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review
2023 Ekoi Casque EKOI AR14 STAR LTD Chrome Gold.jpg£257.74
VERDICT:
Decent comfort and performance, but overpriced for the limited edition colour
Colour looks awesome in the sun
Good airflow for minimal venting
Adjustment only at the rear
Limited edition colour pushes the price up
Weight:
228g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
- Exceptional
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Quite good
- Average
- Not so good
- Poor
- Bad
- Appalling
The Ekoi AR14 Star Ltd Chrome Gold helmet has a bling, less-is-more design, with no extra Mips or similar protection system and a rear cradle for adjustment that's definitely on the minimal side. It's light, comfortable and neatly finished, and does look awesome in the sun, but you're paying around £100 more for that over the standard options.
For more options, check out our guide to the best lightweight road cycling helmets.
Underneath the bling, the Ekoi AR14 is actually quite a basic helmet. You are getting an EPS (expanded polystyrene) shell with a polycarbonate cover, and it's great to see that Ekoi has extended the shell to cover the bottom of the helmet. Some cheaper lids on the market don't have this, which leaves the exposed EPS at risk to damage from drops and storage.
Buy now: Ekoi AR14 Star Ltd Chrome Gold helmet for £257.74 from Ekoi
Inside the AR14 you get a cradle for adjustment, but it only covers the rear half of the helmet – many at this sort of price extend that to at least two-thirds if not all of the way round, which lets you dial in a better fit regardless of head shape.
The Ekoi didn't fit me as well as some: I could tighten the cradle with the dial, and this gave me a snug fit front to back, but around the temples I had a bit of a gap which couldn't be adjusted out. It might suit your head better, and wasn't a huge issue as the AR14 still felt comfortable overall, though there was a small amount of 'wobble' when I was riding on rough roads.
Inside you have some minimal padding. It's not very thick, but still manages to be comfortable and is removable for washing.
One thing Ekoi hasn't scrimped on is the chin strap. The weight saving hasn't stopped here either, with the webbing being two thin straps laced together by an open stitch pattern of material, but you do get a padded chin protector, which is nice, and the magnetic clasp has a soft closure, with less chance of you nipping your skin in it than a clip.
All of this minimalism adds up to a weight of just 228g, so you barely feel it on your head.
The AR14 is an 'aero-esque' road helmet; it isn't fully aero in shape like Kask's Utopia or Specialized's S-Works Evade 3, which are slightly elongated, taking cues from time trial options, but a standard road shape with a lot fewer vents.
From the front there are five vents, two either side low down, with one at the top designed to scoop air in.
You then get another six at the rear to let warm air out.
You can feel the air flowing through, and on rides where the outside temperature was around 18°C I didn't get overly hot, even on the climbs. How well it copes when the temperatures hit the high-20s later in the summer, I'm not sure, but if you are going for an aero helmet, you are probably willing to put up with the venting compromises of this type of lid, and the Ekoi is certainly no worse than others on the market.
Value
A standard colour AR14 will currently cost you £155.05 on Ekoi's website. These limited colours bump that up to – at the exchange rates at the time of writing – £257.74. There are only 100 helmets available in each colour (there's pink, red, blue and white as well as gold).
My biggest issue with that price is that the chrome sections are only stickers, not paint. One of the stickers on this test lid has lifted on the corner, and closer inspection shows a few air bubbles beneath others. It's not the kind of finish I'd expect for this money.
HJC's Furion 2.0 that Ed tested last year has a similar aero design and is ever so slightly lighter at 218g. It's cheaper as well, by a decent chunk, at £180.
The Kask I mentioned earlier is also a bit cheaper at £245, and has a better finish quality. I found it very comfortable, too.
Conclusion
From a performance point of view the Ekoi does a good job; it's comfortable, even more so if the shape suits you, and the airflow works well. For this kind of money, though, I'm not overly impressed with the finish.
Verdict
Decent comfort and performance, but overpriced for the limited edition colour
road.cc test report
Make and model: Ekoi AR14 Star Ltd Chrome
Size tested: Medium
Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Ekoi says, "Used by more than 300 professional road and mountain bike athletes, the AERO14 helmet is available here in a chrome version with a unique and exclusive design.
Created by our expert designers in hyper-customisation, this exceptional series of helmets was worn this year by the professional riders of the Cofidis team in the Tour de France, Euskaltel and Arkea-Samsic in the Vuelta.
It differs from the "classic" AERO14 by its chrome appearance which gives the colour a special shine. The shiny reflections and the subtle gradation accentuate the aerodynamic profile of the helmet. This way, the helmet is sure to make you shine alongside other cyclists and in the peloton."
It's an aero style saddle that performs well, although the limited edition finish does add a chunk of cash.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Ekoi lists:
- Aerodynamic model designed and tested in the wind tunnel
- 10 vents
- Magnetic buckle
- ATOP occipital support
- Full In Mold hull: top and bottom
- 6 rear vents
- Foams in Cool max
- Ventilated straps
- Approved for CE and CPSC standards (US CPSC 1203)
Rate the product for quality of construction:
7/10
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
7/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
8/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
7/10
Rate the product for value:
3/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
For the limited number of vents, airflow is pretty good.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The gold finish looks awesome in the sun.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
It's an extra £100 or so over the standard model.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
The HJC Furion 2.0, another road aero helmet, is much cheaper at £180, and it's lighter too. Kask's aero offering is closer in price at £245, but it does include Mips protection, if that's something you would like in your lid.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Not the limited edition model, but the standard model would be a yes.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Possibly
Use this box to explain your overall score
This particular model doesn't feel like a £260 helmet, lacking the adjustment and extra protection systems we normally see for this sort of money. For the performance and weight I'd say the standard colour options would actually make a decent buy, but at an extra £100+ for the gold stickers I'd say its value really brings the score down.
About the tester
Age: 44
I usually ride: This month's test bike My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,
Since writing his first bike review for road.cc back in early 2009 senior product reviewer Stu has tested more than a thousand pieces of kit, and hundreds of bikes.
With an HND in mechanical engineering and previous roles as a CNC programmer/machinist, draughtsman and development engineer (working in new product design) Stu understands what it takes to bring a product to market. A mix of that knowledge combined with his love of road and gravel cycling puts him in the ideal position to put the latest kit through its paces.
He first made the switch to road cycling in 1999, primarily for fitness, but it didn’t take long for his competitive side to take over which led to around ten years as a time triallist and some pretty decent results. These days though riding is more about escapism, keeping the weight off and just enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the latest technology as part of his day job.
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17 comments
Nice of Ekoi to make spotting d*ckheads so much easier! 😄
Nice of you to do the same.
Over £250 for a helmet with no MIPS or other impact protection, but its nice and shiny - possibly in a way that dazzles the driver passing just before they clip you and send you flying towards the curb.
They do know why we wear helmets don't they?
In all the so-called tests and reviews found in mags and in websites such as this one, I've never seen any test or review that deals with the supposed primary function of a helmet, which is to reduce or prevent head injuries. The "tests" and "reviews" are all about what it looks like, how lightweight it is or isn't, how hot or merely warm it makes you head and so forth.
In fact, the "tests" and "reviews" are, transparently, regurgitations of the manufacturer's advertising blurb.
One suspects that any proper test or review of the supposed primary function of the things would reveal that they don't really have any such function of any significant degree. In fact, what evidence does emerge, "through a study, darkly" (like that found elsewhere on this website at the moment, concerning driver reactions to helmeted cyclists) seems to suggest that a cycling helmet actually adds additional risks to a bike ride whilst wearing one of the stupid things.
https://road.cc/category/review-section/accessories/helmets
There's a bit in there about how we test helmets, if you're interested.
The bit you reference is worth making explicit here:
"road.cc reviews evaluate how a cycle helmet performs in terms of comfort, weight, ventilation, ease of adjustment, price, and all-round wearability. We don't test effectiveness in a crash because, like other cycling websites, we don’t have the resources necessary to conduct independent lab tests and analysis. In our view, what a helmet is like to wear regularly in different riding and weather conditions is valid and useful information to any potential buyer, given that most helmets will never be crashed.
The test report section of our reviews does make note of the safety standard(s) the manufacturer says their helmet meets. You can read more about safety standards by clicking the Cycling helmets – everything you need to know link below."
All that's reasonable except for one thing - how the helmet looks, costs, ventilates and so forth - these are all irrelevant if the primary function of the thing is not tested to indicate that it actually does offer that function; or to what degree it actually works to provide "safety".
The manufacturers' published safety test procedures reveal just how little protection an actually functioning helmet offers the wearer. The fact is that they're not much use except to reduce your headache from a low speed fall on to a flat surface with no added complications of rotational injuries, piercing injuries and other injuries amplified by the helmet rather than reduced by it.
Add to this fact the possibility that a particular helmet doesn't actually meet even the low standards for which the manufacturers supposedly test - and there have been instances of independent tests discovering this to be the case for various cycling helmets - and this surely suggests that tests or reviews by claimed independents such as this website should first & foremost test particular helmets to see: just how much impact they actually absorb; what sort of impacts; and any additional risks they introduce to the wearer via their particular design and build.
Am I reading you correctly that you think if a helmet doesn't have MIPS (or similar) then it doesn't have any impact protection?🤔
"The Ekoi AR14 Star Ltd Chrome Gold helmet has a bling, less-is-more design, with no extra Mips or similar protection system"
First paragraph! I may of missed out a word or two but if youd read it im sure youre intelligent enough to get the gist.
All helmets sold in UK (at least) have to pass British Standards, so a cheapo helmet from Halfords still has alevel of protection. At £250 I would expect a bit more than the bare minimum and a shiny paint job
Indeed, you may have.
Just because a helmet doesn't have a supplemental rotational protection system like MIPS (as the article stated) doesn't mean that it doesn't have any impact protection (as you stated).
Im sorry. I was obviously wrong. Your'e not intelligent enough to get the gist.
The point you miss while trying to be Mr Pedant - is its £250+ for a helmet with nothing to suggest it has more than the very basic levels of protection other than what EU or British standards dictate and its only that price cos of a paint job since there is nothing in the review to suggest otherwise.
"Underneath the bling, the Ekoi AR14 is actually quite a basic helmet"
So you pay a whopping extra £100 for a shiny sticker on what is already a ridiculously expensive helmet wth no MIPS or similar system. Just a basic bit of EPS and plastic shell
In any event, I don't think anyone really believes that more expensive helmets are or should be safer. (Indeed, shouldn't we be celebrating the fact that the cheapest ones are just about as safe as the most expensive ones?)
Rather, people are willing to pay more as some combination of cooling, weight, aerodynamics, fit, and styling better suits their interests. Safety doesn't come into it.
So it's not just this helmet that's overpriced relative to its safety; it's all helmets that aren't the cheapest ones. This just happens to be an especially ugly and ridiculous example of the genre.
But I think it is a mute whether proprietary systems like mips offer significant improvements in actual bicycle helmet protection against brain shear injuries. Movement within the scalp, and give in the straps allow quite a bit of sheer mitigation in a typical bike helmet, in contrast to a much more enveloping and tightly fitted motorcycle helmet. Circumspection about manufacturers claims and performance in quite unrealistic tests is wise. However that doesn't make paying £250 for a helmet that is functionally equivalent to one costing little more than a tenth the price any less eyebrow raising.
If its on sale in the UK its perfectly functional helmet. It wouldnt be on sale legally if it wasnt. Its the price tag for a bit of bling as its stated in the review is the point im raising. The extra bits like MIPS might be open to debate on their effectiveness and if the research on the tech is evident in the product you expect it to be a reason for the price. But if its just basic with a gold sticker on it and then its retailing at £257 then fine, if someone want to pay that. Though, to review it with any credability as 3 out of 5 stars is comical.
I agree, hence my raised eyebrows.
Yup, never find anything legally for sale that isn't perfectly functional...
e-Bike chargers on fire
There are always people willing to pay a lot of money for a particular brand. I'm guessing the review is pointed at them (althought it does say the score is brought down due to the cost)
Buying shonky kit off eBay isn't the same as one that's available from chain stores and recognised vendors.
The last helmet that I bought came from Aldi, cost £9.99 and it came with a built in rear light. Hasn't killed me yet.
https://www.aldi.co.uk/adults%27-black-bikemate-helmet/p/803972480711808