Review
Fox Speedframe RS Helmet
Speedframe?
Speedframe is a word that feels like it refers to something specific, and it sounds vaguely familiar, as though I should know its meaning but alas, I do not (nor does ai). Whatever it means (or doesn't) it has a nice ring to it and I am learning that naming products is becoming increasingly difficult.
So what is this helmet for? Fox doesn't elaborate on the use case, so this isn't specifically an enduro helmet or a trail helmet or an XC helmet. Apparently this is simply a mountain biking helmet. The good news is, that's what most of us do.
This is a good looking helmet, but I'd probably choose something a little more subtle. If you like some flash, this one could be for you. There is also a red version of this design along with three more subtle finishes. Photo - Cam McRae
MIPS Integra Split
If you are unfamiliar with MIPS*, it's a system that is meant to allow your helmet to rotate a few degrees independently from where it attaches to your head. Research has determined that rotational forces can lead to increased brain trauma compared to a direct blunt force impact. If you imagine falling off a bike and striking your head on the ground, a tree, or an unsuspecting spectator, it's clear that rotational forces are generally involved. MIPS is designed to reduce the rotational forces that reach your head and, hopefully, reduce the damage to your brain.
The most unique feature of Fox's new Speedframe RS is a new version of MIPS called "Integra Split." If you have seen Mips Spherical, you are half way there. Mips Spherical takes the energy absorbing layer of the helmet and splits it into two pieces, and allows them to move independently. One piece fits inside the other like a ball and socket joint. Integra Split takes the ball portion, which sits on your head, and cuts it into two pieces that can move independently a small amount while still being connected.
*MIPS stands for "multi-directional impact protection system."
Here you can see the outer protective layer (in white) the low friction liner (yellow) and the inner protective layer that acts as the ball in this socket. This example, from the MIPS video below, uses a motorcycle helmet to demonstrate the concept.
This gives you an idea of how things fit together and yet move independently of one another.
This is the first I have seen of what is essentially MIPS Spherical with an inner layer that is made of two pieces which move independently of one another.
It seems to me that one advantage of this system is that it would take less energy to move half the shell, in the event of an impact that only contacts one half of your helmet.
These elastomers, which MIPS calls "woofers" are responsible for keeping your helmet aligned properly when no there is no impact, and then breaking away a certain amount when there is a rotational impact.
A great thing about both of these designs is that they dispense with the plastic 'hairnet' used in some versions of MIPS. I often find these uncomfortable because of their sharp edges. They can also impede venting.
The video below starts explaining Mips Integra Split at 1:15.
Features (as highlighted by Fox)
- Virginia Tech 5-Star helmet rating
- Mips® Integra Split equipped
- BOA® Fit System to dial in fit
- FIDLOCK SNAP helmet buckle
- Sunglass-specific storage solution
- Removable under visor GoPro mount included
- Meets e-bike standard NTA-8776
- Weight (as measured) 400g
- Spare liner included
The three position visor works well and leaves room for eyewear or goggles if you tilt it all the way up but I couldn't reposition it with one hand. There is also a GoPro attachment although I don't think mine was in the box.
Wearing the Fox SpeedFrame RS
I found this helmet to be quite comfortable. I'd even say very comfortable actually, but not quite as cozy as the 170 CAD Smith Engage helmet I reviewed in 2023. I think part of that relates to the way the tensioners work on each helmet. The Speedframe uses a Boa dial system so the tensioner on the sides of your head is a thin cable that connects the rear harness, where the dial resides, to a plastic plate that rests on your forehead. The harness can be adjusted up and down with four positions. Trying out other positions is a good idea for optimum fit.
Because Fox opted to use a Boa dial to tighten the suspension system of the helmet, to micro adjust fit, a cable attaches the rear harness to a plastic plate at the front of the helmet. This shows the cable when I remove the helmet without loosening the dial. Photos - Cam McRae
While it does press into my scalp slightly, that's not noticeable. However, the system isn't able to distribute compression as evenly as a system that uses a continuous plastic halo that encircles your head.
Here you can see the suspension system of the Smith Engage. It is wide and flat and wraps around your head in one continuous halo. This ends up distributing force more evenly and comfortably.
The cable actually presses into my scalp a little and while I don't feel that, the tension of the system isn't as balanced as, for example, the aforementioned Smith Engage. Rather than Boa, a thin plastic strap runs continuously around your head. At its thinnest it's about 4mm wide and completely flat and it widens from there. It also has a curve to it for ear clearance, which is obviously not possible with a cable. For me, this is a case of using Boa because it's a brand name product instead of using it because it has some advantage over other systems. It works and it's fine, but it adds cost to the helmet and isn't as comfortable as conventional systems.
