Road Bike Online

Las Victory – RRP £119.99

Another light weight helmet here, weighing in at a pleasing 250g but it doesn’t feel flimsy and fits very securely to the head. In fact the wide and bulky retention device covers a wide area of the head which is noticeable if you have a lot of hair . It rests higher up on the head though than many other helmets which can make the rider feel less secure and protected however. In contrast though the lack of exposed foam protects it well and the fact  the shell extends right to the bottom of the lid prevents scuffing the protective foam when its put down.

The straps are woven Nylon but high quality, and you get a fleecy chinguard that you can wrap any excess up in. There’s a removable peak too which goes with the spiky overall look of the Victory.

Las Victory comes with  two sets of pads: one full liner with mesh covers for the vents for winter and one set of lightweight pads for summer  with improved ventilation which is a clever touch.

Spuik Daggon -  RRP £99.99

The lower price here certainly doesn’t mean you compromise on comfort or safety. It has plentiful good quality padding and has well designed straps and buckles ensuring it stays in position well and doesn’t irritate the wearer. The straps are a little on bulky side as is the retention unit but as it is priced very competitively for a quality helmet these are only minor drawbacks.

The shell quality and overall finish of the helmet is very pleasing. It’s also lightweight with the the small size weighing just 270 g.

The Daggon has  less internal channelling than other comparable helmets  but its ventilation performance was only slightly less than the top ones tested.

Kask Vertigo £165

This helmet is a serious quality helmet which explains it’s serious price. In case you don’t know Kask are supplying the helmets for the Sky team so you’re looking at a pro level ride helmet here.

It’s an extremely secure fitting helmet with a  retention system that pivots from the side of the helmet plus  height and angle adjustment comes from another pivot towards the back of the helmet. There’s a one dial click system that allows for easy fitting and adjustment. It has very grippy vented silicon pads which can take some getting used to but the upside is it will stick on your head if you fall off. The Vertigo meets the  European EN-1078 standard.

Once the nape cradle is set the fixed point Y buckles slot easily into position.

It boasts leatherette straps rather than the usual nylon ones plus coolmax -lined gel filled internal pads without any exposed EPS foam which adds up  to a lot of  comfort even on the longest rides enabling excellent airflow from the 24 vents and skeleton system.