Great video. Love these and the bike and skinsuit tests. Next up preference! Bontrager Ballista, Specialized Evade II, Oakley Aro5, Kask Utopia and Kask Protone :D
The crazy thing about this, is that they all have to meet the same crash requirements. Yes Mips an Spin might give you some additional protection in certain types of impact - but it seriously makes you question what you are spending the money on if you are not getting any additional aero benefit. I have a BBB Tithon and would love to know how it compares. One for group test 2 maybe? Cheers Ollie - keep up the great work.
Thanks very much for this testing (Charlie's work can help Harry too). Yes, along with the helmets requested in the Comments (add the Scott Cadence if you're willing to put on the butt-ugly POC), do the helmets with & without shield or it will never get done independently. Note: If you read the Giro site, the 5 Watts was to the Attack baseline - they say the Vanquish is 7.64 W faster at 48.3 km/h.
I appreciate the effort going into this video and especially enjoy the input from Wattshop but I am left wondering, what's the margin for error in CdA between runs? The difference between best and worst here is 0.009, which could surely come from slight variations in rider position and even a world champ like Charlie won't be able to avoid this. I'd like to see a number of runs on a single helmet (keeping rider, power etc constant), attempting to keep the position the same. I don't doubt that there would be a decent amount of variation. It seems to equate to a 7ish watt difference @40kph for this group but we are talking very fine margins here. Essentially what we can take away from this is that 'aero-ness' of a standard or semi-aero road helmet will make very little difference, regardless of price. Chuck in a proper TT/track helmet next time to show the magnitude of difference that could make.
Ollie... great content by you guys... aside from the Evade 2 and Manta, we should try and test the Kask Utopia, HJC Furion, Aro 5 and old Ballista for reference maybe !
I think when it comes to helmets frontal area is king, POC can make their shape as slippery as possible and it will still struggle against the likes of an evade i/ii or met manta as they're significantly smaller, especially the manta. Would mind seeing a Scott cadence tested, as well as the older octal aero as I'm sceptical as to the speed improvements of the ventral, heat management aside.
Ollie you should have hidden a competition prize under the helmets for your next Ollie weekly vlog and then asked people to guess which helmet it was under. You missed a trick there!! :-)
For future videos comparing different products, you should keep the fastest out of the videos for future vids. Example would be the fastest pro bikes videos. When the scott foil won, keep that bike in all of the future fastest pro bike videos. Love the channel btw!!
I did have a specialized evade, and am now using a carnac (planet X) Notus, which is pretty much an evade copy snd cannot tell the difference when wearing it. OK the Notus is not quite as well finished as the evade but it's not far off. Also, the Notus is good enough to be supplied to, and used by, the Holdsworth pro team. I love the Notus even more due to the fact that it cost the enormous sum of, £22! Yes £22 from planet X. Seeing the results of the Limsr helmet here, it saddens me Olly to hear your defence of kask, giro etc with quite lame comments about strap quality and buckle finish. The difference in the things you point out would add up to a maximum cost of £30, if that? Definitely not the, in some cases, £150+ we see charged. We pay for a lot of tech we don't actually get!
From what I have observed, helmets using the “small inlet port, big outlet port” design philosophy depend largely on your hair length. With a hair like the tester, the outlet port is basically stuck.
I feel bad for my mates who wears Kask Infinity, who would've thought? haha~ Great comparison with the cheap helmet. A showdown with Kask Protone (almost half of my riding buddies wear that), Mantra, Evade II and Game Changer would be good to know if u have access, would really want to see if Aero is everything is actually another marketing scam or not. Keep up the good work CW!
Yes you want a fast helmet. But I want it to do its primary job exceeding well and that is protection in a crash. Looking at the designs I think the POC would do a much better job than the Ventra. I would sacrifice a few watts for improved safety. Very interesting result with the Lema. Makes the others look over priced if your only criteria is speed. But what about protection and I know this is a hard one for you to test and compare.
Looking forward to the Met Manta since the Trenta did so well. I got a Manta and I'd really like to know it's aerodynamics as it seems that all this aerodynamics stuff is pretty counter-intuitive.
