Mountain Bike Helmets

Best mountain bike helmets under $100

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Best Mountain Bike Helmets Under $100 (2021)


Here’s a list of the best mountain bike helmets under $100 because you can protect your head without breaking the bank. Everyone should wear a helmet regardless of the type of biking you’re doing but mountain biking can raise the stakes. At the same time these helmets are great for all types of bicycle activities. 

 

When looking at mountain bike helmets there are many different attributes to consider. Start with safety features first. The most important safety features include making sure your helmet fits and won’t move backwards and forwards exposing your head to the fall.

 

Purposeful rotation is also a safety feature in MIPS technology. MIPS or multi directional impact protection system solves the problem of taking rotational damage to the brain. When you fall it’s usually at an angle and therefore can create rotational forces that can actually be transferred to the brain. MIPS allows a certain degree of rotation of the helmet to stop the transfer of these rotational forces. 

 

Beyond safety people want creature comforts that make riding fun and easy. You can check to see if your helmet is well ventilated, has a visor to keep out sun and dirt, good padding and if you want extreme safety a chin guard. So here’s a few helmets to choose from with various styling.

Best Overall: DEMON UNITED Podium Full Face

Demon is recommended as best overall because I think if you’re interested in a full face helmet with a chin guard this is a great helmet. This helmet may only appeal to cyclists that are MTB downhilling or BMX biking, but there’s a reason for that. That reason is safe. Having a history of motorcycle riding and being around motorcycle people you hear every type of crash and every type of head injury possibly. One constant was that if you have a full face non-modular helmet you protect all parts of your head including a fall/accident that impacts directly up towards your chin or face.

 

The demon helmet is unisex and very lightweight. Weighing 2 pounds this won’t have you tired and uncomfortable just wearing the helmet. Also it offers sizes from small to extra large this helmet is very dynamic in fitting your head shape and staying tight with a plastic buckle. Although the helmet may look very constricting and you’re now worrying whether it would be a sweat bucket. This helmet has 13 vents in all parts of the helmet that are pretty large to counteract sweating too much. I recommend getting the helmet with MIPS. 

Best Budget: Adult Unisex Bike Helmet by Grottico

If you think the Demon helmet is too bulky and you’re not looking for a full face helmet. Then check out the Grottico MTB helmet that gives you many of the same features as the demon in a smaller stylish bike helmet. Not only that, you can have the GROTTICO at a better economical price. You won’t be missing out in features or in material quality as this product is CPSC certified. 

 

This helmet weighs .66 pounds and comes in 2 sizes, medium and large. The design is very aerodynamic so you will get a lot of ventilation from the available 23 vents. If you’re riding in a warmer, more humid climate this helmet will do great in that environment. You have comfort features like adjustable straps, removable visor and padding that dries quickly. A back light for extra safety is included and comes with a approximately a 4 hour charge and is rechargeable.

Best Runner Up: Giro Fixture Bike Helmet

This one is from Giro, a well known brand in biking. At the time of writing you can get a deal and get a reflective safety armband. Any type of reflective wear is great at night but also the day. That’s why you’ll see workers on the side of road working construction wearing them so it’s always useful. The helmet comes in matte black, matte frost, matte grey, and matte lime. My favorite would have to be the frost but the selection is varied enough for your style. 

 

The helmet comes in one universal size and is adjustable from the back. The helmet comes with 18 vents and a removable visor. The shell is made of polycarbonate and is integrated with MIPS. No backlight which should be included for the price. Overall its a great and safe helmet that you can use unisex for both moutain biking and road biking.

Alternative: Giro Verce MIPS Womens Mountain Cycling Helmet

This is the woman series helmet from Giro that comes in a universal women’s size of between 50-57cm head circumference. It comes in many colors; black/electric purple, cool breeze (green), matte grey green, matte midnight (dark blue), matte pink street, and matte true spruce (black). 

 

The helmet is made with a polycarbonate shell and has integrated MIPS technology. The design is similar to the fixture helmet and also comes with 18 vents. Although it is a universal design in terms of fit, make sure you measure your head first to make sure it fits. The helmet comes with an adjustable advisor and weighs .95 pounds.

Alternative: Bell Nomad MIPS Adult MTB Helmet

Bell is one of the best rated and known helmet brands in the industry. They make a few other products like motorcycle and dirt bike helmets as well. For mountain biking this Nomad will be a great helmet for under $100.  

 

The helmet is a universal size helmet (53-60cm) that adjusts size with an easy to use dial that will fit your head ergonomically. For features it has 15 vents and a removable visor but does not include a backlight. Colors are all in matte and range from black, blue, gray, to orange. With matte finishing the helmet looks nice and can make your helmet stand out in the sunlight. It’s good to wear other reflective/high visibility gear when cycling. 

 

Safety features include MIPS technology, a polycarbonate shell and CPSC certification.

Conclusion

There is a good variety of helmets available on the market. Among your criteria to narrow down your search should be how well the helmet fits. If you can’t just try it on first, especially during quarantines, you can measure your head circumference and check with the manufacturer’s website which size will fit you. Another consideration when people are looking at helmet fitting are the straps. Helmets come with different straps but if you have a longer face then you should pick a different helmet. You can get a helmet extender like this but it’s not recommended. The straps usually aren’t specific to the helmet so it won’t give a perfect buckle snap and even if it does you shouldn’t use it. The integrity of the safety of the helmet be in question as it hasn’t been tested with a strap extender.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is when you should replace your helmet. The frequency at which you should replace your helmet is the frequency at which you use the helmet for its intended purpose. Basically if you fall or crash on your helmet, even if its not broken, replace it. Now I know if you crash a lot that might get expensive. But you have to remember two things. One is your paying to keep your head safe and two this is why its great there is a great variety of helmets you can choose from under $100. If you don’t ever crash, it is still recommended to replace your helmet every 5 years. 

 

So good luck with your helmet search and the Brisk Biker hopes you stay safe.