Review: Abus Taipan Helmet

28 Sept

Designed as a road and gravel crossover helmet for long, adventurous days. With a removable, rechargeable LED light attached via magnets, generous ventilation and practical eyewear storage, it looks well suited to everything from all-day gravel rides to multi-day bikepacking adventures. But does that versatility make it the perfect helmet for ultra-distance riding?

As the gravel scene evolves to be faster and more competitive, and the bikes become more aggressive, so we’ve seen the ride of gravel / road helmet crossover. The idea being that these helmets offer all the aero performance, ventilation and lightweight features of a road helmet, but with more a more rugged and generously covered design. This is exactly where the Abus Taipan comes in.

It’s been my helmet of choice for the past few months during the longest lasting heatwave I can remember (possibly on record) here in the UK, and this is what I’ve made of it so far.

Why I Chose the Taipan

To each their own, but for me, almost all riding requires a helmet. And spending a lot of time on the bike, I’ve often got a couple of different helmets on the go suited to different rides. After my long serving POC Ventral Air Mips came into retirement after a hard career of regular rides, Audaxes, working as a cargo bike courier and eventually racing the TCR, I was after something to replace it.

To get anywhere close to living up to the expectations set by my favourite hemet so far, it needed to be light, comfortable, suitable for a range of different riding, on and off-road, well-vented, provide good head coverage and secure sunglasses storage. My last couple of helmets have been black so I was keen to change it up, and riding on the road, often at night, something fairly visible also seems like a good idea.

Rather than the one-brand-serves-all, I’ve always admired brands who keep to doing one thing exceptionally well. Helmets in my mind are the perfect opportunity to lean into this philosophy. Rather than finding a from a more generalised company, perhaps a bike manufacturer or a brand known more for it’s shoes, in my mind at least, it makes much more sense to opt for a brand known for its helmets. I don’t know a huge amount about ABUS as a brand, but known for helmets and locks, and used by World Tour teams. They seem to have been around forever with a solid product, but not necessarily the influencer helmet of choice.

Then I stumbled across the Taipan, their latest gravel helmet. It looked fast and clean, ticked all the boxes I was looking for, and even offered the option of a magnetically attached LED light. Add an off-white sand colourway, and I was sold.

The Taipan LED comes with the light included for £200, while the standard Taipan costs £170, with the light available separately for £36. Partly due to availability at the time, and partly because the standard model offered more colour options, I opted for the Taipan in Sand and added the LED light separately.

Out of the Box

Super light and premium feeling, it’s a nice feeling helmet. Perhaps a little slimmer, but the profile and ventilation pattern with a pretty aero back reminds me of the ever-popular Kask Protone.

Upside down, looking at the shape of the circumference of the helmet and it’s noticeably more egg-shaped than round, meaning slightly longer front to back. And trying it on, particularly coming from the POC, that’s immediately confirmed with feel too. Perhaps something to get used to, but the shape will certainly be better suited to certain head shapes than others.

It’s then got all the features you’d expect to see – plenty of ventilation, comfortable padding, a fit dial at the rear and well constructed straps. The straps definitely feel more budget than those from POC and certainly than the vegan faux-leather straps used on KASK helmets, but there’s no reason they won’t do the job just as well.

The recessed magnetic strip for the light at the rear of the helemet seems well designed, with a small lip or the light to clip into, which it does with satisfaction and there’s a sublt reflective strip just above.

So how does it ride?

Put to the test

I’ve been using the Taipan now for all my road and gravel rides for the past couple of months. I’ve gotten used to the shape, though I’d say it does feel slightly front heavy on my head. I think more of a question of personal head shape than anything, but it’s worth perhaps getting an idea of what suits your head best before choosing your next helmet.

It’s been a heatwave here and so I was slightly apprehensive of how it would feel to have a more aero-optimised but covered top and rear but actually it’s been plenty cool enough thanks to the generous vents up front and well placed outlets in the back. Possibly also the difference of having a pale colourerd helmet compared to the black which I’ve been used to. Coverage feels good too, sat low across my temples and across the back of my skull, feeling like a really secure and safe helmet.

While the straps feel secure and are easy to adjust, fastening the chin strap one-handed on the move can be quite fiddly. It’s a small gripe, but one you’ll quickly notice riding one-handed through traffic struggling to secure it. Perhaps it’s simply a knack I’ve yet to master but it’s noticeably trickier than on other helmets I’ve owned.

Another thing I’ve gotten used to in helmets is MIPS, or similar technology designed to mitigate rotational force during crashes. And while Abus does feature Mips on a handful of their helmets, so far at least, the Taipan isn’t one of them. Not a dealbreaker for me, but I think it probably will be for some.

