Best bike helmets for road cyclists 2023

Brands are constantly competing to create the best bike helmets. With the competition so hot, the drive to create the best road helmet, best commuting helmet, or best aero helmet for racing is constantly pushing innovation.

Factors like comfort, aerodynamics, and breathability are all part of your considerations when it comes to making a decision on what to buy. 

Safety is obviously of paramount importance too, and we've tested many helmets that feature additional protection, most notably Multi-directional Impact Protection System or MIPS for short. Typically the MIPS used is an additional layer that sits between the EPS foam and helmet liner and is designed to help reduce the effect of rotational impacts. It's currently used by over 120 brands worldwide but it's also worth noting that some brands, such as Lazer, uses its own technology to combat rotational impacts. The independent tester Virginia Tech regularly places helmets featuring MIPS at or near the top its safety rankings, so it's certainly a feature that's worthy of your consideration.

Our guide will help you understand all the important aspects of buying the most suitable road bike helmet for you.  We've reviewed a wide range of helmets, ensuring that we've tested products at different price points as well those designed 

with specific benefits in mind, such as improved aerodynamics and ventilation.

Lower down the page we have detailed all you need to know when making your purchase, including how to ensure you are getting the perfect road bike helmet in terms of fit, form, and comfort.

But before all the how-to details, here are our top picks of the best road bike helmets. 

If at any time you want to quickly navigate to a specific helmet or buyer's guide information, you can use the handy quick links on the page take you directly to each one. 

If you need to stick to a lower price bracket, then it's worth visiting our page dedicated to the best budget bike helmets, for low priced head protection, which still ranks high in safety features. If you're commuting, one of the best commuter bike helmets might be a good option.

The ultimate road bike helmet

If you buy one road bike helmet, buy this. Here at Cycling Weekly we get to test lots of different helmets across lots of different categories, but if we had to pick just one, this would be our absolute favourite road bike helmet.

An absolute favourite road bike helmet for us is the Giro Aether MIPS. On test we called it a game-changer of a road bike helmet due to its unrivalled all-around performance. 

During the review period, we found this helmet to be exceptional in its ventilation ability and at the cutting edge for safety features. While there are slightly lighter helmets, such as the Kask Protone helmet, it was still an impressively low weight at just 269g (for a size small).

The Aether features the gold standard MIPS Spherical technology, which sits between the two shells to make the added safety feature a really comfortable option. Teaming this with the added reinforcement construction gives the rider lots of reassurance on how safe and strong this helmet really is. 

Packaged in a really sleek looking design, with lots of colors to choose from, it's really easy to wear for any style of riding making it all-round the best road bike helmet out there.  

In fact, we loved the Giro Aether MIPS so much, that we gave it a five out of five stars and a Cycling Weekly Editor's Choice Award. The only reason why you wouldn't want to buy it is if your head fundamentally didn't fit any of the size options. 

Read more: Giro Aether MIPS helmet full review

Best lightweight helmets

Building on a collaboration that has seen some incredibly vibrant helmets worn by EF Education cycling team, Rapha and POC are back in collaboration with a much more subtle offering. 

One of the two helmets in the limited collection is the super-lightweight, super-airy Ventral Lite. Our test model in small weighed in at an incredible 170g (the claimed weight for the medium is 200g). We certainly found it to be both light and airy during our review period.

Fit adjustment is via a 360 degree nylon string retention, operated by a rear dial which is easy to adjust and very effective. To keep the weight to a minimum,  there's only a little adjustment on the straps, with a single slide adjuster on the chin buckle. We did find this a bit restrictive but appreciated that the helmet is offered in two widths, which helped us dial in the fit a little more.

For Rapha's part, the design is understated, a white version with thin grey lines, or a black/grey/navy version with thin white lines. It's that subtle bit of class that Rapha's brand is built on. 

To keep the weight as low as possible, the helmet doesn't feature any additional safety features such as MIPS. There are other versions of the Ventral that do, but not with the Rapha special edition design. 

Read more: Rapha + POC Ventral Lite bike helmet full review

Weighing just an incredibly 220g/ 7.7oz for a size medium, the Kask Protone helmet offers, according to the brand, one of the lowest drag and fastest heat dissipation options on the market.  

We found the Protone to be one of the most comfortable helmets we'd ever tested, and indeed one of the lightest, beating the Giro Synthe by 20g (0.7oz).  

The semi-aero lid did suffer a little with breathability however, and while the ventilation was very good, on the hottest of riding days it could have done with the ability to suck even more cool air in. or exhaust more heat out. That said, on the sweatiest of days in the saddle, we found that the Protone's water irrigation design is top notch, managing to avoid channelling sweat down on to sunglasses or into eyes. 

