POC has announced the Procen Air, a new aero road helmet heavily inspired by time trial helmets.Developed over several years, and debuted at this years Tour Down Under, POC claims the Procen Air offers a significant performance advantage over its previous aero road helmet, the Ventral.The Procen Airs design shares many similarities with the brand's recently launched time trial helmet, the Procen TT.As with that helmet, POC claims the Procen Air harnesses the Venturi effect to improve both ventilation and aerodynamic efficiency.Notably, the Procen Air also partially covers your ears, though POC says it has gone to great lengths to ensure hearing and peripheral vision are not affected.Available now, the POC Procen Air costs 360 / $400 / 400.Time-trial inspiredPOC's latest aero road helmet was heavily inspired by its time trial helmet, the Procen TT.According to POC, the Procen Air was designed with the goal of offering all the watt savings of a TT helmet without compromising safety or a riders ability to hear and see.In fact, POC goes as far as to claim the helmet can improve a riders vision and hearing.This is due to the Procen Airs integrated visor, which is said to provide a wide, unobstructed field of view, and the partial ear coverings, which are claimed to reduce turbulence around the riders ears.POC says the latter will result in most riders hearing more clearly.POC says CFD modelling showed the three prominent vents at the front of the helmet improve both cooling and aerodynamic performance. - POCIn terms of aerodynamic performance, the Procen Air functions in a similar way to the Procen TT.As with that helmet, the Procen Air was designed using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) modelling, alongside wind-tunnel and real-world aero testing.As on the Procen TT, the three ventilation holes at the front of the Procen Air are said to drain the high-pressure zone, reducing the build-up of stagnant air and additional air resistance that a rider needs to push through.Air is channelled in through the ventilation holes up front, and exits through a series of exhaust ports at the rear. - POCThis airflow is then channelled through the helmet, helping to cool the rider, before exiting through a series of large exhaust channels at the rear of the helmet.According to data gathered by POC and its sponsored professional team, EF Pro Cycling (which has teams in both the mens and womens peloton), the Procen Air showed gains ranging from 5 to 18 watts compared to the Ventral, measured at speeds from 30 to 60kph.POC says the Procen Air offers significant performance gains compared to its more traditional aero road helmet, the Ventral. - POCPOC hasnt provided any data comparing it to popular aero road helmets from other manufacturers.Offering a real-world example, though, Peter Schep, a performance director at EF Pro Cycling, claims the Procen Air saved Alberto Bettiol well over 10 seconds during his successful, 30km-long solo breakaway at MilanoTorino in early March.POC Procen Air availability, specification and pricingPOC's Procen Air is available in white or black, with mirrored and clear visors included - POCThe POC Procen Air is available now in two colours Hydrogen White or Uranium Black Matte. Both mirrored and clear visors are included.It costs 360 / $400 / 400 and comes in three sizes; small (50-56cm), medium (54-59cm) and large (56-61cm).Sadly, the bright pink helmets worn by POCs sponsored professional teams, EF Education-EasyPost and EF Education-Cannondale, arent available.POCs sponsored professional teams get these special-edition pink helmets.In terms of weight, POC claims a size-medium Procen Air weighs 350g. Perhaps unsurprisingly, thats a fair bit more than most traditional aero helmets.Specializeds S-Works Evade 3 weighs 272g, for example, while Treks Ballista MIPS weighs 268g (both in a size-medium).Analysis was this always the logical next step?Was a time-trial style helmet for road racing inevitable? - POCGiven the onslaught of aerodynamic optimisations in professional cycling in recent years, its something of a wonder a helmet like the Procen Air hasnt come sooner.After all, despite the UCIs technical regulations being infamously prescriptive about some things, the rules surrounding helmets are surprisingly lax.Beyond performance concerns around ventilation, comfort and weight, there are as far as we can tell no rules preventing a rider from taking to the start line of a mass-start road race in a full-on TT helmet.Indeed, we often see riders in mass-start events on the track wearing short-tail time trial helmets, such as the Kask Bambino or POC Cerebel, for example.Kask's short-tail Bambino helmet is often used in mass-start races on the track. - Joe Branston / Immediate MediaDespite the protestations of some traditionalists, other bits of time trial tech such as skinsuits, narrow handlebars and big chainrings have been rapidly adopted by road cyclists in recent years.As mentioned above, even Alberto Bettiol a rider so old-school hes yet to fully commit to using a power meter in every race has been wearing the Procen Air in select races this season.In that context, a helmet that takes aerodynamic inspiration from a TT helmet makes perfect sense.There may well be compromises to a helmet such as the Procen Air, whether in terms of ventilation, weight or comfort, but if the claimed performance gains stand up to scrutiny we wouldnt be surprised to see other brands follow suit.Indeed, Kask appears to be in the latter stages of development for a similar helmet, which partially covers a riders ears.POC's Tempor time trial helmet is more than a decade old, but its influence is still felt today. - Simon Bromley / Immediate MediaPerhaps, though, its no surprise it should be POC that makes the first leap in this area.Its Tempor time trial helmet was more than a decade ahead of its time when it launched back in 2012, after all.Of course, the question remains whether helmets such as this can be a commercial success outside the realms of elite sport. Thanks to its unorthodox looks, the Tempor struggled to catch on beyond a few smart riders who did their own aero testing, after all.With everyday riders increasingly versed in the impact of aerodynamics on performance, though, the landscape certainly seems primed for a product such as this.Could the Procen Air mark a new era for aero road helmets, then? Its certainly possible.