Revealed: The most and least protective bike helmets sold in the UK – and scientists say the most expensive are NOT the best

It is an indispensable item for cyclists in busy cities in the UK.

But with the choice of budget brands and the most luxurious racing gear, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to buying a helmet.

Fortunately, help is at hand, as researchers from Imperial College London have revealed the most and least protective helmets in the UK.

And the best part is, their research shows that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get the best protection.

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The number of fatal bicycle accidents has decreased over the past ten years.

However, the UK has seen a significant increase in serious injuries during the Covid-19 pandemic as more people take to cycling.

With injuries and fatalities still 17 percent higher than the pre-pandemic average, it is vital that cyclists are protected as best as possible.

But with so many helmets on the market at all price points, it can be difficult to determine which one is right for you.

Although helmets sold in the UK must pass a minimum safety test, lead researcher Dr Claire Baker set out to investigate whether some helmets are safer than others.

“We developed a simple scoring system to rate helmets based on the risk of head injury in a crash,” said Dr. Baker.

To see where your helmet fits on this scale, you can check this using the Hiper (Helmet Impact Protection Effectiveness Rating) search tool.

Using the search function, enter the make or model of your helmet to see its protection rating from 0 up to five – with 0 with five being the least protective and five being the most protective.

The helmets were tested in the lab by being dropped at 6.5 meters per second (14.5 mph) onto a slanted anvil covered with sandpaper to simulate the friction of asphalt.

Researchers tested 30 of the most popular bicycle helmets by dropping them onto a metal anvil at a speed of 6.5 meters per second (14.5 mph)

When the helmets hit the anvil, the researchers recorded the acceleration in the model head, allowing them to predict the risk of injury

After the model was dropped in different directions, the acceleration in the head was measured to calculate the risk of injury.

Dr. Baker explains: ‘The risk of injury was determined taking into account the possibility of deep brain injury from head twisting, as well as superficial level injuries and possible skull fractures from direct impact.’

When you select a helmet, you will also be presented with additional information such as price, weight, a detailed risk factor breakdown, and a video of the test impact.

The Specialized Tactic MIPS helmet takes the top spot as the helmet with the most protection, with a protection score of 4.84.

The top three spots were all taken by Specialized brand helmets, with the Specialized Align MIPS coming in second at 4.76 and the Specialized EchelonII MIPS coming in third at 4.68.

At the very bottom of the list, in joint last place, were the Halfords Urban helmet and the Lazer Compact, both of which received a safety score of just 1.34.

Of the 30 helmets tested in this way (see photo), the researchers found a big difference in safety between the best and worst helmets

In third place was the Van Rysel Road R900, which scored just 1.7 out of five for safety.

However, it is important to know that all these helmets are safe to use as they meet the legal standards that guarantee a minimum level of protection.

This research actually shows that some helmets offer protection that far exceeds minimum safety standards.

While you might think that the added safety of the highest scoring helmets would come at a high price, the researchers fortunately found that this was not the case.

Dr Baker said: ‘Interestingly, we found no relationship between price and protection. The helmet that performed best was one of the cheaper helmets, with a retail price of around £50.’

The best performing helmet, the Specialized Tactic MIPS (left), received a safety rating of 4.84, while the worst performing helmet, the Halfords Urban (right), only achieved a score of 1.34.

The Specialized Align MIPS, the second most protective helmet, retails for just £34. That’s considerably cheaper than many worse performing helmets.

In fact, some of the most expensive helmets on the market offered the worst protection.

The researchers found that the most expensive helmet tested, the Kask Protone which retails for £135, came in fifth place for protection, scoring just 1.94 out of five.

However, the researchers point out that price can also reflect factors such as comfort, ventilation and weight: the Kask Protone, for example, weighs just 230 grams.

Although price had no impact on safety, researchers found the use of ‘Mips’ technology very important.

Price wasn’t a good indicator of safety, as the most expensive helmet, the Kask Protone (pictured), scored just 1.94 for safety despite costing £135.

MIPS is a low-friction layer that allows the helmet to shift during an impact instead of allowing the head to move with it.

The researchers found that nine of the best performing helmets were equipped with Mips technology.

Dr Baker says: ‘Until now, there has been little information available about the extent to which cyclists can expect their helmet to protect them in the event of an impact to the head.

“That’s because current safety standards are simply pass/fail and only test direct impact in a direct impact to the head.”

In this study, the researchers also assessed rotational impact causing diffuse brain injuries leading to loss of consciousness and cerebral hemorrhage.

The researchers measured both the risk of injury from frontal, or linear, impacts (on the right side of the graph) and the risk of injury from twisting, or rotating, impacts (on the left side of the graph). They combined these scores for each of the helmets to arrive at an overall risk score

The researchers calculated how dangerous a collision would be by looking at how much the head was shaken from front to back and how much the head was turned from side to side.

Helmets with MIPs prevent the head from turning during a crash, reducing the chance of injury.

Lead author Dr Mazdak Ghajari told MailOnline: ‘This information will help consumers make an informed choice when purchasing a new helmet.

“Our ambition is to continue the assessment and expand it to include more helmets.”

Currently, the Hiper search only includes data on the 30 most popular adult helmets, but the researchers say they plan to add ratings for children’s helmets after further research.

Dr. Ghajari says, “As a parent or caregiver, I need objective information to help me purchase an appropriate helmet for my child, but that information doesn’t exist.”