Italian helmet brand Kask has announced details of the new Utopia helmet, to be worn by Team Sky at the Tour Down Under and for the 2018 WorldTour season.
The new lid is marketed as the “fastest ever road helmet”, which should please the British team, who have spent time developing it with the manufacturer. Kask says it’s the most aerodynamic road helmet it has ever produced, while it’s also been designed to focus on ventilation, too.
The development process included hours of comparative wind tunnel testing with ten selected leading aero road helmets, according to Kask, with 3D scans taken and computational fluid dynamic techniques used to create an optimised model in winds of varying yaw angles. The result is a helmet with a saving of up to six watts over the most efficient rival helmet at a speed of 50km/h, Kask claims.
Kask and Team Sky’s engineers also concerned themselves with developing strong ventilation characteristics, so the helmet can be equally at home on climbs and in time trials – club riders and triathletes, we’re looking at you here. Airflow is said to be particularly efficient at the higher speeds at which the helmet is most aerodynamically effective, while the internal channeling also helps to improve aero efficiency, according to Kask.
On top of that, the lid has been designed to reduce wind turbulence around the rider’s ears for a ‘quiet riding experience’, while another standout feature is the ‘Resistex’ yarn-infused padding. This is said to transports moisture towards the outside of the helmet faster, boosting comfort on long rides. The material also has claimed anti-static and anti-bacterial qualities.
A Utopia helmet weighs in at a claimed 235g in a medium, and will be made available to the public later in 2018. Pricing is to be confirmed.
