The CycleChat Helmet Debate Thread

[theclaud]

But this is no ordinary mahoosive collar! This is one stuffed full of explosives! Sodium azide, in fact (plus a few additives intended to deal with the molten sodium produced when it detonates). Not the sort of thing I'd be keen to be strapping round my neck TVM....

Actually I don't really know what that is, but it seemed good fodder for an 'ooooooohhhh scary!' moment, for @User3094's benefit. He's probably got a nuclear-powered exploding lid or something.

 

[srw]

Just to be clear, this thing went off with no apparent trigger at all - just riding gently along on an even surface.

Cripes.

And I presume that the (rechargeable) battery has a limited shelf-life too.

It's not a hugely successful product - last year in their IPO they seem to have claimed a massive 12,000 sales.
http://www.bike-eu.com/sales-trends/nieuws/2015/6/hovding-to-go-public-10124117

And the FT site publishes some financial data. They are losing money hand over fist, although their revenue is shooting up (2015 sales - SEK 14m, or about £1.3m. Which is a minnow. Even at £200 a pop that's only 6,500 units - worldwide.
http://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/financials?s=HOVD:STO

 

[srw]

But this is no ordinary mahoosive collar! This is one stuffed full of explosives! Sodium azide, in fact (plus a few additives intended to deal with the molten sodium produced when it detonates). Which, in addition to being one of the more sensitive explosives, also happens to be more toxic than cyanide. Not the sort of thing I'd be keen to be strapping round my neck TVM....

You had me at "molten sodium". I think I'll take my chances with tarmac.

 

[EnPassant]

I still can't take the thing seriously. Even Mr Yellow in the video's appears to have a wry grin on his face some of the time and then they are interspersed with pacman standard game type clips which don't help. There's even a shark in the one where he throws himself off a jetty.

Maybe the Swede's can mix humour and an attempt at serious safety equipment in a way I fail to get, I just look at it and think, "no c'mon this isn't for real".

 

[Wobblers]

Actually I don't really know what that is, but it seemed good fodder for an 'ooooooohhhh scary!' moment, for @User3094's benefit. He's probably got a nuclear-powered exploding lid or something.

Ah, you quoted me before I added a bit of extra explanation. I've used sodium azide in the lab (carefully!) as a preservative. Oddly enough, it's quite good at killing microbes - though for some unfathomable reason there doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm on using it in personal care products... It has the irritating habit of exploding on contact with transition metals - which means you can't use the ubiquitous stainless steel spatulas you'll find in any lab. Oh... and is quite toxic, so best not to take your lunch into the lab...

For what it's worth, @biggs682, it does seem to be quite well designed. It has neck support, so at least impact loads won't be transferred to the more vulnerable neck structures. The greater thickness suggests that it will perform better than most (likely all) helmets on the market. But... an explosive charge round the neck??? Not for me, I've got tinnitus to remind me not to play with explosives...

 

[MontyVeda]

just look at some of the health & safety laws that both the uk goverment and the eu have subjected us too

none, as far as i can see, are as ridiculous as having to wear an explosive inflatable collar. It's a stupid idea, you know it is... and it'll never be 'law' to wear one.

 

[MontyVeda]

We have airbags in cars

it's a very different thing.

edit... and even those have been known to go off when they shouldn't and cause injury.

 

[MontyVeda]

Different but very different?

Well they're not round one's neck for starters.

Airbags in cars vs personal airbags... actually, personal airbags... i feel a Dragons Den pitch coming on.

Walking, hiking, driving, cycling, canoeing, base jumping... whatever you're doing, you'll always be safe with the PersoBag* system!

*trademark status pending.

 

[MontyVeda]

yeah but... my PersoBag system won't be anywhere near as cumbersome, and it'll be available in lots of different colours including your favourite team kit.

 

[biggs682]

We have airbags in cars

And they saved mine and many others lives , technology moves on

 

[MontyVeda]

And they saved mine and many others lives , technology moves on

I doubt it'll move so far as to creating a law that puts them around one's neck though

 

[srw]

We have airbags in cars

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/408945/airbags.pdf
Not mandatory - and there does appear to be pretty solid evidence that they're an effective and proportionate risk mitigation intervention.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199204163261616

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I cannot see how it could be compatible with the tests employed. That doesn't necessarily mean that it is a bad design though.

It needs its own test. As it stands, even if it is equivalent to or better than the traditional polystyrene helmet, it can't be used in place of one in countries where helmet wearing is mandatory.

GC

 

[mjr]

But... an explosive charge round the neck??? Not for me, I've got tinnitus to remind me not to play with explosives...

Anyway, it's been done:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbvX3elSaaY

yeah but... my PersoBag system won't be anywhere near as cumbersome, and it'll be available in lots of different colours including your favourite team kit.

Still been done:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKqdgvsbfFQ

I'm not sure I'd want to spunk over £200 on something which appears to register any mild off as a very risky occurrence.

Isn't that nearly the same as normal cycle helmets? Although plenty of cyclists seem to regard them as indestructible and keep wearing them after a minor crash as long as they can't see anything seriously wrong

 

[srw]

Isn't that nearly the same as normal cycle helmets? Although plenty of cyclists seem to regard them as indestructible and keep wearing them after a minor crash as long as they can't see anything seriously wrong

About five times as much as a bog-standard EN-standard helmet. And if you don't let a standard helmet get hit it's undamaged. This thing will deploy and be unusable again.

To be honest, the sales figures I quoted and derived above lead me to deduce that they're better at publicity than they are at sales. With several million views for their videos and only a few thousand sales, in a potential market even in Sweden of millions they're not exactly doing well.