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The popularity of aero road helmets has exploded in triathlon<\/a>, sending the long-tailed TT helmet towards the margins as savvy triathletes have realised that aerodynamics, comfort and ventilation could come in one helmet package.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n While the weight of an aero road helmet is typically higher than a standard road lid, our wind-tunnel tests at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub in late 2020 and at the Boardman Performance Centre in 2019 have shown an aero road helmet can be 3:22mins faster than a vented lid over a 180km Ironman bike leg, a healthy saving for those vying for age-group honours. <\/span><\/p>\n Much of this, of course, depends on an athlete\u2019s abilities to keep their head in the same aero position, but the drag penalties of moving one\u2019s head aren\u2019t as high on an aero lid as when riding in a TT helmet.<\/span><\/p>\n An aero road helmet should also provide better ventilation than a TT lid in summer racing and, as our year-round testing has proven, some protection from those beastly easterlies in the winter. <\/span><\/p>\n Other key factors are the effectiveness of the retention system for comfort and fit; the ability of the buckle to be unclipped (especially with cold post-swim fingers); and the helmet\u2019s often-overlooked modus operandi, safety. <\/span><\/p>\n All of the helmets here have passed the relevant European bike helmet safety tests<\/a><\/strong>, but also look out for added safety features such as the MIPS system.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> We\u2019re proud to say that we\u2019re the only publication worldwide to regularly test our aero helmets in the wind tunnel. The reason is that nearly every brand claims to produce the world\u2019s fastest helmet, but still refuse to release the raw tunnel data from their own tests. <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n As our wind-tunnel results show, some helmets only perform at certain angles and speeds, so, while a helmet may technically be the fastest at a 20\u00b0 yaw and riding at 55km\/h, that doesn\u2019t mean it performs across a range of wind directions and riding speeds. Given that the vast majority of a 180km Ironman bike leg is spent riding below 10\u00b0 yaw (98% at IM Arizona, 72% at Kona, for example), the 0\u00b0 and 5\u00b0 angles especially were the key focuses for us.<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to our Boardman wind-tunnel tests from 2019, we aero-tested the Kask, Smith and Spiuk at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub under the watch of aero expert Stephen Roche (thebiketailor.com<\/a><\/strong>) in 2020. We tested each at yaw angles of 0, 5 and 10\u00b0, and at speeds of 35km\/hr and 45km\/hr on a triathlon bike with the mannequin for added reliability.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat is an aero road helmet?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How we tested the aero road helmets<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Best aero road helmets for triathlon<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Limar Air Speed\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n