Bwahahaha, what the hell have Lazer, MET, POC, and Kask been up too?! Getting beat by a $35 helmet. Very glad to see the budget helmet included in this test as it really lends a lot more credibility to the results. Bottom line from this test for me: Buy the helmet that you think looks cool.
If you look at the Giro Vanquish and Met Trenta, you see there's definitely a significant gain to be made by wearing a good aero helmet. Sadly, the top aero helmets are not in this test. Other tests have shown the scott cadence, evade and bontrager ballista to be the best aero helmets out there
zwamman i dont have much money therefore all of that helmet is SUPER expensive for me just for a helmet. I rather buy all that money for parts and tools. So cheap helmet thats aero is the choice for me lol.
Here's a suggestion: Correlate results to how well the helmet fits. i.e. What's the gap between bottom of helmet and top of ear. You might be surprised.
Should try the Abus Aventor too (Movistar) -- side note: Dimension Data uses Oakley helmets this year, Met is now only represented by UAE. Very surprised by the Trenta 3k performance, it's pretty significantly lighter than all the rest too by a good 30-50g..
Some people get so hung up on this. Fortunately, I own a Met Trenta as I was able to secure a reasonable discount, but go with what you like. For most of my riding, it won’t make a difference, but at least I won’t have those nagging doubts in my head. For info, the Trenta does come down quite low & makes the sunglass entry a squeeze. Did Harry find the same?
Nice content guys, try to have a Mavic CXR tested for the next time if you can. Older design but small frontal area, it is also quite slick and well vented Maybe you could make a test about taping the vents too.
great work! next on list spec evade, bontrager, new oakley, the rudy project boost 01 dorsal ridge thing is supposed to be super fast..and the old evade. please, i have a bontrager balista and old spec evade if you want to use it for the test? can't buy a new aero helmet until you finish this so hurry up please ;o)
Next aero test: Are narrower tires more aero on a deep section rim. How much difference is there, and is any aero benefit greater than increased rolling resistance.
Next time I think it would good to include the abus game changer as well as the new evade and maybe a cheaper option like the carnac aero road that is so common now as can be bought for £20
If the manta is as fast as the trenta, that'd be awesome value for money. would be cool to see the ballista and octal in this test, too! ooh, ooh, bell zephyr? kask protone? old vs new evade?
Personally I think you were too dismissive of the budget helmet. Clearly there's a relationship to be looked after with the big brands, but this was an aero test and it scored highly. You mention a clunky retention system but in reality this gets adjusted once and then left. Neither do I buy the rubbing straps.
Strangely, I read that budget helmets often perform better in safety tests then premium helmets as well, again due to simpler construction, fewer vents, and more ‘slippery’ plastic wrapping that slides better on tarmac. When you buy a premium helmet, you are buying better ventilation, a better fit, nice construction , lighter weight, and style. Safety is almost an afterthought - there is a minimum standard to meet and few brands try to exceed it, which is a shame
Obviously MET is the most beautiful, something MET has been doing since the Stradiduvarious, which saved my life, while looking awesome (because looks are everything). However, I don’t see how anything can be faster than that Kask which doesn’t let air in, in a crit?
Sadly I already own a POC Ventral. But I think this test misrepresents a bit what POC was going for which wasn't an aero helmet in the first place. But more protection in case of an impact. But still not a good result.
Would also have been nice to see a result with no helmet. Although the test is appreciated I can't help but think the differences were small and could have been swamped but changes in position. If so that points to all the helmets being about the same.
So what you're saying is that these are all really good helmets for the average club rider. Not drafting, that regular "joe" is going to be sub 40 kph for sure....so from the worst helmet to the best in this group we're talking about 5-6 watts. The test also didn't take into consideration head positioning - was the rider looking down more for a given run or ahead...most of these helmets are optimized for sitting pretty level. So the take away (other than maybe just go with the $30 department store helmet) is that any of these helmets would serve the average rider more than adequately.
