon fibre plates that the more recently launched Elemento uses, which, at £335 / €375 / $400, is over triple the price of the Sinetsi. 

The Sintesi is pitched as being suitable for Road, gravel, and commuting use and there is evidence of this motive in the design and shape of the helmet. Most obviously to my mind in the rear left and right sections just rear of the ears. The helmet body drops down a little more in this area and looks like more urban or commuter-focused helmets. For me though, the helmet sits on the right side of this divide, which means it still looks at home on the road amongst other performance road helmets. It's also still a competitive weight at 241 grams on my scales for a size Medium. I did find that with the slightly dropped sections rear of the ears, some sunglasses arms fouled a little bit and took a bit of positioning to get right but this will depend on what shades you're using. 

On the topic of sizing, the Sintesi is available in M - 52-58cm and L - 59-62cm which should cover the majority of head sizes. The helmet features thirteen vents, though there is room for more on the helmet, and an obvious location for an extra two at the front of the helmet is 'blanked off' and instead features black Kask embossed inserts. There is also a small reflective sticker on the rear of the helmet just above the retention dial. The 'filled in' sections do however mean that some 'solid' or unvented sections of the helmet give it an aero road look which if nothing else aids its ability to at least aesthetically straddle riding disciplines effectively. 

The retention system is what Kask calls its Ergo fit system, which the brand says is a new system engineered to provide fit and comfort. Fit is adjusted via a plastic dial, and toothed inner wheel and plastic arm sections. The wheel has a rubber outer gripper which gives a decent feel but it is a relatively basic plastic setup. What took the most getting used to for me at first was the unfixed position of the retention system on the helmet's rear straps. This meant I had to just move the adjustment section down the back of my head a fraction each time I used it or I'd face some discomfort when heading out the door if it wasn't in the right place.

The black helmet straps themselves are easy to adjust though I didn't need to fiddle too much and they conveniently came pretty much spot on for me out of the box. The left-hand one gets a rubber 'Italy-made' tab and flag. And the trademark Kask synthetic leather chin strap still features. The Kask embossed plastic buckle didn't cause any issues for me either.

Kask helmets largely feature the brand's own in-house WG11 rotational impact testing which Kask says exceeds industry standards, and helmets feature the WG11 sticker if they meet this standard (it's on the rear of the Sintesi). The Sintesi also complies with CE EN 1078, CPSC 1203 and AS/NZS 2063 European standards. Though the Virginia Tech helmet testing is seen as something of a safety benchmark, not many Kask helmets (and not the Sintesi, crucially for this review) have been sent for testing there and WG11 is used over MIPS technology.

Performance 

I've ridden a few thousand miles in the Sintesi since I received it. I've used it for cold winter rides, and fast summer chain gangs. I've also travelled with it and ridden in Mallorca and Italy, and ridden off-road testing gravel bikes. I feel by now I've got a good handle on what the helmet is about and what it does and doesn't do so well. 

Though ventilation is cited as being a strong point for the Sintesi, I've felt that it does get a bit hot and sweaty. Most notably when climbing in hot conditions or when working hard on climbs where a lack of wind can quickly mean you end up feeling hot. I've often arrived at the top of a few relatively short local climbs whilst working hard with the front pad pretty well saturated this summer, and have had to do the always-uncomfortable squeeze and de-sweat of the pad against my brow. So I do think ventilation could be a bit better. It's probably my only real gripe with the helmet. That being said most of my riding has been on the road and if you are using the Sintesi to spin into work through a town or city this would probably be a non-issue, unless you're regularly commuting at threshold. 

Though the retention system isn't a premium one, it does work very effectively and really locks the helmet down securely. Once adjusted it's not going anywhere. For the money, I can't fault it really and for the price point, you shouldn't expect a top-of-the-line all-singing and dancing retention system. You also can't store your shades anywhere, but I always stick them backwards on my neck anyway so this wasn't a problem for me.

Once I had got the hang of just moving the rear cradle down my head slightly when putting the helmet on (it pivots from the front on two small torx bolts) I could always achieve a really comfortable fit. It only took a handful of rides to crack this, and I think it's fair to say any new helmet you try will have its own feel and different retention systems will take a little bit of adapting too. 

I've always felt comfortable in the helmet and have never experienced any discomfort or niggles. I should also point out that as a bald man, I don't have the luxury of any Tadej tufts to cushion my head so potential discomfort can be easily noticed, but the Sintesi has been very comfortable the whole time I've been using it.

Wear-wise, the Sintesi still looks pretty much brand new. There have been no failures or issues with it of any kind, the pads are all still in excellent condition, and as mentioned I've travelled with it, and have given it a good rinse and wash in the shower after hours spent climbing under the Mallorcan sun and back home. Full points for durability.

