How To Choose A Mountain Bike Helmet

Choosing a mountain bike helmet is hard, there's a whole list of things to consider when buying one! But Rich Payne is here to help make the choice that little bit easier. He explains the differences between the styles, disciplines and what may affect the price of the helmets such as MIPs. Whether you ride Downhill and need a 'Full Face' or you're looking for something a little more aero for your XC adventures Rich covers all the bases in this video.

⏱ Timestamps ⏱
00:00 - Intro
00:22 - Helmet materials & construction
02:47 - Why don’t all MTB helmets cost the same?
04:54 - What style of helmet should you get? | Full Face | Open Face | Convertible
07:04 - The different helmets for each discipline | Dirt Jump | XC | Trail | Enduro | Downhill
11:10 - What helmet is the right helmet for me?

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What helmet do you wear and what type of riding do you use it for? Let us know in the comments! 👇

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[gmbn]

What helmet do you wear and what type of riding do you use it for? Let us know in the comments! 👇

[didhk]

as a guy who pilgrim-ed his face 2 years ago - a fullface is the answer ;) no matter what stuff you ride, for me it was a fireroad 😅

[andyk]

Split open my chin as a kid well over 25 years ago at a skate park. Full face ever since. I feel very unprotected with an open face. Year of MX and bmx racing with a full face. It just feels natural to me.
Currently riding. TLD stage. Super light, tons of ventilation.

[barfo]

I just wear a beanie with a propeller on the top. That way, if I get thrown off the bike, the propeller should slow my landing, because it should already be spinning.

[justanotherbob]

A very helpful source is the Virginia Tech helmet test website they tested a bunch of helmets

[busslayer]

I was on my way to buy a helmet when this video posted. I think I did ok. I ended up with a Smith half shell.
I have always used cheapo helmets but wanted to see what paying a little more gets you.
From my shopping today, I found the quality of the parts and design are noticeably better. The dial adjuster works great. I felt like I was wearing a comfortable hat instead of balancing a piece of plastic on my head.
You might get lucky with a cheap one that fits your head well, but for me, this is the first time I found a helmet that was comfortable.

[haydenmahoney]

I recently had a decent crash and gave myself a mild concussion and put my tooth through my lip, I was wearing a Fox Mainframe open face.
I have since got myself a convertible full face (Leatt Enduro 4.0) its the best thing I've done yet as I can remove the chin bar and still have a stylish open c=face for the climbs or if riding with my kids etc but when descending I can attached the chin bar and off I go it is an instant confidence booster.

[Rellek]

I have every kind of helmet, for every kind of ride the best one, but all have MIPS, and I always wear my Neckbrace when I wear my Fullface Helmet!

[Hiefi]

When on the road, i only ride with a light road helmet. On most enduro tours and of course bikepark i am riding a fullface. Hit a tree face first at like 5kph with an open helmet recently, and even this hurt quite well. So from this point on, the fullface is the only option for me. Only on more XC like tours, where up-and downhill change very often, i go with the open mtb helmet.

[ish]

I own all the helmets and wear the one for whatever I'm riding, but it really is dumb we don't always try to protect our face with a full face. Slamming the ground teeth first doesn't only happen on DH tracks.

[ChristianPareATLAS]

I still ride a skateboarding helmet 😂 made to hit concrete, less holes around reducing the risk of getting injured from something sharp. I also have a full face for DH

[ChrisCapoccia]

there are also a lot of style/aesthetic aspects to a helmet that drive how people make their choice. For XC style riding with more pedaling and much less aggressive downhills, you could wear a "road" helmet and be fine. The helmet peak is an aesthetic choice going back to the history of MTB borrowing from motocross styles. If you're not that serious, wear any certified helmet you have. once you get more serious, there are lots of more expensive choices that you might think look better and spend your money how you want

[Liam_g]

I just got a FOX PRO FRAME RS, was £191 down from £350, with a go pro mount standard, sick colour too, black full face, blue, red, fading pink, even white.

[dougmartin]

Literally just saved my face and jaw this evening with a full face, while on one tiny wee dh section of a super easy evening run. Can happen anywhere any time. Don't skimp!

[gleneth]

I’m a shite “noob” but I have a lot of enthusiasm and I nearly lost it for the first time on a blue run today with an open face. I feel a full face is needed but also feel I’m going to crash more because of the confidence it’ll bring me… I think it’ll get some knee pads as well

[cygnus]

I've worn a full-face motorcycle riding for...ever...I'm 63. Hit a logging cable as a kid in the 70's and the full-face saved my life. Still broke my nose, but otherwise would have caught me in the neck. That would have likely been it for me! I would recommend you First, get as nice of one as you can afford/justify! HOW MUCH IS YOUR LIFE WORTH? If you ride hard, or are not too coordinated, then the risk is exponentially greater.

[seb.mtbs]

I always wear full face as I had a crash which would have had more protection if I was wearing a full face instead of a halfshell

[ex-ollo]

Being this early to a GMBN video feels illegal...

[marcoaguiar]

For me Bell Super DH it gives me versatility because I have a trail and a full face on the same helmet. It is not cheap but safety first because we only have one head 😂😂😂

[DavidParathyras]

Hooray! Another useful video! Thanks a lot