Shark Aeron review | race-developed, lightweight sports touring motorcycle helmet
By Steve Rose
BikeSocial Publisher
21.11.2025
Date reviewed: November 2025 | Tested by: Steve Rose | Price: £699.99 | shark-helmets.com
The Shark Aeron helmet on review here is a roadgoing version of the Aeron GP race lid. Shell construction is the same mix of carbon and aramid fibre, but the standard Aeron lacks the GP’s adaptive spoiler and doesn’t come with the race version’s tear-offs, anti-fog masks, breath filters and sticker kit. It also costs around £300 less than the Aeron GP.
What you do get with the standard roadgoing Shark Aeron motorcycle helmet is a well-built, comfortable helmet with five ventilation inlets and seven exhaust vents for efficient airflow. It meets ECE 22.06 but hasn’t yet been SHARP tested. The Aeron GP scored 4/5 in SHARP testing.
Shark claims that the GP’s advanced aerodynamics optimise high-speed stability – something that manufacturers have been refining since 2008 when I remember going on the launch of the second version of Arai’s RX-7GP, which had a teeny moveable spoiler built-in.
The standard Shark Aeron helmet has a bigger, fixed spoiler. It comes with Shark’s trademark 4mm thick visor plus a dark smoke visor in the box too, which perhaps helps mitigate the £700 price tag.
The Shark Aeron is compatible with Shark’s own intercoms and features Shark’s easy fit for spectacles.
I’ve been testing this helmet for six months over the summer of 2025, covering around 4,000 miles. It’s been used on naked bikes, cruisers, sports bikes, adventure bikes and scooters including Kawasaki Versys 650 and 1000, BMW R1300RT and R1300RS, Yamaha Fazer 1000, Honda CBR500R and SH300i.
Snug fit but very comfy
Dark visor in the box
Impressively light weight
Poor peripheral vision
Doesn’t ‘feel’ like a £700 helmet
There’s a lot of helmet and padding between the rider’s eyes and the edge of the helmet reducing peripheral vision for lifesavers
The Shark Aeron motorcycle helmet has a lightweight 80/20 carbon/aramid fibre shell. Described as ‘carbon-on-view’ which I guess means what it suggests and that the aramid layer is under the carbon outer skin.
With only two different shells covering six helmet sizes from XS to 2XL it’s inevitable that a ‘small’ size like mine looks bigger than an equivalent Shoei or Arai that have three different shell sizes. I’m also assuming that the smaller sizes get thicker padding rather than Shark using a larger EPS layer (the expanded polystyrene impact-absorbing liner).
One thing I did notice on the Shark Aeron helmet was a restricted side view when doing a lifesaver. As I turned to look behind, I could see the helmet padding in my peripheral vision in a more pronounced way than my Shoei NXR2 or GT-Air 3. I wondered if this was, again something to do with filling out a large shell size for a smaller head. Or maybe it’s a legacy of the Aeron’s racing heritage where doing lifesavers isn’t a big part of the MotoGP design brief.
Shark claims 1410g +/-50g for the Aeron and when you lift it up it does feel exceptionally light. Mine weighs 1402g, which is good for a race helmet, never mind a roadgoing one.
My other sporty road lid is a Shoei NXR2, which weighed 1392g when BikeSocial reviewed it. Arai’s Quantic came in at 1588g. That’s a big difference. While some riders claim you don’t notice weight in a helmet with well-considered aerodynamic design (because the wind-drag at motorways speeds has far more impact than helmet weight) the two things are connected and, given the choice of two helmets that meet the same safety standards from a reputable manufacturer, I’d choose the lighter one if everything else was equal. Having said that I wore Arai helmets (which used to be the heavier of the premium brand helmets before ECE22.06 but now are often among the lighter) for many years and tens of thousands of miles and never noticed the weight, so maybe those people are right.
Most of the vents are easy to use. Airflow is good but not exceptional
Five inlet vents in the chin and forehead plus seven exhaust vents let a lot of air flow through the Shark Aeron helmet. The vents on top of the helmet and chin vent are easy to open and close with easily located controls but the ones just above the visor are opened with a thin slider that can be hard to locate with a lined three season glove. The exhaust vents are always open.
In a hot summer on a wide range of bikes with big screens, small screens and no screen, I expected more from the ventilation. You can feel the air flowing but it’s not as powerful as some (the original Shoei NXR and Arai RX-7V are my benchmarks for good ventilation).
Visor removal is simple and quick once you get the hang of it.
Shark is unique (in my experience) in fitting visors that are 4mm thick – twice as thick as a typical item. They have an anti-fog coating and don’t come supplied with an anti-fog Pinlock visor insert. I haven’t ridden on chilly winter mornings yet, but I have ridden in heavy rain in this helmet and had no visor misting at all.
