Giro Caden II Urban Helmet

The Giro Caden II Urban is an understated-looking commuting helmet from one of the biggest names in the industry. It's comfortable, well vented for the daily commute, comes in at a reasonable weight and the price is right.

Looking for things to pair an urban helmet with? Check out our guide to the best casual cycling clothing for commuting.

While Giro might big up the supposed 'sophistication' of its Caden helmet in its marketing spiel, I think it actually has a simple, straightforward look – and I'm absolutely fine with that.

The fitting system is the pretty much de rigueur rear dial system from Roc Loc. You can operate it single-handedly on the fly, and it tightens and loosens easily and with a defined click either way. The adjustment isn't as fine as some, but it's all fine and dandy.

The Roc Loc City is part of a replaceable cradle. This is padded at the rear, inside the dial, and there's a further strip of padding at the front. There's more removable padding along the centre of the helmet.

I found the padding sufficient for day-to-day use and it's good to see that it's all replaceable too – when years of use and sweat make their presence felt, the dedicated foam lining costing you around a tenner.

There are a few optional extras you can buy for the helmet. Giro makes the Caden II Vent Helmet Light that clips into the large rear exhaust vent. It costs £14.99 and puts out a pretty modest 4 lumens, but any extra illumination in addition to a bright, bike-mounted LED – especially up high on your helmet – has to be a good thing. The brighter Roc Loc 5 LED light isn't compatible with the Caden.

The construction consists of the usual hard in-mould polycarbonate (plastic) shell over an expanded polystyrene (EPS) liner. The shell doesn't stretch over the bottom of the helmet but it is very neatly moulded to the EPS. The EPS isn't quite as tidily finished, but that's purely an aesthetic rather than a practical concern or safety issue.

The cap-style peak is a permanent affair. It's quite modest, stretching about 2cm in front of the rest of the helmet, but I found it provided a little welcome protection from the sun and rain during testing in the summer.

Venting is reasonably good for a commuter helmet, with 13 vents in total. I found that even during warm summer rides I wasn't overheating. But I don't think they're so large that you're likely to get cold come winter.

The 317g weight of our medium-size, EN 1078-certified helmet is about what you'd expect from an urban helmet. This is 7g higher than claimed (which is exactly the weight of a single seedless grape on my kitchen scales), and I can honestly say that I never found its weight uncomfortable. The US model, which comes with CPSC accreditation, is a little heavier at a claimed 330g.

The Caden II is available in three sizes – small, medium and large – and in four matt colours: the black we tested; grey; portaro grey (not 'potato grey' as I originally read it); and trail green. 

And in addition to this model, Giro also produces the Caden II with Mips, which is more expensive and adds an extra 10g to the medium-size helmet.

According to Giro, the helmet's 'thoughtful details include reflective accents'. On the helmet itself these are quite small, a 'Giro' logo about 3cm wide at the left front, and a tiny (really teeny-tiny) one at the rear. I was initially disappointed in this, as I like reflective details on a helmet for the same reason I like helmet-mounted LEDs. But then I noticed that the Caden's black straps are sewn through with a reflective strip of stitching, which is very effective as it's visible from the sides, which is very handy at junctions where you really want to be seen. I'd still be tempted to add a reflective strip to the helmet's rear, though.

Other than that, the straps and buckle – like the cradle and ratchet – are all the pretty standard stuff that you'll see on pretty much every helmet. If it ain't broke, etc...

The helmet has stood up well to daily usage over more than a month in summer, with barely a mark visible. The matt finish does show up fingerprints but it comes up clean after a wipe with a damp cloth.

Value

While there are cheaper helmets out there – the now-£54.99 Endura Hummvee works well for both commuting and off-road riding – the Caden II isn’t badly priced compared with others. The Met Mobilite Mips, which Matt liked when he tested it back in 2021, was £100 (it's no longer on Met's website but can still be found online), although, as the name suggests, that features Mips, and it has a rear light and a replaceable visor. And the Caden II is a lot cheaper than one of our favourite commuter helmets, the Smith Dispatch, which comes with both Koroyd and Mips, but this great-looking lid will set you back a heavyweight £160.

For more options, take a look at our guide to the best cycling helmets and get a bike lid that's right for your riding.

Conclusion

The Caden II is a good helmet for day-to-day riding, comfortable and with sufficient venting for warmer days. It's a bit pricey compared with some, and I'd have preferred bigger reflective details on the helmet itself, but reflective stitching in the straps makes up for that.

Verdict

Simple lid for daily riding that comes in at a decent weight and is pretty well vented