Editor’s Note: Some time ago, a Premium Member wrote in to ask if we could update an article we ran in 2011 in which a couple of us on the RBR Crew provided a quick rundown of our favorite tires, and why we liked them.
It was an excellent idea. So good, in fact, that I immediately decided to make it a regular feature – providing a rundown from RBR Contributors on our favorites across the spectrum of components, nutrition, clothing, accessories, you name it. Today we discuss our favorite helmets.
Here’s a link to all of our helmet reviews on the site: https://www.roadbikerider.com/product-reviews/gear-that-goes-on-you/helmets
(Note that for the sake of scope, when it comes to our bikes, we’ve kept our choices mostly to what we ride on – or how we equip – our “everyday” or “most-ridden” bikes. Some of us wax on more than others, and some include bikes other than our road bikes.) We will plan to run a different “favorite” each week for the next several.
We also want to hear from readers on your favorites! Join in the fun either by commenting below the Newsletter version of this article or using the form at Tell Us About Your: Favorites (you can always find it in the Talk to RBR section on every page of the site.) We’ll gather up your submissions and run them as a follow-up to this article (and future RBR Favorites pieces).
Enjoy, and let us hear from you about your own Favorites.
– John Marsh
Jim Langley
My go-to road helmet has become a Giro Savant MIPS that’s almost two years old now. I reviewed it in our feature on MIPS road helmets in April of 2015 when MIPS was a new skid lid technology. (Click the link to read the review.) I like that it offers the custom fit of Giro’s Roc Loc 5 fitting system, an airy, comfortable feel thanks to the 25 vents, and a reasonably light weight of 280 grams. I also appreciate having a little extra protection. And, at $120, it’s affordable, too. Plus it comes in a wide color range in both Men’s and Women’s models.
Coach John Hughes
I’ve always been an ultra racer and tourist, never a road racer. My shortest race was 300 miles. I choose equipment based on comfort, functionality and reliability.
I wear a bottom-of-the line Bell helmet. Not the lightest, not the most vented, but just as safe.
John Marsh
I’ve tested and worn numerous helmets over the years, but I place two of those above the rest. The Catlike Mixino and the Lazer Z-1 (MIPS). (Click the link to read the reviews.) I put the Catlike aside to test a Lazer Z-1 without MIPS, then transitioned into a Z-1 with MIPS. Both those two helmets (the Mixino and Z-1) are the most comfortable, best-fitting and most easily dialed-in lids I’ve ever worn. And the Z-1 MIPS helmet flawlessly protected my head in a serious crash a little less than a year ago, during the period when I was testing the helmet. Little engenders helmet loyalty more than that! I’m still wearing the Z-1 MIPS I got to replace to the broken-up one. And still loving it.
Next Week in RBR Favorites: The Gloves we Wear
Brandon Bilyeu
The Giro Synthe is my go-to helmet. It claims aero benefits, but the main reason I chose this helmet was the multitude of reviews I read that praised the excellent ventilation. I run hot and sweat a lot so good air movement through a helmet is a must to keep me from overheating and help evaporate the sweat before it runs into my eyes. My personal experience is that the Synthe is very well ventilated, light, and comfortable.
Coach Rick Schultz
Rudy Project Windmax, which I recently review for RBR. (Click the link to read the review.)
Sheri Rosenbaum
Smith Route, which I recently reviewed for RBR. (Click the link to read the review.) I really liked it so I’ve kept it as my main helmet. I also wear a Giro helmet for my night rides since I have a lighting system all set up on it.
Coach Dan Kehlenbach
Since I am very much an everyday rider, my equipment has changed over the years to reflect my current style of riding. My helmet is a Specialized Tactic (I’ll typically remove the visor for my road riding).
Coach David Ertl
I now have accumulated five helmets. I’ve always liked the fit of Giro lids. I have three of those, one Bell and one Garneau. I’ve got enough now that I can be color-coordinated with almost any jersey!
Paul Smith
I’m using the Lazer Helium MIPS helmet that we reviewed last year in the MIPS Road Helmets Roundup Review. (Click the link to read the review.) It fits my head well, stays securely in place and I’m happy to know the MIPS system is there just in case. One other nice feature is the clip-on aeroshield, which I have been using more on the cool winter days as an added layer of protection against cold winds.
Tell us about your Favorites by commenting below the Newsletter version of this article or or using the form at Tell Us About Your: Favorites.
John Marsh is the former editor and publisher of RBR Newsletter and RoadBikeRider.com. A rider of "less than podium" talent, he brought our readers consistently useful, informative, entertaining info that helps make them better road cyclists. That's what we're all about here—always have been, always will be. Click to read John's full bio.
Why do mountain bike lids come with visors, which are generally used, and road bikes don’t?Plenty of times I’m on my road bike going into the sun and wish I had one. Anyone know?
