Abus Hyban helmet

The Abus Hyban is a sturdy helmet aimed at city riders dressed in regular street clothes. Tipping the scales at 380g, it's made to very exacting standards and proved surprisingly comfortable for spirited short-to-middle distance commuting.

The ABS hard shell is available in six subtle and attractive colours, and provides a decent platform for cameras and lights. Detailing is excellent throughout, although increasingly what I've come to expect as standard from this price point.

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Round the back, Scotchlite is more subtle than many, and it has a large triangular three-mode LED light, which looks almost identical to those used on some other city helmets. 

As tertiary illumination goes, this combination is extremely effective on account of its positioning rather than its retina-tickling output. A marked improvement on those integrated within thumbwheel adjusters. Constant is useful enough in dull, overcast afternoons, but flashing pricked other traffic's attention from 80-100m in most contexts, dropping to 50 in neon-saturated town centres.

At the front the detachable resin peak offers better protection from dust, wind and rain than its shallow profile would suggest, and came in quite handy during off-road excursions. Protection from intense winter sunlight couldn't match porch-like mountain bike variants.

The 18 large vents follow the inlet/outlet principle, gulping in surprising amounts of cooling airflow while channelling rider-generated heat out on slower sections. Comfort is impressive, the vents keeping pace with my efforts, scooping a consistent cooling breeze through without inducing painful 'ice cream' headaches on bitterly cold descents. Wind noise was minimal too, so didn't impair conversation on social outings.

The helmet's limitations became apparent beyond 20 miles at a consistent 18mph – arguably faster and further than its target audience is likely to travel – but it confirmed my suspicions that it wouldn't make easy transition to weekend touring.

Generous bug netting should bar entry to bees, wasps and other unwelcome visitors, and I was surprised to remain relatively dry during hour-long commutes in horizontal rain. Thankfully, the larger profile was still very accommodating of Gore-Tex helmet covers, which I find more comfortable than cotton cap standbys.

The helmet is low maintenance for the most part – once-overs with a damp cloth dismissed organic spatter effortlessly and the pads are machine washable.

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Despite sitting lower on the head than regular road and trail designs, it doesn't foul rucksacks and messenger bags when you're glancing over your shoulder. That said, those with long hair should note that pony tails can catch if not worn lower and fed carefully through the cradle.

Minor adjustments are a cinch in gloved hands, and the tactile chin-strap sleeve adds further refinement.

Ultimately, the Hyban meets its city/utility design brief very well. It boils down to the old horses for courses gambit. True, there are better options if you want a lid that's light and airy enough for weekend and longer haul touring, but there are a growing number of people who don't want or need this level of performance.

Verdict

Good looking and surprisingly refined commuter/utility helmet but additional weight is noticeable over longer distances