Hi folks at cycling weekly I could do with some help and advice so I am going to be buying a road bike from Decathalon which is the ultra 900 I’m not the worlds fittest guy far from it to be quite honest I couldn’t get much information on the road bike itself was just wondering just have curiosity do you know what the biggest done Gessert I can most probably put on to this bike.
after using top of the range helmets i didnt feel they were worth the money , im a climber so i prefer ventilation. Now i've bougt a met strale, and with the rest of the money bought some oakleys
I might not have gotten much out of my physics class but surely significant figures make most of this data kinda useless. If even the most accurate power meters are only good to 1% then at 375w that a 3.75w error margin that enough to change the place on any of the helmets on test.
I am currently in the market for a new helmet too. But I am searching for good vented one first. Can anyone recommend some ( in the higher price range ) I don't care too much about aerodynamics
Superb, just proves that all the marketing BS companies spew out is exactly that. BS. I find it incredible that people believe anything any company says about their products. Real independent testing is the only answer. Well done. I enjoyed Ollie attempting to justify his own well learned biases by trying to justify a 10 fold price increase for an inferior performing product. Facts are for 10 times the price it should pedal my bike too...Great video. Keep them coming.
Ketzal Sterling actually in the case for MET, their marketing is valid and the results from this study means that MET’s claims were conservative and underestimating their aero properties. Not sure about the other brands claims though.
I was referring to marketing in general. I'm sure many of these companies did get considerable gains at specific testing protocols. What they fail to mention in their advertising is that aerodynamics are so incredibly complex in the real world with different riders that you may actually end up worse off. The cycling industry in general is badly in need of this exact content. Independent testing. Give us science, not opinion.
Kask Protone please!! Very good videos and series!!
Great video. Love these and the bike and skinsuit tests. Next up preference! Bontrager Ballista, Specialized Evade II, Oakley Aro5, Kask Utopia and Kask Protone :D
Nicholas Hulme kask infinity as well :)
Oops shouldn't comment before I watch
+1 Ballista
Great job cycling weekly. Always great to see genuine reviews
The crazy thing about this, is that they all have to meet the same crash requirements. Yes Mips an Spin might give you some additional protection in certain types of impact - but it seriously makes you question what you are spending the money on if you are not getting any additional aero benefit. I have a BBB Tithon and would love to know how it compares. One for group test 2 maybe? Cheers Ollie - keep up the great work.
Thanks very much for this testing (Charlie's work can help Harry too). Yes, along with the helmets requested in the Comments (add the Scott Cadence if you're willing to put on the butt-ugly POC), do the helmets with & without shield or it will never get done independently.
Note: If you read the Giro site, the 5 Watts was to the Attack baseline - they say the Vanquish is 7.64 W faster at 48.3 km/h.
I appreciate the effort going into this video and especially enjoy the input from Wattshop but I am left wondering, what's the margin for error in CdA between runs? The difference between best and worst here is 0.009, which could surely come from slight variations in rider position and even a world champ like Charlie won't be able to avoid this.
I'd like to see a number of runs on a single helmet (keeping rider, power etc constant), attempting to keep the position the same. I don't doubt that there would be a decent amount of variation.
It seems to equate to a 7ish watt difference @40kph for this group but we are talking very fine margins here. Essentially what we can take away from this is that 'aero-ness' of a standard or semi-aero road helmet will make very little difference, regardless of price. Chuck in a proper TT/track helmet next time to show the magnitude of difference that could make.
Let's see the bontrager ballista throw in the next one too
Really interesting film. Olly, you are getting so much better in front of the camera, keep it up. Ps, nice bouffant!
Dimension Data is using Oakley helmets, not MET.
OirschotEquip Katusha is as well. Only BMC are with Giro still I believe
Ollie... great content by you guys... aside from the Evade 2 and Manta, we should try and test the Kask Utopia, HJC Furion, Aro 5 and old Ballista for reference maybe !
Great insight!
Please test the following:
- Sworks Evade
- Bontrager Ballista
- Oakley Aro
- Met Manta
- Rudy Project Boost
Kask Protone, Bontrager Ballista, Met Manta
Met 3k Trenta is just as aero as the Mantra until you put your head down.
