With this article I’m going to share my list of the most ventilated road bike helmets currently available.
No matter how you slice it, riding with a helmet is hotter than riding without one. It’s the core reason Tour de France riders are allowed to ditch their otherwise mandatory helmet when going uphill.
However, during those scorching summer rides when you need it the most, some helmets showcase far superior ventilation characteristics than others, and those helmets you can find here.
Keeping you ventilated isn’t just a matter of having huge holes in your helmet. That’s just one element, and yes, big intake ports do help a lot. The best helmets move air through the helmet in such a way it takes away excessive heat.
Another big thing, which has less to do with ventilation, is how well a helmet fits the shape of your head. A well padded helmet that applies equal pressure, prevents hot spots where heat can build up. The most classic area, and most annoying one is the brow, since this is also the place where sweat might either get in your eyes or on your glasses, if you’re wearing those.
Some helmets have small intake vents directly located on top of your brow. Together with moisture wicking padding, or specialized silicone strips, sweat is moved away to the side or across ventilated areas to evaporate.
And with the advent of MIPS technology, well designed helmets are able to create a small area between your scalp and the liner to create the ultimate in airflow.
So with all that out of the way, let’s take a look at what made it on my list of the most ventilated road bike helmets.
Giro Aether Spherical
The Giro Aether Spherical is arguably a better value-for-money proposition than the far more expensive Aries Spherical.
That’s because it boasts the exact same crash technology in a slightly different package. MIPS Spherical crash technology to reduce rotational impact forces, a multi-density EPS liner, and a reinforced polycarbonate shell. All are the same.
The Roc Loc 5 Air fit system is also featured, ensuring a great fit of the helmet with multiple ways to adjust the padding, vertical height and circumference. To keep you cool, air is ingeniously guided along your head.
There are many colors to choose from to fit the rest of your outfit or your bike. All in all a no-brainer if you value safety and are willing to spend the money on a premium helmet such as this one.
- One of the best value-for-money helmets in the premium segment.
- Still pretty expensive
Giro Aries Spherical
The Giro Aries Spherical is one of the safest if not the safest helmet within its category. It also has the highest suggested retail price at 300 USD. On its product page Giro boasts the helmet having the lowest Virginia Tech helmet rating (lower is better), and you have to if you charge this price.
So what exactly do you get for the money? This is one of a couple of helmets offering the MIPS Spherical technology, which reduces rotational damage with a ball-in-socket helmet setup. Furthermore the polycarbonate shell is reinforced with twin bridges on each side, alongside a roll-cage-like reinforced band. It all makes for an incredibly strong helmet that doesn’t weigh more than your average similar helmet.
It has silicon beads so sweat doesn’t drip into your eyes, or runs down your glasses, which is a feature far more useful than you might think.
The helmet is tightened on your head with the Roc Loc 5 Air fit system, something featured in all of their premium models. And something that does a great job of keeping the lightweight lid in place.
- Virginia Tech's best-rated helmet in terms of safety
- The most expensive helmet within its category
POC Ventral Air MIPS
The POC Ventral Air MIPS is a premium road bike helmet from the Swedish brand.
POC offers cleanly designed products crammed with the best technology within its specific product category. In the case of the Ventral AIR, it offers the MIPS Integra technology within a unibody shell. It’s a custom fit slip plane for a helmet with excellent structural integrity.
In terms of comfort they offer their rather finicky adjustable 360-degree fit system. However, once set up it proves a solid fit, no hot spots, and great ventilation.
The helmet has been wind-tunnel tested. I don’t have any comparison data between helmets, but it speaks volumes about POC’s approach towards road bike helmet design.
The helmet is known for its ability to keep your head cool during the hottest summer rides.
- Superb ventilation in a unique looking road bike helmet.
- Very expensive
Lazer G1 MIPS
The Lazer G1 MIPS is marketed as one of the lightest helmets in its category. And to be fair it is.
Yet I want to put the 235 grams of this helmet in perspective, because the average road bike helmet weighs 280 grams. That’s 45 grams heavier and something you will not notice while riding.
