The 8 Best Bike Helmets for Trail Cycling, Mountain Biking, and Everything In Between

For decades, bike helmets used simple foam to protect your precious noggin. Then came advanced safety systems like MIPS. Now, there are even more advanced systems like Bontrager’s Wavecel, a copolymer that it claims can drastically reduce the risk of concussion.

The Wavecel material looks like a plastic honeycomb. The material will flex, crumple, or glide when hit with the force of impact, guiding the rotational force away from your skull.

Bontrager uses this material in many models, but the Specter is the most well-rounded. Great for road, mountain, and gravel biking, the Specter helmet has a BOA Fit System that lets you adjust your fit with the twist of a knob, and has plenty of vents for keeping you cool.

A cheap helmet isn’t necessarily a bad helmet. The $25 (or less, on occasion) Schwinn Intercept impressed Bicycling with its protection, comfort, and excellent bang for buck. While the helmet doesn’t compromise on safety, it does definitely look like an inexpensive helmet.

It’s one size fits all (although it’s fully adjustable), which means it’ll look big on some heads and small on others. It also lacks ventilation compared to other helmets on this list and doesn’t include MIPS—but it’s the cheapest by a long shot.

The Montaro is a trail-ready helmet with a MIPS liner and an integrated breakaway camera mount. Featuring Giro’s easy-to-use Roc Loc retention system, fitting the helmet is fast and simple. The anti-odor pads minimize the risk of stinky helmet syndrome, and the 16 vents keep air moving around your head on hot days.

The Montaro also has a nice visor adjustment system so it’s easy to fit goggles. To keep those goggles in place in extreme conditions, there are strap grippers on the back of the helmet.

If you’re not a fan of traditional-style bike helmets, consider a more commuter-focused helmet like this one from Bern. What you lose in aerodynamics, you gain in versatility.

The Allston gets love for its exceptional performance at an affordable price, and its replaceable soft flip visor is a bonus for riding in the sunshine. Plus, you get 16 vents to help your head stay cool.

Users say the Allston is a stylish helmet, and its soft flip visor is very useful. Some say the sizing runs slightly small.

If you’re a regular commuter (or just thinking of starting), Nutcase’s Street helmet has everything you need. It has a nice, casual style, and models like this one are available with MIPS at a fairly affordable price—in this case, under $100.

It’s available in several colors with or without graphics—from basic gray and black to the Union Jack. The helmet also comes with a removable visor, and it’s certified for skateboard use as well, so you can pedal to the skatepark and session without ever changing your helmet.

This open-face helmet provides nearly full-face protection while still being comfortable to wear. The Fox Dropframe Pro bike helmet protects from the eyebrows to the occipital bone at the back of the skull, with generous padding and coverage around the temples, jaws, and ears. It’s equipped with a MIPS and dual-density foam liner.

Bicycling says the Dropframe Pro is comfortable to wear, though it feels slightly stuffy due to a lack of airflow, but the tradeoff is for ultimate protection while riding on hilly, rocky terrain. The Dropframe Pro is one of the best-scoring bicycle helmets in Virginia Tech’s impact testing in the mountain biking category.

If you’re serious about cycling, you’re probably looking at high-end helmets that promise excellent aerodynamics and solid protection. Our colleagues at Bicycling named the Aether as one of the top choices for better ventilation and performance, applauding its proprietary MIPS system and minimal, lightweight air retention fit.

It’s a serious step up over Giro’s previous (also excellent) model, the Synthe. It features an awesome adjustable fit, and its shell and outer layer move independently, making for comfortable wear.

Small kids who need some extra protection for their noggin will love the Giro Scamp. Available in various fun colors, the Scamp is solid bike helmet for children, whether they’re using balance bikes, riding as a passenger in a trailer, or finally riding on their own.

It’s built with a polycarbonate shell over an EPS foam liner and has plenty of ventilation for keeping that head cool. It also has a Roc Loc Jr. adjustment dial that lets them adjust their fit. If their heads are between 45 and 53 centimeters around, this helmet will suit them fine.