We’ve told you about the Kranium helmet, made from cardboard, several times before, most recently when we reported from Eurobike that it was being included in the Abus 2013 range. Now you can check out a new video that explains the development of the helmet from initial idea through to production.
The Kranium was designed by London student Anirudha Surabhi after he was involved in a bike accident. Ani was wearing an expensive helmet at the time of the incident but he still suffered a concussion.
After first looking at anatomical features of the woodpecker, Ani came up with a new helmet design - nature often knows best. Rather than the usual expanded polystyrene, the Kranium is made from dual density honeycomb board which, in turn, is made from paper.
The claim is that the Kranium is lighter, stronger and safer than a standard helmet. Plus, the paper is recycled and it's produced without the use of electricity, so the helmet has some major green cred too.
This interesting video – 7mins long – tells the story of the Kranium from first sketch through to reality.
Ani has been travelling between the UK and China for the past few months in order to get the paper helmet produced, and it’s being made right now.
For more info go to www.kraniums.com.
Mat has worked for loads of bike magazines over 20+ years, and been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. He's been road.cc technical editor for eight years, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a past winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer.