Protecting your head is just as important as riding a safe bike.
But helmet design hasn’t changed much since the 60s.
Until relatively recently, most helmets contained an inner construction of EPS foam.
Yep, that same squeaky material your takeout arrives in.
Actually, styrofoam is pretty good at absorbing an impact.
But thanks to clever engineers & their technological innovations...
...here are new materials to look out for - in terms of helmet design.
Koroyd is a new material that looks like a honeycomb if you slice it down the middle. It’s actually a bunch of miniature tubes fused together. It’s construction makes it stronger than styrofoam. It also elastically deforms, meaning it’s squishy even on low impacts. Foam helmets are designed to perform under high speed impact (think crashing your bike). Not low speed (say if you fall off your bike while stationary). Koroyd protects you from both high and low speed impacts.
MIPS or multi-directional impact system is a slip-plane layer inside a helmet. It moves against the direction of your head during an impact. Reducing the rotational movement of your head in the event of a rolling fall. That’s a whole lot of protection against brain injuries.
WaveCel was developed by a team of doctors who studied head injury prevention. The result is a material 48 times more effective at preventing concussions than foam. It works similarly to Koroyd but absorbs both linear and angular impacts.
Nice to know, right?
Because keeping your noggin safe is important.