The internal frame of the helmet including the fit dial at the back feels well constructed and plenty adjustable although I do notice the arms of my sunglasses tend to interfere slightly at the back. That in part of course is down to sunglasses design and head shape / size as much as the helmet design, but it’s not something I noticed on the POC.

Having lost glasses out of a helmet in the past, secure eyewear storage is really important to me. Generally, I’ve been impressed with the Taipan’s glasses storage, both in how securely the glasses are held once they’re in place and how easy they are to put away on the move.

That said, just days before writing this, I took the helmet off to check the LED light was on and, in doing so, managed to knock the glasses out while riding. They promptly hit the road and were then run over by a stream of traffic behind me. Yes, I definitely shouldn’t have been trying to do all of that on the move, so I’ll take responsibility for that one. But I’d argue that with some more secure eyewear storage, it might not have happened.

The good news? Somehow, the sunglasses survived. Props to the Oakley Sutros for being absolutely bombproof and their modular design meaning each part could be clipped back together.

The LED light is a great design, slotting into the helmet so neatly. It has four modes: Steady, Power, Pulse and Flash all with seemingly plenty of battery power – according to Abus up to 35 hours on flash – and I love the fact it can be removed so easily. Of course it’s not easy to know if you’ve successfully managed to turn it on or which mode you have it on but I’m also not sure there’s a solution to that issue. But I’ve learned my lesson.

Key Features

Fit

Great rotary wheel at the back of the head for individual adjustment of the helmet to the head size but worth noting it has more of an oval fit than some alternatives, which may or may not suit your head shape.

Thanks to the opening in the height-adjustable adjustment system, the helmet is also suitable for long hairstyles such as ponytails, buns, or braids.

Ventilation

The Taipan has 18 ventilation openings to force plenty of air through which I’ve really appreciated given the relentless heat of this summer. Each opening is designed to connect to each other via channels on the inside to guide incoming air through the helmet and ensure maximum air circulation.

Materials

Overall, the helmet feels noticeably light but still with a premium feel. The only place I’d argue the Taipan lets itself down compared with other helmets in terms of material is the strap and buckle.

Profile

I really dig the overall profile of the helmet. It’s well vented and looks fast but comes with plenty of coverage making it feel really secure.Sunglasses Port

Dedicated openings either side at the front of the helmet to securely hold sunglass arms in place. One you have a helmet with these it’s impossible to go back to one without.

Removable, washable pads

Pads can be removed and washed by hand or replaced if necessary and a floating pad clicked into place via several attachment points, is more flexible and offers better ventilation and comfort

LED light

The light (available separately) is a great option for additional visibility, particularly for those riding through the night. Re-chargable with a USB-C charging cable

Cons

No MIPS or other rotational protection system
Less premium Straps

Pros

Fast profile suitable for road and gravel
Well ventilated
Secure sunglasses port
Optional LED light for extra visibility

Specs

color of facets:beigeFinish:mattHead size:54-58 cmPeak:No

Weight:275 g
Washable pads:Yes
Additional safety features: Reflector sticker, optional rear light (£36)
Mips:No
Eyewear port: Yes
RRP: £180

Rating

4/5

Is the Taipan helmet worth your money?

Across the market of premium gravel helmets, the Abus Taipan is an excellent contender, at an appropriate price. As long as it fits your head.

For some, the lack of MIPS might be a dealbreaker, and as someone who’s gotten used to it, I think given the choice I probably would always opt for it. I’d also love to see some slightly nicer quality straps and a slightly less fiddly buckle, but I feel I’ve already gotten used to those being slightly different than what I’m used to. It’s also worth noting that the helmets I’m comparing straps to retail at around £60 more.

Besides these minor points, this helmet offers everything you’d hope to find from a premium gravel / road cross over, and the added LED light is a really well designed simple addition, which if you’re riding through the night, offers excellent additional visibility and something I’d definitely chose to use in future longer rides and ultras.

But if it doesn’t suit your head – and it won’t suit everyone’s – then it’s really not the right option for you. But with that comes the other side of the coin. For those with a more oval shaped head, the Abus Taipan will be a reassuring fit, and with a high quality construction, nice fast profile and deep shell, offering plenty of protection, what more could you want?

Chris Hunt

PINCH FLAT founding editor, Chris has worked as a cargo-bike courier, toured the Alps on a mountain bike, co-launched bikepacking routes, and raced 5,000 km from the Atlantic Coast to the Black Sea. And he’s run all sorts of kit into the ground doing so. But it’s all about the places the bike takes him, the birds he spots, and the connections forged along the way — ideally spinning a few yarns spun at the pub when it’s all over.