Verdict 

The Sintesi is a good quality helmet at an attractive and relatively affordable price point. I can't really fault it in many departments aside from finding it a bit too sweaty on hot days or when riding hard. Once I got used to the fit it's been completely comfortable with no niggles or other issues.

Yes, the retention system isn't as refined as other more expensive helmets, but it does its job well which is to keep the helmet securely and comfortably on your head. As I said above there are plenty of more expensive options out there and in the Kask lineup for that matter if you want to drop more cash. 

I'd love to know how the Sintesi would measure up in a wind tunnel test, lots of my riding friends assume it's an aero or aero-focused helmet. It's purely a gut feeling and I have no data or scientific testing to back it up but I feel with the filled-in side vents and overall shape it may do okay aero-wise and be quite quick. I certainly haven't felt it holding me back. 

If you like the look of the Sintesi and are looking for an affordable helmet that can do a bit of everything, and a lack of MIPS or Virginia Tech score isn't an issue for you, the Sintesi could well be a really great option. 

Almost every modern helmet today uses Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam but it wasn't always like that. The innovation came to market in the mid-1970s and at the time, there weren't a lot of companies pushing the technology forward. While the bike industry began coalescing around the idea, Limar's parent company, Manifattura Polistirene Espanso (MPE), was already an experienced provider of shaped polystyrene for other applications. By the time Limar produced the brand's first bike helmet in 1988, the company already had over 20-years experience. 

Almost 40-years later, things have changed a lot but there are some constants. One of them is that Limar is still known for making some of the lightest bike helmets you can buy. The Limar Air Atlas MIPS is the brand's premier aero offering developed with input from Astana. The helmet finds itself in our list of the best road bike helmets as the best option for a lightweight helmet and, given that it's also aero optimised, it shows up on the best aero helmets list as well. 

There is a bit of an asterisk involved in the lightweight title though. It's worth exploring the details around that as well as the rest of the experience of what it's like to wear the Limar Air Atlas MIPS. If you are looking for a new helmet, aero or not, keep reading to see if Limar has the best option for you. 

Design and aesthetics

By the early 90s, it became clear to helmet manufacturers that using a protective outer coating over a helmet's EPS foam had a number of advantages. The outer cover created a slip plane in a crash, it held the foam together and protected in day to day use, but it also turned helmet manufacturers into fashion companies. Limar points to the brand's 1993 sponsorship of Team Gatorade as the first time that any helmet carried team colours. Obviously, the trend continued. 

Today Limar sponsors Team Astana and claims the team was instrumental in development of the Air Atlas + MIPS. For consumers, that means one of the eight colorways available is an Astana option with a white front and a geometric rear. Alongside that option, there is also a wild pink and blue with a wavy pattern of lines reminiscent of wind blowing across the helmet. 

For those that would rather keep the colours a little more staid there are six other options still to choose from. Matte options include amaranth (red), titanium, gray, and blue or you can choose white or black with either a fully glossy outer or only a glossy lower section. The black and the white are also called iridescent, however the only actual iridescence are the logos on the sides plus the small front and rear logo. 

Aside from matching the rest of your kit, choosing a colour is also an opportunity to consider the rear fairing on the Air Atlas. The piece is a 26 gram semi-transparent extension that sits at the rear of the helmet. It changes colours depending on the overall colour of the helmet and notably Mark Cavendish was sporting a green version on his Monster Energy branded helmet.

The fairing isn't just about cosmetics though. Limar calls the fairing U.F.O. Not for unidentified flying object but rather, "unidentified object." Surely someone is aware of the flying part and it's actually a subtle reference? Either way, the fairing extends the rear of the helmet by clipping on in the centre channel. Remove it and the helmet weighs in at 253 grams for a size medium but clip it back in and this helmet is now heavier than the Trek Ballista. 

What is less easy to measure is the aerodynamic effect of removing the UFO. Like almost every company, Limar doesn't share the wind tunnel data for this helmet. The company does share that the Air Atlas is "1.4 watts faster at 50 km/h compared to previous generation Air Speed." What's interesting about that is that we can trace the claims backwards through time using that info. 

While it's not possible to understand the aero effect of the UFO on its own, or the performance of this helmet compared to others, we can see how far aero road helmets have come. For the Air Speed, Limar claimed a match in performance to the 2019 Air King TT helmet. That's a 340 gram TT helmet with a full face shield that's likely still used regularly at local races. Now you can get the same performance with a standard helmet design for everyday rides. That's pretty impressive. 

The straps on this helmet probably have an effect on that performance as well. They are thin and flexible, and with the help of the side divider they lay flat against your face. Under the chin instead of a buckle, there is a magnetic fidlock system that is not only easy to buckle and unbuckle but also minimal. Completing the system is a pad that velcros together and makes sure to keep any extra strap material from becoming an aerodynamic drag. 

Another aspect of this helmet that performs dual duty is the padding. It's highly minimal to help keep weight low but it's also there to replace any need for an internal MIPS liner. Instead of the liner, the back of the padding uses ultra slick plastic. There are small dots of velcro to hold the liner in place but in the event of a crash, the velcro will come loose and the pads will slide against the inside of the helmet. You'd never know this was a MIPS helmet without the branding. 

The last part of the rider helmet interaction system is the rear cradle. It's above and just ahead of the ears with a pivot point. At the rear of the helmet the cradle has a sliding adjuster with five points across a 34mm slider. When pulled all the way down it opens a large hole in the rear with plenty of room for a ponytail. You can also easily slide the occipital pads left and right to fine tune how they interact with the back of your head when tightening the rear dial.  

Performance

Putting on the Limar Air Atlas MIPS, what I noticed right away was what felt like a short and round fit. So much so that I got out a tape measure and compared it to another helmet in my collection. When the numbers matched, I spent time figuring out what was different.

What I found different about the Limar Air Atlas MIPS fit was actually the huge adjustability in the rear cradle. A helmet I've spent a lot of time in is the Trek Ballista MIPS and that helmet offers only 20 mm of vertical adjustment. Moving the cradle around never fundamentally changes the fit, it just allows some tuning for preference. In contrast, the Limar Air Atlas allows almost 35mm of vertical adjustment in the rear cradle, plus the ability to change the occipital pad placement. 

For me, when the cradle is down low at the back of my head it pushes the front of the hemet down a bit. Because Limar is using the MIPS Air Node system in this helmet, the padding is rather minimal. There's also a strip of almost no padding about 70mm behind the brow pad. Push the helmet too far forward and there's a spot on my head where I notice that low padding area. All of this to say, adjustability in the Air Atlas is exceptional but you may need to make use of it more than you expect. Once I spent some time finding the right fit for me, I found it quite close to the Trek Ballista and the Giro Eclipse Spherical. Specialized helmets sit higher on the head and POC helmets sit lower.

Fit aside, this is an aero helmet and the big question with aero helmets is cooling. Limar uses a bank of seven different air inlets that sit in the high pressure area right at the front of the helmet. As soon as you start moving, these vents push air through a series of channels between the pads. About halfway back, there are four vents that lower air pressure in the back of the helmet. The effect is to speed up the airflow through the internal channels and out of the rear vents. 

The careful management of airflow through the helmet pays off when it comes to cooling. In fact, this is the real story of this helmet. The Limar Air Atlas is light and it’s aero but there are other light and aero helmets, put on this one and what you immediately notice is how effective the airflow management through the helmet is. The front vents are big enough you can feel a breeze when sitting still. Even when climbing at low speeds, there’s air movement through the helmet. 

Again though, this is an aero helmet. The way the air moves through it matters a lot and the Air Atlas leans on this not only for cooling but also for aero performance. The UFO at the rear extends the length of the helmet but more than that, it affects how the exhaust air interacts with the air coming over the top of the helmet. I'd love to see the CFD analysis for this helmet but if you are considering a purchase, just know you will likely leave the UFO attached to the helmet most of the time. It's lighter without it but there’s otherwise no downside. 

One other detail I came to appreciate after using the Limar Air Atlas more was how easy it is to wash the pads. The MIPS system in use means the pads are minimal but it also means they use velcro to attach to the EPS. There's no interaction with the straps and the whole pad system is a single unit. Carefully remove it and you can wash it in the sink with plenty of soap. MIPS Air is becoming a fairly standard system, so this isn't a unique feature of this helmet, but it's appreciated and not yet universal. 

Verdict

Thinking about the Limar Air Atlas MIPS in a more general way, I'm a fan of this helmet. The way the padding and the rear cradle interact does mean you'll need to make use of the generous adjustability but that adds usability. I was able to find a spot that works for me and you probably will as well. Once you do, the magnetic buckle feels like a nice touch for getting in and out and the sparse padding, with no MIPS liner, helps keep weight down plus it’s easy to wash. For those that like to stow their glasses, there’s no special feature but the big open vents in the front are perfect for upside down glasses.

It's also a fast helmet that keeps the internal temperature down. Carefully managing flow through the helmet leads to air constantly cycling over your head and out the back. That same careful management of air also means the Limar Air Atlas MIPS is as aerodynamically fast as a TT helmet from only a few years ago. That's impressive for such a light and airy design. 

