How to choose your bike helmet?

I - Introduction

Cycling is a healthy, economical and ecological way to get around in an urban environment.

Traveling on public roads is not without risk, however: Traffic and road unevenness can be the cause of accidents with more or less serious consequences.

II- Is a bicycle helmet really useful?

Numerous studies have tried to determine the expected benefit for the cyclist equipped with a helmet in the event of an impact with the head.

A meta-analysis bringing together the results of 55 of these studies carried out between 1989 and 2017 was published in 2018.

In summary, when a cyclist wears a bicycle helmet, in the event of an impact, the severity of the injury is reduced by:

- 48% in the case of simple head injuries

- 60% in the case of serious head injuries

- 53% in the case of severe brain damage

- 23% in the case of facial trauma

III- What about the legislation?

In France, wearing a helmet is compulsory for children up to 12 years old. It is optional but recommended for other cyclists.

In order to put the best chance on your side in the event of a problem, we recommend that you wear an approved bicycle helmet for each outing, regardless of its duration.

A helmet approved in France must bear the mention “NF EN 1078+A1”. All the helmets that we offer in the catalog are of course homologated.

IV- How to choose your helmet?

A helmet is made up of a rigid shell (the outer part), protective padding (a layer dedicated to absorbing impacts) and finally a comfort padding (a foam that fits the contour of the skull of the user).

Urban type helmets have a generally round shaped cap. They are designed to cover the rider's skull as much as possible and have a mostly elegant and neutral aesthetic.

Several brands offer a wide urban range. Workforce review:

1) Bern Bike Helmet

Bern is an American brand. For the past fifteen years, it has offered a wide range of helmets dedicated to cycling but also to various board sports.

At the entry level, the Bern Macon helmet is a simple and affordable model. The Watts , and Lenox for more feminine colors, provide occipital tightening by notched wheel and a small fixed visor. Because of their resolutely casual look, they are primarily aimed at customers who use pedelecs and other city bikes with a vintage look .

A little more sporty, the Brentwood urban bike helmet ( Berkeley in the women's version), offers a slightly more ventilated shell combined with protective padding via Zipmold technology and a fabric visor. The latter in addition to the look, allows you to protect yourself from the sun and the rain.

More technical and even better ventilated, the Bern Allston bike helmet is also lighter than previous models.

The Bern Union urban bike helmet is a high-end model. It stands out from the others with a greater number of ventilation holes, a more covering cap and a notched BOA-type tightening wheel.

Finally, the FL-1 is an urban/road hybrid. Much lighter than the rest of the range, it has a sportier profile. Top of the range both in its quality of manufacture and in its level of protection, it is aimed above all at those who refuse to compromise and want the best of the best.

Most Bern bike helmets can be fitted with a simple winter liner , or fitted with headphones for riding to music .

Optional LED rear lights can be fitted . The Bern Asteroid USB-Charged LED Bike Helmet Light has 3 light modes and produces up to 12 Lumens.

Finally, note that all Bern helmets, apart from the FL-1, have dual cycling and board sports certification.

2) Abus Bike Helmet

Abus , renowned for the solidity of these anti-theft systems, also offers a wide range of helmets. Used successfully on the biggest cycling races of the World Tour, they notably accompanied Alejandro Valverde during his 2018 world champion title.

The range presents products oriented for urban use and others for road cyclists.

At the entry-level urban range, the Abus Scraper 3.0 bicycle helmet , in addition to its unbeatable price, offers a level of equipment rarely achieved for this price range: ABS shell, 8 vents, occipital adjustment by wheel notched and reflective strips.Offered in many colors, there is a good chance that you will find the ideal model to match your outfit or your bike.

The Abus Hyban 2.0 city bike helmet is the mid-range helmet from the German manufacturer. It is lighter, more ventilated, has removable and washable inner padding and has LED lighting. integrated rear visible at 180°. It is available in a wide range of satin colours.

The Abus Hyban ACE 2.0 city bike helmet is enhanced with a clear removable transparent visor. Their colors are sober and elegant.

At the top of the Abus range, we find the abus -pedelec-20.html">Pedelec 2.0 model . Close to the Hyban in its premise, it stands out with an even higher level of protection opening the doors to the electric Speed Bike approval, optimized ventilation and rear lighting charging via USB.

As with the Hybans, these helmets designed for cycling in urban environments are available with a simple deflector ( abus -pedelec-20.html">Pedelec 2.0 ) or with a transparent visor ( abus -pedelec-20-ace.html "> Pedelec 2.0 Ace )

3) Egide bicycle helmet

The French brand offers very high-end products. Made in France, they combine careful construction and the use of exceptional materials such as carbon, Kevlar and natural leather. Egide urban bike helmets are made entirely by hand and represent the top of the basket of French craftsmanship.

4) Overade Folding Bike Helmet

Overade is a very innovative French brand. This start-up is geared towards a young, connected and always on the move population. Its flagship model, the Plixi Fit folding city bike helmet , has been ingeniously designed to be folded and thus see its total volume divided by 3.
Ultra practical to slip it into a bag between two journeys.

The helmet is of course homologated and therefore has the same safety guarantees as all helmets on the market.

5) Giro bike helmet

Almost exclusively focused on the world of road cycling, the American brand presents only a few urban models. However, we have chosen to offer you the Giro Camden MIPS LED city bike helmet . This top-of-the-range model offers an anti-microbial interior lining, numerous vents, some of which can be concealed when it's cold, MIPS protection technology and a very large USB-rechargeable rear light.

It is also the only NTA 8776 approved helmet in our range. As a result, it is virtually the safest helmet available.

In conclusion :

Choosing to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle is essential. The only bad choice when it comes to bicycle helmets would be not to wear them.

Many models exist. All offer the same level of protection as described by the legal texts. Some offer more, however, through a double homologation classic bike and speed e-bike.

The essential differences are the look, the weight, the ventilation and the presence or not of additional practical aspects (LED, folding function etc.).