The Protone features a reinforced internal plastic sub-structure, which has been certified in passing the Kask Rotational Impact WG11 Test, the brand’s protocol on rotational impact, which is considered to have one of the most robust testing protocol standards. So you can rest assured that while it lacks weight, it doesn't lack head impact protection.

Read more: Kask Protone Helmet full review 

The featherlight and comfortable Lazer G1 Genesis helmet feels secure when on and boasts a simple, stylish look. To fit to your individual head shape the rear barrel retention cradle has a large amount of vertical adjustment, but as with the Lazer Blade+ MIPS Helmet, this doesn't provide much in the way of horizontal adjustment, so not as fine tuneable as any of the Giro helmet offerings. 

That said, it's still a comfortable road bike helmet and one that is very lightweight, in fact at 205g for a sized medium on our test scales, one of the lightest helmets we've seen, and around 55g lighter than the Giro Helios Spherical MIPS Helmet. 

You do need to "shell" out for the additional after market aero layer, it's not a big outlay, and if you want to harness the helmets go faster properties, it's a minimal weight penalty, and would make it a really lightweight aero specific road bike helmet too.

Read more: Lazer G1 Genesis cycling helmet full review

Best aero helmets

Aero helmets will be wind tunnel tested, and will often provide a watt-saving figure as to how much energy can be retained thanks to the improved aerodynamics of the helmet. If you are wondering if you even need an aero lid, our page on Can an aero road helmet make you faster? is well worth a visit. 

Our favourite aerodynamic lids you can buy right now.

The Lazer Vento is designed as an aero helmet, so ventilation is somewhat sacrificed for speed. That said, this helmet still compares very favourably to other aero helmets with regards to keeping your head cool. Although we couldn’t test the aerodynamic qualities of this against other helmets, it did feel fast when putting our head down and over the course of the test loops we did.

The helmet looks rather good too, keeping quite a low profile and not being too bulbous. It was also very comfortable and the new retention system is a massive improvement on Lazer’s previous design – although still not as easy to use as a regular dial. However, this new system does promise to be ponytail friendly. The glasses port, sadly, is not particularly good as it is too wide to accommodate most sunglasses.

The helmet is definitely towards the more expensive end of the market and is also not the lightest at 291g for size medium. However the weight is not something that we noticed when wearing it – and some of that is due to the additional crash protection systems in place. Although the price is high, it is available for cheaper prices online and the independently verified five star safety rating is a big selling point.

Read more: Lazer Vento KinetiCore helmet full review

The Giro Eclipse Spherical helmet uses Giro's MIPS Spherical tech, where MIPS forms the filling in a sandwich between two EPS foam layers. We found the helmet fit comfortable and unrestrictive. Airflow was impressive and kept us comfortable even in 35C-plus heat, the straps fit well without flapping and there's space to insert sunnies in the front vents.

Giro claims that the Eclipse is the fastest ever aero helmet - which we aren't able to verify, although our tester did achieve his fastest ever downhill speed and upped his average overall while wearing it.

Read more: Giro Eclipse Spherical cycling helmet full review

The POC Ventral SPIN helmet could probably sit in a few of the best road bike helmet categories due to its crossover credentials. 

On test we absolutely loved the Ventral Spin, finding it the best road bike helmet for aerodynamic features without sacrificing breathability. 

Its large air ports mean that it also doesn't take the usual guise of an aero helmet, which tend to have a more solid appearance. POC say the unique design used optimised CFD (computational fluid dynamic) testing which enhances aerodynamics performance by reducing drag and minimalizing air turbulence with the goal of helping you ride as fast as possible. 

The aero lid uses POC's own SPIN (Shearing Pad INside) safety feature, which combines silicone bladders and pads for helping to dissipate rotation impacts, which are the most likely impacts to suffer in a bike crash, absorbing crash energy away, with the aim of reducing head trauma.  

While seemingly superficial, anyone who has ridden with an aero lid will know the challenge of trying to stow sunglasses when they're not on your face. The fully wrapped EPS POC Ventral SPIN however includes sunglass grippers. They're meant to be best compatible with POC own brand sunnies, but we teamed the helmet with a whole host of brands and found them to hold tight to every single pair.

Price wise, it's probably most in competition with the Giro Aether MIPS, but you do get full on aero features with the POC. 

Read more: POC Ventral SPIN cycling helmet full review

Now in its third iteration, the Specialized S-Works Evade 3 helmet improves on its predecessors with better airflow and comfort, without sacrificing slipperiness. 

