本文为原文前 6,000 字符的节选翻译，完整内容请查看原文。

How This Tiny Startup Built the World’s Safest Bike Helmet

For decades, researchers judged cycling helmets on how well they protected against direct impacts. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) still does, even though research shows the danger isn’t just how hard your head hits the ground, but how violently it twists. That rotational movement can make the brain twist and stretch inside the skull, increasing the risk of concussion and other brain injuries.

几十年来，研究人员一直以自行车头盔对直接撞击的防护能力作为评判标准。尽管研究表明危险不仅在于头部撞击地面的力度，还在于其扭转的剧烈程度，但美国消费品安全委员会（CPSC）至今仍沿用这一标准。这种旋转运动会导致大脑在颅骨内扭曲和拉伸，从而增加脑震荡及其他脑损伤的风险。

Not waiting for the CPSC to catch up, the cycling industry got to work. Multidirectional Impact Protection System, or MIPS, hit the market in 2007 and is now a common feature on premium helmets. At the same time, Virginia Tech turned helmet safety into something of a competition for manufacturers. In 2018, it launched helmet STAR ratings (Summation of Tests for the Analysis of Risk), testing beyond the legal minimum and measuring both linear and rotational impacts.

自行车行业没有等待 CPSC 的跟进，而是主动采取了行动。多向冲击保护系统（MIPS）于 2007 年投放市场，现已成为高端头盔的标配。与此同时，弗吉尼亚理工大学将头盔安全性变成了一场制造商之间的竞赛。2018 年，该校推出了头盔 STAR 评级（风险分析测试总和），其测试标准超出了法律最低要求，并同时测量了线性冲击和旋转冲击。

Only four of the first 30 helmets earned five stars, but by 2025, 167 of 272 achieved five stars, and Virginia Tech had to tighten its grading. That only drove competition and improved helmet technology. Suddenly, hitting the number one spot was good for business and brains.

在最初的 30 款头盔中，只有 4 款获得了五星评级，但到了 2025 年，272 款头盔中有 167 款达到了五星标准，迫使弗吉尼亚理工大学不得不收紧评分标准。这反而推动了竞争并促进了头盔技术的进步。一时间，占据榜首位置不仅对商业有利，对保护大脑也大有裨益。

Sitting comfortably ahead of the competition, with a 4.61 score (10.1 or lower earns a five-star rating; lower is better), is the Pikio Si Oblik road cycling helmet, featuring a new safety system called Oblik. Inspired by the headbanging, concussion-proof woodpecker, this new design has wiped the floor with the competition. For context, Pikio’s 4.61 score is 2.21 points lower than the previous best Canyon Deflectr’s 6.82. That’s about 32 percent lower, a massive shift when many of the highest-rated helmets score only between 7 and 10 points.

Pikio Si Oblik 公路自行车头盔以 4.61 分的成绩（10.1 分或以下即获五星评级，分数越低越好）稳居竞争对手之上，该头盔采用了名为 Oblik 的新型安全系统。受啄木鸟撞击头部却不会脑震荡的启发，这一新设计在竞争中表现出压倒性优势。作为参考，Pikio 的 4.61 分比此前表现最好的 Canyon Deflectr 的 6.82 分低了 2.21 分。这相当于降低了约 32%，在许多顶级头盔评分仅在 7 到 10 分之间的情况下，这是一个巨大的飞跃。

How has this relatively obscure Vancouver startup gotten it right the first time? As founder Daniel Abram explains, it “comes from 18 years researching impact protection and helmet design.” After studying mechanical engineering, he moved into helmet research at Simon Fraser University, where he helped develop BrainShield, a system designed to reduce rotational forces during impacts. He later founded helmet technology company BiaGuard, before MIPS paid around $1 million for the patents and intellectual property in 2022.

这家相对默默无闻的温哥华初创公司是如何做到“首战告捷”的？正如创始人丹尼尔·艾布拉姆（Daniel Abram）所解释的那样，这“源于 18 年来对冲击防护和头盔设计的研究”。在学习机械工程后，他进入西蒙弗雷泽大学从事头盔研究，并协助开发了 BrainShield 系统，该系统旨在减少冲击过程中的旋转力。后来他创立了头盔技术公司 BiaGuard，随后 MIPS 在 2022 年以约 100 万美元的价格收购了该公司的专利和知识产权。

Most bike helmets use a thin plastic shell over expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, which crushes on impact to absorb energy before it reaches your skull. Oblik takes that familiar foam structure and breaks it into independently mounted sections rather than one continuous block.

大多数自行车头盔在发泡聚苯乙烯（EPS）泡沫外覆盖一层薄塑料壳，泡沫在受到冲击时会压碎，从而在能量到达颅骨前将其吸收。Oblik 采用了这种常见的泡沫结构，但将其拆分为独立安装的模块，而不是一个连续的整体。

Each section attaches to the base EPS layer with flexible connection points, allowing them to move separately or detach if the helmet takes a serious impact. Combined with dual-density foam that absorbs direct impact, the movement helps to minimize the twisting force transmitted to the head. Abram explained how, “Rather than compressing material in one direction, the system is able to deform, deflect, and detach depending on the impact’s intensity, location, and direction, helping manage both linear and rotational impact energy.”