Lots of vents and unimpeded airflow make this helmet nice and cool on sweaty days. Photo - Cam McRae
Venting is excellent. Six front facing vents direct air directly over your head and you can feel it working even at lower speeds. The liner absorbs sweat well and seems to be standing up to my abuse. A nice touch is that there is a spare liner in the box. The strap system is incredibly simple and seems to be idiot proof. If you know a friend whose helmet looks like it was adjusted by chimpanzee, this might be the ticket for them. The only real adjustment is in the chin strap, although the harnesses that connect the triangulated straps to the chin strap can be adjusted fore and aft a little, but not up and down. They fit me just fine but if you have a hard time getting helmet straps to fit because of your cranial architecture, best to drop into a shop and try one on.
Keeping everything together is handled by a Fidlock snap buckle. This is a brand name upgrade I can get behind. It can be closed with one hand but two is easier, while for removal one hand is the way to go. It attaches securely, thanks to magnets that clamp everything securely, despite being easy and convenient to slide open.
I'm a fan of the Fidlock Buckle. Just get the two ends close together and the magnet(s) guide them together for secure closure. Operation is easy even wearing winter gloves and removal is a quick one-handed snap of the fingers. Photo - Cam McRae
Virginia Tech's Rating System
This helmet received five stars from Virginia Tech, with a score of 7.23. Only the POC Cularis, at 7.10 has received a better score (lower being better) of 277 helmets tested. The more I look into the now ubiquitous Virginia Tech helmet safety rating system, the more skeptical I am. First of all, they don't disclose how much they charge for testing. Obviously there could be variations based on the complexity and use case of the helmet, but there isn't even a range of pricing published. Further, their methodology has been published, along with the formula they used to determine their final rating, but the raw numbers for each helmet do not seem to be made available.
Natural habitat.
Four samples of each helmet are impact tested in 12 locations each and then each location is tested again, for a total of 24 impacts per helmet. I have been told by helmet manufacturers that after one significant impact, a helmet should be replaced. This suggests that once a helmet is subjected to a drop test in one location, the data from subsequent locations would be inaccurate. It also suggests that helmets that deform more from the first impact, because they have absorbed more energy, would perform worse on subsequent tests. Does it make sense to test single impact helmets for 24 impacts? This might be logical for football helmets, which could easily be subjected to 24 impacts in a single game, but it doesn't seem to make sense for mountain bike helmets. Also, does this methodology encourage helmet manufacturers to make helmets that are designed to survive 24 tests, rather than absorbing as much energy as possible from a single high intensity impact? This is a topic I will look into further.
Fox branding on the rubber eyewear grabber is a nice easter egg for something you can only see if the angle is perfect and the light is right. Most eyewear I mounted fit great with the exception of a set of POCs with temple tips that curve down more like a conventional pair of glasses.
As I mentioned above, the visor officially has three positions but it will actually stay between the detentes as well for a total of five. It's a little tougher to move than some others so I have to put one hand on top of the helmet to keep it in place while the other hand pushes or pulls the visor into place. The nice part is that it stays where you've adjusted it unlike some other helmets.
The rear view.
This helmet has a lot going for it. It vents very well, is equipped with state of the art MIPS technology, a fidlock buckle and (for better or worse) a Boa dial to adjust fit. Sunglasses are stored well under the visor, and fit is great. It looks pretty good as well.
I'm not convinced about the wisdom of the Boa system in this application but otherwise I have very few complaints. One of my favourite additions is the spare helmet liner along with an under visor GoPro mount and a helmet bag. The price is in line with other top of the line MIPS-equipped helmets; The Smith Forefront 3 is 320 CAD, The POC Kortal MIPS is 350 CAD, and the Giro Manifest MIPS is 390 CAD. The Speedframe is made in China so we'll have to wait and see what tariffs do to the price in the U.S.
Protecting your noggin is important when trails get spicy.
The Fox Speedframe RS is available in the scheme you see here, matte white, matte black, a black camo, and a red version of the one above. It is priced at 350 CAD/280 USD
Comments
araz
4 days, 20 hours ago
I would love some reporting on the VA Tech testing methodology. It seems crazy that they would do multiple impacts on a single sample of a bike helmet.
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Jotegir
4 days, 19 hours ago
I had heard part of the justification for the multiple impact testing is that while many crashes involve one big slam, mountain bikers in particular manage to crash in places and ways that involve multiple hits to the dome in succession, and in those cases, having a helmet that can not only pass the big hit but subsequent hits without completely falling apart is ultimately safer.
