For many, only the best is good enough for the safety and well-being of their children. But that doesn’t always have to be the most expensive thing. In a test for bicycle helmets, a discount model came out on top.
Bicycle helmets can protect children for little money. This is shown by a joint test by ADAC and Stiftung Warentest (“test” issue 4/2022).
18 children’s helmets from 12 to 100 euros had to be tested in the categories of accident protection, handling, heat resistance and pollutants.
Good and cheap – sometimes it works
A model from the discounter Lidl for 12 euros made it into the five helmets rated “good”. The other good helmets are also mostly in the middle price segment of around 50 euros.
Eleven models between 25 and 100 euros were rated “satisfactory”. The second cheapest model for 20 euros, on the other hand, only came second to last with “sufficient”.
A helmet for 45 euros failed with “inadequate”. But not because he was unsafe – all helmets in the test protect against head injuries. Instead, very high amounts of a critical plasticizer were found in the chin pad. According to “test”, the manufacturer has announced a recall. Upholstery of existing helmets should be agreed and can be exchanged at the company free of charge.
test winner and “Good” is the “Abus Youn-I 2.0” (Grade 2.2) for 50 euros. So also cut off: the “Alpina Pico Flash” (2.4) for 50 euros, the “Casco Mini 2″ (2.4) for 55 euros, the “Lidl Crivit children’s bicycle helmet” (2.4) for 12 euros (item no. 366848) and the “Bell Sidetrack II Mips” (2.5) for 75 euros.
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Optimum protection only with an optimum fit
►Important: In order for children to wear a helmet regularly, it must be as comfortable as possible. It is therefore better to try out several models with the offspring. While they all protect, they don’t fit every head shape, although most come in different sizes.
►Tips for buying: The helmet should sit horizontally on the head, about two adult finger widths above the eyebrows. It must not be able to slip backwards on the neck or forwards on the forehead. When tightening the head ring, the head should only touch the padded parts of the helmet shell.
After fastening, the straps should meet finger-width below the ears and form a triangle there. If you can put two fingers between the neck and the strap, the chin strap is also optimally adjusted.
With mips and without – inconsistent results
Some helmets want to offer more safety with the so-called multi-directional impact protection system (Mips). Here, on the inside of the helmet, there is a plastic shell that can move independently of the shell. This is intended to absorb rotational forces that act on the brain during an impact.
“However, our tests show that Mips are not a prerequisite for a safe helmet,” writes “test”. For example, some models without mips provided good protection against head injuries – some models with mips, on the other hand, only satisfactorily. But there were also good protective ones with mips.