By Chris Klibowitz / Photos by Tyler Leicht

By Chris Klibowitz / Photos by Tyler Leicht

Back when I worked in a shop, some customers would inevitably ask why they should buy a helmet from the bike shop and not from Walmart. I would go over the features that differentiate the $45 helmet we sold and the $25 helmet from any big box retailer. At the end, I would show them the Consumer Protection Safety Commission (CPSC) tag and say, If you still want to buy a helmet elsewhere, just make sure that it has this certification. All that time, I was under the mistaken impression that these safety requirements were updated every 5-6 years. Turns out, according to Senseless, a Bicycling Magazine article published in June 2013, CSPC guidelines only address a direct vertical impact, which is uncommon in real world crashes, and the standards haven t changed since they were created in 1999. We are learning more and more about head injuries and their long-term effects, thanks in part to the National Football League and the publicity of the lawsuit brought against them by over 4,000 former players. However, the government agency that is supposed to protect the consumer it says so right in their name effectively removed a helmet manufacturer s incentive to innovate beyond the bare minimum standard set 16 years ago. That same article was my fi rst introduction to Multi-directional Impact Protection System (MIPS) and the Swedish company POC, the earliest adapter of this technology. Founded in 2001 by a group at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, MIPS used information they had learned about head injuries and applied that knowledge to a simple, practical solution to the problem of concussions. They found that concussions are generally caused by angled impacts a vastly different problem than the direct impacts addressed by the CPSC. To improve bicycle helmet design, you only need to consider the bare human head your skull protects your brain by disbursing an impact. To wit, the common EPS foam shell effectively acts as a second skull by disbursing the impact into the shell, rather than your head. However, the body has another mechanism to safeguard the brain. A thin layer of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) between skull and brain protects against impacts and acts as a buffer zone. A concussion can occur when the head rapidly decelerates and the brain slams into the interior of the skull. A concussion can also occur when rotational forces cause the brain to spin fast enough to cause axial sheering, which is when the brain tissue and nerves actually tear from rapid acceleration and deceleration. The CSF fi lm around the brain protects against these two mechanisms of injury. However, sometimes it is not enough. With this in mind, the folks at MIPS looked at this anatomical protection for their inspiration and came up with a low-friction layer between the helmet shell and the wearer. This additional layer of protection allows the helmet to twist on impact,

increasing the deceleration time of the brain, thus reducing the transfer of energy from the angled impact. This in turn reduces force that serves as a major source of concussions. It is important to note that there are no studies that prove this technology prevents concussions. This conclusion relies on an if this then that way of thinking. We know the kind of impact that causes a concussion, and we know that MIPS technology softens that kind of impact. Therefore, it is logical to infer that it must help reduce the number and/or severity of concussions. There is no claim that these helmets are safer, but rather that they offer an extra layer of protection. MIPS was founded by medical professionals in order to save lives CEO Johan Thiel says the founders were simply tired of trying to fix neurological damage, so they wanted to fi nd a way to prevent it in the first place. It was never their intention to enter the market as a helmet company, though they offered their own equestrian helmet at the beginning. Instead, MIPS figured their best chance to save the most lives, and live up to their intentions, wasn t to make helmets but to license their technology to helmet manufacturers. A major partnership exists between MIPS and Giro, which I first heard murmurs of at last year s Interbike when Giro unveiled a series of new MIPS-equipped helmets. However, the company didn t simply license the new technology. Instead, the two companies formed a partnership, with Giro s parent company investing in MIPS. MIPS first came to Giro several years ago, and Giro asked a lot of questions about how and why MIPS worked. At the time, they felt MIPS couldn t give them satisfactory answers to those questions. Giro s head of research and development, Rob Wesson, said, It can be real easy, because someone comes to you with the next wiz-bang thing, and it could be easy to just license it and throw it in and see how the market takes it, but that s just not our style. We invest a lot into our testing facilities. We have a lot of engineers and designers who take this very seriously. We have to see it ourselves. We have to go into a lab. We have to see the results. We have to look at each other and say, Yes! This does what is says it does, or No! This is just icing, not really doing much. Any vendor that comes to us, we put through the same paces. The two companies parted ways for a couple years until MIPS came back with some answers, and the two renewed their talks, and true to Wesson s word, Giro did some testing of their own. Folks from the companies spent two years visiting each other in California and Sweden, sharing test results and information. Giro was the only manufacturer that challenged MIPS with a lot of Why? and that has led to a better understanding of the technology on both sides. And that means the next iteration of MIPS will be that much better. mipshelmet.com Giro Sonnet The extra protection of MIPS doesn t need to come at a premium cost, and Giro proves that with the women s Sonnet and men s Savant. While MIPS-equipped helmets tend to be found more at the high end, Giro comes through with the new technology in the Sonnet at a reasonable $110. It features the company s Roc Loc 5 fit system and 25 vents, but our favorite part was the graphics the matte black is contrasted by a panel of white Japanese Shibori pattern for a great looking helmet. giro.com / $110 80 ROAD MAGAZINE

Scott Arx Plus Scott was the first US-based helmet company to use MIPS in their Lin model on the mountain bike side, and Scott now offers this technology on their road side. I ve had the Arx Plus on my desk for a couple weeks now, and it wasn t until this exact moment, as I look at the specs to write this blurb, that I realize this is not their top-of-the-line helmet. Fooled me. This lid features Scott s MRAS2 fit system and weighs a scant 260 grams in medium. It is quality and high-end appeal for a bargain price considering the technology. scott-sports.com / $150 Smith Overtake This helmet has a unique construction, thanks to a sort of honeycomb-style material developed by Koroyd, a Monaco-based, protective gear innovator. This impact-absorbing material replaces portions of the usual EPS foam shell, as well as fills the large vent openings, for better breathability without compromising all-over protection. This construction also has an aerodynamic advantage, putting up drag numbers in the wind tunnel on par with aero-specific helmets like the Giro Air Attack and Specialized Evade. The MIPS version is available in fi ve different colors. smithoptics.com / $250 82 ROAD MAGAZINE

Lazer Helium The Helium from Belgium-based Lazer, the oldest helmet company in the world, is already a favorite helmet on the cyclocross circuit. Their Rollsys fit system uses a barrel on top, rather than on the back, to adjust the tension on your head. Now with the MIPS-equipped version, you re protected against a concussion when you slip and fall in the mud. Bonus: It is available in hi-vis yellow that transforms a rider into a rolling highlighter. lazersport.com / $230 POC Octal AVIP As the first company to adopt the MIPS technology (a mountain bike helmet in 2010), Swedish company POC is all about the rider s safety. They offer the MIPS technology to complement their other safety features. The AVIP (Attention Visibility Interaction Protection) concept focuses on a color palette that contrasts the natural landscape. Each helmet comes with a sheet of reflective decals, and an ICE tag, which allows you to enter emergency information which first responders can access by texting a code or scanning a QR code. pocsports.com / $320 84 ROAD MAGAZINE