Love these tests! Keep up the good work, Oli!
I think when it comes to helmets frontal area is king, POC can make their shape as slippery as possible and it will still struggle against the likes of an evade i/ii or met manta as they're significantly smaller, especially the manta.
Would mind seeing a Scott cadence tested, as well as the older octal aero as I'm sceptical as to the speed improvements of the ventral, heat management aside.
It's a trick question. Helmets actually don't move at all.
:crying:
buy for fit, comfort, and weight
Ollie you should have hidden a competition prize under the helmets for your next Ollie weekly vlog and then asked people to guess which helmet it was under. You missed a trick there!! :-)
For future videos comparing different products, you should keep the fastest out of the videos for future vids. Example would be the fastest pro bikes videos. When the scott foil won, keep that bike in all of the future fastest pro bike videos. Love the channel btw!!
I did have a specialized evade, and am now using a carnac (planet X) Notus, which is pretty much an evade copy snd cannot tell the difference when wearing it. OK the Notus is not quite as well finished as the evade but it's not far off. Also, the Notus is good enough to be supplied to, and used by, the Holdsworth pro team. I love the Notus even more due to the fact that it cost the enormous sum of, £22! Yes £22 from planet X. Seeing the results of the Limsr helmet here, it saddens me Olly to hear your defence of kask, giro etc with quite lame comments about strap quality and buckle finish. The difference in the things you point out would add up to a maximum cost of £30, if that? Definitely not the, in some cases, £150+ we see charged. We pay for a lot of tech we don't actually get!
From what I have observed, helmets using the “small inlet port, big outlet port” design philosophy depend largely on your hair length. With a hair like the tester, the outlet port is basically stuck.
HJC Furion
LOVE this series. Test everything for aerodynamics!
Awesome. I love the science/trading videos. Keep it up.
I feel bad for my mates who wears Kask Infinity, who would've thought? haha~ Great comparison with the cheap helmet. A showdown with Kask Protone (almost half of my riding buddies wear that), Mantra, Evade II and Game Changer would be good to know if u have access, would really want to see if Aero is everything is actually another marketing scam or not. Keep up the good work CW!
Yes you want a fast helmet. But I want it to do its primary job exceeding well and that is protection in a crash. Looking at the designs I think the POC would do a much better job than the Ventra. I would sacrifice a few watts for improved safety. Very interesting result with the Lema. Makes the others look over priced if your only criteria is speed. But what about protection and I know this is a hard one for you to test and compare.
Would be good to see the affordable Btwin 900 in the mix
Ps, great helmet for fit comfort (can't comment on safety) but runs a bit small. I take large Btwin but medium most other brands
Stick the abus game changer in the next test 👍
Looking forward to the Met Manta since the Trenta did so well. I got a Manta and I'd really like to know it's aerodynamics as it seems that all this aerodynamics stuff is pretty counter-intuitive.
Bontrager Velocis and/or Ballista. Oakley ARO
And please for the bikes Pinarello Dogma F10, Storck Aerofast, Ridley Noah SL, trek emonda, Colnago Concept, Colnago V2-R
Bwahahaha, what the hell have Lazer, MET, POC, and Kask been up too?! Getting beat by a $35 helmet. Very glad to see the budget helmet included in this test as it really lends a lot more credibility to the results.
Bottom line from this test for me: Buy the helmet that you think looks cool.
If you look at the Giro Vanquish and Met Trenta, you see there's definitely a significant gain to be made by wearing a good aero helmet. Sadly, the top aero helmets are not in this test. Other tests have shown the scott cadence, evade and bontrager ballista to be the best aero helmets out there
zwamman i dont have much money therefore all of that helmet is SUPER expensive for me just for a helmet. I rather buy all that money for parts and tools. So cheap helmet thats aero is the choice for me lol.
I don't know where you're from, but if cycling is popular in your country, buying used cycling gear is a huge win.
zwamman used helmet is kinda sketchy and the odor is bad lol ( ꒪⌓꒪)
Zhar but you could buy used tools and parts and spend the money on a fast lid
Here's a suggestion: Correlate results to how well the helmet fits. i.e. What's the gap between bottom of helmet and top of ear. You might be surprised.
