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New safety technologies - MIPS & Co. - are designed to measurably reduce the risk of head injuries by reducing the rotational forces that occur in the event of an oblique impact. The existing test standard for helmets, EN 1078, cannot cover these scenarios. In order to test the current generation of helmets realistically, we have developed a helmet test rig ourselves and orientated ourselves on the methods used in science and by research-based manufacturers. For the test, the helmet is fitted to an aluminium test head weighing 4.9 kilograms. During the simulated fall, the helmet and head are guided on a sled and hit a steel surface inclined at an angle of 45 degrees at a speed of 21 kilometres per hour. Sandpaper with a grain size of 40 imitates the roughness of the surface - this is similar to the test facilities at Virginia Tech, Folksam and other research institutes.
The sled whizzes past the contact surface and releases the helmet, which bounces away after the impact. A six-component sensor in the test head records acceleration and rotation rates around the three axes in space on impact and in the subsequent flight phase. In the first approach, the helmet hits head-on, in the second on the side. We analyse the acceleration according to the highest resulting value - the lower the better. The average value from four measurements is given. We convert the head rotation into the BrIC criterion (Brain Injury Criterion), which indicates how damaging the movement is to the brain. This method is widely used in science and enables statements to be made about the probability of a concussion via the so-called AIS code.
After the Comparison test of 20 helmets for trail bikers In BIKE 12/20, we tested twelve lightweight models for race and marathon bikers for the 1/21 issue. The video shows how our specially developed test rig works:
You can download the complete comparison test of the twelve lightweight race helmets from BIKE 1/2021 as a PDF below the article. The objective comparison including the test reports costs 1.99 euros.
Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has a price. In return, we guarantee independence and objectivity. This applies in particular to the tests in BIKE. We don't pay for them, but the opposite is the case: we charge for them, namely tens of thousands of euros every year.
- Abus Airbreaker
- Bontrager Starvos Wavecel
- Cratoni C-Bolt
- Endura FS260-Pro
- Giro Aether Spherical MIPS
- Lazer Genesis
- POC Ventral Air Spin
- Rudy Project Spectrum
- Scott Centric Plus
- Smith Trace MIPS
- Specialised Echelon II MIPS
- Uvex Race 7
Downloads:
Stefan Frey
Editor
