First Impressions

A while back, I was in the market for a new cycling helmet. The old one — a Giro model whose name escapes me — had come to the end of its useful life, with the constantly sweat-soaked padding literally disintegrating before my eyes. Not wanting to break the bank on this particular shopping trip, I set my sites on the sub-$50 category and found a few very impressive options. Among them, the Cannondale Quick stood out.

Features

The Cannondale Quick is the very bottom of the company’s helmet line. At the top end, you’ll find Cannondale’s flagship Cypher at $200. In contrast, the Quick carries a whopping $40 MSRP but definitely doesn’t look down market. And despite it’s bargain pricing, delivers some pretty cool features.

Specs
Weight: 10.5 oz
Vents: 17
Compliance: USA CPSC

The Quick comes in at reasonable 10.5 ounces for my small/medium (52-58cm) helmet. Not bad at all. It claims 19 vents, but I can’t quite validate that. There are 17 actual vents, 14 across the top and 3 in the rear. They deliver sufficient airflow and cooling on hot rides. There’s a removable visor and the requisite wicking pads. But the real selling feature for me was the cam-lock fit system.

Fit

Cannondale bills their fit system as “Micro-Dial Fit w/ Ergo-Fit EVA occipital pad.” Uh, pretty descriptive, I guess.

In other words, on the rear of the helmet, there’s a small rotating dial that tightens or loosens the fit on the fly. Attached to that section of the helmet is also a foam pad that cups the rear of the head for a solid fit. I found this whole approach just fantastic. The dial allows for a very fine-tuned fit, probably the best I’ve ever experienced and the foam pad is very comfortable.

Final Verdict

So, hard to go wrong with this bargain beauty. The Cannondale Quick looks far more expensive than it is, the fit system is one of the best we’ve tried, and the weight is reasonable. If you’re in the market for a replacement helmet (or your first), you owe it to yourself to check out the Cannondale Quick.

Thanks for reading another outdoor gear review from GearGuide.