Bike Helmets: Which is the Helmet for You?

If you are just starting out in biking, then you’ve probably been told you need to get yourself a helmet. So if you go to a bike-specific store, you’ll probably see a lot of different types of helmets. Each type is specific to a certain activity. They can come in all different colors and designs so there is plenty to choose from.

Let’s take a look at the different types.

BMX/Motocross

The BMX helmet comes in two types: full face and hard shell. The full face looks like a motorcycle helmet but normally with a visor and an opening for the eyes so that you can wear goggles with your helmet. This type of helmet is used on dirt jumping courses, freestyling and downhill. The hard shell normally has very few vents and is open in the front, worn by skaters, BMXers and even downhillers. Both hard shell and motocross cover more of the back of the head than the helmets in the next entries, in the likelihood that you fall backwards.

Bell BMX Helmets

SixSixOne Full Face BMX Helmet

MTB

The mountain bike helmet is a helmet with a visor so it can be a road helmet or a full face. It normally has a lot of vents to let the air circulate across the head and has a visor to help keep the sun and perhaps treacherous elements out. These don’t come as far down on the back of the head as the BMX helmets because the theory is that more often than not, a person crashes forwards on a mountain bike or a road bike.

Fox Flux MTB Helmet

Road

The road helmet is more of what people think of when they think of a bike helmet and is very similar to the MTB helmet with the only real difference being that the road helmet does not have a visor. This helmet and the MTB are your all around Jack-of-all-trades, from your daily urban commute to your century rides.

Catlike Whisper Plus Road Helmet

Giro Ionos Road Bike Helmet

Time Trial

Also referred to as aero helmets, these are the helmets that look like something out of “Aliens.” Normally these are worn by time trialers and triathletes who are looking for a speed advantage, usually with a limited number of wind vents on the front of the helmet. They can come with a visor, cover the ears completely or both. This particular type of headwear has been evolving a lot and was specifically created to reduce the wind drag coefficient.

Giro Advantage 2 Aero Helmet