Should you buy an aero road helmet? How much faster could you be?

I don't care about aero (though I'm reading this), but I'd like to know if any of these helmets make less wind noise during cycling. My Giro Aeron is just unbelievably noisy above 20kmh, I can't hear a thing. I'd love a helmet that made less wind noise!

Out of curiosity how much difference 9if any) between a bare head compared to aero helmets? On the flip side does not wearing a helmet benefit performance, particularly re head temperature which must be boil in a bag during the warmer months with(a helmet) and maybe even comfort factor such as rubbing on head/chin, more sweat on face, neck strain etc over longer efforts that could be detrimental?

I read some Bike Radar chat years ago but there was no definitive answer.

If you want to do your own scientific / semi scientific / pseudo scientific / blind faith / prejudice confirming research, but lack the funding for your efforts, there are cheaper aero helmets available. My son has a Carnac, bought in a flash sale for £14, and likes it. He does suggest that it's warmer than his BTwin conventional helmet and it's certainly heavier than the very light but otherwise vile Tesco helmet he uses for hill climbs. Does it help him slice through the air or just give it a nasty bruise? Who knows, but he thinks it helps and that placebo may be useful.

Clearly those are just his experiences / data from his repeatable controlled experiments and I share them to enrage / help, depending on your biases.

Right, I'm just off to Primark in the Dacia to see if they have any seconds.

I'm looking at buying a giro Vanquish and wondering if they are worth the money. I've read some great reviews. However, I want to make sure the helmet would be worth the money. 

One important point with ventilation is the holes placed at the front so when your head is up looking forward you get ventilation once you tuck your head down(chewing the stem) the smooth flat area comes into effect giving the higher aerodynamics which suits most people trying to sprint.

some people  who cannot get the head below their shoulders will get less of a saving as the head and helmet will still be creating a large frontal drag. 

My Giro Air Attack Shield...

a) Keeps my head dryer in the rain.

b) Keeps my head warm on a cold day or fast descent.

c) Keeps bugs out.

d) Eliminates need for glasses.

e) Looks OK.

...

z) Gives me aero advantage.

I only wear an aero helmet (POC Octal Aero) to keep my bald head warm in the winter. Training makes you faster.

"Should you buy an aero helmet?"

No.  Anyone who really needs an aero helmet will receive one from their sponsors, or at least get 50% off.     The male jewelry argument is legitimate, but virtually no one owns up to that reality.

I bought a Bontrager Ballista as my old helmet was pretty shabby.

I chose the Ballista because;

90% - It looks cool

9% - Great deal from my LBS

1% - It possibly might have some marginal gain for my 18+ mph average speed rides

I use a brilliant Casco

https://www.sigmasport.co.uk/item/Casco/SPEEDairo-Helmet-with-Visor/2KJY

NOT for aerodynamics though. I think it is much, much safer. The view you get when glancing over your shoulders is SO much better than using sunglasses when you're mostly looking 'around' the glasses' stems and frame. If I have to ride in a sunglasses/ordinary helmet combo I get the heebijeezus from how little I see over my shoulder. You have to try it to believe me. Ditto for getting more flat backed without neck pain. Riding with others I always feel I am much lower and flatter than most.

Oh, and did I mention you can wear it with your regular prescription glasses underneath? For that alone I'm amazed they aren't more popular - how much are prescription inserts? And when you weigh up the price, factor in that you'll never need to buy/loose/leave behind/sit on and break any more expensive sunglasses.

Overheating isn't a problem. Did the Pyrenees in July in this helmet. TBH I think the important stuff to do with the airflow through a helmet happens at the back.

It looks a bit helicopter pilot but who cares, all the other helmets on this page look rubbish too. And combined with sunglasses, yuck. I'm surprised there isn't a Rule against it.

dafyddp - 

Richard1982  -Can you share some data? There was a recent article (http://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/534/how-much-time-can-aero-kit-save) where someone rode round Hillingdon at 300W and looked at the difference aero bars, deep sections, helmets, skinsuit etc. made.

I was surprised the skinsuit made little difference.

Can you share some more of your data?

 This is purely based on my experiences - I don't have a wind tunnel ! As someone who is interested (/obsessed) with the hour record, I spend a lot of time riding round my local velodrome at threshold pace measuring everything I can. There are 2 main helmets I use; a Giro Foray (cheap 'normal' helmet) and a Lazer Wasp Air (aero helmet) - from the various data that I collect there is a difference between them - sadly even at an hour long run at threshold the difference is quite small. I'll take it though - changing from spoked aluminium Mavic Ellipse clincher front wheel to a Corima 3 Spoke tubular had a similar effect and that cost about 4-5x as much as both the hemets put together!

As for the comment earlier:
" I don't believe that the average speed of a typical amateur either riding solo or on a club ride has changed much in the last two or three decades despite all the technological (aero) advances. Has it?"

 I think it has. It used to be pretty impressive to do a 40km TT im under an hour. Now that we have TT bikes and all the rest of the equipment (in particular skinsuits) I'd argue that 40km an hour is fairly acheiveable for the average club rider. I'd say a modern equivalent now would be doing 40km in 55minutes or maybe even less, 50minutes perhaps.

Thought this might help

If you're wondering whether or not you should buy an 'aero' helmet for marginal gains in aerodynamic efficiency,  it's more than likely you don't need it.

If your goal is to gain some places on Strava then buying an aero helmet is a stupid way to do it. A much more aerodynamically efficient solution - and £200+ cheaper to boot is:

- Shave your head billiard smooth, don't wear a helmet.