Should try the Abus Aventor too (Movistar) -- side note: Dimension Data uses Oakley helmets this year, Met is now only represented by UAE. Very surprised by the Trenta 3k performance, it's pretty significantly lighter than all the rest too by a good 30-50g..
Love this series of aero tests. Be really cool to do this type of testing on some TT bikes. Canyon Speedmax vs BMC timemachine vs Pinarello Bollide??
I had Bell, Giro synthee, Soecialized synapse, Specialized evade and from the list was evade the worsest one. I will try Kask
please test those famous aero road helmet, like Met Manta, Spec Evade II,BOntrager ballista, Oakley aro and etc.
Where is the mountain bike coverage? Is this cycling weekly or road cycling weekly?
Some people get so hung up on this. Fortunately, I own a Met Trenta as I was able to secure a reasonable discount, but go with what you like. For most of my riding, it won’t make a difference, but at least I won’t have those nagging doubts in my head. For info, the Trenta does come down quite low & makes the sunglass entry a squeeze. Did Harry find the same?
Nice content guys, try to have a Mavic CXR tested for the next time if you can. Older design but small frontal area, it is also quite slick and well vented
Maybe you could make a test about taping the vents too.
No... just buy a new helmet lol
First! These are awesome comparison videos. You didn't factor in how any of the helmets affected your hair-do
Would love to see the performance of TT helmets, in particular the new Endura Aeroswitch vs its competitors!
great work! next on list spec evade, bontrager, new oakley, the rudy project boost 01 dorsal ridge thing is supposed to be super fast..and the old evade. please, i have a bontrager balista and old spec evade if you want to use it for the test? can't buy a new aero helmet until you finish this so hurry up please ;o)
Please do more like this, with met and speclized
Amazing, I love this video!
Weird that Met is the one with a super wide Drone TT helmet (though I believe a smaller one was spotted). Loving my Met Rivale though
Next aero test: Are narrower tires more aero on a deep section rim. How much difference is there, and is any aero benefit greater than increased rolling resistance.
Next time I think it would good to include the abus game changer as well as the new evade and maybe a cheaper option like the carnac aero road that is so common now as can be bought for £20
What about Kask Protone, Bontrager Ballista, Met Manta, Evade 2 and Oaklay ARO5?
Interested in Scott Cadence plus and Specialized Evade II.
Didn't see any in the video. Oh, well. i understand you can't test everything.
If the manta is as fast as the trenta, that'd be awesome value for money. would be cool to see the ballista and octal in this test, too! ooh, ooh, bell zephyr? kask protone? old vs new evade?
What is that blue bike right behind you at the HQ? It looks a lot like my mango point R bike..
Always knew a lot of these helmets were an absolute scam
Probably the same with all aspects of cycling stuff. Value gear will not be so bad with some cracking examples.
Scott Cadence Plus would be a good comparison as well
Personally I think you were too dismissive of the budget helmet. Clearly there's a relationship to be looked after with the big brands, but this was an aero test and it scored highly. You mention a clunky retention system but in reality this gets adjusted once and then left. Neither do I buy the rubbing straps.
What helmet is compatible with Oakley radar sunglasses. I have a kask mojito but it isnt comfortable with the Oakleys.
Strangely, I read that budget helmets often perform better in safety tests then premium helmets as well, again due to simpler construction, fewer vents, and more ‘slippery’ plastic wrapping that slides better on tarmac. When you buy a premium helmet, you are buying better ventilation, a better fit, nice construction , lighter weight, and style. Safety is almost an afterthought - there is a minimum standard to meet and few brands try to exceed it, which is a shame
Obviously MET is the most beautiful, something MET has been doing since the Stradiduvarious, which saved my life, while looking awesome (because looks are everything). However, I don’t see how anything can be faster than that Kask which doesn’t let air in, in a crit?
