For the sport of cycling, safety has always been a primary concern for athletes and officials. Helmets are a vital piece of equipment and many innovations have recently been integrated in the design of this necessary protection.
With the Tour de France approaching, sports engineers from the University of Adelaide and Swiss company Scott Sports have collaborated to develop the world’s fastest road cycling helmets on the market. In order to test and prove this, an Australian cycling team will wear this new technology during the Tour de France competition starting three days from now, July 2nd.
The Scott Cadence Plus helmet, which was launched just last week, is built with MIPS (Multi Directional Impact Protection System) technology to ensure that this high-tech piece of equipment will effectively protect users from head damage. But what separates this helmet from any other aero road helmet is its ability to achieve ultimate speed by temporarily sealing off front ventilation.
The helmet features three removable plugs in the front of the helmet that alleviates the inverse relationship between helmet speed and helmet ventilation. Even with the plugs removed. the Cadence Plus is faster than comparable speed helmets by a fraction of a second over 24.8 miles. Putting the plugs in makes the helmet a claimed 5 seconds faster over 24.8 miles.
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“One of the most satisfying aspects of this project was seeing all the science and engineering ‘brought to life’ in this product, and knowing that professional riders will be wearing the helmet in both the Tour de France and the Rio Olympics,” said Associate Professor Richard Kelso in the University of Adelaide’s School of Mechanical Engineering. “Our goal was to produce a helmet design with the lowest drag possible, but also to ensure the rider’s head is well cooled and, above-all, well protected.”
The research team has also engineered the Centric Plus helmet, which is claimed to provide a cooling effect that exceeds the comfort of having no helmet on at all. Specifically designed for road and cross-country MTB racers, the Centric Plus provides more ventilation than the Cadence Plus thanks in part to air being channeled over the back of the head.
Both helmets will become part of the official kit worn by Australia’s ORICA-GreenEDGE Cycling team to test technology in action. Additionally, the University of Adelaide team built a full-size cycling mannequin for wind tunnel testing. They even heated the mannequin’s head to test the drag and cooling efficiency of the helmets.
“From an aerodynamics perspective, the Scott Cadence Plus performs better than any of the leading helmets in the market today,” Kelso continued. “Depending on the helmet it’s tested against, this new helmet could provide anywhere from a 0.2-metre to a 2-metre advantage over its competitors in a bunch sprint. In professional cycling terms, that could make the difference between wearing the winning jersey or not.”
The aerodynamic development of these helmets have certainly made themselves prime items for cycling enthusiasts. The Cadence Plus will be available later this year for approximately $200 while the Centric Plus will sell for roughly $250. So far, the helmets have exceeded the expectations of the engineers behind the project, so giving this new technology a test run could provide for a great asset any cyclist would appreciate.