This thick visor allows the Shark Aeron additional optical purity without the ‘double-glazing’ effect of a Pinlock that distorts vision ever so slightly. Shark also designs its helmets to be easy to wear with spectacles, which, when added to the Pinlock effect mean glasses wearers in a Shark Aeron only have to see through two sets of glazing instead of three.
Some might question whether a 4mm thick visor has more impact on optical quality than a 2mm one (I’ve never seen thicker-lensed spectacles marketed as a positive attribute) and as a non-glasses wearer I’m not convinced the Shark Aeron’s visor offers any advantage over a Shoei or Arai item with a Pinlock fitted.
Unusually, the Shark Aeron comes with an additional ‘not-for-road-use’ dark smoke visor in the box. It’s a very dark smoke – I’d classify it as a full dark visor – and very effective in bright sunlight. I found it to be much less effective in changing light conditions that typify a UK summer ride, and I rode mostly with the standard clear visor.
The visor opens via a chunky side-mounted tab that’s easy to locate and operate. This same tab presses shut to lock the visor and seals well; I’ve had no problems with water getting in.
Visor removal and refitting is straightforward once you understand the process but like many modern units it feels fiddly at first with a worry that you are about to break some fragile-looking plastic parts. The sticking point for me was when replacing the visor. You need to push the visor very firmly into place while turning the locking latch. When in place the latch moves easily, but it doesn’t always feel that way. Practice at home when you aren’t already late for work and keep trying – you’ll get it in the end.
The lining comes out and refits easily for cleaning and has tabs for emergency removal to make it easy for paramedics to remove the helmet without stress. There are recesses in the EPS polystyrene liner for intercom speakers and removeable pads to cover these.
As mentioned previously the cheek pads are quite thick – presumably because of the limited shell sizes.
As you’d expect for a helmet derived from a racing design, the Shark Aeron has a traditional double-D strap, which is well padded for comfort around your chin. The material of the actual strap is quite stiff and flimsy compared to others but in use it works well and is easy to fasten and unfasten.
Tabs aid easy removal for emergency workers
Fit is subjective – what fits me might not fit you, so you need to try any helmet on in different sizes. When I first pull on the Shark Aeron the fit feels very snug around the cheeks – almost too snug, like it’s squeezing your cheeks. But the padding is soft and comfortable and within a few minutes you stop noticing it and don’t think about the comfort or fit again until it’s time to take it off.
This helmet fits me really well and was comfy from the very first ride. One summer is relatively early days but the lining feels as good after 4,000 miles as when it was new.
Shark Aeron is a very snug fit around the rider’s neck, which could help reduce noise
There are so many things that contribute to helmet noise that it’s impossible to accurately assess how an individual helmet rates. Speed, riding position, amount of bodywork on the bike, how loose your jacket is can all have an effect. I never ride without earplugs and so any comments here reflect that. The Shark Aeron doesn’t stand out as excessively noisy or especially quiet in my experience.
Shark makes impressive claims for the aerodynamics on the Aeron GP, which has a rear spoiler that moves with the rider. The regular Aeron has a fixed spoiler and at road speeds it feels no more or less stable than any other helmet.
For more information on why earplugs are vital with any helmet, and advice on which are the best, click here.
Removeable pads for intercom speakers
Three alternatives to the Shark Aeron
Shoei NXR2 is the benchmark sporting road helmet. Three different shell sizes and a broader field of vision than many other helmets set it apart from the Shark Aeron. It’s available for considerably less money too. You don’t get a dark visor, but you do get a Pinlock anti-fog insert.
Arai Quantic was the first helmet certified to ECE-22.06 and is everything Arai does well in a road-focused, medium-price helmet. Like the Shoei NXR2, it costs a lot less than the Shark Aeron and feels much more solidly built.
Arai RX-7V Evo is similarly priced to Shark’s Aeron helmet and is Arai’s most sporty, race helmet. Everything Arai knows about helmet construction, ventilation and aerodynamic stability is in this helmet and many riders won’t wear anything else.
These are just three of many alternatives – you can find all the helmets we’ve tested here and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through Bikesocial membership.
If you need a top-flight helmet that is particularly light weight, with a double-thickness visor that doesn’t have Pinlock pins and works well with glasses, the Shark Aeron is well worth a look. If it cost the same as a Shoei NXR2 or Arai Quantic it would be easier to recommend for some people.
Is the Shark Aeron good enough to justify a £699 price tag? In my view, no. Shoei’s NXR2 (I haven’t worn Arai’s Quantic) is more comfortable, better built, has better peripheral vision and a visor change that’s easier to use and feels more robust. Personally, I think it looks better too, and you can buy one for a lot less money.
I like that the Aeron comes with a dark visor in the box and also that it feels so light and easy to wear, but the final word is that as I write this review the Shark is in the back of the cupboard and my three-year-old NXR2 is back at the front as my number one helmet.
Do you own this helmet? Tell us what it’s like, or ask us questions about it at bikeclub.bennetts.co.uk.
