Not so long ago bicycle helmets were considered pro-equipment. But anytime, anywhere and for every cyclist? What an absurd idea! Fortunately, that has changed. These days, more and more people will mount their bike only with head protection in place – a truly wise decision! Of course, manufacturers make the choice easy by providing us with with a huge range of bicycle helmets for professional athletes, city bikers, road bikers, ladies, men, children and of course e-bikers. Read what to look out for when shopping for a helmet and how you can find the perfect one for you.
Let's get right into the basics: How do you find a bike helmet that fits? And that too via online ordering? Don't worry, it's not that hard! All you need is a measuring tape. If you don't have one handy, a piece of string and a ruler will do, and you're ready to...
...determine the circumference of your head and the appropriate helmet size
- Lay measuring tape or string around your head, horizontally about 1cm above your eyebrows.
- Make sure your measuring tool doesn't slide down the back of your neck, but encircles the widest part of the back of your head.
- Now you can read your head circumference on the measuring tape, if you measured with a string you can simply measure the length with the ruler.
- In almost every helmet in our online shop, you will find a selection menu to the right of the product image with the designation Head circumference. Most of the time, ranges are given there. Here you select the range in which your head circumference is. So you order the helmet in your correct size.
Now it's time, you can go searching at our bike helmets and order your favorite helmet! Here are a few more tips on what to buy:
- When buying a helmet, make sure it meets the standard EN 1078 . These helmets are approved for use on bicycles. In our shop, most of the bicycle helmets meet this standard, also TÜV tests and other test procedures many of our helmets have passed with flying colors. If these seals are present, you may incidentally also quietly reach for a cheaper helmet!
- Most helmets can be adjusted in width, so they also fit with changing hairstyles or a thin hat.
- Half-shell helmets, you also know them as skater helmets, usually don't have a sizing system, so you should buy one that fits well. Often, these helmets are supplied with pads in different strengths, which allow a slight adjustment.
- Bicycle helmets have more or less ventilation openings. Depending on whether you're more likely to sweat and want to keep a cool head or want to be protected from drafts, you can choose a helmet with lots of vents or one that's as tight as possible.
- Glass wearers can wear most bike helmets without any problems. If helmet and glasses do get in the way, you should try a different helmet model. That's exactly what BMO's extended return policy is for!
- White and black bike helmets are very common. However, you can get an extra dose of safety with a brightly colored helmet or a cover for your helmet -the more colorful the helmet, the better it will be seen in traffic!
We would like to offer you at this point a size table because often helmets are divided into the familiar sizes from XXS to XXL, however, the manufacturers do not assign these size designations uniformly. With information in centimeters you are always on the safe side. However, every manufacturer and every helmet model has its own individual fit. Some helmets are wider and flat, others are higher but narrow. Often, the choice here is simply a matter of taste, but there is guaranteed to be the right helmet for every bike lover due to these different designs!
How to fit the helmet for your head:
- Most helmets can be adjusted in width with a dial in the neck. You don't want the helmet to pinch, but you also want it to hold on your head without the chin straps when you lean forward and let your head hang.
- The chin straps should form a triangle around your ear, leaving you about a finger's width or two under your chin.
Order stylish bike helmets for men and women online
Bikes are evolving more and more towards unisex in recent years, and so are helmets. Most bike helmets are kept neutral in color anyway, black and white bike helmets are very common. The helmet sizes are also the same. There are men who need a helmet with a slim fit or ladies who can only fit their hair under a wide helmet. Just buy a bike helmet that you like, because that's when you have the best chance of wearing it! Even a hair port, an opening through which a braid can dangle out of the helmet, is of course not exclusively interesting for female bikers. You'll find a wide range of city helmets and touring and trekking helmets in our shop, there's sure to be a helmet to suit you!
Cool bike helmets for the kids
Price question: how do you get the youngsters to wear the helmet? Well, ...if the helmet is mega cool, that definitely helps. That's why there are children's helmets in all the colours of the rainbow, printed with the most popular comic book heroes, with stickers for individual style, with dinos, footballs or little flowers ... the choice really is huge!
The size of a children's bike helmet is determined as for adults, the head circumference must be measured, that's it. Please buy a bike helmet for your child that fits as snugly as possible! "He'll grow into it!" works for jeans and winter jackets, but a helmet that is too big will not protect a child's head adequately!
Sports helmets for bikers
When it comes to sporting helmets, looks usually take a back seat; their main purpose is to provide protection when the adrenaline is pumping. But that doesn't mean the helmets don't look good while doing so. Sports helmets offer either mountain bikers massive all-round protection or road bikers and gravel riders minimalist dimensions and barely noticeable weight.