What I felt myself asking a lot though was who might actually remove the fairing? If I hand you the helmet with the fairing and without, you can tell the difference of 26 grams. What about 7 grams though? I'm not so sure I can tell the difference when it's that close and that means it might make more sense to choose the 260 gram Trek Ballista MIPS. If you really want the lightest helmet possible, this is what I can point you to. Just know that if you want full aero performance, it gets heavier. 

The Abus GameChanger aero helmet has been a fixture on the heads of the Movistar team since 2017 and latterly is also used by Alpecin-Deceuninck, although with Canyon branding. Now Abus has launched an updated version which it says improves aerodynamics and ventilation.

Gone are the Giro Synthe-like perforated side pieces in favour of a larger slot vent over the forehead. Abus says that this eyebrow vent provides 32 per cent greater airflow into the front of the helmet. 

Venting at the rear has been improved too, with a redesigned, larger, star-shaped exit port that Abus claims improves exhaust air outflow by 20% over the helmet’s predecessor. The internal air channels have also been redesigned, using the Venturi effect to speed up airflow.

Abus says that its re-engineered venting also makes it easier to perch your cycling glasses either in the front or rear vents of the helmet.

Changes to Abus’s Aeroblade, which sits on the top of the helmet towards the rear, are also said to help to draw air out of the helmet more efficiently. The Aeroblade is involved in the helmet’s aerodynamics as well, with Abus saying it’s fine-tuned the helmet for speeds between 46 and 52kph, typical pro riding speeds, and for a more head-down riding position than version one of the GameChanger.

That’s involved changes to the helmet’s rear Kamm-tail, which has been extended so that the GameChanger 2.0 behaves aerodynamically like a helmet 11 per cent longer than its predecessor. The trailing edge of the Kamm-tail has also been lowered by 8 per cent to cater for the typical heads-down position of riders when in the drops.

Abus has been slow to add MIPS or other rotational impact tech to its high-end road helmets relative to its competitors, but the GameChanger 2.0 is optionally available with MIPS Air Node. This builds MIPS’s sliding plane technology into the supports for the helmet’s internal padding, resulting in lower weight and less interference with internal airflow than with the original MIPS plastic liner.

Abus has also tweaked the design of its straps, with a new, wider anchor at the V where the two 12mm wide straps meet, which it says helps ensure that the helmet stays in its optimal position. The MIPS version of the GameChanger 2.0 includes a Fidlock magnetic buckle, which features in some of the best road bike helmets and which Abus says will be of particular use to triathletes looking for fast bike leg transitions.

Finally, you can fit Abus’s QUIN crash detector in the new helmet. As with the Specialized ANGi helmet-mounted system and many of the best bike computers, this uses accelerometers to detect a potential crash. It then connects to Abus’s smartphone app via Bluetooth, with the phone sending out an alert with your coordinates to designated contacts.

Abus claims weights between 260g and 275g for the three different GameChanger 2.0 sizes on offer, in line with its predecessor. The MIPS helmet is offered in four colours and costs £279.99 / €299.99. Forego MIPS and your colour choices increase to 11, while the price drops to £239.99 / €279.99.

Lazer says that the new Cerro KinetiCore helmet is good for both road and gravel riding. It includes a small visor that’s designed to help protect you from everything from the sun's rays to mud and rain. 

The best gravel bike helmets include a few gravel-specific designs, but most riders just use a road bike helmet. Apart from the visor, Lazer has included a few other features designed to make the Cerro KinetiCore suitable for gravel bike use.

Firstly, it's included an eyewear docking station and the Cerro KinetiCore closes with a magnetic buckle, making it easy to get on and off. There’s also a small visor and a  bug net to help keep wasps and their friends out of your hair.

KinetiCore is Lazer’s solution to improve the protection offered by helmets, particularly in the rotational impacts that helmet makers now commonly address by using MIPS.

Whereas MIPS adds an inner layer to the helmet that can slide relative to the outer in an impact, KinetiCore builds crumple zones into the helmet shell. In an impact, these can deform to absorb some of the impact energy; in a more serious impact, they will break off from the rest of the shell, which Lazer says increases the protection offered.

MIPS dominates the independent helmet impact protection tests carried out by the Virginia Tech helmet lab. That’s mainly because of the prevalence of helmets incorporating MIPS in manufacturers’ current ranges though.

There is a sprinkling of Lazer KinetiCore helmets in Virginia Tech’s helmet safety rankings, all of which score either 5*, the best ranking, or 4*, although the Lazer Cerro KinetiCore is still not shown in the publicly published rankings.

Another advantage of KinetiCore cited by Lazer is that there’s less material in the helmet, making it lighter and improving ventilation, as well as using fewer raw materials.

The Lazer Cerro KinetiCore helmet has a claimed weight of 270g. It’s available in three sizes (S/M/L) and six colours and priced at $99.99 / €99.99.