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Will the Classon be the most hi-tech helmet yet?

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Brooklyness_Classon-smart-commuter-helmet_side

A new helmet project is about to get funded on Kickstarter that will combine integrated turn signals, an inertia-activated brake light, and blind spot monitoring into sleek looking urban hardshell head protection. The new Classon is all about putting the latest visibility and safety tech on the heads of riders to give more confidence and security to city cyclists and bike commuters in the hopes of luring more people onto the bike. Even though it sounds a bit complicated, the intelligent bike helmet concept is about simplicity. All of the tech features are designed to neatly integrate into a relatively normal looking helmet, and to be intuitive to use without much rider input. Crowdfunding of the project is already close to hitting the NY-based company Brooklyness’ target, so jump past the break for a closer look and some details…

Brooklyness_Classon-smart-commuter-helmet_3-4 Brooklyness_Classon-smart-commuter-helmet_3-4-rear

The Classon’s main tech tricks are the blind spot detection, gesture controlled turn signals, and inertia brake lights, all of which work pretty much automatically.

Blind spot detection works by employing  front and rear facing cameras that scan wherever you are riding. By way of some processing power (a pair of 1 Ghz chips) built into the helmet, the Classon translates what the sensors pick up into a simple visual cue to the adjustable brightness LEDs integrated into the helmet’s visor.  Working in your peripheral vision, the small LED blinks when something like a car approaches from behind.

The small turn signals require a bit of input, but are actually just gesture based. The directional indicator lights in both the front and rear of the helmet are activated by standard turning hand signals. The helmet detects when you move your arm out to the side to signal a turn and matches that with an orange turn signal light to boost visibility.

The brake light is even more simple. A built-in accelerometer senses quick deceleration and automatically lights up to cue others around you to your actions. We’ve been using this type of tech in an excellent brake light from Lupine for a couple of years, and look forward to seeing it integrated in more lights and products as it becomes more affordable/accessible.

Brooklyness_Classon-smart-commuter-helmet_app

The Classon helmet can also be paired with its own app to add even more functionality. Using those same small LEDs in the visor, the app can be used for navigation. Put in your destination and the lights will flash to direct you where to turn without having to take your eyes off the road. You’ll apparently be able to stream video from the on-board camera to the app too. The video is automatically recorded to 4GB of internal memory (for up to 6hr of captured footage), so you’ve got that helmet cam footage for a backup in case of an accident, plus you can use it to make ride videos or even live stream your commute out to the world.

Of course all of this streaming tech means you’ll need a subscription service to keep full functionality. But in a pretty cool move, part of the “Classon Club” membership is a full crash replacement deal too. So when you are a subscription member and your helmet gets damaged, they’ll replace it for free.

Brooklyness_Classon-smart-commuter-helmet_tech-details

The helmet of course gives you crash protections as well, with both EN and CPSC certifications. The 480g lid even was designed to incorporate a large hole on both sides so it can be easily locked up with your bike. The helmet has a 2.5hr ridetime battery, and takes just an hour to charge by USB. It will come in 3 sizes to fit a wide range of youth and adult heads, and 5 colors to fit anyone’s style.

Brooklyness_Classon-smart-commuter-helmet_man Brooklyness_Classon-smart-commuter-helmet_colors

Brooklyness is made up of a team with years of experience putting out products, and has partnered with a helmet manufacturer that already produces for some of the biggest names in the industry. Their Kickstarter campaign is about getting their production tooling up and running. Building and certifying a helmet isn’t really a very quick process though. While Brooklyness has brought other products successfully to market through crowdfunding, and they are already at their target funding goal on this one, producing and testing the production helmet means that earliest delivery of the Classon isn’t expected until mid spring 2017.

But if that all sounds cool with you, there are still early bird helmet deals to be had on their Kickstarter, which runs for another four weeks. $150 will get you a Classon helmet, plus 6 months of their club subscription service. $200 will get you a pair of them. The helmet is expected to sell at retail for $300 once it is available, plus $10 a month or $100 a year for the Classon Club subscription.

Brooklyness.com

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Fergus Nash
Fergus Nash
7 years ago

Looks good if it was worn in reverse on a TT bike.

myke2241
myke2241
7 years ago

Why? It actually looks dangerous! Duckbill platypus wants its helmet back!

Joenomad
Joenomad
7 years ago

Helmets don’t need to be smart, the wearer does! Also $300 for a commuter helmet, really!

Quinn
Quinn
7 years ago
Reply to  Joenomad

It’s mostly about the seriously dumb motorist that don’t understand that legally, cars and bikes are equal.

I say using anything that helps get that point accross is worth it, including a $300 helmet that has front/rear lights and turn signals.

