Helmets

You want a helmet to be light, comfortable, well-ventilated and stable; in a perfect world you shouldn’t even notice it’s there.

With lots of ventilation holes, internal channels to carry air over your head and moulded-in outer shells, modern helmets fulfil these requirements far better than the hard-shell brain buckets on the 1980s, and clever cradles hold the back of your head to keep them in place.

And you no longer have to pay a premium to get a good helmet; there are some excellent lids at sensible prices, but at the performance end of the scale you get allegedly better aerodynamics and features like covers for winter.

How we review cycle helmets

road.cc reviews evaluate how a cycle helmet performs in terms of comfort, weight, ventilation, ease of adjustment, price, and all-round wearability. We don't test effectiveness in a crash because, like other cycling websites, we don’t have the resources necessary to conduct independent lab tests and analysis. In our view, what a helmet is like to wear regularly in different riding and weather conditions is valid and useful information to any potential buyer, given that most helmets will never be crashed. 

The test report section of our reviews does make note of the safety standard(s) the manufacturer says their helmet meets. You can read more about safety standards by clicking the Cycling helmets – everything you need to know link below. 

All road.cc articles on helmets

Best cheap cycling helmets
Cycling helmets — everything you need to know
Buyer's guide: performance helmets
Should you buy an aero helmet?
How to set up your helmet