Ekoi AR14 Helmet Preview

We have an Ekoi AR14 helmet in for review, read about the details while we’re testing it out.

You may have seen the Ekoi AR14 on the heads of some of the World Tour’s teams this year. Teams such as Israel Premier-Tech, Cofidis and Arkéa-Samsic. The AR14 isn’t the only aero helmet from the French online firm in use though. Recently we ran a story about Ekoi’s collaboration with Pininfarina on their Aerodinamica helmet.

Ekoi AR14 is aero

The A14 is an aero helmet, but it’s styling is a little more restrained than the Aerodinamica’s. According to Ekoi it “has been tested, proven and approved in the wind tunnel”. Ekoi went to the wind-tunnel because they wanted a helmet that had “the best penetration coefficient in the air”. As we all know aerodynamics is king when it comes to speed on the bike, so a slippery helmet is a must.

Protection

As important as aerodynamics are, the helmet also has to protect. To this end the AR14 has been designed to “ensure optimal protection in the event of impact”. The ultra-light high density EPS foam helmet has passed all the CPSC, CE 1078 and AS NZ standards. Ekoi have also designed the AR14 to offer extra protection to a part of the skull called roche in French. An impact to this area could cause problems with hearing and balance, thus any extra protection is appreciated.

Fit and ergonomics

When it comes to fit and ergonomics, the Ekoi AR14 has some nice touches. The straps are made up of two thin straps, joined by webbing. This looks like it should lessen that horrible sweaty strap feeling and hopefully keep them clean. Fastening the straps is Ekoi’s magnetic closure. This simple buckle is so easy to use, simply bring the two halves together, et voilà! They click together effortlessly and release only requires you to slide them apart, again so easy.

At the rear of the helmet is an ATOP buckle that pulls the rear of the helmet firmly into place. You can also move it up or down on the back of your head to get it to sit right. Included with our helmet were two extra sets of coolmax pads of different thicknesses. These allow you to get the fit right and being removable means you can also wash them: a very important feature!

How many colours?

While Ekoi call the AR14 an aero helmet, they say it’s not just for roadies. They point to the 300+ professional athletes using it in road, triathlon and mountain biking. If you check out the AR14 page on Ekoi’s website you’ll currently find seventeen different designs to choose from. While the standard colours are around a reasonable £85, you can spend much more on one of their limited designs. However it’s worth keeping an eye on the prices as Ekoi often have a flash sale and you can pick one up for around £65.

Sizes and weights

The Ekoi AR14 is available in three sizes Small (52-54cm), Medium (55-58cm) and Large (59-61cm). Claimed weights are 195g, 210g and 245g, we’ll confirm those when we review our sample.