It comes with larger front vents and a drag-defeating "diffuser" with wide vents at the rear.  Specialized has also made the straps thinner, used a standard buckle and included MIPS Air Node, which is integrated into the internal padding, making it less intrusive than the more normal plastic liner.

The helmet is compatible with the ANGi crash sensor, although Specialized doesn't include this. 

We found the Evade 3 comfortable even on hot, dry summer rides and comfortable, if a little narrow on the sides. The narrower straps generated less windflap too. 

Read more: Specialized S-Works Evade 3 full review

Trek has revamped its racing helmet lines, with the aero Ballista MIPS now including MIPS Air sliding plane tech which doesn't need a separate internal liner. It's an interesting looking design, with its dropped tail. 

It's tightened with a wire and BOA dial system at the rear, which gives a secure, stable fit. There's low profile padding and the straps are soft and easy to adjust. 

We were impressed by the airflow as well, which vent better than some vented helmets, despite there only being two front-facing vents. We also rated the ponytail-friendliness, although adjusting the cradle height at the rear is a little fiddly.

Read more: Trek Ballista MIPS bike helmet full review

Combining aerodynamics with aesthetically pleasing looks and improved comfort, we found the recently revised Kask Utopia Y helmet to be one of the best road bike helmets.

Despite its closed off silhouette, the deep channelling and vents under the brow keep your noggin cool and your sunglasses free of sunscreen infused sweat. You can adjust the retention band down to the millimetre, giving the helmet an excellent snug - yet comfortable - fit. This comfort is further boosted by the addition of thick interior padding , which is very soft against the skin. 

Weighing in at only 260g in a size medium, the Utopia Y is also impressively light, especially for an aero road helmet - we found that it really did disappear on our head once we'd strapped it on.

Unlike some other aero lids, the Utopia Y is not bulky looking, and it also comes in a wide range of nine colors so you'll be able to find a look that suits your individual style. 

Read more: Kask Utopia Y cycling helmet full review

Comfortable, undoubtedly slippery through the air and packed to the rafters with the safety features of Koroyd, the plastic straw looking impact absorption feature,  and helmet safety gold standard MIPS, makes the Smith Ignite helmet right up there with the safest road bike helmets on the market.

It has Smith's VaporFit retention system, which can be adjusted vertically and horizontally to allow for a snuggly fit for all head shapes, which is a rare feature especially in aero focused helmet options.

Smith's Ignite should certainly be a first choice helmet for those riders looking for an aero advantage without the drawbacks, although we found that the matt finish tends to look a little grubby quite quickly - so no chucking in the kit bag post ride if you want to keep it looking ship shape for as long as possible. 

Read more: Smith Ignite cycling helmet full review

Best all-rounder helmets

We absolutely loved the Giro Helios Spherical MIPS helmet finding it to be the best do all helmet out there. 

Bridging the gap between road and off road adventures the Helios is also featured under the brand's women's helmet categories as its wide size and color options, along with exceptionally comfortable fit gives it broad appeal.

The lightweight helmet uses the same Spherical MIPS protection as the Giro Aether, which isn't the only way this lower price offering challenges its more expensive sibling. 

There's also a 10 gram weight, saving to be had on a like for like size, with the brand putting this weight saving is down to the Helios Spherical helmet having less technical ventilation structure than the Aether. Personally found it a barely noticeable difference having ridden both helmets, with the two equally as comfortable. 

The only thing it does lack is an eyewear doc feature, with our tester struggling to find suitable holes to pop sunglasses arms through. But if you're looking for a great value all-rounder option, then this is one of the best road bike helmets out there.  

Read more: Giro Helios Spherical MIPS cycling helmet full review

Specialized's updated S-Works Prevail 3 helmet is designed to be both airer and safer than the outgoing model. Given that the previous Prevail was the US brand's most heavily vented lid, it was quite the challenge. However, after riding the helmet, we believe that Specialized has succeeded.

By using its Air Cage design, its been able to strip down the usual foam bridges to help increase ventilation by almost 25% when compared the Prevail 2. But despite the minimal look of the Air Cage, safety isn't compromised. Essentially the cage design acts like a suspension bridge, distributing the forces of an impact across the entire helmet. 

The Prevail 3 also uses MIPS AirNode, which integrates the MIPS system, designed to protect against rotational forces during a crash, directly into the helmet padding. The result is not only a reduction in weight but also an aid to improved ventilation, as the air has one less layer to move through.

When riding, the large vents do their job with great success. Even when temperatures hit 32 degrees C the air flow through the helmet kept our head cool.

At 280 grams, the S-Works Prevail 3 is light but certainly not lightest in class. But for those who ride often in hot climates the supreme ventilation is likely to make it worthy of consideration.

