Italy’s Met has unveiled its new Tube in-house wind tunnel, which is part of what it calls “the most advanced helmet development facility in the world”. The Tube is a custom-made wind tunnel that’s now fully operational.
Met announced the Tube last month when it launched the new Revo, but that’s an off-road helmet so we left that story to off.road.cc.

Now, Met has introduced the new Drone Wide Body II TT helmet, developed using the Tube, which will be available to the UAE Team Emirates riders, including Tadej Pogacar. Met claims the new Drone II be 13.5 seconds faster over a 40km (25 miles) time trial than the previous version, at a speed of 50km/h (31.1mph). Given that he won one individual time trial in last year’s Tour de France and finished second in the other, that’s not great news for Tadej Pogacar’s rivals.
> Tadej Pogačar asked: “When do you retire?”

Back to the Tube, though. Met’s custom-made wind tunnel is designed specifically to test cycling equipment.
“During the development phase of a new performance helmet, testing different shapes and configurations is key to finding the perfect balance for a variety of riders’ bodies and positions,” says Met. “Thanks to our in-house 3D printers, we can evaluate multiple solutions in the Tube and fine-tune the design.”
Met can test just a helmet on a headform, or a full bike and rider.

“That allows us to evaluate not only the helmet shape but also how the helmet interacts with the rider — the whole system,” says Met.
The headform comes with integrated thermal sensors around the crown area.
“The headform is heated to 38°C, which simulates the temperature of the body under strain,” says Met. “We measure the temperature decrease over time; the faster it decreases, the more effectively the internal air channelling is functioning.”
Met’s supported riders and teams can also use the Tube to work on products and riders’ positions.
Met’s HQ already boasts a crash test laboratory, FEM (Finite Element Analysis) virtual analysis, 3D prototyping.
If you’re interested in the new Met Wide Body II, Met says it’s a new tail design that adds the aero gains, allowing a lower head position while riding.

“The Drone’s unique wide body design channels airflow over the shoulders, significantly reducing turbulence and drag,” says Met. “This results in valuable energy savings and an aerodynamic advantage for the rider.”
It comes with a clear Met Mag-Clip Shield and is priced at a mighty £450.





















4 thoughts on “Met boasts its new wind tunnel is “the most advanced helmet development facility in the world””
Ahhh…not THAT Met.
Ahhh…not THAT Met.
Particularly confusing that
Particularly confusing that they’re doing the testing in the Tube.
Surely that would be BTP, not
Surely that would be BTP, not MET though?
Shades of 2014 when Chris
Shades of 2014 when Chris Froome was allowed to ride through the service shaft of the channel tunnel: