The AirBreaker's overall shape is the same as that of Abus's GameChanger aero lid that Liam reviewed here on road.cc and liked very much. Aero helmets tend to be heavier than most others and ventilation is usually compromised, hence the introduction of the AirBreaker. Our medium sized test model hit the scales at just 214g and it has a similar level of ventilation to the Abus Aventor that we reviewed last year. Those honeycombs are also supposed to work well at varying speeds. At high speed, air blows right on by smoothly, while on slow climbs heat can escape directly up. I definitely have been sweating up some hot, slow climbs in the AirBreaker already, and it felt as well ventilated as any other open helmet on the steepest slopes. The Gamechanger helmet is beneficial if you spend a majority of your time on flat or rolling terrain such as in Singapore. If you are a racer, this will be one potent weapon. However, if you are just a casual weekend warrior and money is not an issue, I would suggest going for the ABUS AirBreaker instead. But a helmet is ultimately about keeping your noggin together in a spill and MIPS is generally rated to up the level of protection offered in a more severe crash - and it’s only available in the Lazer Genesis and not the Abus Airbreaker. ABUS AIRBREAKER VERSUS LAZER GENESIS: THE ALTERNATIVES

Abus AirBreaker | Evans Cycles

In the hot and humid climate of Singapore, I always tend to want to splash water over helmets with hopes that it will provide some form of cooling for my head. You can’t do this on the Gamechanger as there isn’t any vent or hole to allow water to enter. If you prefer a better-ventilated helmet, the ABUS Airbreaker is a great choice. Chain reaction Cycles and CRC are trading names of Wiggle Ltd (In Administration) registered in the United Kingdom at 1000 Lakeside, Suite 310, Third Floor N E Wing, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 3EN, Features we liked about the ABUS Gamechanger and Airbreaker 1. A new place to put your sunglasses – The Air Port The cycling helmet market is a crowded space and there’s no shortage of other options out there. Both Abus and Lazer have cheaper alternatives to the Airbreaker and Genesis that offer just as much protection with a bit of extra weight and a slightly less top end finish. Around the sides, they also tried to keep the AirBreaker open, while creating an open honeycomb pattern across the top that is meant to keep smooth airflow past the helmet, while letting heat escape.Safety comes courtesy of something Abus calls ActiCage, which is a structural reinforcement integrated into the EPS of the helmet. Unfortunately, this doesn't follow the industry trend of offering greater rotational impact protection to mitigate concussion in the event of a crash. Riding experience Now, I know everyone claims their helmet has some fancy venting tech or some kind of trans-warp speed engine to speed up airflow and venting but, this is the first helmet I’ve worn while climbing in 25-degree heat that I’ve actually thought 'I can feel the air blowing through my helmet' - in this regard, it's one of the best road bike helmets I've tested. Abus developed Forced Air Cooling Technology. This is an interconnected ventilation system with 11 entry vents and 13 exit vents. This creates the ideal temperature around the head, even in hot weather. Unusually, you can entirely remove the straps from the helmet to hand wash them; you just twist the little metal anchor rods out of their plastic housings. That's handy if you want to soak the straps in soapy water after a really sweaty ride.

AirBreaker | for road cycling | ABUS Bike helmet | AirBreaker | for road cycling | ABUS

The helmet is fitted with a twist dial at the rear to adjust the fit as you’d expect to find on any top-end helmet. Abus says that the Multi Speed tech is designed to encourage smooth airflow while allowing heat to escape, although it doesn't provide any aero data to support its claim. The AirBreaker is quite low profile and definitely offers a high level of ventilation but if aerodynamics is your number one priority you'd almost certainly be better off reaching for the GameChanger. The AirBreaker uses a pretty conventional EPS foam energy absorption layer inside a multi-part in-mold polycarbonate shell. Inside the foam an ActiCage Lite internal cage reinforces the EPS allowing for large openings and structural integrity during a crash.The Airbreaker and Gamechanger are ABUS line of road helmets, with Airbreaker marketed as their road helmet and the Gamechanger, their aero helmet designed specifically for time trials. Let’s look at what we liked about these helmets. As someone who struggles with my head being hot whenever I put in hard efforts riding in the spring, summer & fall, most aero helmets get relegated to cold weather use for me. But this helmet was developed specifically with Abus’ sponsored Movistar riders for hot summer road racing where they didn’t want to leave any potential aero gains on the table.

Abus StormChaser | road.cc Review: Abus StormChaser | road.cc

That honeycomb structure on the top of the helmet is claimed to deliver smooth airflow while also offering the chance for more evaporative cooling. I’ve seen (& ridden) a number of helmets that you are supposed to squirt your water bottle into to cool you down. But I am usually already sweating enough to have no need to really make my head any wetter. But playing with the AirBreaker’s honeycombs, it is clear that the plastic pattern actually holds the water on the outside shell of the helmet (thanks to surface tension), so it will cool your head, without making it wetter. I have only played with it a bit in warm spring conditions, where it is hard to notice the effect. But I am genuinely looking forward to breaking out the water bottle on super hot summer rides to give it a further test.

The Abus AirBreaker is a great helmet for road bikers that value high performance and have high demands. The helmet excels in aerodynamics, comfort, ventilation and safety. It’s for good reason that Valverde became world champion with this helmet! The straps have a neat seam sewn to one edge to reduce flapping and wind noise. I found the helmet to be impressively quiet and, even while descending at over 40mph, there was very little in the way of wind noise. But the new AirBreaker opens the front up event more for increase airflow, in what Abus calls ‘forced air cooling’ that pushes air through the helmet’s internal channels. Retention is handled by the light & open Zoom Ace dial, which also offers vertical fit adjustment. Another signature Abus element are the thin, lightweight straps that don’t move in the wind because of a different textures weave on their leading edge.