Read more: Specialized S-Works Prevail 3 full review

Bell's XR helmet is aimed at cyclists who like to ride both on and off-road and require a helmet to cover both terrains.

To achieve this the XR uses a compact shape that's well-vented, using 14 vents large vents that allow for plenty of airflow. The inner shell extends further down the back of the head than regular road lids, something which gravel riders will appreciate.

Other safety features include the Spherical MIPS system, with the outer and inner shell capable of moving independently during an impact. The idea here to better protect against rotational impacts, while the outer shell can absorb glancing blows.

The XR uses Bell's Float Fit system, that's simple to use and is paired with a comfortable strap and magnetic buckle. Combined they allow for a stable fit that adds to the helmet's high level of comfort - the great ventilation and Iconic+ padding alone make it plenty comfy.

Perhaps due to the extra protection, the Bell XR isn't the lightest in class - a medium has a claimed weight of 285g while our large test helmet tipped that scales at 317g.

Read more: Bell XR Spherical MIPS cycling helmet full review

Kask designed the Sintesi to be a single, mid-priced helmet that worked as well for recreational road cyclists, commuters and gravel riders. It comes in a wide range of colors and is affordably priced.

Kask uses its Ergo Fit retention system, which allows wide vertical and circumference adjustment of the rear of the cradle, allowing two sizes to suit most head sizes, and there is a comfortable synthetic leather chin strap. Rather than an additional layer like MIPS, Kask uses the WG11 protocol to test its helmets for rotational impact protection. 

On test, we found that the Sintesi provided good airflow and kept our head cool, although the 13 vents don't offer anywhere to perch a pair of glasses.

Read more: Kask Sintesi helmet full review

The MET Rivale MIPS combines aero and ventilation features for an all-road road helmet. It has 18 vents which are predominately at the front to keep the air flowing. The shaping of the vents at the back and a more enclosed rear keep the drag low. Whilst we can't vouch for the added watts this design certainly does provide really good airflow through the helmet. 

The Rivale also has a MIPS liner for added safety. We found the fitting system to be really effective and comfortable with a good amount of adjustability.  

On the scales it's pretty similar to some of our other lightweight helmets, coming in at 242g for the medium. What's really different from lots of other helmets in this guide is the price, it's a good $100 cheaper than many of its competitors. 

Read more: MET Rivale MIPS full review

The POC Ventral Tempus helmet is designed for riding in dark, wet conditions - you can tell that POC is based in Sweden. It's based on POC's helmets for warmer climes, but with an enclosed shell design, an orange colorway and added 360-degree visible reflectives.

There's a new MIPS iteration that's more comfortable than the original version and the helmet has a compact shape that fends off the weather without overheating. We found it comfortable for cooler weather riding and the enclosed design does work in the rain.

Read more: POC Ventral Tempus MIPS helmet full review

Best time trial helmets

Time trial cycling helmets are similar to aero helmets in that they will be wind tunnel tested and have significant watt-saving data. Typically they will have a longer ‘tail’ than an aero helmet, and will focus solely on function.

Bear in mind that these are all about out and out speed from A to B so might not be suitable/ UCI or other governing body legal for anything other than time trialing events.

The wind-cheating silhouette of the Giro Ultimate Aerohead will maximise your performance with its excellent aerodynamic design which also boosts plenty of ventilation with its four Wind Tunnel vents, although don't by any means expect it to be highly breathable. 

On test we actually used the even more aerodynamic Aerohead Ultimate, but with the same fit it is an almost like for like comparison, and are confident when saying this version is still one of the best road bike helmets in the time trial category.

It's rare to find a Time Trial/ Track helmet that not only which offers MIPS but also an impressive field of view, thanks to the wrap around eye shield made by ZEISS Optics. The shield is kept secure with a magnetic anchor attachment and it can also be stored in a flipped up position.

The weight, while looking rather hefty compared to standard helmets on the market, which is actually pretty reasonable for its category. If it's really an issue, then the Ultimate version we tested is 30g lighter than this standard version. 

It's not cheap however, although when you discover that the version we tested is double the price it almost seems reasonable! Either way -  you've really got to want to get that PB on a bike. 

Read more: Giro Ultimate Aerohead MIPS full review

With Primož Roglič wearing the Volante to Olympic gold in Tokyo, this helmet has proved its credentials. We found it comfortable and easy to adjust so that it sits well on your head. There's a very deep, wide visor, so you get a really good view of the road and behind you as you ride and it curves in to hug the sides of your face.

There's little venting though, with the visor covering the two small slot vents in the front of the shell, making for a ride that was warm, if manageable. 

Read more: Lazer Volante full review