Attention, bikers and parents of mini bikers. Major retailers have pulled a number of bike helmets in response to a Consumer Reports review, and now the organization is offering guidance on choosing safe helmets.
Consumer Reports spot-checked 21 bike helmets from online retailers, and found that eight were missing the legally required label that indicates that helmets are in compliance with federal safety regulations — a major red flag that the helmets may not actually protect those wearing them.
The review came in the wake of the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall of Wemfg’s Children’s Multi-Purpose Bike Helmets, sold exclusively on Amazon.com from April 2024 through July 2024, for failing to meet federal safety standards.
Reviewers found the helmets were available for purchase on online platforms including eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Shein, Temu, and Walmart.com. While eBay, Shein, Temu and Walmart are no longer selling these products in response to the review, Meta did not respond, meaning potentially unsafe helmets may still be available on Facebook Marketplace.
When shopping for helmets, Oriene Shin, manager of safety policy at Consumer Reports, said that parents should remain vigilant, even on websites that took down the faulty products.
“CR’s investigation and spot-check highlighted how easy it can be to end up with a non-compliant helmet,” she said in an email statement. “While we’re glad that most companies showed a willingness to pull down the risky helmets we found, it does not necessarily mean that they’ve removed all non-compliant helmets from their marketplaces.”
Shin also emphasized that parents should exercise caution when shopping online for a number of products. E-commerce, she explained, has made safety regulations far more difficult to enforce.
“Parents should remain especially cautious when shopping for higher-risk products and safety products, like toys, infant sleep products, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and devices that use lithium-ion or button-cell batteries,” Shin noted.
When it comes to shopping for bike helmets in particular, Consumer Reports shared some tips to ensure you pick the safest possible option.
Tips For Choosing A Safe Bike Helmet
● Buy from a trusted shop or retailer — Consumer Reports offers a guide for finding retailers you can trust.
● If a deal seems too good to be true, it likely is. If you see a helmet priced suspiciously low, it might be a counterfeit, and may lack proper safety protections.
● Check Consumer Reports’ 2025 bike helmet ratings. The list included helmets for adults and kids, fit for road/mountain style, urban/skate style, and even e-bikes. All helmets on the list follow federal safety guidelines.
● Verify that your helmet includes labels with fitting instructions and details on how to wear them properly. Missing this label is a red flag that the helmet might not comply with safety regulations.
● Don’t assume all products sold in the U.S. are safe. Many sites, like Amazon and Walmart, allow third-party sellers, which leaves space for unsafe products to slip through the cracks.
