Aero road helmets
Advancing technology means that road-going aero helmets have become commonplace in the peloton. They’re well ventilated, have the same internals as a standard road helmet and style wise have few differences, making them an attractive option for many.
Reducing your aerodynamic drag via a streamlined helmet makes sense. Over a certain speed, 90 per cent of your effort goes into pushing air out of the way (drag) and the largest proportion of that comes from your frontal area, including your head and shoulders.
Each new aero helmet launch is accompanied by independent aero claims around its watt-saving credentials. However, your equipment is only part of the equation – how the airflow interacts with the helmet will be impacted by your own shape and body position.
To determine how big – or small – the differences are, we checked in with AeroCoach’s Xavier Disley to test four aero helmets against one baseline lid, on two different riders.
Rider one – James – measures in at 183 centimetres in height, with 48cm-wide shoulders, while rider two – Michelle – is 165cm tall with 37cm-wide shoulders.
Our data did show differences between the
