Abus AirBreaker 2.0 helmet

Light, fast, cool, comfortable, smart, safe. Pick six...

- Words Laurence Kilpatrick Photography Mike Massaro

While Abus's aero GameChanger helmet is a popular choice among watt-chasing pros, the new AirBreaker 2.0, despite a name that suggests similar goals, has different aims. It's still designed to slice through the wind, but the focus is more on weight and ventilation.

'Our sponsored riders wanted better ventilation for high-heat races,' says Lukas Tamajka, product manager at Abus.

Though the updated AirBreaker still shares the same neat, low-profile shape and curved design language as the original, Abus has reworked its vent structure. The three central front-to-back vents are wider to increase airflow at all speeds (although Abus doesn't provide any data), and 'eyebrow' vents have been added to the helmet's leading edge alongside grippier sunglasses ports. Of course, larger holes means less material, so Abus has added a polymer skeleton inside the EPS foam called ActiCage to keep the structure strong.

'Basically it's a built-in reinforcement,' says Tamajka. 'It allows us to keep large vents without compromising impact protection. It adds stability and crash performance while keeping weight low.'