Best aero helmets 2023 — road cycling lids to cut drag without sacrificing comfort

"The most aero road helmet in the peloton now breathes better." That's the claim from Specialized and you'll find this helmet on the heads of Bora-Hansgrohe, Quickstep Alpha Vinyl and Direct Total Energies riders at the world's biggest races. Now, obviously, just because Specialized sponsors the largest number of teams doesn't make this a good helmet but luckily Stu was on hand to offer his full verdict. 

In our testing we found the Evade 3, which weighs in at 271g on our scales, to be an impressively cool feeling helmet for one with such a small number of vents and it is impressively comfortable too. In days gone by wearing an aero helmet was a sweaty, hot and uncomfortable experience but the latest generation Evade continues to close the gap between aero and ventilated helmets.

Compared to the Evade 2, this lid claims to draw 10% more air across the head thanks in a large part to the Mips Air Node system that you'll find inside, on all but the hottest days or steepest of climbs, the Evade 3 kept our reviewer, Stu, cool. As the autumn temperatures kicked in, he could feel the air entering at the front and passing over his head before exiting out of the rear. Not only that but this new version definitely looks less "mushroomy" when worn!

The Gamechanger is one of our all-time favourite helmets thanks in part to its extra sleek fit. Abus says that this is the ultimate aerodynamic helmet for performance road cycling and points to the time that they spent developing it with Team Movistar. Not content with just that, they also claim that with its Multi Position Design the GameChanger completely redefines aerodynamics as every airflow is optimised for real race conditions.

Whilst we can't validate those aero claims we were a big fan of the 'FlowStraps', they stay close to the head for flutter-free, skin-friendly and noticeably quiet riding. We found the 'Air port' for sunnies to work just as it should and there's a large range of adjustments to suit a range of head shapes and sizes.

Call us shallow but we're a massive fan of the looks of this one. You’ll normally spot the Trenta with a few tufts of hair sticking out the top of it as Pogacar wins everything from classics to mountain top finishes wearing one.

Met have recently added MIPS to the Trenta and have managed to do so without adding tons of additional weight, in fact, just 3g and our size small weighed in at just 223g, that's lighter than many non-aero helmets and about 25% lighter than many of the other options here!

Met claims that the fancy carbon fibre bits help to keep the weight down, and are structural rather than purely aesthetic. There is a cheaper non-carbon version (£220) that offers the same aerodynamic claims, safety and ventilation, but is slightly heavier. Rubberized glasses grips in the front finish off this comfortable, airy and great-looking all-around performance helmet.

The Met Manta Mips Aero Road helmet offers a good blend of aero performance and ventilation, featuring on our list of best cycling helmets. The Met Manta Mips impresses with seemingly good aero performance married to good levels of cooling, weight and comfort, and is nicely integrated with Mips protection. Coming in at 248g on the road.cc scales, the weight isn't too shabby either. 

We can't verify the aero claims, but Met says there are up to "4W improvements at 33, 55 and 80 km/h in a wind tunnel." Interestingly, it seems that Met only tested it at zero degrees yaw, but did simulate riding both on the hoods and in the drops.

We don't have access to a wind tunnel, nor a sophisticated air convection test here at road.cc, but we were able to test it out on the road! Our reviewer Leon said, it was fast-feeling (compared to his lightweight climber's helmet) and surprisingly airy, with enough ventilation to regulate the temperature on a warm British summer's day. 

This Scott Cadence Plus Mips helmet proves to be an excellent combination of MIPS-enhanced safety, aero, ventilation and comfort. It has made many appearances in the pro peloton - Orica Scott in 2017 and by Team DSM in 2021.

Our reviewer Jez wore this helmet on days when it was in the low 20s and said it offered very decent ventilation, certainly better than most aero helmets. For colder days, or when you need even more aero, Scott supplies the helmet with bungs to close up the front vents. 

Now for some stats, per manufacturer claims, this helmet will "save up to 13 seconds compared to competitor aero road helmets, when riding at 40kph over a distance of 40km." However, there aren't any specifics about which competitor helmets were tested. Scott also claims that this helmet is so well-ventilated that it "cools your head 1.1% better than if not wearing a helmet at all". We don't have a sophisticated air convection test, so can't comment on that one!