A Helmet for My Egg-Shaped Head: The Tucano Urbano El'Fast Review

I've no idea how I first stumbled across the Tucano Urbano brand. Pretty sure it was on Vinted back in Northern Ireland where I live part-time, when I was looking for some new motorbike gloves. A pair came up at a good price, so I grabbed them.

When they arrived, I was blown away by the quality for the pennies I paid, so I went looking for more info on the brand. Turns out they're a small(ish) Italian company that mostly makes kit for scooter riders. Seeing as I ride two Italian scooters (a Piaggio Beverly 350 and a 400), I liked the Italian connection. After that, I started keeping an eye out for more Tucano Urbano bargains on Vinted.

The Hunt for a Helmet That Fits

I've been on scooters for a couple of years now and much prefer an open-face helmet for pottering about (I've got full-facers for motorways etc.). But, thanks to what I can only assume is a weirdly shaped head (a bit of an egg, I reckon), I've never found one that works well. I've tried loads, either buying them and being disappointed or trying them on in shops.

So, when I saw a Tucano Urbano helmet pop up on Vinted in XXL, I was interested.

Now, I'm usually an XL in helmets, but I'd already learned from their other gear that you have to size up. (Are all Italians tiny?). I figured the XXL might just work. It was listed with no model name, just the brand, and the price was £60.

I nipped over to the Tucano Urbano website and saw most of their open-face 'Jet' helmets sell for about €70-80 new. Sixty quid for a used one, even in good nick, seemed way too steep.

So I chanced my arm with an offer of £30. Accepted.

A week later it turns up, I tried it on and... it fitted. Perfectly. Like it was made for my odd-shaped head. I discovered it was a model called the "El'Fast". Result.

I went back to their site to look up the specs, only to find the El'Fast wasn't one of their cheaper €80 models. It was their all-singing, all-dancing open-facer, selling new for €180!

Right, so I'd got a proper bargain.

The Test Ride

But as any rider knows, a good fit is only half the battle. A helmet can feel great in the living room and be a noisy, buffeting nightmare on the road. So I fired up the Beverly 350 to see what it was really like.

I've got a bit of tinnitus, and open-face helmets are usually terrible for it. The El'Fast wasn't painfully tight, just 'right', but somehow it cut out a massive amount of wind noise. Even with the visor up, it was far quieter than any other jet helmet I've owned.

About that visor, it's huge! Way deeper than most. When it's down, it reaches below your chin and cuts the wind noise to nearly the level of a full-face lid. The seal between the visor and the helmet shell is really snug (without making it hard to move), which must be what helps.

So, the fit is spot on and the wind noise is low. This was now my go-to helmet.

Buying a Second One for Spain

This was all back in NI, where I ride the Beverly 350. I liked it so much, I figured I needed the same helmet for Spain where I have a Beverly 400.

Since I knew the El'Fast worked for me, I decided to buy new. A quick check on their site showed they had an offer on: €135 down from €180, with free shipping from Italy to Spain.

The only problem was, the Vinted one was the older ECE '05' safety spec. The new one was the latest '06' version. Great, better protection, but would the fit on the XXL be exactly the same?

I fired them an email to ask. Within a few hours, they replied, "It should be, but if not, you can always return it within 14 days for a full refund."

I replied, "Great, but the deal's on now and I'm not in Spain for another 40 days to try it on."

"No bother," they came back, "we'll just extend the return period for you."

I mean, how can you not love customer service like that? Top marks. I ordered it. 40 days later I got to Spain, and I can confirm, the new one also fits perfectly.

The Good and The Bad

So, here's a quick run-down of what I like, and the bits that are a bit bollox.

The Pros

1. The Fit. Yes, you have to size up (or I did, anyway), but the fit is fantastic. It's just the right amount of 'snug' with no pressure points anywhere. Perfect for my egg head.
2. The Visor. It’s massive, a good couple of inches deeper than others. At first, I wasn't a fan. When it's up, you can just see the bottom edge in your vision, like a peak on a cap. I found it a bit distracting. Then I rode in the rain. With the visor flicked up and my head tilted forward slightly, it acts just like a cap, stopping a lot of rain from hitting my face. When it's down, it fully covers you, cutting out all the wind. Mate it with a scarf and it has similar wind protection to a full-facer.
3. The Depth. The helmet shell itself seems deeper than most. A lot of jet helmets stop around your mouth, but the El'Fast comes down another inch or so, covering more of your jaw. I suspect this also helps with the low wind noise. Probably makes little difference in a crash, but it feels a bit more substantial.
4. The Finish. I know, colour is subjective. But the El'Fast seems to only come in matt colours. My Vinted one is matt black (matches the NI bike), and the new one for Spain is matt silver. It might not match my blue Beverly 400, but I'm betting the matt finish will handle the Spanish sun and fading a lot better than a gloss one.

That deep visor: Bigger than most and cuts out a lot of wind noise.

The Cons (The Niggles)

1. The Strap. The El'Fast uses a micrometric (plastic clicky) ratchet strap, not a D-ring. I hate D-rings, they're a proper faff, so that's good. But the clicky thing on this helmet is different from every other one I own. I don't know why, but it's just... awkward. I'm often standing there fumbling with it, trying to line the two ends to line up. There might be a knack to it, but I haven't found it.
2. The Strap Padding. This is properly annoying. The straps themselves aren't stitched to the comfort padding (the bits that sit between the strap and your chin). This means you've got two sets of flappy bits to contend with when you're trying to do the helmet up. It's a daft bit of design.
3. The Price. The final niggle is the price. Most jet helmets from anyone but the big premium brands are under €100. The El'Fast RRP is €180. Reading the specs, it's a big step up in materials and quality, but does the average scooter rider (TC's target market) really care about high-tech materials and low weights? I'm going to say no, not really. But I guess TC make plenty of other, cheaper helmets for those folk.

So, Is It Worth It?

Would I pay full price for another El'Fast? Absolutely. In a heartbeat.

In fact, when I'm back in NI I plan to replace the used Vinted one with a new one. (How much can you really trust a second-hand helmet, after all?). So I guess that's your answer.

But... would I have ever paid that much without finding that Vinted bargain first? Nah, unlikely, so that's a marteting challenge Tucano Urbano need to content with. And might explain why it was reduced to €135 in the first place!

So, overall, I highly recommend the Tucano Urbano El'Fast. For me, with my weirdly shaped head, it's the perfect helmet. Super comfy, great fit, top protection, and looks good (as good as a helmet can, anyway).

My only worry is the heat. It's so well-sealed, I suspect this thing is going to be a proper sweat-bucket come the Spanish summer.

But for that, Tucano Urbano makes the 'El'Fresh', which has bicycle-helmet-style vents in the top. Looks like a no-brainer. I'll probably be getting one of them next year.

A Final Word on Tucano Urbano Kit

Since discovering the brand, I've become a bit obsessed. I now have several pairs of their gloves, a Termoscud apron for my Beverly in NI (if you ride in cold weather, get one!), bar muffs, the helmets, and some of their clothing.

A word of warning on the clothing, particularly the jackets: They are Italian.

I'm six foot three, 90kg, and have wide shoulders. Their jackets just don't fit me. At all. If I size up to fit my arms and shoulders, you could fit two of me in the body. So if you're not built like a traditional skinny Italian bloke, try before you buy. I wish I had.