Almost a stylish wearable airbag is available for cyclists

What you’re looking at is a new airbag system built directly into the “race-ready” suit, not bolted on like other solutions. It was developed for road cyclists by Van Rysel, with the help of airbag technology specialist In&motion. It is currently being tested on professional riders before a general consumer release sometime “in the next couple of years.”

Its development comes after the UCI, the governing body of professional cycling, Make a call in February The search for equipment that can help protect passengers is traveling faster than ever before.

The current version is in final validation stage before potential race deployment. Its total weight is around 700 grams (500 grams for the airbag components), making it much lighter than the airbag systems worn in MotoGP, says van Rijssel. Like proven MotoGP solutions, Van Rysel’s airbag deploys in just 60 milliseconds after the crash detection algorithm senses that something has gone horribly wrong.

The skinsuit is designed to be aerodynamic and to dissipate heat, with abrasion-resistant materials used to help reduce the risk of road rash and other surface-level skin injuries. The airbag is deployed to protect areas of the upper body not covered by the helmet, including the central core, cervical region, and spinal line. More comprehensive protection will be explored in the future.

“Behind every race number, there is a human being, and unfortunately it is still widely accepted that a rider can lose everything in a split second due to an accident,” says Jocelyn Parr, Van Rijssel Product Manager. “What helmets represented 20 years ago, we believe an airbag can represent today, but now, we are looking beyond the head, we need to protect as much of the body as possible.”