Best Bike Helmets (2025), Tested and Reviewed

3 weeks ago

In nan springtime, we each shingle disconnected nan dusty waste of wintertime and pull bikes out of nan car shed aliases basement. This is besides nan clip erstwhile we commencement looking astatine caller motorcycle gear, and nary portion of instrumentality is much important than a motorcycle helmet. When worn properly, nan champion motorcycle helmets tin reduce superior caput injuries by 60 percent.

I’m a spot of a helmet seed myself. Not conscionable successful that I deterioration 1 each clip I propulsion my limb complete a bike, but I besides emotion variety. I emotion matching different helmets pinch different kits and outfits (after all, style goes a agelong measurement connected nan bike), and arsenic a roadworthy cyclist, upland biker, and mundane around-the-town rider, I usually person anyplace from 5 to 10 helmets astatine home. Our apical picks are nan reasonably priced Specialized Align II ($55) and nan feature-full Thousand Chapter MIPS helmet ($145).

Here are immoderate of my favourite picks, successful a fewer different categories. Don't spot thing you like? Don't hide to cheque retired nan remainder of our outdoor buying guides, including nan Best Electric Bikes, nan Best Scooters, and nan Best Day-Hiking Backpacks.

Most helmets tin beryllium surgery down into 3 chopped categories.

A commuter aliases mundane helmet exists to support your caput safe and small else. Sure, immoderate look cooler than others, immoderate are much ventilated than others, and immoderate connection a spot much comfortableness than others. But successful nan end, your mundane helmet puts information astatine nan fore.

Road helmets return aerodynamics, ventilation, and weight into account. As befits a highly aerobic sport, a roadworthy helmet must see factors for illustration fighting nan wind, regulating your body’s temperature, and keeping your cervix comfortable, which are basal parts of roadworthy cycling.

Mountain biking helmets connection much protection down nan backmost of nan skull, are often outfitted pinch sun-blocking visors (as aerodynamics are acold little important connected a upland motorcycle ride), and will sometimes moreover see clips to fasten oculus protection aliases googles.

You tin really get into nan weeds pinch helmets made for gravel riding, downhill aliases cross-country upland biking, aero, aliases full-faced protection. Finally, retrieve that helmets are not meant to beryllium worn aft a crash. Even if nan spill is insignificant and nan helmet looks and feels perfectly fine, trash it and get a caller one.

The champion measurement to fresh your helmet is to effort it on. Most helmets coming travel pinch a dial strategy astatine nan rear of nan helmet, allowing nan rider to set their helmets for a much precise fresh than ever before.

“Low, level, snug” is nan adage to retrieve erstwhile wearing your motorcycle helmet. It should beryllium level connected your head, covering almost each of your forehead. If excessively overmuch of your forehead is exposed, you're losing protection successful nan arena of a crash. Your scale digit should fresh successful nan abstraction betwixt your eyebrows and your helmet.

The helmet’s strap should beryllium snug capable beneath your chin that you shouldn’t beryllium capable to easy fresh a digit betwixt your jaw and nan strap. You should besides not beryllium capable to move nan helmet much than an inch aliases truthful successful immoderate guidance erstwhile it’s secured.

If it’s been a while since you’ve bought your past helmet, you mightiness announcement a small yellowish sticker connected galore newer helmets, reference “MIPS,” which stands for “Multi-directional Impact Protection System.” It protects against nan rotational mobility of nan encephalon during impact, which poses a higher consequence of encephalon harm erstwhile compared to nonstop impact.

While MIPS is nan astir popular, location are plentifulness of different companies outfitting helmets pinch akin systems. MIPS and systems for illustration nan 100%’s Smartshock rotational strategy diffuse nan rotational power of impact.