The question Abus started with to create the new Taipan gravel helmet is very simple and stems from contact with the public and enthusiasts. This is why events like trade shows, like the Italian Bike Festival where the Taipan was presented, are a concrete example. In fact, the question that started it all was extremely simple: “Do you have a gravel helmet?”The answer, however, is not as simple as the question, because it presents us with a difficult question: understanding what gravel is.
Da Abus The answer didn't come by simply sitting in front of a computer, but by trying and testing different situations. The Taipan is a helmet that comes from a blank sheet of paper, but what is there before sitting in front of the desk? Experiences, kilometers in the saddle, and ideas.
“We’ve done a lot of development work,” says Sales and Marketing Director ABUS Track Security International, “to really get to the heart of the matter because we need and want to know practically everything about the helmets we produce. So in the last two years I've dedicated myself to understanding who the target audience of gravel is.We ventured everywhere: in the cold German winter, on a tour on dirt roads, on night rides and much more. At Abus we had no idea what gravel was, so we just put ourselves to the test».
In search of the extreme
Taipan is the name of the helmet, but it is also the name of one of the most venomous snakes in the world that lives in extremely remote places, where humans rarely venture. This is the whole point of gravel: exploring, pedaling and looking beyond borders.What for many sometimes seems insurmountable becomes simply adventure and fun for those who love gravel.
But gravel is also competition, and To have one of the best products dedicated to those who want to look at the performance research in Abus they turned to Paul Voss, former professional cyclist and two-time German national gravel champion (2024 and 2025). Taipan thus places itself in the large collection of Abus helmets, not only products designed to compete and win in road cycling like the GameChanger or the AirBreaker, Now even gravel has its high-performance helmet.
Safety and testing
We had the opportunity to test the new Taipan on a ride partly at night. The technical features chosen by Abus for its gravel helmet are the same ones offered for its top-of-the-range road products. What makes the difference is the issue of safety, a topic that can be divided into different themes: trust, comfort and visibilityA cage has been added inside the shell to increase impact resistance.
Visibility and safety, however, have been improved with the inclusion of a rear light that attaches quickly and easily.A simple yet extremely efficient solution, it features different levels of illumination and significantly increases the cyclist's visibility even in the dark. Furthermore, the shell is designed to accommodate a front light, in our case we opted for the Lezyne 1200+ which offers a powerful and wide beam, perfect for riding outside of sections without artificial lighting (as often happens in gravel).
The Taipan also has a shape that is one millimeter wider on each side. A choice derived from the desire to offer greater comfort, a necessary factor if you add the weight of the front lightHaving a wider internal cage allows, at the same time, for greater ventilation and therefore a constant internal temperature.
Price: 220 euro.
