All You Need to Know About Helmet Protection
Understanding helmet certifications, impact testing, and protection technology
Not all bicycle helmets protect your head in the same way. Behind every helmet is a combination of engineering, protection standards, and impact testing designed to reduce the risk of injury during a crash.
In this guide, we break down the science behind bicycle helmet protection, including certifications helmets must meet, how impacts are tested, and what modern technologies like Lazer’s KinetiCore mean for riders. Understanding these elements can help cyclists make more informed decisions about the helmet they trust on every ride.
1. Why Wear a Bicycle Helmet?
Before exploring helmet testing procedures, it’s essential to understand why wearing a helmet is strongly encouraged. The main reason is simple. Helmets significantly reduce the risk of head injury during a crash.
Multiple studies confirm the protective benefits of bicycle helmets. One of the most comprehensive analyses, conducted by Olivier and Creighton1, reviewed 40 separate studies involving thousands of injured cyclists. The research concluded that wearing a helmet reduces:
- Head injuries by 51%
- Serious head injuries by 69%
- Fatal head injuries by 65%
Additional research examining 71 fatal bicycle accidents2 found that 65% of the cyclists involved were not wearing helmets. The analysis suggests that more than half of those riders might have survived if they had been wearing a helmet.
While helmet effectiveness is sometimes debated in the media or among consumers, the overwhelming body of research consistently demonstrates a helmet’s ability to reduce injury severity.
2. Understanding Bike Helmet Protection Certifications
Choosing a bicycle helmet isn’t just about style or comfort, it’s about protection. Around the world, different regions have established their own certification systems to ensure helmets meet consistent protection requirements. While all aim to protect riders, the testing methods and criteria can vary.
Listed below are the most prevalent certifications, what they mean, and why they are important.
CPSC
In the United States, every bicycle helmet sold must meet the standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). This mandatory certification guarantees that helmets are built to endure substantial impact forces, feature reliable retention systems, and maintain a resilient outer shell.
Helmets with the CPSC mark have undergone extensive testing to verify their ability to help protect cyclists effectively. Compared to EN 1078, CPSC subjects its helmets to slightly greater impacts.
CE EN 1078:2012
In Europe, helmets are typically certified under the EN standards, with EN 1078 being the most relevant for cycling. This certification includes tests for shock absorption, retention system performance, and field of vision. Helmets that meet EN 1078 requirements comply with strict European regulations and are designed to offer good protection for riders.
ASTM
This helmet standard, often used for downhill mountain biking, is more rigorous. It tests helmets with harder impacts and higher drop heights to make sure they offer strong protection. This standard also features a lower test line on the sides and back of the helmet. While chin bars are not required to pass this test, if a helmet does feature a chin bar, this part of the helmet must pass a deflection test as well.
NTA
The NTA-8776 is a protection standard outlined in the Dutch Technical Agreement (NTA) 8776. An NTA certified helmet is designed to offer enhanced protection against higher impact speeds, covering a larger portion of the head. E-bikes, especially those with higher speeds, can result in more severe impacts during crashes. NTA-8776 helmets are designed to reduce the risks associated with these higher speeds.
Identify Certified Helmets
Protection starts at the top, literally. Look for the mark of approval, typically found on the inside of the helmet, packaging, or in the manual. These markings confirm that the helmet has passed essential certification tests and is built to help protect you in real-world riding conditions.
3. A Quick Lesson in Rotational Impact
Helmet protection doesn’t stop with standard certifications. Many manufacturers now design helmets to address different types of impacts that occur during crashes. There are two primary types of impact:
- Linear impact. Also known as direct impact. This occurs when a cyclist falls straight onto a hard surface. The force from this impact comes from a single direction. Linear impact protection reduces high-impact forces that might lead to direct brain injury or skull fracture.
- Rotational impact. Occurs when a cyclist falls onto a road or pavement while moving. The force from the impact comes from multiple directions. This type of impact can lead to more severe head injuries such as concussions due to the brain rotating inside the skull.
Rotational impact can happen to any rider, whether they’re racing down a mountain road, hitting jumps, or casually riding along a path. For the best possible protection, a combination of both linear and rotational protection improves the overall level of impact absorption.
4. A New Standard on Rotational Impact. EN 1078:2025
Europe’s core bicycle helmet standard is evolving. The upcoming EN 1078:2025 update introduces rotational impact testing alongside traditional linear impact tests. This means helmets will now be evaluated under conditions that better reflect real-world crash scenarios.
What’s changing in the new EN 1078:2025 certification compared to EN 1078:2012?
- Rotational impact becomes part of the test. In addition to linear shock tests, the new standard introduces rotational shock assessment to measure how quickly the head spins during an angled impact.
- A test method and headform built for rotation. Rotational tests use a 45° angled steel anvil and a new, more realistic headform. Four impact locations are tested. A chin-guard rigidity test is added for full-face helmets.
- The standard continues to cover cyclists and users of similar equipment such as skateboards and scooters.
Pass / Fail Criteria
To meet the new standard, helmets must meet two thresholds:
- Peak linear acceleration ≤ 250 g
- Peak rotational velocity ≤ 35 rad/s at each impact location and ≤ 30 rad/s average across four locations
While laboratory testing cannot replicate every crash scenario, the new standard represents a major step forward in helmet safety evaluation. Implementation is expected in 2026.
Why Lazer Supports EN 1078:2025
Lazer supports the updated EN 1078:2025 standard because it provides a transparent, science-based approach to helmet safety testing. Results can be independently verified by accredited laboratories, researchers, and media outlets. By incorporating rotational impact testing, the standard better reflects real-world crashes.
Advancing helmet protection requires stronger testing methods, and EN 1078:2025 represents one of the most meaningful improvements to helmet protection evaluation in decades.
How This Relates to Lazer Helmets
Lazer helmets are designed to address both direct and rotational impacts. Our KinetiCore impact technology helps manage tangential forces while maintaining lightweight construction, effective ventilation, and comfortable fit.
5. What is KinetiCore?
Around ten years ago, as awareness of rotational impact injuries increased, Lazer began developing a proprietary rotational impact technology built directly into the helmet rather than added as a separate component.
Using advanced simulations to study how direct and rotational impacts affect the skull and brain, engineers created thousands of design concepts before arriving at a breakthrough.
Inspired by automotive crumple zones, Lazer developed cone-shaped structures inside the helmet designed to break and dissipate energy during impact.
The result is KinetiCore’s Controlled Crumple Zones. EPS foam blocks built directly into the helmet that buckle under impact and redirect energy away from the brain.
Similar to car crumple zones that compress during a crash, these internal structures help absorb impact forces and protect the rider’s head.
6. Confidence Begins with Clarity
Bicycle helmet protection is complex, and no single laboratory test can replicate every real-world crash. Academic labs such as UNISTRA in France, KTH in Sweden, and VTECH in the United States each use different testing methods, velocities, and models to evaluate helmet performance.
Because each lab interprets results differently, similar data can produce different protection ratings. The EN1078:2025 standard helps address this by providing a unified testing method measuring both linear acceleration and rotational velocity.
At Lazer, we believe riders deserve clear, transparent protection standards grounded in reliable and reproducible data. Because confidence begins with clarity.
[1] Olivier, J., Creighton, P., 2016. Bicycle injuries and helmet use: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int. J. Epidemiol. 46, 278–292.
[2] Statens vegvesen, 2014. Temaanalyse av sykkelulykker. Statens vegvesens rapporter nr. 294.