Raizo
Raizo
7 years ago

So many things wrong with this design. Firstly that solid brim design is gonna make a mess of your neck should you ever go over the bars headfirst. There’s a reason most helmets with visors allow them to easily break away. This design is like the opposite of MIPS thinking. Also one crash and all the tech is rendered useless anyways. Crashes happen. However I’m thinking people will be less inclined to throw the damaged helmet in the bin as they’ll be more likely to reuse the crashed helmet because of all the tech. Unless they have a free crash replacement program human psychology was not taken into account here.

Also the design of incorporating so many power hungry features seems overly ambitious for the battery life claims. In short you’d need to add a fair amount of weight in lithion-ion batteries to power the thing and I’m not sure if you’d want those cells, and the subsequent heat generated from them, embedded into the foam protecting your head. Batteries can easily go faulty and swell this compromising the very integrity of the foam protecting your head. Also it might be a stretch but can you really rule out the damn thing potential exploding or bursting into flames above my head as I navigate traffic?

Nevertheless I guess the good news is that your family will have shaky HD recording, front & rear, of your demise in the event you bite the dust hard. However I think that a majority of the time people will forget to charge the thing so a lot of the time a rider will go to grab this ‘smart’ helmet it won’t be charged anyways so the features will be rendered useless leaving you with a traditional ‘dumb’ helmet.

Heffe
Heffe
7 years ago

(deleted)

Erich
7 years ago

I have to jump on the hate train and agree that I don’t think in-molded visors are a particularly safe idea for cycling helmets. That’s one easily snagged item in the event of a crash. Other than that, it seems like an alright idea for an integrated helmet design and I’m curious to see if it takes off. It looks a little too clunky to be popular with the urban chic set, but it does have that POC/Urge lovechild look. Maybe the Urban Enduro™ crowd will eat it up.

Allan
Allan
7 years ago
Reply to  Erich

I like the use of a superscript “TM” in your above post.

Stephen Keller
Stephen Keller
7 years ago

Styling and safety issues aside, a 2.5 hour ride time is woefully short when one’s commute day comes with 3.5 hours of cycling time.

JBikes
JBikes
7 years ago
Reply to  Stephen Keller

Yeah, because the vast majority of people are commuting over 2.5 hours by bike…

Important note so as not to go crazy in old age: Almost all products are decidedly not purpose designed for your individual specific needs

traildog
traildog
7 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

Haha, “Important note so as not to go crazy in old age: Almost all products are decidedly not purpose designed for your individual specific needs.” Said the roughly the same thing at a volunteer trail work day a few weeks ago…

JBikes
JBikes
7 years ago

The ideas are great. But, like most things, V1 isn’t always the best right?
The first bikes kind of sucked and now look where we are.

mekanis
mekanis
7 years ago

That hole reminds me the inspection holes they but on cows sides to monitor digestion.

Chefdog
Chefdog
7 years ago

All I can think when I see this is “hole in head”

David
David
7 years ago

That thing just cries out for some viking horns to go in the side vents, or some sort of beverage delivery system…

Allan
Allan
7 years ago

“normal looking helmet”

Pete
Pete
7 years ago

JBikes wrote: “Almost all products are decidedly not purpose designed for your individual specific needs.”

But surely the Classon was designed for the individual specific needs of this guy:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/daredevil-rides-on-bicycle-backwards-at-50mph-down-mountain-8993337.html

DB
DB
7 years ago

bike bros, I think you’re forgetting that the market for this helmet is nothing like you and doesn’t ride the same way you do. loosen up your grundles already.

Rob King
7 years ago
Reply to  DB

Actually, I *am* in the market this helmet is aimed at and I still don’t like it.

Lumpa Lumpa
Lumpa Lumpa
7 years ago

A lot of people doesn’t put an helmet because of the look, the design and the style….. This one will helps a lot. Niiiiiiiiiice!!

matthewinseattle
7 years ago

The in-molded brim is a danger point, but to me, the bigger issue is all the added weight from the lights and sensors. One of the things that the U.S. military found was that the increased weight of helmets designed to stop rifle rounds increased the rate of cervical, spinal and skull injury during traumatic impacts. I imagine that this helmet would suffer similar drawbacks.

I personally will not back this project.

Jack
Jack
7 years ago

Why so many people is worried about it’s look !?!? I think that at the end, look should really be the last of our worries. Afterall it is a helmet …….. designed to protect us. I recently had a major crash where my face (along with virtually everything else) was “grinded” down by hard dirt and gravel. If I had a “viser” shape helmet like this it would have probably prevent the damage I sustained. I think this is a great design and I am looking forward to try it on.

Doug
Doug
5 years ago

OVERLY DESIGNED: For me, only the front / rear cameras are useful. Who knows so little about their neighborhood that they truly need navigation? The hard duckbill should be breakaway during an impact. They left out an obvious feature; speakers to enjoy tunes AND take phone calls.

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