A new bike helmet can be folded to a third of its original size. The design is up on the crowdfunding site Ulule.
First there was the invisible bike helmet, then the biomimicry-inspired cardboard helmet. And here's yet another helmet innovation. With the push of a latch and a short series of folds, Overade's new helmet becomes a third of its original size, so it can easily be slipped inside a bag or backpack.
French designer Philippe Arrouar first started thinking about helmets in 2007, when Paris started its public bike-share program. Most riders didn't ride helmets, and when the Arrouar asked why, the answers were simple. Helmets are a pain to carry around after the ride is over, and if the point of a bike-share program is to allow people to spontaneously jump on a bike as needed, carrying around a bulky helmet becomes even more annoying. Most helmets also just didn't look good.
Overade developed a basic design for a folding helmet by 2009, and after years of safety testing and refining the aesthetics, they're on their way to market. Check it out on Ulule, a French crowdfunding site.
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