In this article I’m going to cover the best budget mountain bike helmets. With dozens of brands and hundreds of possible options to choose from, this was not an easy article to write.
Another factor that adds to the complexity is that usually the term “budget” doesn’t correspond to what is generally deemed “best”. And when it comes to helmets there are very little if no short-cuts you can take in terms of safety. So where it matters very little if you swap out an aluminum seatpost for a carbon one, it does matter if you swap out a non-MIPS helmet for a MIPS one with Spherical technology and reinforced polycarbonate.
Wearing any helmet significantly reduces the change of both brain trauma and death (60 and 70% respectively). Obviously it depends what type of helmet you use as well, and the difference in chance of sustaining a concussion between the one with the best rating versus the worst is about 2.5. Meaning that it’s 2.5 more likely you get a concussion with the least safe helmet.
There’s a 10-fold difference between the cheapest helmet and the most expensive one (about 30 versus 300). And both those helmets sit at opposite sides of the safety spectrum. I’m very aware of the fact that in general promoting cheaper helmets means promoting products which are less safe. But now that I’ve said it, what you do with that is your responsibility.
What you’ll find on this list are helmets that have an average suggested retail price of 150 USD or lower. I’ve included a table overview at the end of this article so you can see what type of crash technology you get for what price. The overview also includes Virginia Tech ratings with an 8.4 being the best, and 26.57 the worst.
With all that out of the way, let’s head over to my list of the best budget mountain bike helmets.
Troy Lee Designs A1
The Troy Lee Designs A1 takes everything from its more premium brother the A2, but is offered with a standard EPS liner instead.
Furthermore it comes with a regular padding not the X-Static one.
This shaves a couple of dollars from the price, which means you still get a great-fitting, comfortable helmet that excels in the area it should excel in, which is safety and crash protection.
- If the A2 is a bit too much for your budget
- The A2 is better
Fox Racing Mainframe Trvrs
The Fox Racing Mainframe Trvrs is one of the more affordable half shell mountain bike helmets with a decent Virginia Tech rating.
Crash technology does help improve both the strength of a helmet as well as its means of absorbing and redirecting impact energy. The only thing is that on average you have to pay twice the amount of money you have to pay for this helmet if you want the latest and greatest.
So what you get for a sub-100 USD price is a great-looking helmet with MIPS technology, a polyamide shell instead of polycarbonate, a fixed visor, and that’s about it. It means this helmet covers the basics for a decent price, and is a great option to obtain MIPS technology at an entry-level price.
- You want a well designed MIPS helmet on a budget.
Giro Source MIPS
The Giro Source MIPS is very similar to the Radix MIPS, yet has a definite mountain bike helmet look.
It shares almost all of the same technology. MIPS evolve sits underneath a polycarbonate shell and single EPS liner. The polycarbonate wraps around the edges to protect the delicate foam, and is reinforced at the sides for added protection.
The design is blocky, with a longer, 3-point indexed, adjustable visor and extended coverage at the back of the helmet, making it an allround, affordable trail helmet. I prefer indexed visors versus non-indexed, because they are easier to get in the correct position while riding.
You can store your glasses in the front-facing vents, which offer ample ventilation in a helmet of average weight. The Roc Loc 5 fit system is found throughout their lineup and offers excellent adjustability.
- An affordable MIPS helmet with a definite mountain bike look.
- None
Bell Nomad 2 MIPS
The Bell Nomad 2 MIPS is one of the most affordable mountain bike helmets offering the latest MIPS Evolve technology.
Simply looking from the outside, you wouldn’t expect this helmet to be less than half the price of the average mountain bike helmet.
The overall design weighs 320 grams, which is somewhat lighter than the average helmet of 350 grams. There’s less material at the back of the helmet, which may account for this.
For this type of money you don’t get an adjustable visor, but the thing sits high enough to stay out of your field of vision but for the steepest descents.
