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If it were up to the EN 1078 test standard for bicycle helmets, bikers would always crash head-on into an immovable obstacle in the event of a fall. However, bikers who are used to crashing know that such a head-on collision is extremely rare. According to accident statistics, bikers usually hit the ground at an angle of around 45 degrees. An angled impact causes the head to rotate abruptly - and this can be very damaging to the brain. Based on this realisation, Swedish researchers developed the MIPS system back in 2007. The promise: A thin plastic shell that can slide inside the helmet should reduce the rotational movement and thus better protect the brain.
Today, almost all well-known helmet manufacturers have models with MIPS in their range or have developed their own system that is supposed to work in a similar way. However, studies on the effectiveness of MIPS and the like have so far come almost exclusively from the marketing departments - in other words, with rather dubious credibility. As an independent testing body, the TÜV should actually develop an adequate test - but nothing has happened so far. So we developed our own helmet test rig in our laboratory, based on the latest scientific findings.
For this test, we requested ten trail helmets, three of them - because at least two of them needed to be crashed on the test bench. The ten models utilise six different technologies designed to reduce rotational forces. Five models rely on the MIPS system. The result of our impact test is astonishing: MIPS helmets have an average 50 per cent lower risk of suffering a moderate concussion in the event of a fall. Prof Lorenzl, MD, Chairman of the German Society of Neurology, considers the results of our test to be extremely significant. Even an improvement of ten per cent, says the expert, is a huge step forward from a medical point of view. However, the current helmets are also impressive when it comes to acceleration values, which are part of the standardised test: with an average of 102 g, all models are well below the permissible value of 250 g. According to the neurologist, serious brain damage can no longer be assumed in this range.
You can download the complete comparison test of the ten helmets from EMTB 1/2021 as a PDF below the article. The test costs 1.99 euros.
Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has a price. In return, we guarantee independence and objectivity. This applies in particular to the tests in EMTB. We don't pay for them, but the opposite is the case: we charge for them, namely tens of thousands of euros every year.
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Stefan Frey
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