Product test
Hövding – the airbag for cyclists
by Michael Restin
How to ride a bike more safely: hidden airbags and smart helmets
7.7.2021
As bicycles and e-bikes are becoming an everyday means of transport, the safety features are increasingly important. At least in this respect, the car industry is a good role model.
My first bike helmet was a horrible yellow styrofoam bowl with thick foam pads that could soak up gallons of sweat. I was so ashamed of it. I felt as if the other kids didn’t wear such a hideous sight. On the other hand, I never understood why some adults refused to wear their seat belt in the car. The seat belt mandate has been around as long as I have. Things evolve, become better, more beautiful and eventually normal.
No one questions the seat belt anymore. The bicycle helmet has also proven its worth. While a lot has developed in terms of car safety, everything has remained the same for bicycles. Airbags, ABS, ESP and sensors of all kinds have long been regular car features. Electronics dominate the mechanics. The last few years have seen a similar trend with bicycles, which have become a booming means of transport thanks to e-bikes. A positive side effect: the topic of safety has been given further thought.
Impact protection: the airbag is being introduced – but how?
Still today, the helmet isn’t popular with all cyclists. It’s perceived as annoying, hard to adjust or simply incompatible with hairstyles. Hövding is trying to fulfil helmet dreams. It’s supposed to only slip over the head in an emergency and still offer better protection than a conventional helmet thanks to its airbag system. In many cases the system works, but in a side crash with a car it may not be fast enough.
How can an airbag replace the helmet? Perhaps that wasn’t the right question to ask. The protective air cushion could be a good addition but is probably better off in another item of clothing. Motorcyclists have long had airbag vests, which are proven to have an increased protective effect in accidents up to 50 km/h (article in German). This is a speed range that perfectly suits e-bikes and the faster S-pedelecs with pedal assistance up to 45 km/h. It’s not surprising that a similar product for cyclists is in the starting blocks: French company Urban Circus successfully launched the airbag jacket «Cirrus» on Kickstarter.
Sensors under the seat and in the jacket work together to register when you fall. The air chambers in the jacket are said to fill in 0.08 seconds during a fall. They protect the neck, back, chest and abdomen. Despite the high costs of at least 400 francs, the project was financed after only 30 minutes. The jacket incorporates airbag technology by Helite. What’s new is the integration of the technology into a versatile and waterproof everyday design that helps the cyclist in crucial moments.
Visibility: let there be light!
The number of serious e-bike accidents has risen drastically in recent years. The Federal Council wants to counter the trend with a helmet and light obligation (article in German). Studies support that having lights on during daytime provides more safety. By consistently increasing your visibility, you’re less likely to be involved in an accident. Thanks to LED technology, this easy to implement into everyday life. The days of flickering dynamo-driven headlights are over. The LEDs require little power and can be integrated anywhere.
Nevertheless, many light systems are poorly visible (article in German) from the side. Although they’re bright, they’re small. On cars, brake lights stretch across the rear. On a bike, space is limited, but there are other options: a literal light bulb went off for me when I discovered helmets by Lumos. While testing (article in German) the attention-drawing helmet, I felt safe. After all, it features lights, turn signals and brake lights, all at the height of a car driver’s eyes.. Nevertheless, I didn’t buy it. I’ve been waiting for the new model called Lumos Ultra.
And I wasn’t the only one. Never before have so many people supported a bike product on Kickstarter. Almost 25,000 wanted to have the «Ultra», without even having seen it. Of course, there are numerous helmets with integrated light, but Lumos has the most consistent approach, copying good aspects from the automobile industry and succeeding with it. However, turn signals, brake lights and lights on the helmet don’t replace hand signals or front and rear lights on a bike. They’re just an addition and the easiest way to provide more security. Perhaps illuminated (city) helmets will eventually become the norm.
Of course, this is only the most obvious development. The inner workings of modern helmets have also changed. Technologies such as MIPS and Wavecell (article in German) reduce rotational forces during impact and protect the head more efficiently. Also crash sensors, which automatically trigger an emergency call and communicate your location, are becoming more common in helmets. The helmet connects with the smartphone. The Lumos helmet brake lights work via these sensors, too. Other design ideas ensure that emergencies don’t happen in the first place.
Attention: putting the correct information in the right place
How much display do you actually need? Last year I was able to test (article in German) the Klever X-Speed Pinion for a week. An S-pedelec with brake energy regeneration, immobiliser and all sorts of other technical bells and whistles. Only the display looked out of place and time, which seemed to embarrass the manufacturer somewhat. They assured me that a new one was already in the making, with colour and everything else that the competition already offers. Although this is logical and matches the zeitgeist, it isn’t necessarily more practical. Maybe the mistakes made by the automobile industry are being repeated.
Initially, the cockpit was limited to the essentials. Then the number of displays and submenus exploded at the expense of clarity. Meanwhile, digital command centres are more structured, multifunctional and, above all, better placed in the field of vision. One solution to this is called a head-up display, and it too has already made its way into cycling: with the Abus USEE, cyclists can project data such as speed, power and heart rate or navigation instructions directly into the small gadget on the helmet.
There isn’t a large market for this. But the more people navigate through cities on e-bikes, the more relevant the question of suitable solutions becomes. Maybe the most important information will move into the view of sight. In front of the helmet or on the visor, which more and more riders wear anyway. Perhaps a look at the display will become superfluous because e-bikes will be braked automatically from the outside during high traffic or extreme weather conditions, as in a model trial (article in German) in the Netherlands. Perhaps the smartphone will displace the classic displays on the handlebars and become even more central via corresponding hubs. Or the smartphone might even take complete control of the continuous automatic transmission and determine its driving characteristics.
The boundaries are blurring
In the past, cars were cars and bikes were bikes. Each a world apart. Meanwhile, both are transforming to largely electric-powered means of transportation; one burning less gasoline and the other fewer calories than before. In the future of transport, we will change teams more frequently. Although your vehicle may change, the need for safety remains the same. Good to see this topic picking up steam. No matter what the solutions will look like – they’re needed. Not only in terms of infrastructure. Equipment will also evolve and soon make today’s solutions look as old as my yellow Styrofoam helmet.
Michael Restin
Senior Editor
Michael.Restin@digitecgalaxus.chSimple writer and dad of two who likes to be on the move, wading through everyday family life. Juggling several balls, I'll occasionally drop one. It could be a ball, or a remark. Or both.
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