Certainly still valid criticism - 24 seems so far beyond what one expects in all but the most extreme cases - Maybe Rogatkin had 24 impacts the time he fell off a cliff at Rampage a few years ago.
At the same time, I am skeptical. Did Trek really have that big of a miss on their hands with the first iteration of Wavecell? Really, they went to market (and did a huge marketing push) with safety tech that was actually sub-par? Doubt it. My guess is that it wasn't optimized for those tests, and the new ones have been - which is why the poorly graded Wavecel helmets are gone and the "new" ones are all five stars.
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Cam McRae
4 days, 18 hours ago
That's a good data point. I wonder how early wavecel did for other tests?
Kali has suggested in the past that helmets are often too hard to absorb much energy and the two helmets they submitted did very poorly - ranked 243 and 268.
The five wavecel helmets tested rank between 48 and 142.
Reply
Mike Ferrentino
4 days ago
The particular aspects of a given test procedure can damn or raise up individual helmets, but there are usually hidden costs. Way back when my dad was making motorcycle helmets, we found we could get a decently light helmet to pass the US DOT requirements. We could also get a decently light, but different, helmet to pass the different SNELL certification that was the "gotta have it" cert at the time. But, since each test was different in the type and severity of impact that was specified, getting a helmet to pass BOTH invariably required a lot more material, and therefore a lot more weight.
Coincidentally, in the late 90s one of the free motorcycle magazines that existed in San Francisco at that time put a call out to readers to submit their old, worn-out, dropped, whatever, helmets so that they could independently run them through the tests that they had been manufactured to. The conventional wisdom at that time was "if you drop it, it's toast" regarding moto helmets, as well as "it should be replaced every five years". They received hundreds of helmets, and of the helmets that they tested, even the dropped, almost all of them withstood the testing in a way that determined they were still usable.
I think institutional testing is necessary, but I do not always believe the marketing. The kinds of testing we were manufacturing moto helmets to in the 80s and 90s was such that the "failure level" impacts were so insanely severe that they would have resulted in a well preserved head atop a bag of pink jello, considering the forces involved. But everyone had to have that Snell sticker on their helmet (which, at the time, cost upward of $250k for certification).
Buy what fits your head the best and feels good to wear. Try really hard not to hit your head.
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moraucf
4 days, 19 hours ago
Big plus 1, would also love some more reporting on it, and also sceptical for the same reasons listed in the article.
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Raymond Epstein
4 days, 17 hours ago
I am sure this lid is quite protective, but tbh if you are doing riding that would really put its protection to use on a head impact I'd think you'd want a full face anyway. So back to the riding that most do after basic safety measures (all helmets) are covered it becomes a competition b/t candidates for fit, ventilation, esthetics and cost. I will however throw in another specific which has become a must-have for me over the last several years though. A sunglass-specific storage solution which is noted in the copy for this helmet. These options on current helmets come in a wide range of styles. However, for me they must be easy to deploy and replace said spectacles (one-handed), keep the glasses stable as well as not block vision and ventilation. This crosses off any rear facing ones out of the gate. You do not have any pictures or any discussion of this attribute above. To date, no other helmet comes close to the Specialized Ambush 2 followed by their Tactic for this benefit. If the sunglasses storage is near those on this I'd give the basic latest Speedframe a look for $110, but $279 is big bite for a test ride gamble.
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Cam McRae
4 days, 16 hours ago
I did indeed discuss that Raymond but not whether it's. one-handed operation. I don't use it much so I'll have to give that a try on my next ride and report back.
"Fox branding on the rubber eyewear grabber is a nice easter egg for something you can only see if the angle is perfect and the light is right. Most eyewear I mounted fit great with the exception of a set of POCs with temple tips that curve down more like a conventional pair of glasses."
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ehfour
4 days, 20 hours ago
I'd be super happy if my head shape got along with Fox helmets :(
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Cam McRae
4 days, 18 hours ago
Always the challenge. Early Bell helmets never fit my head at all but when Giro came along everything got better. These days it often feels like they used my cranium for the mold and I'm right at the top end of size medium buckets. A great helmet that doesn't fit isn't much good at all.
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grcgrc
3 days, 21 hours ago
That Fox is including an additional liner is an option that I can get behind. The caustic quality of my perspiration has the liners in helmets in tatters by the second season. And given the venting qualities mentioned this helmet is on my list of possibilities.
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