Review: Lazer Strada Kineticore Long-Term

Note: Lazer Helmets sent over a Strada Kineticore helmet last year to Guitar Ted Productions for test and review. I was not paid, nor bribed for this review. I will always strive to give you my honest thoughts and opinions throughout the review. 

Last year in October or so I received a Lazer Strada Kineticore helmet for test and review. The "quick review" of that helmet can be seen HERE in case you missed that. 

Well, going into colder weather does not provide the best kind of testing weather for a helmet. I did mention in that review how the helmet fit me. I am a "size-challenged" helmet person having a 63cm around head measurement, or 7 7/8ths for you who know hat sizing. My head is more of an oval than round, so that figures into this review as well. 

I was somewhat surprised that the Strada would even be a viable choice for me. More often than not I have to ditch every pad and Velcro patch from inside a helmet liner or shell to even get a somewhat acceptable fit with a minimum of pain involved. Honestly, it is a wonder I wore a helmet at all for many years. 

The Lazer Strada Kineticore helmet wins for me just because it actually fits and I kept the pads in it. Now while it is true that my long-ish head leaves a bit of room on either side of the Strada, it works, it doesn't hurt to wear it, and how does it work in warmer weather? I'd be happy to tell you.

It is a rare thing for me to have helmet pads in my skid-lid.

I started wearing the Strada again when the weather broke earlier this year and I've worn it on a few hot rides also. It actually is fine. I wouldn't say that it is the best venting helmet I've ever tried. That prize went to a strange aero helmet I tested for Riding Gravel a few years back. But this helmet is cool enough and it fits my head. That other helmet did not fit well at all. 

I know I mentioned this in my previous article on this helmet, but I can wear this helmet with a Buff head covering or a bandana. I imagine a cycling cap would fit as well, but I don't have any good ones anymore to try that out. 

The fact is the Strada fits with those items on my head and I have the pads in yet. Amazing. I have lauded the fit of the Bontrager Starvos and Circuit helmets for my large noggin, but even with those helmets I had to remove all the padding from to get them to fit my head. So, there is some context for you.

The fit of the Strada is enhanced by their adjustable cradle. Lots of helmets feature an adjustable cradle of some sort, usually utilizing a dial or knob to make adjustments. The Strada uses a unique rotating "track" at the rear of the helmet which faces the exterior of the shell. Lazer calls it the "ScrollSys". This may seem odd at first, but if you have a gloved hand, it is a simple swipe of the palm there to make a minor adjustment instead of fiddling around, trying to locate a dial or knob in the rear of the shell cavity. 

The Strada also has an accessory "AeroShell" which you can purchase and use to close off the vents. It basically snaps over the helmet and would be a great accessory for colder riding or inclement weather. I did not test this but I have seen a previous version of that system on a Lazer helmet. 

Let's see, what about any negatives here? Well I feel that the skull cradle comes forward a bit too much at the bottom making the Strada a bit of a fussy get-on at times. That's a minor complaint though. Then there is the webbing junction at the chin strap which never stays in one place. However; it is easily adjusted, so there is a counter to the negative point there. 

Final Word:

I like this helmet. At the current $109,00 price it is a pretty solid value. Especially if you have a larger head. It is definitely a good alternative to the other choices in this category for folks with big heads. 

My comp to this helmet, the Bontrager Starvos, is a "WaveCell" helmet which has this funky, wavy cell-like honeycomb appearance to its inner liner which doesn't allow the sort of airflow that the Strada helmet does. So, I think for warm weather riding the Strada is a bit better, plus in cold weather you have the optional "AeroShell" piece that you could use to close off the vents. 

The fit adjustment using the "ScrollSys" is also an easier to use feature, so I would give the Strada the nod here as far as the two helmets go. That said, Trek seems to be closing the Starvos out at the time of this writing, and you can pick one of those up for about half off. So there is that.

The bottom line for me - and this is just my personal take on the Strada - is that the Strada is better by far because I did not have to remove the pads to make it work for my head. That ultimately tips the scales for myself, because just getting a helmet on my head is a major accomplishment. To have it fit with zero modifications? Amazing.

Got A Big Head? Check This Out

The Lazer Kineticore Helmet

Note: Lazer Helmets sent out a white Strada Kineticore helmet for review to Guitar Ted Productions at no charge. I am not being paid, nor bribed for this review and I always strive to give you my honest thoughts and opinions. 

