Cyclist0108

Trigger Warning:

The video starts out with some fairly hard-core steel frame hate speech.

Skaughtto

Certainly overhyped, but I'm sure it'll be of value to someone's brain.

There should be a mattress company parody of this whole event though: "We're changing cycling completely with the biggest safety advancement ever! Soon you'll see our used mattresses wrapped around cars, trees. pedestrians and other solid objects. Enroll in our monthly used mattress subscription program today and get 3-months of Zwift(the safest way to cycle) for free!"

surak

Whew, I can continue to use my Ballista. Time to email my fitter, who sells Specialized, and inquire bout that spring sale they got goin'.

wipekitty

My sentiments exactly.

Seattle Forrest

Thanks for posting this, my phone can't take bring thrown at the wall again.

MoAlpha

Ogsarg

Saying a helmet changes cycling is quite a stretch.

Psimet2001 

From an industry friend who posted this on his Facebook feed:

Can't help but feel there was a different way of doing this. If it truly helps safety in such a dramatic way then you approach it differently or it's time to admit this doesn't actually help safety nearly as much as what is represented. My $0.02

Racing Dan

Sorry, but your dealer was Waaaay of the mark ;-)

CliffordK

You know, I've been thinking of a new helmet.

This does allow me to think a bit more about helmets. And, the new Trek helmets look nice. I was also looking at the Smith helmets.

Even if Trek isn't selling new bikes, perhaps getting their name in the spotlight is what they wanted.

Thanks for the link.

It is good to see independent testing (I assume). And the new Trek helmets are quite high up. Of course, they could have been tested elsewhere and were at the bottom of the pile... and Trek just cherry-picked the most favorable results.

As you mention, mixed in with the MIPS. I have to wonder if some of this is to get around patent issues.

I've sent the names listed on that page an e-mail about testing and accessories. We'll see if I get a response back.

El Davisimo

Obviously, it doesn't change cycling. That is marketing. If you were the CEO of Trek, you'd market it as something revolutionary...

That said, yeah, it is revolutionary. With everything we know about concussions and brain damage from head trauma (see NFL), this seems like a major advancement in helmet technology. For those who think it is BS, just watch. Within a year, all the other companies will have a similar version of this.

maartendc

Marketing aside, because it is similar technology than the Smith helmets have so not exactly new: isn't a helmet that would limit concussions because of better impact absorption a "dramatic way" of helping safety?

I am certainly interested in manufacturers to keep pushing helmet technology and safety forward. I find it hard to believe that the helmet was "perfected" like 20 years ago. Most standard helmets are really just a Styrofoam hat, period.

Sure, all helmets meet the minimum standards and are Safe. But that does not mean they shouldn't try to make helmets that are safeER / exceed those minimum standards. Over time, when the technology has become cheaper and more widely available / proven, they can then adjust the minimum standards to encompass those features.

eja_ bottecchia

My Lazer Z1 MIPS is rated #4 at 12.2. I am happy. I would be happier if I knew what the difference between the top ranked 10.8 helmet and my 12.2 helmet is.

Anyone know? (Besides the obvious.)

CliffordK

I noted that too. Hopefully the dealer will give @kromozome a free helmet with his new Project One bike.

I'm a bit surprised about this too. I'm sure there was a bit of ambiguity everywhere, but the big dealers would have had to receive advanced notice to place the order for helmets, get their websites updated, etc.

I checked REI, and they already list 3 WaveCel helmets. Ok, listed as "pre-order"... but...

https://www.rei.com/search?q=WaveCel

It sounds like a bit of Mystique to get interest going (more than the ho-hum release of the MIPS).

Jewishcowboy

I got one today, going to use it tonight. It also seems like the technology would take away some of the regular bumps and vibrations from just riding normally and not just on a fall

maartendc

From the PDF on the Virginia tech website discussing the testing methodology:

https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/83760

" The range of final STAR values across helmets are then distributed into a discrete number of stars (1 to 5) for ease of consumer interpretation based on thresholds given in Table 4. The thresholds align with approximate percentage reductions in number of concussions; it is understood that an unhelmeted impact at either of the prescribed impact velocities would always result in injury, so 47.4 concussions and more severe injuries would be sustained based on the exposure weightings of the impacts evaluated (38.0 impacts + 9.4 impacts). The STAR value for each helmet model represents the number of concussions likely to occur out of those 47.4 impacts, which can be expressed as a percentage. The 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 star ratings align with >70, 70-60, 60-50, 50-40, and <40% reductions, approximately. "


In summary: the number rating represents the number of concussions they predict would occur out of 47 impacts, where an inhelmetted individual would receive 47 concussions.

Related to the number, The stars represent the percentage chance of concussion reduction.

So a helmet with rating 12 would, according to their testing, sustain 2 more concussions out of 47 than a helmet rated 10. Or a helmet rated 20 would have twice the likelihood of concussion than a helmet rated 10.

In this way, 12 and 10 are very close together.

Interesting they developed the method for football helmet concussion testing and adapted it for bike helmets. They certainly seem to have done their homework.

Jewishcowboy

To those of you who thinks this isn't a big deal it is. You can get in an accident and possibly get a concussion or worse and then those shiny new wheels you got won't matter cause you might never ride again. If safety isn't important than you probably should't be riding

FlashBazbo

If it works, it's a very cool deal. But . . . will it "change cycling forever?" Is it the biggest cycling innovation in 30 years? No.

banerjek

Absolutely.

This means that if you:

1. Get in a crash serious enough to potentially cause head injury (small percentage of cyclists)
2. Hit head hard enough that existing helmet wouldn't have helped but not so hard a slightly better one would (small percentage of aforementioned small percentage)

it could absolutely make a difference. Real game changer that.

Awaiting with baited breath for game changing announcements from Trek on lights and tires as these play a critical role in keeping cyclists from crashing in first place.

79pmooney

Yes, but it sounds like this helmet isn't a big leap from the MIPS helmets that are well established. I doubt this sells a lot more helmets, just a lot more helmets they get to profit from. (They could have forked over the dough for the right to use MIPS and been saving their customers from concussions the last four years. Stockholders more important than customers?)

Ben

Ogsarg

I never said safety wasn't important to me or that their new technology wasn't important. If they said this was the biggest change in rider safety in years, I'd say fine, but it doesn't significantly change cycling as a sport.

When I was motorcycling, a helmet saved my life, and I would never ride a bike without one. Protection is important to me and if these new helmets turn out to be a significant advancement in safety, I will likely get one, but saying it changes cycling is way over the top.

HTupolev

Yep. The issue isn't that safety isn't a big deal, it's that the marketing is misleading.

TimothyH

The helmet itself is fine.

The fact that Trek copied something already on the market and said it would "Change cycling forever" is ridiculous.

If anyone changed the game it was Smith who introduced the Koroyd Aerocore concept years ago. Smith even makes a ski helmet with it.

The people at Smith are the one's who came up with the idea, not Trek. Trek even copied the color!

https://www.smithoptics.com/us/koroyd




-Tim-

surak

How is only 1 of the 4 new helmets managing to score a whopping 0.9% better on an independent helmet safety test than a helmet that's been around for several years a big deal? I guess it's great that the top new wavecell helmet MSRPs for $50 less than the Ballista, except the Ballista goes on sale for under $150 frequently, so...

Nachoman

For anyone that currently owns a MIPS helmet, or anyone that has ever considered purchasing a MIPS helmet, Trek's announcement is a joke.