How This Tiny Startup Built the World’s Safest Bike Helmet
Source: Wired ·
Inspired by head-banging woodpeckers, Vancouver-based Pikio Labs has discovered a new approach to skull protection.
From the source
For decades, researchers judged cycling helmets on how well they protected against direct impacts. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission ( CPSC ) still does, even though research shows the danger isn't just how hard your head hits the ground, but how violently it twists. That rotational movement can make the brain twist and stretch inside the skull, increasing the risk of concussion and other brain injuries. Not waiting for the CPSC to catch up, the cycling industry got to work. Multidirectional Impact Protection System , or MIPS, hit the market in 2007 and is now a common feature on premium helmets . At the same time, Virginia Tech turned helmet safety into something of a competition for manufacturers. In 2018, it launched helmet STAR ratings (Summation of Tests for the Analysis of Risk), testing beyond the legal minimum and measuring both linear and rotational impacts. Only four of the first 30 helmets earned five stars, but by 2025, 167 of 272 achieved five stars, and Virginia…
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