On the other hand, things like ventilation and fit are far more important things with respect to comfort than a couple of grams less. And luckily this helmet performs exceptionally well in that area. You get 2 different sets of padding to fully customize the fit.
Unlike your classic dial at the base of your skull you actually modify the fit with a wheel on top of the helmet. This non-indexed dial draws the helmet tight around your head around the entirety of its circumference.
Although it does a fantastic job of creating a superb fit, the two strings underneath the helmet look rather delicate. And I’m familiar with fit systems breaking with helmets being stuffed into bags. So that’s something you might want to keep in mind if you’re not the type of person who’s really careful with her/his material.
In terms of safety it offers MIPS technology and sits just behind Giro’s Aries Spherical, so its most important feature is taken care of. And a helmet cover is included to marginally increase aerodynamic properties or protect you from the rain.
- One of the both lightest and safest helmets.
- Delicate fit system. You pay a hefty price to safe a few grams.
Lazer Sphere MIPS
The Lazer Sphere MIPS is an excellent choice if you want a helmet with a proven track record in safety without paying an absurd price.
When looking at the catalog of helmet manufacturers you can see an exponential increase in price to obtain the latest technology or the lightest variants. The Lazer Sphere MIPS is an excellent example of this, where a decent price get’s you all the latest bells and whistles in a slightly heavier package than Lazer’s top dog.
MIPS technology, the ARS fit system with the non-indexed dial on top of the helmet, and a weight of 280 grams, which is the exact average for road bike helmets all make for a great package.
- Excellent value for money.
- Delicate fit system
Kask Protone Icon
The Kask Protone Icon stylish looks underwrites its premium nature as the best road bike helmet the brand has to offer.
Extremely lightweight at 230 grams, the helmet has huge intake vents which are reinforced. A well-chosen color-scheme provides a sharp contrast between the glossy or matt polycarbonate and the black reinforced EPS liner.
The amount of ventilation achieved, makes this one of the best helmets for hot and summer rides. And well-placed vents in the front alongside the CoolMax padding keep your head dry and prevent hot spots and sweat from going places where you don’t want it to go.
The Octo Fit system does a perfect job of fastening the helm evenly around your head, offering both vertical and horizontal adjustment.
Everything pro peloton riders use can be had for a small fortune, and the same goes for this helmet, which is incredibly expensive. But for that money you get an exceptionally well-designed, highly ventilated, and comfortable road bike helmet.
- Incredible levels of comfort and ventilation in one of the best-looking road bike helmets.
- Extremely expensive
Specifications most ventilated road bike helmets
Name | Price | Technology | Shell | Liner | Visor | Fit | weight (gr) | eyewear port | rating | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giro Aether Spherical | 225 USD | MIPS Air/Spherical/Aura II | polycarbonate | Progressive Layering 3-layer EPS | none | Roc Loc 5 Air | 280 | yes | 12.51 | |
Giro Aries Spherical | 300 USD | MIPS Air/Spherical/Aura II | polycarbonate | Progressive Layering 3-layer EPS | none | Roc Loc 5 Air | 275 | yes | 8.4 | |
POC Ventral Air MIPS | 260 EUR | MIPS Integra/Unibody | polycarbonate | EPS | none | adjustable 360-degree fit | 295 | |||
Lazer G1 MIPS | 250 USD | MIPS | polycarbonate | EPS | none | ARS | 235 | 9.23 | ||
Lazer Sphere MIPS | 160 USD | MIPS | polycarbonate | EPS | none | ARS | 280 | 10.23 | ||
Kask Protone Icon | 275 EUR | MIT/Inner Frame | polycarbonate | EPS | none | Octo-fit | 230 |
Johan van Seijen
FoundeR Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His passion for cycling in general, and restoring older bikes turned into a website to share his knowledge with a broader audience. Starting out on his father’s road bike and riding classics as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege he has shifted his attention to trail, XC, and gravel riding since. No matter how much he loves writing about everything related to cycling, nothing beats actually using his ever-expanding bicycle collection.
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