A London design student has devised a cycle helmet based on a cardboard frame that he claims is able to absorb four times the impact of a standard helmet while also being recyclable. Anirudha Rao believes that as well as providing greater protection for cyclists who own their own bikes, the helmet – called the Kranium – could also prove useful to operators of bike hire schemes.
Rao, a postgraduate student at the Royal College of Art, unveiled the helmet made its debut at the London Cycle Show last October, and has been developed with the help of a £20,000 grant from the James Dyson Foundation.
The designer says: “The ribs of the structure have been designed to accommodate movement in some places where as it remains perfectly rigid in some areas. Thus during a crash the force peak of the impact is absorbed by the ribs tending to flex and de-flex. The remaining amount of energy is then absorbed by the crumpling nature of the corrugated ribs.”
Carlton Reid of the trade focused website BikeBiz filmed Rao talking about his invention at the Cycle Show last autumn, and there's also a video from Bike Republic that shows the Kranium being subject to a drop test together with a standard, off-the-shelf helmet.
An acrylic compound renders the cardboard waterproof, and it can be adjusted to provide an exact, snug fit to the wearer’s head.
As for bike share schemes, which have struggled in Australia for example due to the compulsory helmet laws there, Rao hopes that a quick assembly version of the helmets might be sold via vending machines and recycled after use.
The Independent reports that the Kranium has already been licensed by several cycle helmet manufacturers, bringing it a step closer to be seeing on the streets some time soon.
Help us to fund our site
We’ve noticed you’re using an ad blocker. If you like road.cc, but you don’t like ads, please consider subscribing to the site to support us directly. As a subscriber you can read road.cc ad-free, from as little as £1.99.
If you don’t want to subscribe, please turn your ad blocker off. The revenue from adverts helps to fund our site.
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
Rich_cb
0 sec ago
I disagree, if you look at opposition to mundane things like wind farms or even, as Burt so beautifully demonstrated, bicycle helmets you see a...
I disagree, if you look at opposition to mundane things like wind farms or even, as Burt so beautifully demonstrated, bicycle helmets you see a...
It's eeriely accurate, and frightening how good AI actually is.
My ancient Garmin eTrex Legend used AA batteries (so old it had a NiCd setting). You could use rechargeable batteries....
Strangely, when Lineker mentioned nasty Germans in relation to the Tories there ended up being a nationwide scandal that dominated the news for a...
The basic problem is that the council hasn't demonstrated any need for these bollards. They justify fitting them on the grounds that they prevent...
Thanks. For some reason I couldn't find that on their website. Also the website for the distributor (under the name Yellow Limited) doesn't seem...
Whataboutery and (deliberate?) conflation, not helped by the incorrect headline. It isn't the cyclists (or drivers) that need to wait until it is...
Thanks for taking the time to reply Brooksby when others have not been so polite....
That is a 'special one'. Literally no mention of bad driving or the driver in the whole article.. I think it's been written so we can all feel...
Any day now...