Cannondale Intake helmet

Cannondale's Intake helmet is a good mid-price offering with a semi-aero look and a comfortable fit.

• Pros: Comfy, airflow is decent
• Cons: Big pads soak up a lot of water/sweat, strap placement if you're a Rules wanker

Cannondale says that the Intake is 'designed for the latest generation of cyclists who cycle on every surface, from road, gravel and dirt; this helmet will match your style when taking on any discipline.' But aesthetically it's probably going to have a greater appeal to riders who spend the majority of their time on the black stuff. It's a rounded, semi-aero design with no sticky-out bits; the look is pretty neutral really. I've used it in a race, and I didn't feel self-conscious in it on the commute, or doing longer audaxy stuff.

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The Intake is a pretty comfy lid, all told. The rear cradle isn't height-adjustable but it sits low enough to make the helmet feel secure on your head. I found the Intake comfortable to wear and easy to adjust, with an easy-to-use clicky wheel at the back and generous pads that feel good against your head. The chin strap is fairly basic, but it's easily adjustable and it wasn't a struggle to get the lid nice and snug.

I tried both the S/M and L/XL as my 58cm bonce is top of the one and near the bottom of the other. I ended up wearing the larger one as I could fit a cap under that, but its size and shape meant that the sides of the helmet were just proud of my temples and so were the straps, meaning that the legs of my cycling glasses needed to go under, and not over. Some people don't like that. I can't say I'm much bothered and it's not the only helmet I've had that sits that way: my Uvex ED Aero race lid is the same.

If you've brought your sunnies but it's not sunny then stowing them on the helmet is easy enough thanks to the Superport design which holds the arms nice and securely.

Cannondale says that the Intake is 'Optimised to reduce wind resistance and improve air flow', but given that it's only 60 quid and in the absence of any information from Cannondale to the contrary (I did ask), I'm going to assume that there isn't any wind tunnel data and graphs and such to back that up. Certainly air flow through the 13 vents is decent enough; I wasn't really testing the Intake in conditions that were likely to make me overheat (Somerset in January isn't really known for that) but you can feel the airflow across your head.

In the rain and the cold (I've had significantly more of that to deal with) the less vented shell gives a bit of protection against the elements. Once rain does get in, the generous pads soak up a lot of it, and it takes quite a lot of cafe napkins to get them dry again. In the summer you're going to have the same problem with sweat. They're certainly more absorbent than the pads in other helmets I regularly wear (the Uvex, and a Lazer Z1).

In terms of stated protection the Intake is EN1078 certified, which is the standard most European helmets are tested to. There's a rundown of what all the different worldwide standards test for here if you're interested. I haven't come off and landed on my head during testing as I try not to do that, but the Intake should offer the same level of protection as any other EN-certified helmet, but possibly not as much as a Snell-rated one, or a MIPS one. If you want to weigh in below with your two ha'porth on whether that's a meaningful amount of protection, then keep it civil, yeah?

> Buyer's Guide: Cycling helmets – everything you need to know

Anyway, my overall impressions of the Intake are positive. It's comfortable and neutrally styled so you can wear it for a lot of different stuff. The pads can get a bit moist, though. If you want something a bit more garish than the black version shown here it's also available in neon yellow.

Verdict

Good mid-price helmet with a semi-aero look and a comfortable fit