Which helmets

Everyone's head is shaped a bit differently, and that's why helmets come in different shape styles—round oval, intermediate oval the most common , and long oval. While we all generally have between a round and oval shaped head, it's important to determine your actual shape before buying a helmet.

Use a mirror, or have a friend look down on your head from the top. Remember to focus on your head shape, not the shape of your face. When trying on a helmet, take note of any pressure points on your forehead—a sign that the helmet is too round. Pressure points on the sides of your head indicate a helmet is too oval for the shape of your head. After you buy a new helmet, try wearing it for 30 to 45 minutes to check for pressure points before using it on a ride.

These hot spots may not be immediately apparent but can grow into painful problems over time. When measuring your head, use a cloth tape. Start it just above your eyebrows and circle it around the thickest point in the rear of your head. Cross-reference this measurement with a helmet size chart. A helmet that is too loose will move around or will not sit down completely on your head. A correctly sized helmet will be a little tight, providing even pressure around your head without uncomfortable pressure points.

It should not move when you shake your head. Some helmet manufacturers provide replaceable cheek pads and liners that let you adjust the interior shape and fit of the helmet. Beyond switching out these items or using these features, any alteration to the inside of the helmet will likely result in loss of warranty, and you risk compromising the integrity of the helmet.

Your helmet should feel equally snug around the crown and tight in the cheeks. All of which shows in their amazing ranking in our safety review. Across all 13 Shoei helmets tested ever, they've scored an average of 4.

A massive Well Done Shoei! Check out our Shoei helmet reviews here. All in all an amazing job from the French helmet masters. Click this link to check out all our Shark helmet reviews. It's a particularly great score because HJC specialises in lower priced helmets - so you don't have to max out your credit card for great protection. They hit this spot partly because of old favourites like the five star rated HJC FG-ST and partly because their newer C70 polycarbonate lid hit a five star safety rating too.

Which is a shame because they were on a great run - with both the QV Pro and RX-7v scoring maximum 5 stars for safety in recent years. Check out our latest Arai reviews here. But we nudged them down from Arai because there's fewer helmets in the test. Other than that, it's another excellent performance from Italian maker Caberg, with the 5 star rating of the Duke II really helping out their cause. And really goes to show how you can generally trust a Caberg helmet.

Find all our Caberg helmet reviews here. Just Wow. That's a real testament to their design, manufacturing and quality control excellence.

For all our Nolan helmet articles, look here. And if we see a few more helmets being tested by SHARP, I really wouldn't be surprised to see them floating up very near the pointy end of our safest helmets brands list. Check out all our X-Lite helmet reviews here. Having said that, Bell has scored a massive 4. But because we weight recent reviews more heavily, that was enough to push Bell down the rankings a few places. As always, you can read all our Bell helmet reviews here. The right helmet will fit comfortably on your head, and the retention system will easily snug up the fit.

Trevor Raab. Specialized competitivecyclist. ANGi crash sensor. Very pricey. Giro competitivecyclist. Fits heads as small as 45 centimeters in circumference Very lightweight. Dropframe Pro. Fox Racing competitivecyclist. Lots of protection. Fixed Visor. Roam MIPS. MET competitivecyclist. Comfortable Great ventilation. Visor looks big but doesn't provide great coverage. Look and feel of a high-end road helmet degree size adjustment system helps with comfort.

Ventilation isn't quite as good as pricier options. Helios Spherical. Shell-in-shell construction is comfortable and offers great protection. Still not a cheap helmet. Lumos Ultra. Three LED lights provide full visibility Remote activated turn signals. One size fits most sizing Not certified for e-bike use.

G1 MIPS. Lazer competitivecyclist. Smith rei. Koroyd material offers protection similar to Wavecel. Can feel hot in the summer. Comes with ANGi crash sensor. Vents are on the small side. Has dial-adjust fit system and removable visor. Comes in one size only Not well-ventilated. Thousand explorethousand. Super stylish Vintage appeal Vegan leather chin strap.

Limited ventilation Finish scratches easily. Spark MIPS. Bell competitivecyclist. Built-in visor. Only available in two sizes. Quarter MIPS. Giro amazon. MIPS liner enhances protection.

Poor ventilation. KIDS' Helmet.