The amount of padding can be described as “light’, since there’s decidedly less of it when compared to some of the most comfortable helmets on the market. This makes for a bit of a hard-wearing helmet after prolonged use, but is something to be expected from an entry-level helmet such as this one.
- Good value-for-money helmet, which looks great.
- Lacks refinement and features.
Fox Racing Speedframe
The Fox Racing Speedframe is the same helmet as the Pro version in everything but a small number of features.
The Speedframe Pro is one of the best helmets in terms of safety, and the standard Speedframe inherits many of its safety features except for the multi-density EPS liner.
The helmet is known for having an excellent fit, and you can fit a pair of goggles underneath the 3-point adjustable visor, as well as stash your glasses.
To keep the price down when compared to the Pro version, there’s a cheaper liner and the Fidlock snap buckle is missing from the straps, in an otherwise similar 360 degrees fit system.
- Excellent mid-tier open faced mountain bike helmet inheriting many features of the more expensive Pro helmet
- None
Schwinn Thrasher
The Schwinn Thrasher is probably the best-selling helmet on Amazon, so it at least deserves my attention. It’s also dirt-cheap when compared to other models.
One of the more interesting aspects of this helmet is that it is actually rated by Virginia Tech, so it gives us an objective insight in how safe it is in comparison to other helmets that are multiples in price.
It has obtained a 3-out-of-5 star rating at 20.13. To put that in perspective. The best-rated helmet out of 188 tested has 8.4 and the worst 26.57, so it’s about 2.5 times less safe than a helmet which would cost 4 to 10 times as much, depending on what model you’d buy.
The helmet does a lot of things very well. It’s well designed (or well copied), it doesn’t really look cheap, it has an weight of 353 grams which is comparable to other helmets, it has an adjustable dial to create the right fit, there are many color variations to choose from, and if you want you can even get it with an LED.
So for the amount of money you pay for this helmet, you get a lot in return. And I feel it’s a solid helmet for people who truly feel they are occasional, recreational cyclists and mountain bikers, that really don’t want to spend a lot of money on a helmet. The helmet will protect you and it’s a marked improvement from riding with no helmet at all, which is just plain stupid when doing actual mountain biking.
But coming from someone who’s face-planted more than once, reached speeds of 50 mph on 23 mm width tires, sustained concussions, and is walking around with a piece of metal drilled into a fractured collarbone, I simply cannot recommend this helmet if you’re somewhat serious about trail riding.
- As cheap as they come, with many features you can find in far more expensive helmets.
- It will protect you, but it's not the safest helmet by far.
Specifications budget mountain bike helmets
Name | Price | Technology | Shell | Liner | Visor | Fit | weight (gr) | eyewear port | rating | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Troy Lee Designs A1 | 145 USD | MIPS | polycarbonate | EPS | bolt-on breakaway | 3-point dial fit | 393 | yes | 11.65 | |
Fox Racing Mainframe Trvrs | 90 USD | MIPS | nylon polyamide polycarbonate | EPS | integrated | 390 | 13.37 | |||
Giro Source MIPS | 100 USD | MIPS/Hardbody | polycarbonate | EPS | 3-position adjustable | Roc Loc 5 | 351 | yes | ||
Bell Nomad 2 MIPS | 65 USD | MIPS Evolve | polycarbonate | EPS | removable | Ergo Fit | 320 | |||
Fox Racing Speedframe | 140 USD | MIPS | polycarbonate | EPS | 3-position adjustable | 360° Fit System | 380 | yes | ||
Schwinn Trasher | 30 USD | PVC | EPS | integrated | 360° Comfort | 353 | no | 20.13 |
Johan van Seijen
FoundeR Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His passion for cycling in general, and restoring older bikes turned into a website to share his knowledge with a broader audience. Starting out on his father’s road bike and riding classics as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege he has shifted his attention to trail, XC, and gravel riding since. No matter how much he loves writing about everything related to cycling, nothing beats actually using his ever-expanding bicycle collection.
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