The Lab: Testing the Alpina BRIGHTON MIPS – Urban bike helmet with integrated lights

Bike lanes lacking safety, dense traffic, and poor visibility turn cycling in the city into a hazardous adventure – especially in the dark. With the BRIGHTON MIPS, Alpina wants to shed light on the city jungle. Can the urban bike helmet at a price of € 249.95 make the ride safer? We tested the stylish Alpina helmet for you.

In the rush of daily big city traffic, cyclists often get a raw deal. Sometimes they are simply overlooked. It is also difficult for car drivers to judge how fast a cyclist is going or if he or she is braking, especially when visibility is poor. Quite often, this leads to dangerous situations or even accidents. Therefore, many are looking for a high-quality, safe helmet – whether they commute to work or ride for pleasure. Enter stage left: the Alpina BRIGHTON MIPS with its exciting combination of cool design and impressive safety features. Priced at € 249.95, the BRIGHTON MIPS helmet is the most expensive model in the Alpina product range. However, the BRIGHTON MIPS has a lot to offer, too. It comes with integrated lights, including 4 different modes for front and rear lighting, as well as an innovative brake light. And the battery is integrated in the helmet.

With its mixture of timeless design and futuristic Iron Man look, the Alpina helmet stands out from the crowd of boring bike helmets. Whether fashion-conscious commuter or trendy bike courier: with its sleek silhouette, the BRIGHTON MIPS suits any style. It is available in the colours black or light-grey-and-black and comes in two different sizes: 51-55 cm and 55-59 cm. Due to its neutral shape, the BRIGHTON MIPS is extremely versatile and is also a viable option for e-scooter riders, inline skaters and skateboarders. A very useful feature is the inner lining that can be removed and washed. The Bavarian manufacturer relies on the Ergomatic strap buckle that can be operated with one hand. The chin strap can be loosened or tightened as required by means of a multi-step automatic locking mechanism. The height-adjustable RUN SYSTEM ERGO FLEX MIPS can be individually adjusted to any head shape. The robust outer shell and the shock-absorbing Hi-EPS Inmold shell – the abbreviation stands for High Expanded Polystyrene – ensure maximum protection. The material of the MIPS system has microscopically small air chambers that absorb the forces acting on the helmet (and the head) in the event of an impact. That level of safety shows up on the scale, though: due to the elaborate integrated technology, the Alpina helmet is rather heavy compared to standard helmets, bringing 529 g to the balance. You need to decide for yourself whether the extra protection is worth the extra weight.

In addition to the design itself, the integrated light technology makes quite a splash on the street. The goal of the Alpina helmet is to shine – and the developers have gone to some lengths to make that happen. Integrated COP light bars facilitate a very dense array of LEDS in a small space and ensure high visibility in traffic – brightness is at 10 to 20 lumen in all directions. The lights are controlled by a switch at the back of the helmet. Four different modes are available:

1. Continuous light front and back
2. Continuous light front and slow blinking back
3. Off front and continuous light back
4. Short-long blinking front and back (NY police mode)

The innovative brake light controlled by a gyroscopic sensor measures the deceleration. That way, the other road users are warned by a red blinking light as soon as velocity decreases. The operating time of the battery is roughly ten hours. The BRIGHTON MIPS can be charged by means of a USB-C port located on the helmet. It will be fully charged within only roughly 50 min. Handy: If the Alpina helmet is not moving, it automatically switches off after about ten minutes.

The Alpina helmet BRIGHTON MIPS convinces with its safety concept and high functionality – and without compromising on the design front. Being seen in a doubly positive sense: ideal for commuters and leisure riders who want to stay visible even in dense rush hour traffic. Those who decide to put up with the high cost and high weight get a bike helmet fit for a king.

You can find more about at alpina-sports.com

Words & Photos: mschneider