Cycling UK Forum

http://www.eta.co.uk/2010/10/14/cardboa ... e-recycled

one wonders if:

1/ it is more absorbent because it looks to be twice the size of a 'normal' helmet ?

2/ does the increased size actually make it more dangerous in that you are more likely to have a rotational element to any impact (the size making it more likely to hit the floor as you slide along)?

3/ will people actually wear it? It's very much an eye of the beholder thing, but I'd guess that more people think that it makes them look silly than a normal helmet and so they'll stick with the conventional helmet*. This makes an interesting comment on how people think about helmets, the protection offered, and the trade-offs involved.

* Don't think so? Surely fully face XC helmets offer more protection than normal top of the head helmets, and have no real disadvantages, so why don't people wear them instead?

I was thinking about rotational injuries and it occurred to me there were two possible solutions.

Shave your hair off and apply liberal amounts of grease, together with a properly designed helmet means it'll just spin. Important to apply plenty of grease to avoid friction burns.

Wear an enormous helmet. Now I know this is counter-intuitive but bear with me. If you're head gets hit at say 30mph that's 44 feet per second, now applied to an object that's got a radius of say 6 inches that's a fair old RPM that the impact is trying to impart. But suppose the helmet's radius was 20 feet? Now the rotational speed is easily down into manageable figures - plus all that polystyrene means you can probably survive an impact with a truck (or at least you'll be able to look at your mangled lower half for a bit before giving up the ghost).

How about the airbag helmet: initial inflation prevents the impact, but then the bag deflates and the two layers of it slide on each other to prevent rotational injury? Lookswise, it can be concealed in side the fashionable hat of your choice so that no one know that you have a helmet on. Works great up until the second impact with the kerb, and it'll ruin your stove pipe hat

The design looks dodgy. The corrugated cardboard is essentially "end-on", so the absorbtion will be by the cardboard buckling. If it doesn't buckle, it won't absorb impact. If it does, it needs replacing (contrary to what they claim).

Or perhaps I don't understand something. I would want to see test results.

I like art students. They can produce some great art. But I wouldn't trust them to protect my brain.

Would it be churlish of me to add that if the cardboard waterproofing isn't perfect, it will give as much protection as a soggy cardboard box?

I like kwackers's idea of a 40-foot helmet. Instead of cycling, I'll just roll down the road.

Perhaps we should fit the outside of all vehicles with airbags.

I'd be interested to see what this 'cycling helmet' is designed to do. Has the designer published what it's designed to achieve in what circumstances (maybe unfair to ask 'cos none of the other manufacturers seem to say)? Which standard Is it designed to pass?

I'd guess that it's just designed to get them a pass for their postgrad course - as such the design criteria will be outlined once the finished product can be tested

doesn't appeal to me.

1. it looks daft
2. it's just a way of getting us to buy expensive packaging materials
3. there's no proof of any benefits to the wearer

Perhaps there's more to this cardboard thing than meets the eye.

We've had cardboard bicycles
Now cardboard helmets
Perhaps the next step is cardboard cyclists!

Dotting cardboard cyclists around everywhere might be the way to achieve critical mass without all that tedious waiting around for oil prices to force people off the road.

I'm just curious about the fact that the helmet is apparently "stronger" than a normal helmet. But I don't really care about strength, I care about energy absorbency.

Still, that might just be the PR guy writing it as opposed to the actual designer. It's good to see people thinking "out of the box" (pun intended) to see if they can improve on helmet design.