I first spotted what appeared to be a new Met Trenta on the head of Tadej Pogacar at this year’s Tour de France. I could tell that the front section and venting shapes had undergone an overhaul, which at the time, I thought was pretty mild. Turns out, Met carried out an entirely new design while retaining the design DNA of the outgoing Met Trenta 3K Carbon – and I like that. There are some bold safety and ventilation cues that I will address in detail later, having tested this helmet thoroughly during the Gravel Burn stage race in South Africa.
Met is considered among the safest and best road bike helmets on the market. In fact, Virginia Tech has rated many of the brand’s helmets with five stars, the maximum a helmet can receive for impact protection. I’ve also personally – read accidentally – crash-tested a Met Rivale Mips helmet in 2020 in a mountain bike race when a competitor collided with me on a narrow bridge and sent me over the bars, resulting in me breaking my fall with my head. After contacting Met post-crash, they asked for the helmet back to study it. They shared the findings with me, stating it did exactly what it was designed to do: absorb the impact while the Mips system worked properly to prevent the effect of the rotational component of the impact forces
After the detailed crash report feedback from Met, I’ve always trusted Met’s safety claims and use many of the Italian brand’s helmets during my road and time-trial seasons each year. The Trenta 3K Carbon has become one of my personal favourites as it’s always balanced ventilation with safety and a reasonable weight – the new model has improved the recipe and the result is one of the best road bike helmets on the market.
(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)
Technical details
While the outgoing model and the new Trenta 3K Carbon look pretty similar, there are a host of improvements that Met claims centre on the idea of form following function. The new Trenta utilises 20 vents, one more than the outgoing model. These vents, coupled with what it calls the new Airframe (a carbon wing structure that removes EPS from the internal frame and features open-air channels), have resulted in a 16% improvement in airflow.
This has resulted in a continuous internal air channel from front to back, with two pronounced exhaust ports located in the upper rear section. Not only is the Airframe functional, but it’s also aesthetic, adding contrast to the outer shell, which can be optioned in four colours.
The new Trenta 3K Carbon is available in three sizes (small, medium, and large) and weighs a claimed 260g for a medium, about 45g more than the previous model. On our scales, the medium Trenta 3K weighed 261g, not too far from the quoted number. In terms of fit, it employs the company’s Safe-T Orbital system with vertical and occipital adjustment.
According to Met, the new Trenta is not discipline-specific and can be used for road racing, cross-country mountain biking and gravel cycling.
(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)
Performance
The fit is excellent and somewhat adjustable thanks to the Safe-T Orbital system, which offers vertical and occipital adjustments. You don’t feel any spot pressure around the head, and the system distributes pressure evenly. I tested the new Trenta 3K carbon at Gravel Burn in South Africa – a seven-day stage race over some of the country’s best gravel roads and mountain passes. Being spring, the weather delivered a mix of temperatures ranging from rain, cold, wind, hail, and extreme temperatures – the ideal setting then to test the Trenta’s new claims and performance fully.
The most significant change over its predecessor is improved ventilation: it is 16% cooler thanks to the commodious 20 vents and the 3K Airframe, which has eliminated the need for an EPS internal frame. This was evident on the warmer days: airflow is brilliant, and it can be felt throughout the helmet as air moves from the front to the rear.
The design, while retaining much of the original’s design recipe, looks a little more bulbous when fitted – it’s slightly taller and broader. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but one of the attributes I liked about the outgoing model was the svelte silhouette. Regardless of how it looks or feels, Met says aerodynamics remain unchained compared to its predecessor, something that is difficult to quantify without the use of a wind tunnel, but during testing, I didn’t notice any wind noise.
(Image credit: Sportograf)
As I mentioned earlier, Met is one of the safest helmet brands around, and its products are rigorously tested to the point that I trust the products with my life. Rather than resting on its laurels, Met wanted to ensure it improved the helmet’s structure in the redesign, citing that independent safety scores are up 40% over the previous model. This means the new Met Trenta is now among the highest-scoring helmets ever tested by Virginia Tech.
In addition to fit, ventilation, aerodynamics, and safety, the new Met Trenta 3K carbon plays nicely with most sunglasses brands. I tested it together with several brands, including Oakley, POC, Scicon, and Koo, and there was no interference with the helmet flanks or the section behind the ears. Sometimes sunglasses arms are incompatible with certain helmet brands – particularly when it comes to behind-the-ear – but there are no negatives to report here. While I’m not one for storing my glasses on top of the helmet, the Trenta’s integrated vents can be used to store sunglasses when not in use.
While downsides are few, I do think a magnetic Fidlock buckle, as included on the Met Manta Mips aero helmet, would do wonders to lift the package. That said, there’s nothing wrong with the traditional plastic clasp on the Trenta, so I haven’t listed it as a con.
(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)
Value
The new Met Trenta 3K Carbon is an expensive helmet, no question. And while some might squawk at the pricing and opt for something more affordable, if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a cyclist, you can’t put a price on your life or mental well-being, and I’d rather spend a little more on a high-quality helmet than a new set of wheels or power meter pedals.
Still, the £350 / US$450 / €400 sticker price is hard to ignore and also represents a significant hike over its predecessor. But if we examine the changes and the considerable hike in safety standards, a fact proved by Virginia Tech’s independent helmet testing, I’d say the new Trenta signifies more of an investment than an unnecessary purchase.
If you are set on a Met helmet and like the Trenta platform’s design, the original Met Trenta is still available for purchase on the company’s website, priced at a more palatable £225 / $299 / €260. It benefits from a Mips slip-lane liner and five colour options.
(Image credit: Aaron Borrill)
Another alternative is the Specialized S-Works Prevail 3. It’s available in 10 different colour options, three sizes, and has 25 ventilation ports, five more than the Met Trenta 3K Carbon. It’s lighter, too, at 238g in a medium. It also has a five-star rating from Virginia Tech and costs significantly less at £250 / $300 / €290. One of the only issues is the brand clash it poses for riders who don’t own a Specialized bike.
The POC Ventral Air Mips is another excellent option. It’s available in 11 colours and comes in both a regular (three sizes) and wide fit (two sizes). While it is a notably well-ventilated lid, it makes do with 18 ports – fewer than both the Trenta 3K Carbon and S-Works Prevail 3. It weighs 260g (medium) and has yet to be tested by Virginia Tech, granted it does come fitted with a Mips Integra rotational impact protection system. The kicker here? The £240 / $270 / €260
While there are some pretty impressive options in the best road bike helmet space, based on past experiences and knowledge of Met’s exceptional after-sales support, coupled with the incredible performance and comfort it afforded me during Gravel Burn, the new Trenta 3K Carbon gets my vote of confidence.
Tech spec
- Sizes: S, M, L (medium, tested)
- Weight: 260g (medium, tested)
- Vents: 20
- Retention: Safe-T Orbital system
- Mips: Yes, Air Node
- Colours: White, Hyper Teal, Opal Grey, Black
