Limar’s new Alben MIPS mountain bike helmet delivers on a rare mix of lightweight, ventilation, full-spectrum protection, AND affordability. As more helmets incorporate conventional or next gen MIPS, or other alternative rotational impact protection, one thing generally remains constant – extra safety protection almost always comes at a premium…
Limar Alben MIPS affordable mountain bike helmet protection
The vast majority of MIPS-equipped helmets sell for at least $150 / 150€, with only a rare MET commuter or Specialized road/commuter helmet in my recent memory coming in much below that. Now add an 89.99€ Limar Alben MIPS option to that list, the first MIPS-protected helmet under 100€ that’s come across my inbox.
The Alben is Limar’s latest lightweight, fully ventilated MTB helmet, targeted mostly at the cross-country to trail riding side of the mountain bike spectrum. It gets decent coverage down the back of the head, and a MIPS liner certainly helps with glancing impact protection.
Lightweight, low-profile & low-cost MIPS Ai inside
The standard in-mold EPS foam plus polycarbonate shell handles conventional impact protection, then an optional MIPS ‘Ai’ hybrid liner/pad layout delivers Multi-directional Impact Protection – just like Limar’s recent Air Pro MIPS road helmet. It also seems to be the exact same lightweight, pared down and not-so-proprietary SL system that Specialized introduced a while back – which still doesn’t have an official name from MIPS.
But while that liner adds forty Euros to the price of the already expensive Air Pro, here MIPS adds only thirty Euros.
Either with or without the MIPS liner, the Alben still features the same 20 air vents, break-away visor, and the same dial adjust Competition+ fit adjustment. The CE-certified helmet claims to be quite light, just 230g for a medium or 255g in large. That appears to be the non-MIPS version, with MIPS Ai potentially adding about 30g more.
Limar Alben & Alben MIPS – Pricing & limited availability
The helmet is available in two sizes M (53-57cm) & L (57-61cm), and is made in China. The standard non-MIPS Alben sells for 59.99€ and the Alben MIPS retails for 89.99€. The Alben generally come in six colors in total, but we’ve only seen mention of the Limar Alben MIPS in black or white.
The final trick about the affordable MIPS MTB helmet is that it might be hard to get ahold of one. Limar tells us the Alben & Alben MIPS officially went live to their retail partners a couple of weeks ago. But since they essentially pre-sold out the entire stock, Limar hasn’t even added the new helmet to their own online shop. If you want to get one soon, you’ll likely need to hunt online or reach out to a retailer who stocks Limar helmets.
Limar.com (in EU) & LimarItalia.com (in US)
