Nice lightweight helmet for road cycling. very good ventilation. Purchased to replace aging Bell helmet. Wanted to go with the MIPS for safety. Was looking at Giro but this helmet came up as a Deal of the Day on BTD and for the price I thought would take a shot with the Oakley AR03. The BOA system works very well. One of the selling points on this helmet from other reviewers was the comfort compared to other brands. This helmet is very comfortable. It does not grab your hair like other brands I read about. You hardly notice you have it on. Only complaint is the strap. I love the material and the thin size but it will not stay in a tight position. It keeps moving to a looser position. I deducted one star for the strap issue. Otherwise very happy with this helmet!
I have been cycling for more than 30 years, and during that time I have put up with many ill fitting helmets from many different brands. A small rides too high on my head and a medium falls down too low on my forehead and pushes my glasses down my nose. This happens no matter how I adjust them. I resorted to using zip ties to attach foam inside the helmets for a better fit. The height adjustment in the Oakley helmet solved this problem. I love it.
I have an Oakley jersey so I bought this helmet in Polished Black to go with it. I got size Medium knowing that my head is near the upper limit for that size. I don't like helmets that are big, even though they adjust down to fit my head. Two of my very thin synthetic caps fit under the helmet. I'm not sure if the cloth ones will fit, but it's okay if they don't.
The one thing that I'm not happy with is the straps. They fit under my earlobes, touching the inside back of the lobes. I don't have especially long ears, so this is odd and I see no way to adjust that out. I have several other helmets and don't have that problem with any of them. I guess I'll get used to it, but wish the straps were designed differently.
I'm pretty picky about helmets. I live in the southern hemisphere where we do a lot of HC climbs in very hot weather. I ordered this helmet through BTD and had my son bring it down. Wore it out into the Andes yesterday and here is what I LOVE...
-Ventilation is incredible.
-Fit is so perfect you don't notice it. It's very light too.
-Sunglasses actually fit against my head not helmet parts.
-The non-padding throughout the helmet is a non-issue. Especially in how that really helps to keep the head cool. Trust me, you will not notice it.
-The glasses docking when not wearing them is OUTSTANDING.
-I wear a 718 to 714 when buying fitted ball caps and the Medium is dead on perfect.
-One last thing...it looks GREAT on the head too.
This review is more about the seller. We had also ordered Oakley Sutro glasses back in March but they were constantly on back order. Turns out Oakley cut sunglasses production to help manufacture PPE for COVID. We got the glasses in July. But during the delay the people of BikeTires Direct were very responsive when we called on delivery status, talked about other color options and when they expected inventory. Great customer service during a crazy time. Oh and I love my Oakley helmet too - comfortable and vents work great.
I've been racing or riding for decades and I've had a lot of helmets and I think this is my favorite so far. The primary reason for this is comfort. The boa adjustment gives you the ability to finely tune the fit of the helmet and the helmet straps are comfortable and sit well away from the ears which is hard to achieve with some other helmet strap systems. The fit is secure but comfortable enough to forget it is on. Ventilation is great. The price is very competetive for a MIPS helmet and I bought it on a sale so even better. Some reviews suggest that the helmet runs small, but I think the fit is true to size. I ended up with a medium in the Oakley and used to wear the same size in Giro helmets.
I bought this for gravel riding and road rides when it's hot and I want more ventilation than my Specialized Evade aero helmet. It's light, fits well and has good ventilation. The sunglasses perch is a handy feature.
I bought this helmet on sale at BTD and it was a perfect fit. It was also cooler in warm weather than my last helmet. While wearing the Oakley I was rear ended by a pickup traveling 35 mph my back was broken, 5 vertebrae had to be fused, but my head survived with just a mild concussion. The only improvement I can see is to offer free accident replacement.
I needed a new helmet and my previous 4 are no longer available (Catlike). This helmet has a little more weight but still feels light on my small head. The strapping design is definitely an improvement from the Catlike helmets. I highly recommend it.
I needed a new helmet and my previous 4 are no longer available (Catlike). This helmet has a little more weight but still feels light on my small head. The strapping design is definitely an improvement from the Catlike helmets. I highly recommend it.
I coach a cycling team who used these helmets for their race last month, and they absolutely loved how well this helmet fit and the ventilation.
I purchased this in June '18. This is the most comfortable helmet I've ever worn. The BOA system works so well that you don't notice it. 14 months later the sweatband separated from the MIPs membrane. It's held on with 2 plastic rivets that attach to the membrane. The membrane is is torn. Waiting for Oakley now on for warranty. Their website says that their helmets have a limited lifetime warranty. Hopefully that will be the case.
