Cyclist
New Poc Cytal has the best Virginia Tech score for a road helmet
Poc has launched a new Cytal helmet for road and gravel riders. It says that the new Cytal is ‘influenced by’ the pro-level Cytal Carbon, which was launched last year, with similar aerodynamics and ventilation features to that helmet.
Poc sent the new Cytal to be tested by Virginia Tech’s helmet lab, where it achieved a five-star rating, the best score of any road bike helmet tested as of March 2025 and the third best of any cycling helmet for all disciplines.
While the original Cytal Carbon had a UK price tag of £370, the new Cytal is priced at £290.
Rear wing
The new Cytal helmet uses the same Venturi effect ventilation as the Cytal Carbon to increase airflow over the rider’s head, with an integrated wing in the rear exhaust port, which Poc says allows it to provide large front-facing vents to help route airflow into the helmet. The wing in the Cytal Carbon is handmade from carbon fibre, but Poc appears to have gone for a less flashy construction in the new Cytal.
The vents are shaped more vertically than is typical in aero bike helmets and are designed to work with the wing to increase air speed through the helmet and improve cooling, while reducing air pressure ahead of the helmet and thus improve aerodynamics.
When we reviewed the Cytal Carbon, Poc would not provide us with any data quantifying the aero advantage, which we surmised suggested that any gains are slight at realistic riding speeds.
So the cooling effect is likely to be more significant, as the airflow is guided over the wearer’s head via longitudinal channels and Poc claims that ‘vast amounts’ of air pass through the helmet. Cooling is enhanced further, Poc says, by brow pads that can be removed for increased ventilation.
As with the Cytal Carbon, the Cytal uses EPS foam of different densities at different points in the helmet’s core, which Poc says helps keep the helmet lightweight and balanced. The Cytal includes Mips Air Node oblique impact protection, unlike the Cytal Carbon, which omits Mips to save weight.
Other features to improve adjustability include straps that Poc says can be adjusted side-to-side as well as up and down.
Poc Cytal sizes, weights and prices
The Poc Cytal helmet is available in three sizes. The Small fits heads from 50cm to 56cm and has a claimed weight of 250g in Europe (300g US), the Medium fits 54cm to 59cm heads and weighs a claimed 270g (320g US), while the Large fits heads from 56cm to 61cm and has a 300g claimed weight (340g US).
The 270g weight of a size Medium compares with a claimed weight of 250g for a size Medium Cytal Carbon.
Colours shown for the Cytal are white, red, orange, grey, navy, olive green and black. The Cytal Carbon, meanwhile, is still only sold in black, despite being worn by the EF Education pros in the team’s signature pink.
The new Poc Cytal helmet is priced at £290 / €320 / $330, saving UK buyers £80 on the price of the Cytal Carbon. It will be available from 25th March 2025.
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