Mountain bike helmets
In mountain biking, yes, people like to splurge, and helmets are no exception. Lots of material, big forehead shields and a flared neck are mandatory in mountain bike helmets . Or better yet, a martial full-face helmet that protects you from the damaging effects of the landscape in all directions. Especially for the MTB disciplines Downhill or Enduro, where the action is really high, the helmets with chin bar are a really good choice! For the endurance sports XC and Allmountain or smooth trail rides, a half-shell helmet is usually enough, but there is also the possibility to get both in one, because one or the other helmet comes with a removable chin bar.
By the way, when buying a full-face helmet, the same rule applies as with a skater helmet - the size has to be right! With pads, however, the fit can always be adjusted a bit, plus the inner pads can usually be made fresh again in the washing machine! In our online shop you can find mountain bike helmets from 100%, iXS, Endura, Oneal, Leatt, Fox or TLD, which have not only proven themselves in the test lab, but have also won over bikers and the testers of major bike magazines.
Race bike helmets
Like everything else in racing, race bike helmets are small, aerodynamic and ultra-lightweight. According to the manufacturer, the world's lightest helmet weighs an incredible 175 grams; most road bike helmets weigh a little more than 200 grams. However, this little bit of weight provides maximum safety, excellent ventilation and hardly offers any surface for the wind to attack. When buying a road bike helmet, you should keep in mind that these helmets are worn further back on the neck, because if they sat more on the face, there wouldn't be much field of vision left with the low bent riding position. Classic manufacturers for road helmets are Giro or HJC, who make numerous excellently tested helmets in this division.
Can I buy a helmet specifically for my e-bike or pedelec?
Clearly YES, more and more manufacturers have helmets for e-bikes and pedelecs on offer. Among our city bike helmets you'll find many helmets that have been built and tested specifically for e-bike use.
As e-bikes become more popular, there's a new EU standard that marks that a helmet is approved for the higher speeds at which e-bikers like to travel. If you ride an e-bike, make sure your helmet meets the EU standard NTA 8776 for e-bike helmets, and you'll be on the safe side. These legal requirements aside, e-bike helmets tend to be generously sized bowls that safely enclose as much of the head as possible.
Since e-bikers are often on the road, crashes in all possible directions should be secured, after all, especially in the city, other road users are usually involved in an accident - and you never know from which direction they will then come hurtling.
The narrow space in which city bikers often move is also taken into account here. If a curb, trash can or lamppost gets in the way of your head while falling, a generous protection zone is always very welcome. Many e-bike helmets have visors, by the way, so watery eyes or slow mosquitoes won't cloud your clear vision, even if you're riding briskly.
MIPS means safety at the highest level
The term MIPS is one you're bound to come across from time to time when buying a helmet, so we'll give you a brief explanation of what it means. A bike helmet usually consists of a smooth plastic shell on the outside, a thick polystyrene shell in the middle and a system of pads and straps on the inside. The smooth outer shell isn't just to look nice, it's also there to keep the helmet from sliding and snagging on the ground in the event of a crash, thus abruptly slowing down your head. The lightweight polystyrene shell is for cushioning, the inner pads for comfort. MIPS is an innovative special layer between the two outer helmet shells, which ensures that these two layers can slide along each other. In the event of an accident, the forces of the impact are thus distributed over the entire helmet and punctual, severe bruising is avoided. MIPS therefore stands for an extra portion of safety for your brain.
Smart helmets - order smart safety!
This is not about the smart exterior of modern bike helmets, it's purely about the inner features. Behind the term smart helmet is hidden, much like the smartphone, a helmet that, thanks to innovative technology, can do much more than you would initially expect from a bike helmet. A light on the helmet for the city is almost obligatory, but smart helmets can do much more. Stream music or accept calls via Bluetooth, for example. But really exciting is the emergency function! The helmets register a fall and alert emergency contacts, some can also transmit your location so that help arrives quickly.
Bike helmet - do I have to or don't I?
Notorious helmet refusers will be happy at this point, because they don not have to! There is no obligation to wear a helmet on a bicycle in Germany (as of April 2021 and without guarantee). However, insurers have the right to refuse or reduce benefits if a cyclist involved in an accident was not wearing a helmet. The exception here is riders of an S-pedelec. The fast e-bikes are considered mopeds and may only be ridden with an "appropriate helmet."
But it is NOT recommended to get on your bike topless. Head injuries are usually not minor injuries, they often leave you with permanent discomfort! Sure, very few people look really good with a helmet on. Here the credo applies: better to look stupid for a short time than to suffer for a lifetime from the consequences of a fall that a bike helmet would have avoided!
Small print: Please note that we can not assume any liability for all statements on standards and laws, all information on this is therefore without guarantee!
