Fox Mountain Bike Helmets: Our Top Choice for Every Trail
Protecting your head should be the top priority in mountain bike protection, and some of our favorite mountain bike helmet offerings are made by Fox Racing. If you’re looking for a top quality helmet made by a reputable brand, we highly recommend putting Fox mountain bike helmets high up on your list.
Fox has been around since 1974, making motocross helmets and apparel. That has naturally evolved to making mountain bike helmets and apparel, as the sport of mountain biking has grown over the past few decades.
To be honest, we weren’t overly impressed with Fox helmets even just 5 years ago, but when the updated version of the Speedframe series of helmets came out around 2019, we were blown away.
Right away, the look and fit were perfect, and industry protection ratings were best in class…
…all while being one of the best priced helmets as well!
Fox has utilized similar safety construction as other brands have, like Troy Lee Designs and Giro mountain bike helmets. This includes the use of dual density EPS foams and a MIPS liner to help with rotational impacts.
From our perspective, any helmet you get should at least have MIPS technology.
What is MIPS?
It stands for Multi-directional Impact Protection System.
The idea here is that when hitting your head in a crash, it often creates a rotational impact in your brain. The MIPS liner basically sits inside the helmet, between the helmet shell and padding, and allows your helmet to rotate 10-15mm in all directions, reducing the rotational movement of the brain.
Not only can this help with the impact of the crash, but also towards reducing potential concussion.
In addition to the MIPS liner, we also like the use of the Dual Density EPS foams.
While less expensive helmets may look the same on the outside, it’s likely that these mountain bike helmets only use single density foam.
Why does this matter?
Think of Dual Density foam as a “roll cage” for your head. If you take a hard crash, there’s a chance your head could hit the ground multiple times during that same crash.
Dual Density is made to withstand those multiple hits, while also allowing the foam closest to your head to have a softer density foam than the harder density foam used on the outer part of the helmet.
Single density foam only has that harder density, which passes all required safety standards, but obviously is not as optimized as dual density.
Fox mountain bike helmets have all of these levels covered, and the way they fit have been amazing. Of all the helmets we carry, we’d bet that Fox speedframe helmets will most likely fit your head the best.
A properly fitting helmet is not only more comfortable, but adds to the safety as well.
Let’s check out the details of our most popular Fox mountain bike helmet models: the Fox Speedframe Pro, Fox Speedframe, and Fox Mainframe:
Fox Speedframe Pro Helmet
Let’s start off with the most high end option in this group, the Fox Speedframe Pro.
While this is the top shelf helmet here, it’s actually very reasonably priced.
Many helmet brands have their flagship helmet over the $200 mark, but this Fox mountain bike helmet not only has all the bells and whistles, it’s priced at a remarkable $169.95.
It’s lightweight and very breathable, while still having that true solid feel of a real mountain bike helmet. In our opinion, this is the best helmet on the market at that price.
If you can spend the extra bit of money to get this helmet, it’s a no brainer! Ha, pun intended…
What about those bells and whistles?
The Fox Speedframe Pro has the MIPS liner and dual density EPS foam, but it’s not the same exact dual density foam as other brands. Fox uses a dual density EPS foam they’ve developed, called ‘Varizorb’.
This design arranges the two densities of EPS foam into a conical-like interface, which Fox claims helps to spread the impact force over a wider area.
Other standard features include a Fidlock Snap magnetic buckle on the helmet strap, removable and washable antimicrobial padding, 360 fit system for that perfect fit, adjustable visor, and extra venting for more air flow.
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Fox Speedframe Helmet
Just a step below the Fox Speedframe Pro is… You guessed it, the Fox Speedframe helmet!
The Speedframe is a little more basic than the Pro which also trims the price down to $119.95. You still get the same MIPS liner and same comfortable 360 fit system as the Speedframe Pro.
It’s well ventilated with 13 vents, adjustable visor, and retains that same solid mountain bike feel.
So what’s the catch?
In order to cut down the price, the Speedframe helmet has a single density EPS shell rather than the Varizorb dual density EPS foam used in the Pro.
On the plus side though, that EPS shell is full wrap around the outer edge of the helmet, giving some extra impact protection there.
Also lacking is the antibacterial pads and the Fidlock magnetic buckle.
For the price, we still love the fit and finish of this helmet, but if you’re an aggressive rider, that extra $50 for the Fox Speedframe Pro is totally worth it.
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Fox Mainframe Helmet
And to get under that $100 price point, the Fox Mainframe helmet delivers an affordable mountain bike helmet that still comes equipped with MIPS technology. For $89.95, this is one of the best entry level helmets we offer.
The Fox Mainframe has in-molded EPS foam for that industry standard protection rating.
Styling is on point with an aggressive look and better overall coverage than most entry level helmets. It has a more basic fit system compared to the 360 fit system in the Speedframe, but the fit still seems to have that Fox feel.
Ventilation flows with 13 vents, similar to the Fox Speedframe helmet. And, the padding is moisture wicking and removable for washing.
This visor on the Fox Mainframe is non-adjustable though, which may not be a big deal depending on where you live, but here in Sedona Arizona with so many sunny days, it can be nice to adjust the visor angle depending on where the sun is at.
The main goal with the Fox Mainframe helmet is really about packing the most safety features in a more affordable package, all while still having some good looking trail steez. We think Fox delivered on that one with the Mainframe!
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Pick the Fox Helmet for the Way You Ride
If you’re in the market for a new helmet, or thinking that maybe you should update your old helmet this season, we hope this article helps you find the right helmet for you.
The industry recommendation is to replace your helmet every 2-3 years - even if it hasn’t been crashed - to ensure the foam shell is offering full protection and integrity. As you can tell from this article, we’re big fans of the entire Fox mountain bike helmet line up.
There’s a ton of safety features out there, but if the fit and feel is off, some of those features could be compromised. Fox offers one of the best fitting mountain bike helmets out there, we feel super confident with carrying these helmets in-store and online.