每个模块通过柔性连接点固定在基础 EPS 层上，使其能够独立移动，或者在头盔受到严重撞击时脱落。结合吸收直接冲击的双密度泡沫，这种移动有助于最大限度地减少传递到头部的扭转力。艾布拉姆解释道：“该系统不是单一方向压缩材料，而是能够根据冲击的强度、位置和方向进行变形、偏转和脱离，从而帮助管理线性和旋转冲击能量。”

Other helmet technologies approach the problem very differently. The now-ubiquitous MIPS remains the dominant commercial system, using a low-friction layer that can move 10 to 15 millimeters during the first 5 to 10 milliseconds of an impact. MIPS Spherical uses two nested liners that rotate relative to each other, while 6D’s Omni-Directional Suspension (ODS) suspends one liner inside another. WaveCel uses an engineered cellular structure that flexes, crumples, and glides under angled impacts.

其他头盔技术解决这一问题的方法则大相径庭。如今随处可见的 MIPS 仍然是主流商业系统，它使用一层低摩擦衬垫，在冲击发生后的前 5 到 10 毫秒内可移动 10 到 15 毫米。MIPS Spherical 使用两个嵌套的衬垫，它们可以相对旋转；而 6D 的全方位悬挂系统（ODS）则将一个衬垫悬挂在另一个衬垫内。WaveCel 则使用一种工程蜂窝结构，在受到倾斜冲击时会弯曲、折叠和滑动。

Pikio’s closest rival, the Release Layer System (RLS), featured on Canyon’s Deflectr and the third-placed, 3D-printed Hexr Miden RLS, tackles rotation from the outside, using external shell panels floating on tiny polycarbonate ball bearings that can roll and detach, redirecting rotational energy before it reaches the head.

Pikio 最接近的竞争对手是 Canyon Deflectr 和排名第三的 3D 打印 Hexr Miden RLS 所采用的释放层系统（RLS）。该系统从外部解决旋转问题，利用浮在微小聚碳酸酯滚珠轴承上的外壳面板，这些面板可以滚动和脱离，从而在旋转能量到达头部之前将其重定向。

Lab testing is one thing, but real-world data is something else. If your Pikio helmet is called into serious action, you will need to replace it—as with most EPS foam designs—but the company is offering a 30 percent discount on a replacement if it can get its hands on your damaged helmet.

实验室测试是一回事，现实世界的数据则是另一回事。如果你的 Pikio 头盔在严重事故中发挥了作用，你需要更换它——就像大多数 EPS 泡沫头盔一样——但如果公司能回收你损坏的头盔，他们会提供 30% 的更换折扣。

“So far we’ve had four helmets returned and replaced,” Abram says. “Each has proven invaluable, not least because they’ve done their job and kept riders safe.”

“到目前为止，我们已经回收并更换了四个头盔，”艾布拉姆说，“每一个都证明了其不可估量的价值，尤其是因为它们完成了使命，保护了骑行者的安全。”

At $379, the Pikio is a premium choice—a cool $219 more expensive than the second-best STAR-tested Canyon Deflectr RLS. Much of the cost stems from a vastly more complicated manufacturing process. Abram says a standard cycling helmet has around eight to 10 parts, but the Pikio Si uses around 80 individual components. The separate foam sections, intricately engineered flexible connection points, and dual-density construction all add to the cost.

Pikio 的售价为 379 美元，属于高端选择，比 STAR 测试中排名第二的 Canyon Deflectr RLS 贵了 219 美元。大部分成本源于其极其复杂的制造工艺。艾布拉姆表示，标准的自行车头盔大约有 8 到 10 个部件，而 Pikio Si 使用了大约 80 个独立组件。独立的泡沫模块、精心设计的柔性连接点以及双密度结构都增加了成本。

It’s a small price to pay if it saves your life, but how does it fare day to day? I’ve been riding with the Si Oblik for the past month and have been impressed by how few compromises there have been in the pursuit of protection.

如果能挽救生命，这只是微不足道的代价，但它在日常使用中表现如何呢？过去一个月我一直戴着 Si Oblik 骑行，令我印象深刻的是，为了追求防护性能，它几乎没有做出什么妥协。

At 279 grams (in medium size), it’s respectably light, though not class-leading, and the dial-to-fit cradle hugs my head neatly without pinch points. It’s a little bulky for a road lid, but is extremely comfortable; the 17 air vents keep my head refreshingly cool, and nobody has laughed at me for wearing it (yet). I would have preferred Pikio to use a magnetic Fidlock fastening under the chin as they’re brilliant, but it is a minor complaint—which Abram quickly quashed: “Fidlock weighs around 13 grams; a buckle is just four grams.”

这款头盔（中号）重 279 克，重量相当轻，虽然不是同类产品中最轻的，但其旋钮式调节托架能很好地贴合头部，且没有压迫点。作为公路头盔，它显得略微笨重，但佩戴极其舒适；17 个通风孔让我的头部保持清爽，目前还没人因为我戴着它而嘲笑我。我更希望 Pikio 在下巴处使用磁性 Fidlock 搭扣，因为那非常棒，但这只是一个小小的抱怨——艾布拉姆很快就反驳道：“Fidlock 重约 13 克，而普通插扣仅重 4 克。”

It’s a great helmet loaded with unique, deliberately safety-first tech. Abram was keen to point out he is not interested in what he called “crown-like cycle helmet” aesthetics, and that “form always follows function.” The Pikio lacks a little of the cool factor you’ll find with a POC or Giro helmet, but it’s certainly not ugly.

这是一款出色的头盔，装载了独特且刻意优先考虑安全的技术。艾布拉姆特别指出，他对所谓的“皇冠式自行车头盔”美学不感兴趣，并强调“形式永远服从于功能”。Pikio 确实缺少一些你在 POC 或 Giro 头盔上能找到的酷炫感，但它绝对不丑。

For a company most cyclists have never heard of, taking the top spot at Virginia Tech is an extraordinary result.

对于一家大多数骑行者从未听说过的公司来说，在弗吉尼亚理工大学的测试中占据榜首是一个非凡的成就。