Highbar wants to redefine helmet straps: I rode 100km wearing one to see if it can

“You look like a construction worker!” Perhaps not the one-line summary that Canyon – or Highbar – would have wanted for its new, unusual, innovative, still-unreleased helmet collaboration, but that’s the quip that came from one of my friends as I rolled across the car park ahead of the Gralloch gravel race in Scotland.

I was there for fun, but an opportunity presented itself to test the new Canyon-branded helmet that swaps traditional fabric straps for a rubberised, pivoting arm that tightens with a dial. I couldn’t refuse; I had to see whether the brand’s claims would stand up in the real world. 

The strap-replacing system is called Highbar, and my friend’s perhaps slightly unfair commentary perfectly reflected the line of questioning that everyone I spoke to about it followed: “It looks weird, what’s the point?”

As we all know, cyclists are a fickle bunch. We’ll happily shave our legs, contort ourselves into a one-piece skinsuit, don our aero socks and wear an aero helmet, but anything different is immediately weird and uncool… unless you can prove it’s somehow better.