Something that surprised me when I first started reporting on cycling gear is that bike helmets are mainly designed to prevent skull fractures and other external head injuries as opposed to concussions and long-term brain damage. The foam that bike helmets are constructed from creates a physical barrier between your skull and the pavement but can’t do much to stop your brain from absorbing the energy of high-speed impacts, especially if they occur at an oblique angle that creates rotational force.
Concussion awareness has grown over the past decade, spurring helmet manufacturers to come up with new solutions. The most popular of these is the Multi-directional Impact Protection System (MIPS), a webbed plastic helmet liner developed by a team of Swedish scientists that has been adopted by many major helmet brands. Others have introduced their own copycat technologies, such as POC’s SPIN padding. These liners are designed to move and flex upon impact; the idea is that your helmet rotates but your brain doesn’t. “It adds a little slip plane between your head and the helmet,” explains Dr. Barry Miller, the director of outreach and business development at Virginia Tech’s helmet-testing laboratory, which has a special focus on concussion mitigation. “You want the helmet to decouple and move independently from your head, even for a few fractions of a second. And that drastically reduces the numbers that are indicative of concussion risk.”
MIPS-equipped helmets generally cost $40 to $50 more than regular ones, although they’ve definitely become more affordable over time. If you are able to pay a little extra, all of the cycling experts I’ve ever spoken with have agreed that they do theoretically offer some degree of additional protection against brain injury. Even the skeptics say that they’re unlikely to cause active harm and are probably worth investing in for some extra peace of mind. While Miller admits that real-world bike accidents can drastically differ from those simulated in a lab, Virginia Tech’s data shows that helmets are getting better and better at preventing concussions. “If you look at our five-star helmet ratings, you’ll see a good number of the top helmets do have some sort of rotational technology, including MIPS,” he says. One of those helmets is our best overall helmet for adults, the Bontrager Starvos. Our best budget MIPS bike helmet, the Specialized Align II, also gets five stars.
If you’re not ready to invest in MIPS right now, take comfort in the fact that there’s always a degree of slippage between your head and whatever protective gear is sitting on top of it, especially if you’ve got long or thick hair. “Some research has shown that hair can work just as well as MIPS,” says Randy Swart, the executive director of the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute. “And that even a sweaty or sunscreen-covered head, or wearing a nylon cap, might achieve almost the same thing.” Agrees Miller: “The big question is, is MIPS better than a full head of hair and a scalp, which is a natural slip plane? It’s very debatable. It may be, in certain injury scenarios and impact conditions where your head hits at some sort of angle.” Theoretical concussion-preventing technologies aside, it’s also worth noting that all helmets legally sold in the United States offer about the same level of protection against direct-impact skull injuries, and meet Consumer Product Safety Commission standards.
When it comes to bike helmets, I think that comfort is still the most important helmet feature to shop for — especially as you’ll be more motivated to wear your helmet if it feels nice on your head and doesn’t look too dorky. The fit should be snug enough that you’re significantly loosening and tightening the rear adjustment dial in order to take the helmet on and off. “The real thing that makes the difference is where the helmet is going to be where you hit the pavement,” says Swart. “If your straps aren’t adjusted well it might skew to the side, and you’ll hit your head directly.”
Some MIPS helmets we like
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