The biggest reason I know of is it’s one of those “unwritten” rules for roadies. Many of them seem silly, but just break one (sunglasses worn inside your helmet straps) and prepare for the wrath of your fellow riders, plus being labeled with the dreaded “Fred” moniker. As a practical manner, roadies need the ability to see down the road as far as possible. The rider’s position on a road bike makes this more difficult than the upright position of MTB riders.
Is there any evidence yet that indicates that the MIPS technology results in a safer helmet? This article is skeptical … and so am I. That said, happy to follow the data.
http://www.bhsi.org/bicyclingmag1305.htm
Jeff,
After my crash last April in which I broke my clavicle into 5 pieces and smashed up a MIPS helmet (my head was perfectly fine), I wrote this in the Lazer Z1 MIPS helmet review:
“While I cannot say for sure that the helmet definitively kept me from suffering major head injury, and that the MIPS technology was an added benefit, I walked away without any head trauma. (I did severely fracture my clavicle.) I certainly would have suffered at a minimum a contusion and abrasions to my head, if not far worse. And I’ve reached the point in my cycling life – after suffering two significant crashes in which my helmet broke apart, but my head did not suffer at all – where I don’t need “definitive” proof of the helmet’s responsibility in the outcome. If it gives me a shot at protecting myself, and it takes the brunt of an impact that obviously would have hurt my head to any degree – I’m a proponent. A helmet is insurance, and why not insure your head to the extent of the available technology?”
What it comes down to is this: MIPS is certainly not LESS safe, and it has trickled down into most makers’ lowest level helmets. So why not? The real issue behind the lack of “evidence” is that there are no government agency tests for MIPS efficacy (that I’m aware of) — as there are for the ages-old tests on regular helmets (which only provide “evidence” that they can withstand certain impacts).
It is true that MIPS is unproven but it also true that it can’t hurt you and may help. I also use the Giro Savant MIPS. I chose the helmet primarily because it comes it a great “see-me” color and got the MIPS version because it cost only $10. For me spending $10 on something that can’t hurt and might help is a no-brainer.
If I am not mistaken they are prohibited in races by UCI rules.
I’m surely a “Fred” in so many ways, including my beloved helmet-mounted mirror and sunglasses inside the straps. I’ve found the visor on my helmet to be very helpful when riding into the sun (or the occasional oncoming headlight beam at night) and reducing rain on my glasses. But I’m also old (almost 68) and far from fast, so it hasn’t been a vision impediment. During a long fast descent in the (higher than when I was young) drops, my visor can be pivoted upward slightly to reduce that problem.
I violate so many of those “rules”.
David, you are correct on the sunglasses inside the straps. I started doing this too right after my first ride. Sunglasses were outside the straps and while I was removing the helmet, the new sunglasses ended up on the gravel. From that point on, I always put my sunnies on first, then the helmet.
As far as visors go, how about the old-fashioned short-billed bicycle cap? Fits under the helmet nicely and does the job.
Concerning helmets and visors. Another option exists – traditional cycling caps. Background: My riding is exclusively road; I ride under a range of conditions and times; I come from an era when cycling caps were normal head gear. Cycling caps may be an attractive option when a contemporary helmet lacks a visor. In my opinion, cycling caps provide important and versatile functionality when worn under a helmet. As such, cycling caps are an important part of my personal cycling equipment, and I rarely ride without one (One variation I would like to see, for hot weather, is a cycling cap with a mesh crown to facilitate air flow through the helmet’s vents and over the rider’s head. I’ve spoken about this to more than one manufacturer, but no one has produced such an item). As an example of a cycling cap’s value, during this very morning’s ride, there were several times that the road took me in a direction that put the sun in my eyes, and the visor was invaluable under those conditions. When it is misty or rainy, and riding at speeds above about 15 mph, the mist/rain becomes increasingly painful as it strikes the eyes and skin. I’ve found that the cycling cap’s visor can be pulled low on the forehead and will deflect the mist/rain from the eyes and face, while providing a window of space for vision – a function that I very much appreciate. This is also similarly true for areas where there are clouds of bugs or other air-born particulates. A cycling cap’s shape and size satisfies a bicyclist’s unique needs remarkably well. I am currently using a Giro Synthe MIPS, however my previous helmet lacked the MIPS function, but I wondered, if in an accident, my cycling cap might have provided a surface for the helmet to rotate and dissipate rotational energy. Thankfully, I never had the opportunity to find out. My apologies for the message length.
I loved my Catlike Whisper helmet that my wife & son gave my for Father’s Day about 10 years ago. So comfortable, light and very well ventilated. Then in 2012 I hit a pothole, flew over the bars, landed on my head and then on my side and fractured my pelvis. My head was just fine.
Catlike was still only in Spain then and did not have a crash program. And the $250 cost was steep. I finally settled on that Giro Savant MIPS which I find comfortable, breezy and hopefully, safe![c[size=16px][/size]olor=white][/color]
I’m using an earlier model from Dux Helm [url=http://www.duxhelm.com][/url] and I’m quite impressed with the flip up visor and the manufacturer support.