Bolle The One Road Premium

Bollé's The One is a hard thing to review. It's not a bad helmet, and there's much to be praised about its versatility, but it doesn't quite deliver as a fast-riding lid, and that's what Bollé says it is. If you genuinely need the amount of options you get here then there aren't, that I know of, any other options off-the-shelf. It's versatile, but overall it feels like a bit of a compromise.

The basic premise is two hats for the price of one, or possibly three, or four. Or five. It depends on what, for you, makes it into something different. The helmet has 31 vents but the majority of these can be covered using three removable plastic shells for when you want to be aero. So you can have an aero race helmet, and a non-aero normal helmet, with a bunch of extra kit thrown in for commuting, and mountain biking, and winter riding. More on that later.

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So, the aero-ness. Does it work? From a saving energy point of view, it seems to. We went up to the local closed road circuit and did some measured laps with and without the covers, then gave the data to a proper scientist (rather than trying to work it out ourselves) to crunch the numbers. His findings? 8W of saving at 40km/h, and 20W at 50km/h. So if you're going fast, you'll do less work.

That would be all well and good, but the One doesn't really function that well when all the vents are covered. It's too hot in use; there isn't enough residual venting when the panels are on to get good airflow over your head. Also, the sweat seems to condense on the covers and pool, and drip back down again, sometimes into your eyes. If you want to use the One as an aero race lid, I can't say I'd recommend it over other dedicated bongo hats such as the Giant Rivet or the Uvex ED Aero I'm currently testing.

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But then again, you have the versatilty of being able to ride it vented. Or half vented. And the versatility doesn't stop there. You get a winter liner with ear covers. You get an LED light that slots into a port at the back. You get a peak. You even get a QR sticker that you can link to your medical details. There's a lot in the box.

The One also has a sunglasses garage (two vents specifically designed to hold the arms of your sunnies) and that works very well. The retention system is decent; although I didn't find the Bollé the most comfortable, that's mostly down to personal preference and head shape. I would say that the rear cradle could do with sitting a bit lower, though.

So if you want one helmet for winter riding, summer riding, racing, commuting, going to the shops, mountain biking, whatever, you get everything you need in the box. Given that versatility, the £109 price tag doesn't seem too steep, especially as it's very much at the value end of the aero helmet spectrum. Bollé is marketing it primarily as a race lid, though, and I was a bit disappointed with the fast-riding performance. For fast riding and racing, other lids are better.

Verdict

Lots of versatility but fast-ride performance is a bit compromised