Yeh it's interesting
Could you test a laser z1? (With and without the aero shell if possible)
Sadly I already own a POC Ventral. But I think this test misrepresents a bit what POC was going for which wasn't an aero helmet in the first place. But more protection in case of an impact. But still not a good result.
Specialized Evade II and Bontrager Ballista
+1 for Ballista and Evade 1/2 next time please!!
How do you NOT include the S-Works Evade?!
Suddenly the Limar 535 is out of stock in everything shop at used to be sold
And one from your new sponsor, Scott Cadence Plus :D
Would also have been nice to see a result with no helmet. Although the test is appreciated I can't help but think the differences were small and could have been swamped but changes in position. If so that points to all the helmets being about the same.
Test the cheaper Met Strale. Just wanna know if I spent my money wisely.
Bontrager velocis MIPS!! Next time!! Thanks!!
So what you're saying is that these are all really good helmets for the average club rider. Not drafting, that regular "joe" is going to be sub 40 kph for sure....so from the worst helmet to the best in this group we're talking about 5-6 watts. The test also didn't take into consideration head positioning - was the rider looking down more for a given run or ahead...most of these helmets are optimized for sitting pretty level. So the take away (other than maybe just go with the $30 department store helmet) is that any of these helmets would serve the average rider more than adequately.
Interesting video Oliver
Hi folks at cycling weekly I could do with some help and advice so I am going to be buying a road bike from Decathalon which is the ultra 900 I’m not the worlds fittest guy far from it to be quite honest I couldn’t get much information on the road bike itself was just wondering just have curiosity do you know what the biggest done Gessert I can most probably put on to this bike.
How could you leave the Oakley *ARO* series out of the test?
kask valegro
Could you please take the Giro Aerohead a prober tt helmet to see the difference
Some good Fabrik tape does the trick
This just in.....Limar helmets sales are off the roof!
after using top of the range helmets i didnt feel they were worth the money , im a climber so i prefer ventilation. Now i've bougt a met strale, and with the rest of the money bought some oakleys
01:00, it's not constant velocity, it's constant speed. Why? Because they change direction.
Maybe budget aero helmets in part 2?
giant helmets
Quite shocked to see that my favourite helmet, the giro synthe, is actually less aerodynamic than the cheap limar!
Next test aero socks 🙈
How about different yaw angles?
Trenta for the win!
I might not have gotten much out of my physics class but surely significant figures make most of this data kinda useless. If even the most accurate power meters are only good to 1% then at 375w that a 3.75w error margin that enough to change the place on any of the helmets on test.
Abus Gamechanger would be interesting
OGK Kabuto AERO-R1(NIPPO), possible?
With a CdA diff of .009 across the range, clearly it barely matters what you stick on your bonce....just buy the one you like.
10:03 design inspired by Frozone from the incredibles
I would like to see the met manta tested
Great product for the price
I am currently in the market for a new helmet too. But I am searching for good vented one first. Can anyone recommend some ( in the higher price range ) I don't care too much about aerodynamics
Doesn't the fact that it is indoors with no wind affect the results?
Why the apparent dislike of visors? Having had a helmet with a visor I would never buy one without again.
Test Synthe vs. Aether next time!
um...S-Works Evade ii? Sagan?
Superb, just proves that all the marketing BS companies spew out is exactly that. BS. I find it incredible that people believe anything any company says about their products. Real independent testing is the only answer. Well done. I enjoyed Ollie attempting to justify his own well learned biases by trying to justify a 10 fold price increase for an inferior performing product. Facts are for 10 times the price it should pedal my bike too...Great video. Keep them coming.
Ketzal Sterling actually in the case for MET, their marketing is valid and the results from this study means that MET’s claims were conservative and underestimating their aero properties. Not sure about the other brands claims though.
I was referring to marketing in general. I'm sure many of these companies did get considerable gains at specific testing protocols. What they fail to mention in their advertising is that aerodynamics are so incredibly complex in the real world with different riders that you may actually end up worse off. The cycling industry in general is badly in need of this exact content. Independent testing. Give us science, not opinion.
specialized evade and carnac notus evo
giro foray forever :D
Abus airbreaker please 👌