To test road bike helmets, we selected the highest performing products available to test and abuse. We performed side-by-side comparisons on the same ride in the same conditions to compare such metrics as ventilation and comfort. Comfort was also assessed by riding all day in different riding positions. We rode in all conditions including spring snowstorms, sweltering heat, pelting thunderstorms, thigh-pumping climbs, and exciting descents for hundreds of miles altogether.

Although there will always be government safety testing, Virginia Tech goes further. Certifications from agencies like the CPSC only state that a helmet meets a minimum requirement. They give no indication of how that performance ranks compared to the competition and impact testing only covers a specific type of impact. Virginia Tech has emerged as the only unbiased organisation to use a standardised and comparable test to rank helmet performance compared to other models. Virginia Tech is also a pioneer in the idea that off-centre impacts are different. The Chiru is quite hot, especially when I was climbing slowly. It certainly wasn’t as hot as others on test but Lazer could do with revisiting the vent locations and sizes to help improve cooling. It’s not a major issue, though, especially considering the lid’s price. Thousand Helmets makes stylish city helmets that might be a good choice for any kind of casual riding. The latest Heritage 2.0 adds more ventilation and gets a better Virginia Tech score. It might have made the list but it's brand new. Virginia Tech tests helmets from a wide variety of sports and has been doing so since 2011. No helmet brand is able to pay for better results and there is a standard testing protocol. If you do decide to keep an eye on the testing results of Virginia Tech, you'll need to understand what they mean. While helmet brands have historically focused on delivering sufficient resistance against linear impacts (a direct force to the helmet), many have begun to explore how best to prevent injury from rotational impacts.

Top 17 Product Ratings

The Trek Ballista isn't one of the helmets I put into the best road helmets buyers guide. Although it came out after I finished that article, I considered adding it later. For most people though, it likely doesn't make sense when considering an all-around helmet option. I'm a bit different though and maybe you are as well.

The best budget bike helmets allow me to make reasonable, real-world, decisions. For most people, it's worth giving up a few percentage points at the very peak for big savings. Looking at helmets through a budget lens allows great helmets to make the cut even if they aren't the absolute best in terms of some performance metric. The big difference between the two is that Smith adds Zonal Koroyd in addition to MIPS. Koroyd looks a bit like a handful of straws and the idea is that it actually replaces some of the foam to add rotational impact protection right into the helmet itself. There's another interesting effect of the Koroyd though. On the upside, along with the frequent discounts, Smith seems to have confidence in the aero performance. While other brands don't give comparisons, Smith is happy to tell you how the aero performance of the Ignite compares. It's only 1 second slower than the Specialized Evade 2 over 40km. The Evade 3 isn't any faster so that's still a relevant piece of info. The Trek Ballista is an all-out aero helmet. One thing that means is that if you ride a gravel bike there's a good chance you will want to have a second helmet that better matches the style of gravel riding. The Trek Ballista is a very specific look that not everyone is going to love and isn't all that adaptable. On the other hand, if you ride a fast road bike, the Trek Ballista is a great fit for that look.The Lazer Sphere MIPS is a very comfortable helmet with a reassuringly solid feel to it. The safety features are impressive, the weight is perfectly reasonable and it plays well with glasses – but while cooling is decent, those big vents can't completely negate the effects of the MIPS layer. An extremely comfortable, well-ventilated, and lightweight helmet with minimal wind roar for all-day riding and steep climbing Bottom Shell - Polycarbonate bottomshell finishing looks great and helps protect the helmet foam from cosmetic damage. At 280g (both claimed and on our scales), the Sphere is just a little on the portly side, though for a MIPS-equipped helmet at this price it's not bad at all. There are a lot of great features about the Giro Agilis MIPS helmet. Right away, as with most Giro helmets, it's relatively light. Budget helmets don't tend to match the lightest helmets on the market but at only 293 grams for a size medium, it's on the lighter side. That lightweight scale reading is even with extended coverage in the rear.

What I haven't done, and you shouldn't either, is to cut corners. Any helmet available will have passed government-mandated test procedures. You have a guarantee of a minimum amount of safety but there's more to a great bike helmet. When you start looking for the best budget bike helmets you want something from a reputable brand. Despite the pads not looking especially luxurious, they proved to be comfortable on longer rides and remained that way even when they were soaked in sweat. Each helmet in our lineup also has fore and aft adjustment on the headband system, typically offering between 2-5 cm of adjustment. None of the fore/aft adjustment mechanisms are particularly easy to adjust, but once set, they should stay in place and provide a snug fit without any further tinkering. Some of the adjustment devices are buried under the MIPS liner, making an adjustment even more difficult, as is the case with the Lazer Z-1 MIPS. We prefer an exposed adjuster like what is seen on the Giro Synthe MIPS. WeightOne way to approach the idea of budget is to look for a helmet that's highly versatile. If you commute by bike during the week and then go for longer rides on the weekend, it can be difficult to find the right helmet for both situations. A lot of people solve the problem by having more than one helmet. Bontrager has another idea though. The POC Myelin is a helmet unlike any that's ever been on the market in the past. From a style standpoint, it's a commuter helmet and it's unique even if you don't go farther than that. The outer shell uses a fabric covering and there's no adjustment to the rear cradle. The look would pair well with something from Chrome or Mission Workshop but there's a lot more to it beyond what you can see. To complete our unbiased testing in an objective manor, we scored and rated each product based on six performance metrics: MIPS stands for multi-impact protection system and it's a brand name. At this point, it's become synonymous with helmet safety because MIPS was early to identify the need for a slip plane system to reduce head trauma. The brand is the most well-known because of its excellent marketing and smart technology. That doesn't mean though that a helmet has to have MIPS to be safe.

It is rare for a crash to only be linear in nature and most, if not all, have an element of rotational force. The real star though is the rear cradle. The design is the same as products like the Giro Eclipse aero helmet and that means it's compatible with the Roc Loc 5 LED light. It is an added cost but it's the most integrated rear light I know of on a road bike helmet. The Agilis also adds reflective paint that's effective even without a light.

The road to KinetiCore

The Specialized Airnet stands out for its excellent ventilation at a fraction of the price of most premium helmets that perform similarly at keeping your head cool. The helmet is well-built and very comfortable, with a pretty classic design. It has all the adjustment features you need, and includes extra features normally found on more expensive models, like built-in sunglass grippers and an optional soft visor add-on. There's more to the POC Omne MIPS than just style though. For one thing, the cutoff points for the sizes are different from most brands. POC shifts everything down slightly and that will make it easier for some people, like me, to find the right size. If you often find yourself between sizes, this is a great option. This is the style section. It's something that people think doesn't matter but ends up being one of the questions I get asked about the most. Style matters and it's important to trust your intuition. Start by measuring your head with a fabric measuring tape. You want to place it across your brow and above your ears. If you don't have a soft measuring tape then use a piece of string then compare it to a standard measuring tape. I've even used a long USB cable in a pinch. What really makes the Omne Air MIPS work as a gravel bike helmet is that it has a casual style that lends itself to the more upright position you often find on a gravel bike. That also works for endurance road bikes as well and POC has some very cool colours available. Stylistically you should be able to match a lot of riding.