My relationship with helmets for cycling has been marked by frustration and a dash of "rules breaking". See, I have a big head. Not the "big head" in terms of an ego, or pridefulness, but an actual "BIG HEAD".  As in a 7 7/8ths or 63.5cm sized melon that resides on the top of my body. 

So, to say that I am quite familiar with how the cycling industry is not "size inclusive" is putting things mildly. Let's talk about jersey sizing, jackets, or shorts some day. But not today. Today is all about heads, big heads, and how helmets don't come often in big head sizes, if they do at all. 

I can honestly say that since about 1993, when I started wearing a helmet, I hadn't had a helmet that truly fit me without modifications until 2020. Yep! 27 years of cycling in ill fitting headgear because, well, I suppose cycling helmet providers didn't think people had bigger heads than 7 3/4's size. If they even went that big. 

Kudos to Bontrager/Trek for finally making cool helmets for larger noggins. I ride with two different Bontrager helmets that fit me quite well without any mods whatsoever. But that's just one company. What if I wanted to ride in something different? Well, I'm here to tell you that I discovered another helmet company that just might fix you up. 

Lazer helmets got a hold of me recently to tell me about a new gravel helmet they have out now and 'would I like to try one'? 

Well, I always chuckle when I get these helmet offers. I check the sizing, with a pretty good idea of what I am about to see, and have my suspicions confirmed. The Lazer gravel helmet was no different. The only thing I can do a lot of times is to tell these people to ask one of my friends that review stuff to try that out, or I just say "Thanks, but no thanks!". However; this time I decided to tell the Lazer rep that they don't make helmets my size and that I have one helmet company I can use. 

The Bontrager Starvos has been my jam since 2020.

Just to backtrack a second here, Lazer actually had insisted that they had a helmet to fit me at one point about five or six years ago. I kept telling them that they didn't, but they sent one out anyway. Aaaaaannnnnd......I was right. It did not fit me at all. So, I was pretty confident that this time Lazer would be either going back to the drawing board or telling me that they couldn't help me. But they did neither of those two things.

Instead, the rep told me about two helmets in the Lazer range that had been made to fit larger heads. "Would you like to try one of them?" And you know what? They do have a helmet that fits! The one I was sent, at no charge to me for a trial fit and review, was the Strada Kineticore model in white. It is supposed to fit up to a size 64cm head, which is just a bit larger than what I need. 

The helmet is what I would call a mid-range helmet with some decent protection features and nice styling and plenty of decently sized vents. It's not super-lightweight nor does it have the fancier features some higher end helmets have, but it is nice. And it fits my head without causing me any uncomfortable tight spots or strain. Now, it isn't perfect, but lets not let perfect be the enemy of the good here. When you have a head like mine, you don't get a lot of choices. 

That said, if your head trends to the rounder side, this helmet will fit you better than it does me. I have a decidedly egg-shaped, longer head, and there is s slight bit of side-to-side looseness when I have the fore-aft right for my head. It isn't terrible, but it could fit a bit better. 

The textured strip on the back adjusts the cradle internally.

And because the helmet is near to the end of its size range capabilities, I can only get in a thin head-buff nylon sock thing over my head to keep the Winter chill out, and that's all the room I have. Compared to the Bontrager Starvos helmet, which I can get a nice wool, ear flapper cycling hat under, this is a bit underwhelming. Also, the fit system and cradle style of the Lazer helmet is a bit fiddly and not as easy to use as the Bontrager's. 

But the Strada Kineticore does have a really cool rubberized sunglasses port which neither of my two Bontrager helmets have and I do like that. By the way, the Starvos and this Strada Kineticore helmet are near to each other in price, especially now with Lazer's sale going on. Typically, the Strada is about 30 bucks to 40 bucks more expensive, depending on where you look. 

I wore the Strada Kineticore on my Turkey Burn rides over three days and found no real problems while riding with it on. I cannot speak to the venting, as it is Winter here and venting is not a good thing now. I wore the aforementioned buff-thingy which pretty much kept me in the dark concerning venting. But it fits! That's the biggest win here for me. 

And hopefully Lazer will take my story and make their high-end helmets big-head friendly. time will tell.....