It's worth noting that like our guide to the lightest road bikes, this guide isn't intended as a round-up of the very lightest helmets in existence, more the lightest we've reviewed that received high scores. We have reviewed helmets as light as 175g, namely Limar's Ultralight+, but that's since been discontinued.

With more of a focus on aerodynamics and ventilation, road bike helmets are often much lighter and racier looking, too. Still, the goal is protection, and modern road helmets feature innovative designs and technologies to keep riders safe out on the road.

Full-face helmets provide the most head coverage, followed by mountain bike and skate helmets. Road bike helmets offer the least overall protection, generally. Most of today's bike helmets are constructed with Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam that is only designed to withstand one significant impact.

Rapha + POC Ventral Lite bike helmet The Ventral is one of the lightest helmets available, making it ideal for those who measure rides in vertical metres rather than horizontal kilometres. Excellent ventilation helps in the heat but the adjustment mechanism is a bit basic and there is no MIPS to save weight. 3. Trek Ballista MIPS bike helmet