The best road bike helmets will be lightest in their given category, making them the most comfortable option because they place less strain on your neck. These types of bikes have long wheelbases for better pedaling and large 29-inch wheels. Because of the distances riders go on these bikes, they’re some of the lightest mountain bikes and walk the line between comfort and efficiency, usually having a shorter level of suspension travel at around mm. Established UK brand Genesis produce some of the best quality road and mountain bikes on the market. Genesis have been bringing the best British designed bikes to the market since 2006.
The idea here is to better protect against rotational impacts, while the outer shell can absorb glancing blows. By using its Air Cage design, it’s been able to strip down the usual foam bridges to help increase ventilation by almost 25% when compared to the Prevail 2 without compromising safety. Essentially the cage design acts like a suspension bridge, distributing the forces genesis bike of an impact across the entire helmet. There’s also a 10-gram weight, saving to be had on a like-for-like size, with the brand putting this weight saving down to the Helios Spherical helmet having less technical ventilation structure than the Aether. I found it a barely noticeable difference having ridden both helmets, with the two equally as comfortable as each other.
Top tube length is the difference between the head tube and the seat tube, functionally the distance the rider is from the bars when seated. Reach is the distance between the center of the bottom bracket and the head tube, how far the rider is from the bars when standing on the bike. 26 inches used to be the standard size for mountain bike wheels, but now 27.5- genesis mountain bike and 29-inch sizes have taken over the market. It has a substantial amount of resistance to corrosion and the highest strength-to-weight ratio of all metals. And like chromoly steel frames, titanium frames are primarily available from custom frame builders. As mentioned in the previous section, different suspensions accompany different types of mountain biking.
We found it was a very comfortable lid, which provided a close fit with Met’s ‘Safe-T Orbital’ fit system with retention dial. It also had sufficient ventilation thanks to its three small vents on the front and further two ‘exhaust’ holes at the rear – included to channel air out the back. It has a clever magnetic visor system, but bear in mind the visor is quite long and therefore may take some time to get used to. These are mainly suited for slopestyle, freeride, and dirt jump bikes, such as the Cannondale Dave, as they’re stiffer, stronger, and lighter than other sizes which means that they accelerate faster on smooth surfaces. Being a noticeable amount lighter than other types of frame materials, carbon fiber frames are sought after by those looking for a professional edge, as they’re commonly used for higher-end bikes.
This comfort is further boosted by the addition of thick interior padding, which is very soft against the skin. The helmet is definitely towards the more expensive end of the market and is also not the lightest at 291g for size medium. The helmet looks rather good too, having quite a low profile and not being too bulbous. It was also very comfortable and the new retention system is a massive improvement on Lazer’s previous design – although still not as easy to use as a regular dial. The glasses port, sadly, is not particularly good as it is too wide to accommodate most sunglasses.
29-inchers are great for cross country bikes, as well as trail bikes due to their stability and ability to go over nearly any terrain without a hitch. Suspension is an important thing to note for this price range, as suspension forks will be very basic, meaning full-suspension bikes in this price range should be avoided. These affordable bikes are almost all made with aluminum alloy, have 10 speed or 11 speed drivetrains for gearing and hydraulic disc brakes.
While seemingly superficial, anyone who has ridden with an aero lid will know the challenge of trying to stow sunglasses when they’re not on your face. They’re meant to be best compatible with POC’s own brand sunnies, but we teamed the helmet with a whole host of brands and found them to hold tight to every single pair. The semi-aero lid did suffer a little with breathability however, and while the ventilation was very good, on the hottest of riding days it could have done with the ability to suck even more cool air in. That said, on the sweatiest of days in the saddle, we found that the Protone’s water irrigation design is top-notch, managing to avoid channelling sweat down onto sunglasses or into eyes. Our test model in a small weighed in at just 170g (the claimed weight for the medium is 200g). We certainly found that this translated to a featherweight feel on the head, with the ventilation adding to the general comfort.
Generally made from steel and titanium, these are typically equipped with 26- or 29-inch wheels. Each kind of bike excels in different conditions and riding styles, so getting a few basics out of the way will help you determine what bike best suits your needs. Genesis are building a reputation for thoughtful and well designed bikes so it is fair to say that there had been a sense of expectation once we knew the Alpitude was winging its way to us. There has been much talk about the Alpitude and the clear design ethos behind it, which was to make a bike that you could… At around 27lbs the Core weighs in somewhere in the middle of the scale that you would expect for a 120mm trail blaster but it feels nippy and easy to spin up to speed thanks to the lightweight rims and fast rolling tyres. The wheelset is lightweight with an internal rim width of 19mm that will take good sized rubber which means you could add some float to the ride with some high volume tyres.