Catlike Mixino VD 2.0 - White Matt Helmet

The Catlike Mixino VD2.0 is a highly adjustable aero helmet for road, track and time trial use.

Unusually, Catlike don't put any figures on their aero claims. Often a brand will say their aero helmet will save you X secs over 40km, for what those figures are worth. Catlike don't, they just say, 'Mixino VD2.0 maintains all Mixino's technical features adding a fixed aerodynamic shell as requested from UCI's rules.'

We asked if any such claims existed but they don't, and we can't give you any wind tunnel data.

A standard Mixino – with a zillion vents – is priced at £169.99. You can buy a removable aero shell for £39.99, so that's a total of £209.98. That means that buying the Mixino VD2.0 for a penny under 200 quid is a little cheaper although you don't have the option of removing that shell.

Fit adjustment is via Catlike's very good MPS (Multi Position System) eVo design. The cradle reaches from the back of your head right around to your forehead and there are several different height settings to control how far down it reaches. You fine tune the diameter via a clicky wheel at the back. It's really easy to adjust in either direction (to make it either tighter or looser) with one hand as you're riding along.

You can also alter the position of the two supports at the rear (the grey sections that are the shape of glasses lenses). You just push them to the width that's most comfortable and they'll stay in place for ever.

As well as that you get what Catlike call 'wings' on the harness, on the side of your head just in front of your ears. These are flexible plastic with a small amount of padding on the inside, and you can remove them if you have a round head.

In all you get four different fit adjustments (plus strap adjustment), each of them easy to perform. Catlike reckon this means the Mixino VD2.0 is suitable for any head shape. We had a few people try it out and everyone managed to get a decent fit. I wouldn't say that I found the Mixino VD2.0 to be the most comfortable helmet ever because I could feel the ridges over the top of my head a bit more than usual, but it felt reasonably good.

The other factor to consider when it comes to comfort is the effect of that shell on airflow. You certainly do notice that there's less breeze getting to you head than there is with a more highly vented helmet but the difference isn't as great as you might imagine.

Catlike reckon that the Outlast material in the padding helps absorb heat, stores it and then frees it when needed. Who knows? All I can tell you is that I've ridden in this helmet on days when the temperature was 24°C and my head got sweatier than it would with a standard helmet, but I didn't feel like I was going to overheat or that my performance was impeded, although you might be more susceptible to the heat than me, of course.

The Mixino has an inner aramid skeleton within the EPS (expanded polystyrene) and Catlike say, 'This aramid liner has been treated in its polymer matrix with graphene nano-fibres, which increases the entire mechanical performance, therefore improving impact energy absorption.'

We'll have to take their word for that. All we can say on the safety front is that the helmet conforms to the EN 1078 standard.

At 274g the Mixino VD 2.0 isn't superlight but it's a reasonable weight considering that it has the shell. It certainly doesn't feel weighty when you're wearing it. In terms of looks, that dome of a shell takes some getting used to, especially as the Mixino isn't the most low profile helmet in the first place.

Verdict

Highly adjustable and reasonably lightweight helmet for road, track and time trial use