If you don't want to do that, wear a smooth fabric cap tight over your head.

As a bonus, if you suffer from "hot head", these will help cool your head better than _any_ amount of ventilation in a helmet.

The *only* "helmets" that beat a smooth head are the pure aerodynamic ones - the ones with out any polystyrene, without any "safety" rationale, that do not increase the frontal area of the head, that exist solely to improve aerodynamic flow. Anyone recommending any kind of large "aero" safety helmet for speed gains in a situation that doesn't require a safety helmet is an idiot (at least wrt aerodynamics).

Disagree in the most part. Unlike brakes, wheels, and bike design, Helmets are lifed in use and this comes down to what happens when it's time for a new one.  Granted, some people can afford the new "thing" but anecdotal evidence suggest a lot of people can't be that wrong.

I am not rich enough to warrant changing a perfectly good non-aero helmet for aero, but I will make a change to aero when I need a new one (after this season I guess).  In the marginal gains arms race, this is a pretty good step on the balance of probabilities.   

It's a good article, and makes those who insist on  deep rims, and aero bike trickery ask themselves some searching cost benefit questions.

These new fangled aero jobbies are just a marketing ploy. You will now just have to buy some super duper new disc brakes in order to bring you to an over the bars stop due to the vast increase in speed that new helmet achieves !

How about some aero panniers to go with this new setup. "End to end record tumbles in aero speed frenzy"  !

I'm guessing the Giant Alpecin helmet has the bonus of also keeping your scalp in good condition?

I'm only after getting a Giro Air Attack...it was €59.23 from Amazon.

I can't attest to it's aero claims (yet) as I have still to wear it out on the bike. 

It is a fair bit heftier than my Scott Vanish R.

It is rather mushroom shaped on my petite heid.

It will, however, provide more coverage for my (newly acquired) shiny/hairless heid...the vagaries of getting a wee bit auld!

...it might 'shave' 10microseconds off my 40km times...or it might not...it might allow me to go that distance without having to 'emit' as many watts...or it might sit on a shelf for ever more after it's first outing has concluded...

Seat of the pants testing at it's best...

I bought the Bontrager Ballista earlier this year, mostly bought it because it's a great fit for the price (the other really good fitting helmet I've had was an S-Works). Saved some cash and may have made myself marginally faster on the days I care.

Unfortunately 3 months later I trashed the helmet (and my collarbone) in a crash. Bontrager cover their helmets for a year under crash replacement so I'm getting a free replacement.

I'd prefer not to have needed it but for an aero helmet it's an excellent deal.

Yeah, people tend to scoff at 5W here and 10W there... but they tend not to appreciated that the differences to the rider (being a biological entity, not just a motor) are quite large. Take a look at your/a FTP curve to show how a small change in power makes a big difference in the time at which that power can be sustained. So 10W from a helmet, 10W from the tyres, 10W from the frame etc is something that really affects results... a lot. GCN did a great test on aero wheels showing just that.

Btw, if you're looking to get a Synth, Evade or Protone set your expectations about ventilation lower than the article suggests. They definitely aren't as cool as more traditional road helmets like the Mojito. So whilst I don't usually notice when giving it some welly - I'm more paying attention to my burning legs and my pain face - if you do reflect on them for a minute it's clear they are pretty hot.

As they say in the article, every little helps.   I can only test it and see where I come in the standings?  Its a competitive advantage, until we all have them.

The cost of an aero helmet - £250

Moving up the Strava positions - priceless

I've got a Kask Infinity. Screw it being an aero helmet - it is my go to bad (wet / cold) weather helmet. I hate wearing anything more than a thin cap under my helmet, so being able to close the vents is great when it's really cold or when it is raining. Plus, I got it massively discounted.

Frankly, no matter how aero a helmet is, it is fighting a losing battle against the drag produced by my seemingly ever expanding waistline

I've had an Evade helmet now for some time now..  almost every Sunday, one of the faster fella's teases me about how it should 'make all the difference'... (gentle teasing, no offence meant) - this guy looks like action man and rides like a boss, he's been in the 'A' riding group since I joined the club. 

One Sunday my 'B' group caught the 'A' group on the last five or six miles back to base.... I must have had a good day and he must have had a bad one as for some reason I found myself on his wheel when he attacked, as you do... he attacked, we dropped the group,  then I attacked and dropped him...  back at base I told him it wouldn' have happened if he'd had an aero helmet. 

The teasing stopped after that. 

Similar to a buff, beanie etc, a cycling cap keeps the cold and rain/sleet/snow off your noggin and will prevent the precipitation hitting your face, either under a helmet or on its own. Highly recommended.

As for the aero benefits, once you sit up or take your hands off the bars to grab a gel/fiddle with your garmin/gesticulate at a driver then you've more than negated the tiny gain the hat might provide. Wear one if you like it but don't think it's faster than a vented lid in the real world.

I know, I know, it's not supposed to be proper science, but I don't quite understand the point of these pseudo-scientific experiments. They may produce some nice curves, but without a full assessment of all relevant variables, test randomization, a test rider who doesn't actually know which helmet he/she's wearing and adequate statistic analysis -- and no, a regression analysis is not an adequate statistical test -- the results have no meaning whatsoever.

I'm not saying you should do all of that in a road.cc helmet review; on the contrary, I think you should stay away from it as far as you can. If you can't do a scientific experiment, don't do one, because there will always be readers who don't get the difference -- and spend 200 Pounds on an aero helmet based on facts that simply aren't facts. The same goes for other magical numbers in cycling, like the stiffness of bike frames and wheels.

Just my humble opinion.